After-School Improv Club!

Register Today

The Happy Valley Improv after-school improv club takes place on Monday nights for grades 5-8 students and Wednesday nights for grades 9-12 students. Each month, a different Happy Valley Improv company member will lead their group through improv exercises to prepare for the end of the month performance open to friends and family! Additional benefits of joining the Happy Valley Improv after school club include:

• $5 tickets to any Happy Valley Improv Friday-night improv show.
• Opportunity to perform at local events such as First Night and the Arts Festival.
• Discounted Happy Valley Improv and Blue Brick Theatre merchandise. 
• Priority registration for summer camps.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]. 

​5th - 8th Grade Registration Information

When: Mondays, 4:30-6:00
Showcase: for friends and family on the 4th Wednesday of each month
Who: Open to 5th-8th graders.  
Cost*: $100 for 1 month; $275 for 3 months
Where: The Blue Brick Theatre, 209 W Calder Way, Downtown State College 

Sign up HERE!

​9th - 12th Grade Registration Information

When: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00
Showcase: for friends and family on the 4th Wednesday of each month
Who: Open to 9th-12th graders.  
Cost*: $100 for 1 month; $275 for 3 months
Where: The Blue Brick Theatre, 209 W Calder Way, Downtown State College 

Sign up HERE!

COVID-19 Preventative Measures
We will follow all CDC, State, and City COVID-19 Guidelines and will update participants of any changes or restrictions that will be enforced for the club.  All facilitators are vaccinated and we expect and ask that participants also be fully vaccinated.

What are the benefits of participating in improv club?
Through a variety of longform improv exercises, participants will practice...

• playing and working with new and different people
• taking risks in a supportive environment
• nurturing their creativity through a variety of improv exercises and scenes
• finding their own joy, their own voice, and their own sense of belonging 
• letting go of perfectionism and embracing vulnerability, empathy, and trust
• getting up on a stage in front of an audience
• having fun!

*Scholarships are available!  If your student would like to attend but you cannot afford the full amount, please reach out to us. We will work with you to find a solution

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Meet the Teachers!

Sam Tanner
Sam has been directing and teaching improv since 2003. A former high school teacher, Sam has started two different high school improv programs. Each program focused primarily on long-form improvisation. Sam holds a PhD in critical literacy and English education from The University of Minnesota. He taught English and drama in the Twin Cities for nearly fifteen years, before accepting a position as faculty in the Penn State system. Sam is also a creative writer. See: www.samjtanner.com

Andrea McCloskey
For her day job, Andrea is an associate professor in the department of Curriculum & Instruction at Penn State. She earned a PhD in mathematics education at Indiana University--Bloomington. Before that, she taught middle and high school mathematics. Her research has centered on student and teacher learning in a particular mathematical domain: proportional reasoning. She also conducts ethnographic research in which she accounts for mathematics instruction and classroom participation through cultural terms--in other words, beyond strictly cognitive dimensions. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys spending time with her family. 

Jackie Gianico
Jackie caught the improv bug after doing a faculty workshop with Happy Valley Improv through the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Penn State. She has since led improv workshops in the local community for teachers, professionals, and English language learners.  When not teaching for the departments of Applied Linguistics and Communication Arts and Sciences, you might see Jackie leading a sip-and-paint at the Arena Bar and Grill in State College.