Camp Updates
Diversity and Inclusion
Hello Campers Past, Present, and Future! It has been a couple of months since my position as Diversity and Inclusion Manager of Improv Camp Utopia was announced. In those short couple of months so much has happened! The Holidays came and went, it snowed in Chicago, it was freezing in Chicago, and then the temperature…
Read MoreA Year of Reflection
Hey campers! 2018 has been a supremely challenging year for camp and me personally. We opened our first international camp north of Dublin, Ireland in the beginning of May. Opening a new camp is always a very difficult and long process and takes a lot out of our staff, Ireland took more then two years…
Read MoreFor the Love of Improv
Another camp season is down. We did 3 camps in a matter of 4 months with Yosemite, East and West. Next year it will be four when we add Ireland into the mix. We’ve had over 1,300 campers attend over our 7 years with 13 camps in total. We’ve donated thousands of dollars back into…
Read More8 Things for Improvisors to Remember for 2017 and Beyond
So 2016 is about to end. Oh my. We as a community lost a lot of great improvisors this year and it hurts. No matter where the improvisor is we all feel connected and share the pain. Think about it. When an improvisor leaves us we know how it affects the community they were in.…
Read MoreGive Back More Than You’re Given
Camp Improv Utopia ended it’s 2016 season with a bang. This year we had three amazing camps, and introduced our newest one Camp Improv Utopia Yosemite. You might be the fine collector of a CIU Hoodie or one of our personalized camp shirts. If you did get one thank you! You know why? The proceeds went…
Read MoreSay Day is Today! Pass on your Appreciation!
So what is Say Day (#sayday)? Named after the late Jason Chin from iO Chicago, after he passed, TJ Jagadowski started a movement in his name to say how much you appreciate the people you love. I think it’s a wonderful way to celebrate one of our fellow comrades. So in the spirit of improv, Jason Chin…
Read MoreCamp Nights! What are these? How do I get involved?
Camp Nights have been happening for a while. They started in LA a few years ago and have expanded to San Francisco, Denver, Detroit and Pittsburgh with more in the works. These nights are meant to be indie improv nights to allow campers and any improvisor to hone their skills and have a community night…
Read MoreSupport Camp Yes And!
Camp Improv Utopia is proud to announce our official partnership to Camp Yes And, an improv day camp designed to support verbal teens (Ages 13-18) on the autism spectrum. We are very excited to work with Camp Yes And to help them grow and provide even more free classes to teens on the autism spectrum. A…
Read MoreComing Out of The Closet at Camp Improv Utopia
When I was eighteen years old I joined NCT Phoenix, a comedy theater in the Mesa, Arizona. I was eighteen, I had just started college, and I was so deep in the closet I was hearing whispers of the R. Kelly Saga “Trapped in the Closet” on a loop. I was so afraid to accept…
Read MoreImprov Utopia Gives Back!
As we grow, adding Camp Improv Utopia Yosemite to our family in 2016, it means our help to the improv community grows as well. In 2015, we were able to give back more to improv then ever before. Helping improv theater, festivals, and improvisors access to things like education, building materials, support and more! These…
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