Find out why organizations like Intel, Google, Twitter, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Carl Zeiss, Harvard, MIT, and Nokia have all tapped into IA Innovation’s unique and effective training approach to help them continue to be leaders in their space. Now, what can we do for your team? Let us know by contacting bob@iainnovation.com.
welcome to improv asylum
This is Norm b ' b He's the guy that talks
He’s an entrepreneur, performer, and director who’s been producing live events, sketch comedy, and improv theatre for over 25 years. He’s the Founder and CEO of Improv Asylum and Asylum NYC . He’s the co-founder of Laugh Boston , in Boston's Seaport District and the Lil Chuck in Boston’s Theater District. Norm is also the author of the best-selling The Art of Making Sh!t Up: Using the Principles of Improv to Become an Unstoppable Powerhouse by Wiley Publishing.
Each night our cast of super-talented improv performers command the spotlight with sketches and improv sets created with the help of a rowdy audience. Guaranteed to produce a new show every time, audience participation creates the vibe that drives the action on stage, with unexpected and hilarious results. You’ll be blown away by what thousands of hours of professional training combined with a lifetime of crap day jobs have done to these guys. They’ll say and do just about anything to hear just four words at the end of the show. Improv Asylum Shows
Sh*t! That was funny!
Exclusive Private Events
It is your venue! Your room! You tell us what you want to do. From memorable holiday parties to VIP Corporate branding events, we offer it all! Add a customized show featuring our hilariously talented cast or an incredible and funny line up of Stand Up comedy to make it a night to remember. Our venues, Improv Asylum and Laugh Boston, both have great bars so we can deliver the full package, including snacks and/or full-service catering if you wish. No charge for creativity, raw talent and endless fun! Contact:
Sales and Events events@improvasylum.com
Customized Private Shows Laugh with and strengthen that bond with your team as you enjoy Boston’s best Improvisers acting out your inside jokes, familiar characters and corporate “secrets” on stage! You supply the material, we supply the funny! Our show features 4-6 actors, a musician, and a technician. In addition to the specific customization, the actors will also bring volunteers up on stage, ask the audience for suggestions for their scenes, and interview someone you select and then reenact their life in a fun and comfortable way on stage. We can provide our hilarious brand of customized comedy at either Improv Asylum or Laugh Boston, or we can bring the fun directly to you! it’s your show!
Sales and Events events@improvasylum.com Contact:
Asylum Productions Entertainment Is Our Biz. Let’s Work Together.
FULL PRODUCTION/CREW DIRECTING ALL CREATIVE/SCRIPTING CASTING/TALENT EVENT DEVELOPMENT & SUPPORT We have a full production staff in-house, so we can literally develop and produce anything for you. Let’s make something awesome together! We’ve worked with tons of clients to create everything from live shows and flash mobs, to full-service high-quality advertising campaigns.
Asylum Productions productions@improvasylum.com Contact:
Corporate Team Building
Learning to think on your feet starts with knowing how to listen. Our innovative, tested, and impactful approach to interactive training employs a whole slew of techniques that foster active listening. Ideas move forward instead of being shot down or restated over and over again because nobody is picking up on a concept. Keeping a thread alive on stage is no different from developing corporate strategy or pursuing innovation. So, let us help. Our Team Building program brings the art of improv to the corporate world in a way that makes learning to listen, collaborate, and create both engaging and fun. Picking up a few improv skills will help your team members work together more effectively, bolster their confidence, and help them process complex information quickly. It’s a new approach to an age-old problem – and it works (did we mention it’s FUN too!) We can’t teach your people to be funny, but we can help them develop the skills that have made us able to think on our feet, collaborate on a project, refine ideas and produce effective results.
