Railway City Improv

Railway City Improv Railway City Improv was started in late 2017 to help teens struggling with anxiety. Reach out to learn more.

Since then our courses have expanded to include adults improv courses, corporate team building, and events organization and entertainment. My name is Bryan Bakker and I started Railway City Improv because I discovered first hand how powerful Improv can be to help teens come out of their shell. Both my daughters have learned powerful new coping skills they can use for the rest of their lives to succeed and thrive.

07/18/2026

Whose line Is it Anyway?

07/11/2026

No script could contain him. No director could predict him. Robin Williams was improvisation incarnate.
This miniature history takes you through Robin's explosive journey—from being rejected at Juilliard for his comedic improvisation, to dominating San Francisco's comedy clubs, to his iconic role as Mork where directors simply let the cameras roll. Watch how the Comedy Store legend, Jonathan Winters devotee, and spiritual Monty Python member turned every performance into a one-of-a-kind experience.
Robin Williams made improvisation an Olympic sport. This is his story.
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07/04/2026

London, 1717. Theatre was stuffy, serious, and desperately boring—until John Rich strapped on a diamond-patterned costume, grabbed a wooden bat, and changed comedy forever.
This is the ridiculous true story of the Harlequinade: the 18th-century theatrical phenomenon where a silent acrobatic magician named Harlequin (played by Rich under the stage name "Lun") used a magical wooden bat to whack scenery panels, instantly transforming gardens into palaces and cottages into dragon lairs.
The plot was always the same: lovers Harlequin and Columbine fleeing her angry father Pantaloon and his bumbling servant Clown through increasingly chaotic chase scenes filled with mime, music, and pure physical mayhem.
That wooden bat wasn't just a prop—it was a technical marvel with hinged flaps that changed sets instantly. It also had a name: the slapstick. One prop literally named an entire genre of comedy.
Rich's Harlequinades dominated London theatre for over 100 years and made enough money to build Covent Garden Theatre in 1732. The last Harlequinade was performed in 1939, but its legacy lives on every time someone slips on a banana peel or gets hit with a pie.
Welcome to the birth of physical comedy—told in glorious tilt-shift miniature style. Because nothing says "serious historical documentary" like tiny Georgian theatregoers watching a tiny Harlequin invent slapstick. 🎭✨

06/27/2026

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06/20/2026

Ever wonder if Monty Python members appeared on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" You're not alone in this confusion! 🎭
This video explores one of comedy history's most common misconceptions - the belief that Python legends graced the improv stage of Whose Line. Spoiler: they never did! But the story of WHY fans think this happened reveals the fascinating connection between British absurdist comedy and American improv.
From the BBC studios of the 1970s to modern comedy clubs, discover how Monty Python's anarchic sketches and improv's spontaneous genius created the comedy landscape we love today - even if they never actually shared a stage!

06/13/2026

In 1976, John Cleese co-founded the Secret Policeman's Ball—a series of benefit shows for Amnesty International that would forever change British comedy. This rare convergence brought together Monty Python's scripted genius with the rising stars of improvisational comedy.
Backstage at Her Majesty's Theatre, two generations collided: the Pythons (Cleese, Palin, Jones) shared green rooms with Billy Connolly, Rowan Atkinson, and Stephen Fry—comedians who would define improv's future.
The pivotal moment came during a live performance when John Cleese—known for meticulously scripted sketches—stepped on stage with Peter Cook, a master of spontaneous wit. Cook's unpredictable style forced Cleese into uncharted territory, creating a historic bridge between scripted and improvisational comedy.
Filmed and broadcast worldwide, these performances didn't just raise money for human rights—they inspired an entire generation of improvisers, proving that comedy could evolve while staying true to its purpose.
This is the story of how one benefit show united comedy's past and future.

06/06/2026

In 1618, a crooked-nosed puppet named Pulcinella hit the streets of Naples—and changed comedy forever. Armed with a wooden paddle called the batacchio, this violent, crude, anarchic character beat everyone on stage: wives, babies, authority figures. Audiences couldn't get enough.
By 1662, Pulcinella sailed to England and became Mr. Punch, the infamous star of Punch and Judy shows. The violence got darker, the humor more shocking—but the crowds kept roaring.
Was it tasteful? Absolutely not. But Pulcinella's chaotic slapstick cracked open the door for every wild joke that followed: Monty Python, absurdist theater, and the "crazy" humor we love today.
This is the untold story of how Renaissance street theater's most unhinged character laid the groundwork for modern comedy.

05/30/2026

How a 1920s psychiatrist's radical theater experiment became today's billion-dollar empathy training industry.
In 1920s Vienna, psychiatrist Jacob Moreno had a wild idea: what if people literally acted out each other's problems? He called it psychodrama, and it was revolutionary. Role reversal became his signature move—switch positions, embody the other person, feel their reality. Turns out, pretending to be someone else actually builds empathy.
By the 1960s, theater nerds discovered exercises like "Pass the Face"—transmitting emotions through silly expressions without words. Communication training disguised as playground games. Fast forward to today, and corporations pay thousands for these exact same exercises, now rebranded as "non-verbal communication training" and "empathy development workshops."
Making weird faces at coworkers and role-playing conflicts is now considered professional development. Jacob Moreno's theatrical psychology experiment became a corporate training staple. He'd probably be confused and proud.

Don't wait for "the spark." Create it through Active Presence. Being fully in the moment with another person is the rare...
05/27/2026

Don't wait for "the spark." Create it through Active Presence. Being fully in the moment with another person is the rarest gift you can give in 2026. 🎁

Replacing "No, because" with "Yes, and" doesn't mean agreeing; it means validating your partner's reality before adding ...
05/20/2026

Replacing "No, because" with "Yes, and" doesn't mean agreeing; it means validating your partner's reality before adding your own. 🤝

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London, ON

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 9pm
Wednesday 9am - 9pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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+15198518614

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