Highwire Improv Incorporated

Update - Our First Stretch Goal!

Thank you all for the incredible support - over just 24 days we were able to hit our initial goal of $25,000 to help open The Highwire Center! This money will cover key equipment, furniture, creature comforts, and external signage!

We are now working towards our first stretch goal! This stretch goal will aim to fill our Last Laugh Fund with 3 months of operating expenses. The Last Laugh Fund is a special allocation of Highwire's money only to be used for emergency support - a 'just in case' if we're ever prevented from operating for a period of time or if a major unexpected expense arises. We are committed to making this organization financially stable over a period of decades, and we take seriously the responsibility of paying teaching artists consistently.

Help us continue that mission and secure the future of The Highwire Center for years to come!

Highwire Has a Home!

Highwire Improv has found a home: we will move into 400 South Conkling Street in the Highlandtown neighborhood of Baltimore later this year!

Thanks to a combination of grants and donations, we are able to cover construction costs and business opening expenses, making this move possible. We are raising money in order to make this a welcoming home for the Baltimore improv community as well as the many friends we have made over the past five years across the globe.

Your donation to this fundraiser will support:

We appreciate the support of our community and donations will go directly to operating Highwire Improv. Donations over and above our goal will go to Highwire’s Last Laugh cash reserve fund to support day-to-day operations and future facility upgrades.

To completely maximize the impact of donated funds, Highwire has elected a campaign that doesn't include rewards which cost money and require volunteer time for fulfillment. Every person who donates will be recognized in the new space regardless of the size of the donation, full stop.

Highwire Improv thanks you in advance for your support and look forward to welcoming you when we open in summer 2025!

The Highwire Improv Story

Highwire Improv is a nonprofit improv theater based in Baltimore, MD. Our mission is to steward a community of artists committed to growth, collaboration, joy, and justice through improvisational theater in Baltimore and around the world.

Our motto of Community First is directly linked to our core values of community, action, transparency, and safety.

Highwire Improv believes that improv is the world's most inclusive and accessible art form that everyone benefits from due to the connection, creativity, skills, and joy of improv.

In a time of great uncertainty for the world, on July 11th, 2020 Baltimore improvisers converged online for the debut of Popup Improv, a community gathering and virtual stage space to come together, play and heal.

Shortly after, Highwire Improv co-founders, Brian Shea, Geoff Taylor, Kristen McKenzie, and Barry Wright, III planned a new improv organization, planting the seeds in bloom today.

Highwire Improv officially launched to the world on September 29, 2020 with an online presentation. The initial wave of support was remarkable, with volunteers and performers from California to the Philippines joining together for Highwire’s inaugural season of online shows.

Over 50 ensembles performed in shows 7 days a week, bringing together a global community of creatives and forging new bonds and friendships.

Highwire Improv built a space where community and creativity were celebrated in all forms and people were encouraged to enjoy, experiment and explore the vastness of improv theater and comedy.

Seminal events included: an improvised Thanksgiving Day Parade, a 31-day festival of Halloween-themed improv shows, fully unscripted plays and ferocious bit shows that defy explanation. Highwire Improv was *the* most prolific improv theater in the world!

Once in-person activities were fully possible again in 2022, Highwire Improv built stages for the improv & arts community to gather in Baltimore. Without a dedicated venue, the search was on for suitable spaces to improvise.

A majestic amount of paperwork cataloged the potential venues around the city with input from truly great partners including bars, breweries, churches, coffee shops, community centers, libraries, and more; a widely distributed ‘third space’ for Highwire Improv became a reality.

These challenges became our strength - bringing creative arts programming directly to the community, Highwire Improv formed greater partnerships with like-minded organizations, reached a wider audience and stitched ourselves into the very fabric of a monumental city.

While continuing to support our globally recognized online programming, for the first part of the decade Highwire Improv has brought joyous live events, dedicated skill training and world class expertise to over 50+ venues in over 25 neighborhoods across Baltimore and beyond.

Highwire Improv has built an incredible community of supportive, generous, funny & creative individuals. We didn’t do it alone.

Now, the scores of volunteers, hundreds of performers and thousands of audience members that make up this community deserves a place to call their own.

Today, we’re thrilled to announce that home is nearly upon us!

Highwire Improv is now under lease in the Highlandtown neighborhood of Baltimore at 400 South Conkling Street!

Welcome to Our New Home!

Formerly the site of Hoehn’s Bakery, this incredible first-floor corner commercial location has been vacant since late 2021 and we are thrilled to transform it into a vibrant theater space.

An incredible opportunity for Highwire Improv to build and design a space perfect for our community, the entire building is undergoing renovations allowing us to move into a space where every facet from the ceiling to the HVAC is brand new - a rarity for creative arts organizations of our size.

