Wing-It Productions

Wing-It Productions is a Seattle, Washington-based nonprofit performing-arts organization associated most closely with Jet City Improv, an improvisational-theater troupe founded in 1992 by Mike Christensen and Andrew McMasters. The company was formed in December 1994 to assume production and administrative responsibility for Jet City Improv's activities, giving the troupe a dedicated organizational structure for presenting shows, managing venues, developing formats, and supporting education and community programming. The organization emerged from Seattle's independent theater scene during a period when Jet City Improv was building a regular audience. After debuting with a free performance at Second Story Studios in March 1992, the troupe developed recurring Friday-night performances, first at the Northwest Actors Studio and later at the Belltown Theater Center. Wing-It Productions' creation enabled the work to be managed as an ongoing nonprofit theater operation rather than solely as a performance collective. Through Jet City Improv, Wing-It Productions became connected with a broad range of improvisational formats. The troupe introduced its first improvised long-form production, The Lost Folio, in 2002, and later developed recurring programs including Twisted Flicks, a format built around live improvised performance alongside a film. The organization also supported the Seattle Festival of Improv Theater, helping establish Seattle as a venue for local, national, and international improvisational-theater exchange. A major phase of the company's history centered on the former Paradox Theater. In 2003, the organization took over the lease on the building and renamed it the Historic University Theater. The venue became Jet City Improv's principal home for almost two decades and provided space for performances, rehearsals, and related activities. Its long-term use gave Wing-It Productions a stable base from which to build a regular season and refine its artistic identity. The organization faced significant disruption after the building housing the Historic University Theater was sold in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic then forced the suspension of in-person performances in 2020, and the company vacated the building soon afterward. The former theater was subsequently destroyed by fire after the organization had moved out. Rather than ending its programming, Wing-It Productions shifted to a multi-venue operating model, with performances moving to University Heights Center in Seattle's University District and West of Lenin Theater in Fremont. In its post-venue transition, the organization expanded its use of partner spaces and continued presenting a full season of improvisational theater. The newer arrangement also provided opportunities for additional rehearsal and classroom space and collaboration with other arts organizations. Wing-It Productions' core role therefore extends beyond presenting individual shows: it functions as the nonprofit production and organizational infrastructure supporting Jet City Improv, improvisational theater education, festival activity, and related Seattle arts programming. Available reference material does not establish a separate commercial product portfolio, a corporate parent, public listing, or a current roster of named executives.

Wing-It Productions was established in Seattle in December 1994 by Mike Christensen and Andrew McMasters. Its formation followed the creation of Jet City Improv, which Christensen and McMasters had founded in 1992. Jet City Improv began with a free performance on March 18, 1992, at Second Story Studios and then developed a regular Friday-night schedule at the Northwest Actors Studio in July 1993. The troupe moved to the Belltown Theater Center in October 1994, shortly before Wing-It Productions was created to provide a formal production and administrative organization for its activities. The company’s early purpose was closely tied to the practical needs of a recurring improvisational-theater troupe: presenting performances, organizing venues, coordinating artists, and building a sustainable institutional base. In 1997, Jet City Improv moved its performances to the Ethnic Cultural Theater on the University of Washington campus. The troupe continued to expand its artistic range, premiering its first improvised long-form production, The Lost Folio, in 2002. A defining development came in 2003, when Wing-It Productions took over the lease of the former Paradox Theater. The organization renamed the site the Historic University Theater, which served as Jet City Improv’s primary home for nearly two decades. The venue allowed the company to maintain a consistent performance schedule and develop recurring formats, including Twisted Flicks. It also became associated with the Seattle Festival of Improv Theater, an event that supported the exchange of improvisational performance and training. The organization’s venue-based model was disrupted when the building containing the Historic University Theater was sold to new owners in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic caused an additional interruption, forcing the suspension of in-person performances in 2020. Wing-It Productions vacated the building soon afterward; the former theater was later destroyed in a fire after the organization had departed. Following the closure, Wing-It Productions reorganized its presentation model around multiple venues rather than a single permanent theater. Jet City Improv performances moved to University Heights Center in Seattle’s University District and West of Lenin Theater in Fremont. The change enabled the organization to continue producing a full season while expanding access to rehearsal and classroom facilities and building partnerships with other arts organizations. The available reference material presents Wing-It Productions primarily as the nonprofit producer and organizational home for Jet City Improv and associated programming. It does not document a separate consumer-product brand, public-company ownership, stock-market listing, or a complete current leadership roster. Its historical identity is therefore best understood through Seattle improvisational theater: a nonprofit arts organization that grew from one troupe into a broader platform for live performance, festivals, education, and community participation.

