February 26, 2017

Meet Nick Armstrong of M.I.’s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Armstrong.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nick. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In 1998 six guys from the improv group Mission IMPROVable at UMASS Amherst moved to Chicago, the Mecca of improv, to continue to learn and perform the art of improvisation.

In 2000 they began touring their short form comedy show and in 2001 they performed at NACA (National Association for Campus Activities) and hit it big! They began performing shows at colleges all across the country and eventually had to hire more guys and a van to travel in named “Vanarky.” Then they hired a second generation of touring improvisers, then a third, a fourth and on and on and on….

In 2002 the first handful of M.i. guys came out to Los Angeles to develop a sketch pilot for MTV and were eventually beat out by Human Giant. However, they continued to be permanent fixtures on many of LA’s most popular comedy stages.

On April 1st, 2009 (yes, April Fools Day) Mission IMPROVable bought Mi’s Westside Comedy Theater. We embraced the standup community, started a training center and on September 2011 we opened our bar. Now serving over 30 plus beers with never a drink minimum!

Currently, Mission IMPROVable has over 50 members and performs over 350 shows a year from Hawaii to Singapore. M.i. Productions is also involved in projects for film, TV and created an alcohol awareness show “A Shot of Reality” for colleges and military bases across the country. We are also the official home of the YouTube sensation “Epic Rap Battles of History,” which was born out of the show Check One, Two at the theater.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There are always struggles with business. We are in an alley behind the Third Street Promenade so getting people to come to the theater was really hard at first. But we kept plugging away and getting great talent out to our venue, like Dave Chapelle, Dana Carvey, Tig Notaro and more! And it started to take off. Getting people to know about you in the sea of Los Angeles is always the toughest gig there is.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about M.I.’s Westside Comedy Theater – what should we know?
We are known as a comedy club that has Stand-Up, Improv and Sketch shows seven days a week. We also offer classes in all of the before mentioned which has been great for us and the LA community. We are most proud of the fact that our community is strong and we have a lot of performers who invest their time and energy to our place. They don’t just perform they want to create and help. We have a very committed community of talented people and that is what I think sets us apart from other clubs. When you’re in our theater, you’re not just a performer you become a part of our family and we will do anything to help you succeed.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We have many mentors as we have all trained in different theaters over the years. So I’d say the people who trained us in the improv business, Susan Messing, Craig Cackowski, Miles Stroth, Liz Allen, Paul Vaillancourt, Joe Bill to name a few. These were the people who shaped our skills and passion for improv. But we really owe the success of our business to our students and performers. Without their hard work and tireless energy, we wouldn’t be here. They have created a wonderful space to create and push our art form forward. It’s the old saying if you build it they will come. We built the theater, but the community came and made it great.

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