At FNI we play a variety of "short-form" improvisational games; the catch is all the players are chosen directly from the audience. Understand, we do not want to do this - we are compelled. Here is what the voices tell us...

Unlike other improv shows, there is no core-group or troupe of "professional" improv comedians to amuse you. At FNI we not only get suggestions from the audience, we also go to that very same shallow end of the gene pool to find our performers. Each game has very simple rules which we describe and provide examples of - then we ask for volunteers from the audience to come up on stage and show us what they can do.

Hey, you wanna be an actor? Great. The world needs more minimum-wage food service industry workers. But at FNI we encourage anyone who has the nerve to come up and give it their best shot. At FNI experience is only the fluffer before for the menage a-trois of imagination, creativity, and fragile eggshell like egos.

The number one rule at FNI is "Failure is OK" - we know that you'd rather have Ru Paul give you sausage tucking tips than perform in front of an audience. And while performance is never mandatory at FNI, know that even if your as bad as Bob Dole juggling kittens over broken glass and rusty nails you'll still get applause from a grateful audience.

Friday Nite Improvs debuted in 1989. Originally conceived by Graduate Students in the Theatre Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh, FNI started life as an informal "workshop" using improvational techniques to help train aspiring actors.

The workshop quickly grew so popular that it's teaching element was being eclipsed by it's entertainment value. What followed is now only referred to in distant memory as "the great schism" or the "war in haven". The result, however, was the formation of a weekly improvational comedy show were the audience, as opposed to classically trained actors, would be the performers.

Now entering our 18th year, Friday Nite Improvs is Pittsburgh's longest running theatre show.
Even as we wallow in the awkward teen years, FNI has already

- Performed more than 600 shows

- Hosted 5 "Improv-A-Thons" (24 hour marathon events)

- Donated more than $20,000 dollars to local & national charities

- assisted countless "reproductively challenged" peoples find hope

We now invite you to join us. Come, see the wonder of it all. For directions to Friday Nite Improvs, click here.