The Best Group Hug – By Sean Geary (SF)

From the moment I first walked into Camp Improv Utopia, I felt like I was at home. I felt like everyone there already knew me, and they were happy to see me. I was greeted with a big hug from Nick Armstrong and several others who I would come to consider to be very good friends later. After my first West Camp, I immediately signed up for East Camp. I was ready to fly across the country to experience that feeling again. I attended a couple of Camp Nights in Los Angeles, and I decided that we needed the same space in San Francisco, so I put on a few of my own nights, booking indie teams from the area to join in the spirit of Camp.

The way I describe Camp Improv Utopia to people who are unfamiliar with it: It is like walking into a room of close to 100 strangers who wish nothing for you but your greatest success. It’s the best group hug you could get. I was apprehensive at first, even shy, but I came out of my shell and had the best times of my life. Each experience is new, and friendships just get deeper. Sitting around the campfire at night, or hanging out at the bar, just talking shop, life, and whatever, has been the thing I look forward to each year. It is a highlight that I can’t recommend to people enough.