Change in management can be daunting for some businesses, even threatening to their existence.
But not for Westwood theater, The Improv Space. The theater has hired a new managing director to take the facility in a different direction. His role at The Improv Space will take effect in January
Just two doors down from the In-N-Out on Gayley Avenue, The Improv Space performs long-form improvisation. Workshops are also offered for novices through three levels of classes, each lasting eight weeks. After students graduate from all three levels, they are allowed to audition for one of the long-form improv teams offered at the theater.
The artistic director, Ashley Opstad, has been serving as managing director for the last two years since the original owner of The Improv Space, J.D. Walsh, departed.
Over time, she has augmented the theater by taking on more improv teams and creating The Improv Space Cadets program for 12-to 13-year-olds interested in the art form.
“I feel like we’re definitely getting stronger as a theater, and we’re expanding with our partnerships and other organizations,” Opstad said.
Opstad also said that her time as the managing director at The Improv Space was not without its obstacles.
“The three of us who run the theater have never run a business before. At first we had huge ambitions, and we learned that we need to scale back our goals to meet them,” Opstad said.
Even with these new endeavors, a $5 admission fee and a scholarship program, The Improv Space is still not at the same level of acclaim as other well-known improv theaters around Los Angeles, said Tim Limbrick, a fourth-year English student and member of the improv team, Distant Relatives.
“I feel like a lot of people, especially people within the school, don’t really know that it’s there, which is sad since it’s really an extraordinary place,” Limbrick said.
Opstad said she hopes this obscurity will change with the new managing director, who, though still unannounced, will address issues such as a lack of marketing and will put a greater emphasis on the structure of the workshops.
“This is to make sure we are smarter about running a business, and (making sure we) have somebody that will do the practical things,” Opstad said.
According to Opstad, rather than simply altering the current setup of the theater, the new managing director will also seek to create new avenues for aspiring artists.
“Something that our new managing director is really passionate about is offering other forms of art that are accessible, like music, written plays, sketch comedies, video screenings and all kinds of other art,” Opstad said.
Peggy Sinnott, a UCLA alumna and member of The 400 Cat improv team at The Improv Space, said it is the theater’s sense of community that separates it from other improv venues in the area.
“It’s a very friendly environment where people are free to practice things that they haven’t done before. It’s that warm environment where you can be free to be creative,” Sinnott said.
This aspect also attracted fourth-year theater student Jessica Felix, who completed improv classes offered at the theater and is now a member of the improv team Distant Relatives. Felix said she has high hopes for The Improv Space, and cites the art of improv itself as the reason.
“It all happens on the spot. You never know what’s going to come out of your mouth and that’s where the fun is. No one knows what’s going to happen,” Felix said.