Mercury Improv offers beginning improv classes for people who think it sounds like fun but who aren’t necessarily interested in getting onstage and playing shows. The goal of every Mercury Improv class is to create a friendly, relaxed space where students feel unconditionally supported.
Everyone is welcome in Mercury Improv classes as long as they’re willing to not be a jerk. (100 percent success rate so far, good job everybody.)
John Ratliff is Mercury Improv’s founder and principal teacher. He’s been teaching improv in Austin for more than 15 years, including at ColdTowne Theater (where he was twice voted Best Teacher) and at Austin Community College, where he’s an instructor at The Actor’s School.
His favorite things include listening to music that sounds like broken air conditioners and hanging out with his cat, Viola. His least favorite things include writing about himself in the third person.