We make stuff up. Shows, classes, training programs, all sorts of stuff.
The Mop & Bucket Co. (MopCo) is the Capital District's premiere improvisational theatre company. The company has been in existence in its present form since 2005.
MopCo is a resident company at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, NY. The company performs, teaches, and trains at venues around the region, as well as nationally and internationally. We provide corporate entertainment, shows for private parties, school shows and inservices, and special event talent. We also host regular classes and special master classes in improv technique.
Mission Statement
Live performance fills a central, universal need of humankind. This need cannot be met by passive reception of electronic or virtual paths, but must be experienced with all five senses. MopCo believes that the best theatre comes out of an active collaboration between performer and audience. We constantly expand, refine, and redefine our own concept of what improvisation in performance is. This is because the company acts on the assumption that that which is unchanging is probably dead, and will therefore begin to stink soon, if it doesn’t already.
The company uses improvisation as a direct form of entertainment in performance; as a developmental tool that helps individuals in their own personal development, and as an interactive training tool for businesses and nonprofits.
What’s a Mopco Show Like?
Chortle Kombat Master Improvisors face off in a no-holds-barred duel to the finish, aided by the ensemble and the infamous STELLA, the WHEEL OF ENDOWMENTS!
Theatresports (tm) combines all the fun and creativity of improv with the excitement of a sporting event. Teams of improvisers compete for your approval by making up scenes, songs and stories based on your suggestions. The winner gets $700 Billion or a funky trophy, whichever taxes the American Public less. Don't miss this highly-acclaimed world-wide improv phenomenon. Theatresports(tm) was created by Keith Johnstone, all rights reserved.
Spontaneous Broadway (registered service mark) Created by Kat Koppett in association with Freestyle Repertory Theatre in New York, Spontaneous Broadway is a virtouso evening of musical improv. The audience submits titles of "songs that have never been written". In a fictional "backer's audition", these titles inspire improvised songs in act one. In act two, the audience's favorite song serves as the basis of an entire (45 minute) Broadway musical, complete with costumes and set. The format received a rave review * from The New York Times when it premiered in New York in 1995. You ain’t seen nuttin’ like it, folks! *login required, free membership to NYTimes.co.
Tapestry You the audience help us create epic stories on the spot, based on your characters, plot twists, favorite styles, and pet peeves. David Shepherd, founder of Chicago's Compass Theatre and the inventor of The Improv Olympic, said: "The thing that stands out most vividly in my mind is the way members of MopCo lit up, one after another, during performances. It was as if a switch was being handled...a sign of a great ensemble!" An Evening with the Mop & Bucket Co. A sparkling evening of short-form stories, songs, and games, using audience input and involvement.
