Village Theatre, a leading comedy theatre in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, today announced the opening of its second performance stage to include an additional 70-person theatre. The second stage is located within the Pencil Factory Lofts, home to its original 140-seat theatre. Construction was completed in June for performances during Village Theatre’s 2nd annual Atlanta Improv Festival.

Village Theatre is known for its variety of hilarious improv shows, including Improv A-Hole, Danger! The Show, Casual Friday, and Atlanta Explained. It’s the home of the widely popular shows Ladie’s Night (video sketch) and Underwear Comedy Party (stand-up comedy). Village Theatre also offers improv classes for up and coming actors and comedians in Atlanta. The class program incorporates long form improvisation (as seen in NYC, LA, Chicago) as well as short form improvisation (Whose Line Is It Anyway style). Additional class options will be available as part of the expansion. Village Theatre also hosts corporate training events and shows for all group sizes, both on-site and off-site.   

“We are thrilled to have a larger venue and look forward to hosting additional improv, sketch and stand-up shows on the new stage,” said Mike King, co-owner of Village Theatre.  “This expansion will give us the opportunity to expand our original content created by our casts and also partner with other talented, creative individuals in the city, which is a big win for the expanding comedy community in Atlanta.” 

The Atlanta Improv Festival highlighted several national and local comedy groups, and hosted eight comedy workshops over three days. The festival’s featured headliners included Jack McBrayer (30 Rock, Drunk History), Dave Hill (Reno 911, iO West), Ryan Archibald (Second City), Jean Villepique (Veep) and writer Tami Sagher (MADtv, Inside Amy Schumer). New this year was the Atlanta Improv Festival Cage Match competition, where teams competed for the title of best improv group. Hip Hop Harold was announced this year’s winner. The team also performed at the Del Close Marathon, an annual three-day improv festival in New York founded by Upright Citizens Brigade.

Village Theatre is located at 349 Decatur Street, Atlanta, 30312. For more information, visit www.villagecomedy.com or call 404-688- 8858.