Improv Classes for Adults at Vivid Stage
(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage, in residence at Oakes Center, is enrolling its late spring session of improv classes for adults. This session runs May 4 through June 29, 2026. Classes offered this session include the Joy of Improv introductory class, the advanced Scene Essentials and the Improv Production Lab. The Open Improv Jam for all levels is on April 29.
The Flip Side improv classes are an enjoyable way to build public speaking skills, shake off stress, meet new people, or just have some great laughs. They provide a welcoming space to play, explore, and grow. Vivid Stage’s classes are taught by professional improvisers in a supportive, low-pressure environment that offers an on-ramp to improv, no matter what the student’s prior experience. Program Director Dave Maulbeck will teach all classes.
The Open Improv Jam is April 29 from 7:30pm-9:30pm, and can be attended as a participant or as a spectator. Like an open mic night for improv, their improv jams offer an opportunity for students and friends to perform in a casual, supportive environment.
The Joy of Improv provides students an introduction to the foundational skills of improv comedy. Begin your improv journey here and unlock creativity, confidence, and joy in every part of your life. The Joy of Improv class begins on May 4, and continues on Monday evenings from 7:30pm-9:30pm for eight weeks.
Scene Essentials helps students to dig into emotional honesty, character point of view, and relationship-driven scenes that crackle with truth—and yes, comedy. They’ll explore tools like status, vulnerability, genre, absurd logic, and emotional truth. Scene Essentials begins on May 9, and continues on Saturday afternoons from 1:00pm-3:00pm for four weeks.
Improv Production Lab is an advanced workshop designed for improvisers who want to learn how to produce a unique improv show. This lab combines hosting, producing, directing, and performance into a single, hands-on experience. Students can combine the Host/Producer four-week track with the four-week Performance track, or can sign up for one or the other track only. Improv Production Lab begins on May 6, runs Wednesday nights 7:30pm-9:30pm, and culminates in a performance on July 1.
Dave Maulbeck is a veteran improv performer and teacher with over two decades of experience. He has trained with some of the most respected names in the industry, including Armando Diaz, Rachel Hamilton, and the late Gary Austin, founder of The Groundlings. With a deep love for the art of spontaneous storytelling, Dave brings a warm, supportive, and high-energy approach to the classroom. His teaching emphasizes connection, authenticity, and fearless play, helping students unlock their unique voices and grow both onstage and off.
As an actor, Dave has appeared on Law & Order: SVU, The Flight Attendant, and in numerous independent films. He was a proud member of the long-running Magnet Theater house teams Featherweight and Chet Watkins, and is the co-founder of Vivid Stage's flagship Improv team - The Flip Side, where he also serves as Director of Improv.
Registration information is available here. Classes will be held at the Oakes Center, 120 Morris Avenue in Summit. The venue is wheelchair accessible.
Vivid Stage was founded in 1994 as Dreamcatcher Rep, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Their work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. They expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. They deepen the experience of all their patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs.
The company’s activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings, works in a variety of media, and a menu of educational and senior outreach programs.
Vivid Stage’s programs are funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, the Shubert and Summit Foundations and many other corporations, foundations and individuals. Vivid Stage is an Equity Producing member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
Vivid Stage, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