Asylum Team Building training@improvasylum.com Contact:
iainnovation.com
Accenture Alaska Air American Student Assistance Arnold Worldwide Athena Health Avalon Bay Babson College BAE Systems Bain & Co. Bank of America Biogen Idec Booz Allen
Boston Celtics Boston College Boston Duck Tours
Boston Medical Center Boston Public Schools Boston Red Sox Boston University Boston University School of Management Brandeis University Bristol-Meyers Squibb Carl Zeiss Charles River Associates Children’s Hospital Choate Hall & Stewart Chubb Citizen’s Bank
Take a look at some of the f AND YOU
Coca Cola Constant Contact Continuum Converse Curry College Dana Farber Darling Consulting Group The David Project Dellaria Salons Deloitte Delta Airlines
Dunkin Donuts Dunkin Brands Eastern Bank Eli Lilly EMC2 EMD Millipore
EMD Serono Exact Target Experian QAS Facebook Fidelity FirstBlood Fleet Center Flo Design Wind Turbine Forrester Research GameStop
General Electric Genzyme Gillette Glaxo Smith Kline Globoforce Goodwin Procter Google
Portsmouth Abbey School Prudential Putnam Investments PwC Radio Shack Rapid7 Raytheon Red Bull Roger Williams University SAIC Saint Gobain Sales Force Sanofi Sanofi Genzyme Sapient Shawmut Design SilverLink Simmons College Sloan Smuggler’s Notch Speechwork International Staples Starwood Resorts State Street Bank State Street Global Advisors
Greenburg Traurig Guinness Imports Hanover Insurance Harvard Business School Harvard JFK School of Government Harvard School of Law Harvard University
Heineken HubSpot IDX Corporation Imagitas Intel Intercontinental Hotel Intergen Intuit Jaegermeister SA John Hancock Kaiser Permanente Kind Snacks LinkedIn Lockheed Martin
Stonehill College Storage Networks Sun Life
LoJack Mass College of Pharmacy Mass Mutual Thompson Financial Treetop Technologies Twitter Unilever United Way United States Bankruptcy Court United States District Court Verizon Vertex Web Summit Dublin and UK Welch’s Foods Wellesley College Wentworth Institute of Technology WestJet WGBH Wheelock College William Fry WilliamsMarston Winter Wyman Worcester Polytechnic Institute Wyeth Bio Pharma YMCA of Greater Boston folks we have worked with. Massachusetts Bar Association Massachusetts General Hospital McDonalds Merck Research Laboratories Millenium Millipore MIT Engineering Leadership MIT Global Education and Career Development MIT Laboratory of Multi Scale Regenerative Technologies MIT Medical MIT Residential Life Mohegan Sun Needham Public Schools Nokia Northeastern University Novartis Nuance Communications Oxfam Partners Health Care PayPal Philip’s Health Care Telefluent Teradyne Textron Thermo Fischer Scientific
Philip’s Lighting Phoenix Group Plymouth State University
Partial C
3 Ways ABIOMED Inc. ACCESS Boston ACG Acquia AFLAC Akamai Technologies All Terrain Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity, Inc. Alzheimer’s Association
Atlantic Consulting Avalon Bay Communities, Inc.
Camp Lavi Caring for Cur CASA Boston Catholic Seal Foundation CBIZ Tofias CBRE New England
Babson College Bad Habits LTD BayState Financial Belmont Savings Bank Berkshire Group Between the Lines Productions, Inc. Blue Cross Blue Shield BlueConic Boston College Boston Consulting Group Boston Duck Tours Boston Floyd Boston Medical Center Boston New Technology Boston Police Department Boston Public Schools Boston University Boston VR Boston Women in Media & Entertainment BottomLine Technologies Bourne’s Auto Center Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston Bridgehead Software
Central Catholic High School Charles River Development CiBo Technologies Cisbio Cisco Systems City Winery Cleartelligence Inc. CloudHealth Technologies CloudLock Colorado Boxed Beef Company Columbia Management Community Call Corporate Challenge Conception Events Converse Cook Medical Corinthian Events CPF Productions Creative and Coordinate Events Creative Office Pavilion Crestwood County Day School CSI DMC Cumberland Farms Dana Farber Children’s Hospital Cancer Center Dana Hall School
American Academy of Periodontology American Veterinary Medical Association America’s Test Kitchen
Amherst College Analog Devices Analysis Group
Apperian Apple Inc. Ariad Pharmaceuticals Arisia Arlington Catholic High School Associated Home Care
Association For Corporate Growth Boston Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors Association of Fundraising Professionals Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America Athena Health
Bridgewater State University Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Brodeur Bullhorn C3 Gather / Demandware
Client List
Daniel Lewis Daniel Webster College DataDog Davies Murphy Group Inc. Deloitte Dental Partners of Boston Diabetes Hands Foundation Digital Guardian Digital Realty Trust Inc DNANexus Domino’s Pizza DPI Events Dunkin’ Brands Duxbury Education Foundation Ejembi Adakole Choreography Eliassen Group EMD Serono Entertainment Cruises eRecruit Ernst & Young ESIS Inc Evanta Inc. Experian Marketing Services EY - Parthenon Fidelity Investments FinePoint Capital Fisher College Forrester Research Framingham State University Franchise Direct
Freeport High School FreshAddress FreshBooks Friends of Holyoke Public Schools Gillette Gimme Live (Harmon-Marino) Global Partner Marketing / Red Hat GoAbroad.com Good Samaritan Medical Center Grand Circle Corporation Grant Thorton Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Greater Boston Concierge Association Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau Greater Boston Urology Greenwich Academy Grub Street Hanover Insurance Harmonix Harvard Business School Harvard Business School / Executive Education Harvard Center for Education Policy Research HealthcareSource Heidra for Heroes, Inc. Hello Stranger Creative HELP Conference Henry B. Burkland Elementary School
