Years active 1986-present | ||
Nationality Claremont, California, United States Genres Improvisational theatre Website | ||
Without a Box is the oldest improvisational comedy group at the Claremont Colleges in Claremont, California. The group performs both short-form and long-form improv and makes frequent use of music in its performances. Without a Box is student run and directed.
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History
Without a Box was created in 1986 by Pitzer College student David Straus, who chose the name because he wanted students to not be limited in the type of art they could express for themselves - whether the art was improv, theater or fine art. At the time David Straus wanted funding to put on a production but the only way to get such funding was to be a Theater Student at Pomona College. He began the improv troupe because it was another way to get funding from the colleges. Once the troupe was created the group not only put on their own shows but with the money they raised they funded other students artistic interests at the five Claremont Colleges. At the time Pitzer did not have a black box theater for performing improv. The group created several fundraisers in 1987, 1988 and 1999 which raised over $25,000 toward building a new theater, but the group eventually decided to give those profits away in grants to student artists. Straus liked the meaning behind the name Without a Box so much, he later created the company Withoutabox, Inc which became the largest community and advocacy for Independent filmmakers worldwide and sold it to IMDb.com, a division of Amazon.com, in 2008.