Friday Nite Improvs

02/04/2026

Just look at that FACE!!! The moment you spot it in the audience, or behind the lens of his camera, how can you not SMILE and feel instantly GLAD?

We at IRTE want to give a HUGE shout-out and heartfelt THANK YOU to one of our dearest and longest-standing friends, Roberto C. Tobar. We are so proud to know him and have been impressed by him and his talent since well before IRTE even launched - way back in the good ol’ Gotham City Improv days.

Roberto has been there for us since before the very beginning. Smart, sweet, and outrageously talented, he’s an incredible photographer and a true connoisseur of all things off-beat comedy. He’s seen it all, and documented it all. In fact, 99.9% of the photos on our website are courtesy of the one and only Mr. Tobar (go check them out!).

Thanks to his generosity and kindness, we’ve been able to document our shows from day one. If you see him in your audience, trust us, you’re one lucky performer.

And as if all that weren’t enough, he even donated to our annual fundraiser.

Thank you, Roberto. We love you and are endlessly grateful.

Photo courtesy of Mindy Tucker

05/16/2024

Hi FNI folks. Ben Mayer here. I wanted to pass along the heartbreaking news that we lost our friend and fellow performer, Steve Werber to cancer today. If you were lucky enough to see Steve perform at FNI, you know how funny he was. But if you were even luckier and became his friend, you also knew what a good person he was. FNI wouldn’t have been the same without Steve, and all of us will miss him and the absolute beacon of light he brought into our lives. Get out there and “dig that ditch” in his honor. And may his memory be a blessing to you all. Miss FNI and all of you. The picture below (courtesy of Louis Stein) is TWENTY FIVE years old, and shows Steve (as always) being funnier than me while doing FNI around a Pitt set for True West.

Love,

Ben

05/16/2024

With a heavy heart, we say goodbye to our friend Steven Werber.

You were one of the best.

- Signed, the producers of Swedish Children's Television

12/14/2023

We are now accepting applications for our 2024 Arcade Academy Diversity Scholarships! We are offering two tracks: improv and comedy writing (which includes stand-up and sketch comedy classes). The deadline for applications is DECEMBER 14 2023.

For more information, including a form to apply, visit our website: https://www.arcadecomedytheater.com/classes/scholarship/

11/28/2023

It's , which in southwest PA means . Arcade Comedy Theater is the brainchild of several FNI alumni and has been producing improv every week for ten years. A generous donor has offered a challenge grant - if Arcade can raise $15k from online donors, they will donate $5k to hit the goal! If you're a comedy fan in the Pittsburgh area, consider giving to: https://www.givebigpittsburgh.com/organizations/arcade-comedy-theater

All-audience-participation improv comedy.

Go on in.

07/13/2023

Huge Congratulations to FNI alum, Eric Appel for his Best Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or TV Movie Emmy nomination for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story! We are so proud!

04/29/2023

12/10/2022

01/25/2022

HUGE congratulations to FNI frequent performer and friend, Eric Appel for directing, co-writing, and executive producing the upcoming “Weird Al” Yankovic bio-pic starring Daniel Radcliffe. We are super proud of Eric and all of our FNI alumni doing big things! Go, Eric!

Weird: The “Weird Al” Yankovic Story is a Funny or Die–produced film coming to the Roku Channel

11/30/2021

It's today and many FNI alums are fundraising for Arcade Comedy Theater, which has been helping the improv scene in Pittsburgh grow from the seeds FNI planted (and keeping FNI alive with throwback shows). If you've got a few bucks to spare, consider giving to Arcade today to help for years to come

I’m ready to support Arcade Comedy Theater on November 30, 2021 during Give Big Pittsburgh. Learn more about Arcade Comedy Theater and all the other organizations participating in .

08/25/2021

The Pitt kids are moving back in this week and I'm always a little misty-eyed this time of year for FNI.

It's been almost exactly 20 years since I stepped foot in the Studio Theater for my first FNI. The weekend before classes started my best friend and I, both fresh to Pittsburgh from the other side of the state, found flyers in our Freshman orientation packets for FNI, immediately lost them, but remembered we wanted to go. Not totally remembering all of the details, we went to the Cathedral at 10pm and just sort of....hung around until 11, ran into some LARPers, considered accepting their invite to join the LARP instead, but decided to stick it out and wait for the show. "If it's not fun, we'll catch you guys next week!" (If there is a multi-verse, there is a Variant of me out there somewhere who became a LARPer instead of an improvisor and had a different, but sort of parallel, life.)

It WAS fun, though! It was so much fun. And I went to pretty much every show after that that I was not too ill or too far away to make. 90% of my social circle, including my chosen family, are improvisors. I started to perform tentatively, then regularly, then well. Since then I've continued to perform, teach, and travel the country doing improv. I sit on the board of Arcade Comedy Theater, which is basically a direct descendant of FNI. Improv has changed the way I communicate and how I approach professional situations. And specifically, the rules of FNI absolutely shaped how I move through the world. Failure is ok! Be welcoming, take care of each other and your space. Be supportive. Don't be an as***le. Have fun!

As I indulge my nostalgia, I hope you'll share some stories about FNI! First shows, what drew you in, how it affected your life, babies (or now....full grown humans!) that exist because of FNI, friendships forged, injuries sustained, scenes remembered, etc.

As long as there are funny people doing stupid s**t to make each other laugh, Winky lives.

Love, Liz Labacz