Hitachi Data Systems Holderness School Holy Trinity Armenian Church HP Hood Hubspot Inc. Hult International Business School Human Rights Campaign IBM ICF International Inc. IEEE IFP Productions Illinois Education Association In Sync Center for the Arts Infinidat Ingenico Mobile Solutions Institute of Contemporary Art Integro Insurance Brokers
Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation International Council of Shopping Centers International Facility Management Association International Live Events Society Intrepid Travel iRobot Corporation Iron Mountain Jack Conway & Company, Inc. Jack Morton Jeremiah Program Jewish Big Brother & Big Sister Association Jewish Community Center Greater Boston
John Paul II High School Josh Michel’s Magic the Gathering Show Kaon Interactive Kapow Events Kelly Brush Foundation KIC Ventures KIPP Foundation Klaviyo Knect365 Knowledge Exchange KOBO Utility Construction Corp Kor Group KPMG Kraft Foods Kyriba Lasell College Lattice Engines Leading Age Kansas LeadIQ LEK Consulting Levy Restaurants Liberty Mutual Insurance Littleton High School Lloyd Animal Medical Center Localytics
Marblehead Lighthouse School March of Dimes Marguiles Perruzzi Architects Maritz Travel MarketingProfs Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Massachusetts Eye & Ear Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mass Bio Mass Challenge MassMutual: Insurance and Financial Services Menauhant Yacht Club Merrimack College Microsoft Corporation Mimecast Mizuno Corporation MNI Targeted Media Inc. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP Motorcycles of Manchester Muscular Dystophy Association National Funeral Directors Association National Telecommuting Institute NaviNet NBC Universal NEAD Ned Davis Research, Inc. New England Quality Care Alliance Newbury College NFP Health NGAM Advisors, LP Nike Nobles and Greenough School
North East Association of Occupational Health Nurses North End Against Drugs North End Music & Performing Arts Center Northeast Acquirers Association Northeast Roofing Contractor Association Northeastern University Novetta Solutions LLC Ocean Spray O’Connor & Drew P.C. Octagon
OHO Interactive Opening Acts, LLC OpenView Venture Partners Paint Nite Patheon Inc Patron Spirits Paytronix PC Connection Inc Personal Care Products Council Pixability Playcrafting Preston Productions
Proctor & Gamble Proctor Academy PTC
Lowell Catholic High School Lumenpulse Lighting Inc. Lydore Music Network Lynch Elementary Lynnfield High School Magento Magnetude Consulting Manganaro Northeast
PUMA North America PurePartner by Design PWC Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Racepoint Global Rafanelli Events Raphael and Raphael LLP Red Hat Software
Red Thread Regis College RoadWerx
StudentCity Suffolk University Suffolk University Alumni Association Tabor Academy Takeda Pharmaceutical Company TD Bank N.A. TechTarget Terminus Software The Ad Club The Advent School The Boston Globe The Bridge Center The Creative Group The Commitee to Elect Mayor Walsh The Garage Group The Ready Group The Relaxation Retirement Coach The Seneca Inc The TJX Companies Inc. The Winsor School Thermo Fisher Scientific Tiger Group Tiny Build Games Toast Tokai Pharmaceuticals Torah Academy of Bergen County TraceLink Inc. Triton Regional High School Triumph Modular TrueMotion Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance Tuft’s Health
University of Edinburgh University of Illinois University of Massachusetts Lowell Uxbridge High School V2 Communications Vertec Corp Vertex Pharmaceuticals Vicarious Surgical Virgin Pulse VOX Productions Wahconah Regional High School Walker Stalker Con War Gaming
Rooftop Comedy Ropes & Gray LLP S2 Games SAG-AFTRA
Saint-Gobain Salem State Sales Hacker Sales Talent Partners Salon Direct Salsify Sanofi Genzyme
We The Internet Weber Shandwick WEEI Wells Fargo Wells Middle School
Saphire Event Group Scituate High School Seaport Hotel Sea-Trek Enterprises Inc Seekonk High School Service Corporation International Shaser Bioscience SharkNinja Signature Boston
Wentworth Institute of Technology Western New England University Western Waterfront WestJet Winchester Field Development Council WJL Consulting Women’s Presidents’ Organization WorkBridge Associates Writer Access Xperience Creative Yankee Dental Congress Yesware Young Travel Professionals Young Presidents’ Organization Zipcar Zoho
SilverRail Technologies Singularity University SiriusXM SirsiDynix Ski NH SMILE Mass
South Kingston High School Southbridge Public Schools Spark Capital Stanton Chase Starwood Hotels & Resorts
U.S. Green Building Council University of Connecticut
Nobody knows anything. The longer my career continues, the more I am certain of this. People think they know shit. They have ideas about things. They have thoughts and theories, hypotheses, and past studies. Yet the more things I do and the longer I do them, I have come to discover that most everybody is making shit up on the fly. And that is a good thing. No longer do you have to feel that creating something is the domain of chosen virtuosos who have either been tapped by the gods or spent all of their time studying in their chosen field with the most eminent teachers available to them. If you have access to either of those things, then good for you. For the rest of us, sucking is the first step to greatness. Or at least mediocrity. Mediocrity leads to proficiency, proficiency leads to mastery, and mastery leads to excellence. It is heartening to know that the best of the best sucked at one point. Become an Unstoppable Powerhouse This is Norm Laviolette’s Magnum Opus, published in 2019 by Wiley. It contains the best advice he could come up with after 20+ years in the business, but it won’t teach you how to become an improv star. Instead, Norm demonstrates how the skills of improv can be used in business to build teams, move ideas forward and achieve innovative results. If you're looking for motivation, here's Norm's pep talk:
improvasylum.com 216 HANOVER ST | BOSTON | 617.263.6887
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