The San Francisco Improv Alliance is a group of actors dedicated to improvisational theater. It started in 2005 with Shaun Landry, artistic director of Oui Be Negroes. The Alliance offers master class workshops and national ensembles, co-production of pre-established ensembles, performance opportunities for upcoming ensembles, staging of self-produced shows, and community outreach in the field of improvisational theatre.
The San Francisco Improv Talent Pool also offers improvisational actors a chance at paying work in the craft of improvisational theater through educational, corporate, film, radio, and television events.
In 2007 the Alliance expanded its community resources to improvisers within San Francisco, CA. They provided improvisers for The San Francisco Family Festival and Public Service Announcements for The Department of Public Health. The Alliance also booked improvisers for Major League Baseball.
Similarly, the Improv Alliance produced The San Francisco Improv Festival (SFIF). Beginning in 2003 (with improviser Sam Shaw), the SFIF has had thousands of members attend improvisational theater and enroll in master classes with teachers such as Mick Napier, David Razowsky, and Ian Roberts. It is one of the few improvisational Theater Festivals that pays its ensembles to perform. Starting as a 12-week event, The festival now [when?] runs over seven weeks, making it still "The longest Running Improv Festival in the Country".
Sam Shaw left the San Francisco Improv Festival in June 2005 giving all rights and entities to the business of The San Francisco Improv Festival (SFIF) to Landry. In 2007, Clay Robeson and Hans Summers became Associate Producers along with Ms. Landry.