Thanks to a combination of generous grants and donations, Highwire Improv has the funding to cover our construction costs, key fixtures and furniture, and required permits to open later this year.

Developing with our architect to finalize the layout, prepare construction and obtain legal permits, you see our vision of a community lobby/lounge space and showroom where a hallway and restrooms will harmonize the venue for maximum workability.

This unique design allows Highwire Improv to run rehearsals/classes simultaneously AND have exceptional show experiences. Highwire Improv, the name of the game is multi-use and flexible design!

We expect access to the building on June 1st to complete additional renovations - finalizing the stage, flooring, furniture, restrooms, lighting and decorations. The goal of a grand opening later in the summer followed by a large corner awning with our glorious Highwire Improv sign will plant the final flag!

What We Have Planned

A dedicated space for Highwire Improv opens a wide, exciting portfolio of long gestated projects that we are extremely enthusiastic to pursue.

The first point is flexibility; this era and space is new for all of us. Scheduling, programming, and even the layout of the venue itself will shift and change as we adapt to our community's needs. Expect us to pivot and adapt as fresh ideas and innovative feedback present exciting opportunities!

Our expectations are to start with regularly scheduled classes and hosted rehearsals Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. Community-focused performance opportunities (jams, mixers, mashups, and more) will occur on Thursday evenings, and multi-event performances on Fridays and Saturdays.

Our goal is additional time & space made available for rentals, private events, corporate training and exciting potential community events developed over time. Highwire Improv understands that this is just the start.

We’re excited about our future as exceptional neighbors who connect with hundreds of local businesses in the area, forge partnerships with a thriving Arts District and participate in Highlandtown’s First Friday Art Walks. Our great friends at the Creative Alliance can attest to our overwhelming desire to contribute wherever we can to this electric area of our beloved Baltimore.

Having a dedicated venue gives Highwire the ability to have consistent social gatherings after events, both in our own space and within the many businesses mere walking distance from our new home at 400 South Conkling.

As transparency is one of our core values, the presence of a dedicated community hub does not mean we will no longer bring our unique programming to the myriad localities of “Charm City”.

Highwire Improv continues to offer free workshops through our Improv in Every Neighborhood program, as well as offering multi-week classes and shows throughout Baltimore during this exciting transition.

How You Can Contribute

Thanks to a combination of grant funding and generous donations, we have the funding to complete renovations, open for business, and even cover the initial rent for several months.

We are raising additional funds to make this the best possible home for improv and the larger creative community.

Our campaign target of $25,000 goes towards:

A detailed budget / shopping list is found here; as part of our core value of transparency, Highwire Improv knows it is important for folks to see where the money goes!

Upon reaching our goal of $25,000, Highwire Improv has “stretch goals” that will fund further construction later this year of a potential office, greenroom and/or tech booth as well as extend our Last Laugh Fund - cash reserves we use to protect the organization from unforeseen emergencies.

You can help without donating money too! Yes, YOU!

Donated furniture and/or supplies are greatly appreciated as are useful renovation skills or a simple desire to swing a hammer - we definitely want to hear about it!

In conclusion, we’d love any words of support you’d like to pass on to our community.

Collected comments that come through GoFundMe or this Google Form are stored in a special time capsule to be opened at the end of our first lease term (we’ll read them as they come in too, of course)!

Thank Yous and Acknowledgments!

There is a nearly endless list of people to thank for getting Highwire Improv to this point, and you can expect a lot of emotional gratitude to happen between now and our 2025 grand opening.

Firstly, a heartfelt thanks to our volunteers. From front of house to online tech and everything in between, none of this would have been possible without your immeasurable hours of expert assistance, trust in what we’re building together and willingness to step in, say yes, and build the community we all want to live & breathe in.

Thank you to the nearly three hundred ensembles and shows who have performed with Highwire Improv online or in-person - your art has given people all over the world an unfathomable amount of joy.

Thank you to every person who has come to a show, tried a workshop, or taken a class. The improv community extends far and wide, and every single ticket and explosive laugh has made all the difference.

Thank you to everyone who donated to Highwire Improv over the past 5 years; your hard earned money has helped us secure rentals, paid for scholarships, training, merchandise and given this organization the time and stability to grow and reach this point together. We would not exist without you.

Thank you to the Maryland State Arts Council, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, and the Community College of Baltimore County for grants which have increased our capacity and reach. We won’t let you down.

Thank you to the property owner Mike Ost (Saffo Contractors) and realtor Doug Kaufman (AGM Commercial) for your trust with this transformative opportunity.

Thank you to Johanna Barrantes and Amanda Smit-Peters at the Southeast CDC for your support and advice as we gravitated towards this incredible neighborhood and for recognizing the value in an arts-based business like Highwire Improv.

Thank you, everyone. With your continued support, we will deliver something special.