• 2020

  In-person performances are suspended

  [1]Jet City Improven.wikipedia.org

  The COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person Jet City Improv performances, followed by the organization’s departure from the Historic University Theater.

• 2019

  Historic venue changes ownership

  [1]Jet City Improven.wikipedia.org

  The building containing the Historic University Theater was sold to new owners.

• 2003

  Historic University Theater becomes the company’s principal home

  [1]Jet City Improven.wikipedia.org

  Wing-It Productions took over the former Paradox Theater lease and renamed the venue the Historic University Theater.

• 2002

  The Lost Folio premieres

  [1]Jet City Improven.wikipedia.org

  Jet City Improv presented its first improvised long-form production, The Lost Folio.

• 1997

  Performances move to the Ethnic Cultural Theater

  [1]Jet City Improven.wikipedia.org

  Jet City Improv relocated its performances to the Ethnic Cultural Theater on the University of Washington campus.

• 1994

  Wing-It Productions is established

  [1]Jet City Improven.wikipedia.org

  Christensen and McMasters formed Wing-It Productions in December to take responsibility for producing Jet City Improv’s activities.

• 1992

  Jet City Improv is founded

  [1]Jet City Improven.wikipedia.org

  Mike Christensen and Andrew McMasters founded Jet City Improv in Seattle, creating the performance organization that Wing-It Productions would later produce.

• Programming shifts to a multi-venue model

  [1]Jet City Improven.wikipedia.org

  After leaving its longtime venue, the organization continued performances at University Heights Center and West of Lenin Theater in Seattle.

A Seattle nonprofit arts producer focused on improvisational theater, artist development, education, festivals, and community-oriented live performance.

• Improvisational theater troupe and performance program · 1992

  Jet City Improv

  Jet City Improv is the principal performance organization produced and operated by Wing-It Productions. Founded in Seattle in 1992, it presents unscripted theater built from audience suggestions and performer collaboration. Its programming has included recurring shows, long-form work, special formats, festivals, and educational activity. The troupe’s changing venues reflect Wing-It Productions’ broader role as a nonprofit arts producer rather than a single-site theater operator.

• Improvisational theater format

  Twisted Flicks

  Twisted Flicks is a Jet City Improv performance format associated with Wing-It Productions. It combines a film screening with live improvised performance, allowing actors to respond to and reinterpret the on-screen material in real time. The format illustrates the company’s emphasis on repeatable, audience-centered concepts that extend beyond conventional short-form improv.

• Long-form improvisational theater production · 2002

  The Lost Folio

  The Lost Folio was Jet City Improv’s first improvised long-form production, premiering in 2002. Its development marked an expansion from shorter recurring improv formats toward more sustained theatrical structures and demonstrated the troupe’s interest in treating improvisation as a complete performance form rather than only a sequence of brief games.

• Improvisational theater festival

  Seattle Festival of Improv Theater

  The Seattle Festival of Improv Theater is an event associated with Jet City Improv and Wing-It Productions. It provides a platform for improvisational performances and supports connections among Seattle artists, visiting performers, and the wider improv community. The reference material does not specify a complete run of festival editions or its current schedule.

• Seattle Festival of Improv Theater

  Seattle · United States

  Wing-It Productions supported the Seattle Festival of Improv Theater as part of its broader programming around live improvisation and community exchange.

  Outcome. The festival became an associated platform for improvisational performances and arts-community participation; the available material does not establish a definitive end date or current format.

  Source

• 2003

  Establish the Historic University Theater as a long-term homeStrategy

  Background

  Jet City Improv had performed at several Seattle venues since its founding and needed a stable base for continuing performances and related activities.

  Action taken

  Wing-It Productions took over the lease of the former Paradox Theater and renamed it the Historic University Theater.

  Aftermath

  The venue served as Jet City Improv’s principal home for nearly two decades and supported the development of recurring formats and festival programming.

  Source

• 1994

  Create a dedicated nonprofit production organizationStrategy

  Background

  Jet City Improv had developed from an initial 1992 performance into a recurring Seattle theater program requiring ongoing production and administrative support.

  Action taken

  Mike Christensen and Andrew McMasters founded Wing-It Productions to take responsibility for Jet City Improv’s activities.

  Aftermath

  The organization became the institutional producer associated with Jet City Improv and its related theater, festival, and educational programming.

  Source

• Adopt a multi-venue operating modelStrategy

  Background

  The organization lost access to the Historic University Theater after the building’s sale, the pandemic suspension of in-person performances, and its subsequent departure from the site.

  Action taken

  Wing-It Productions relocated performances to University Heights Center and West of Lenin Theater in Seattle and continued operating across multiple partner venues.

  Aftermath

  The multi-venue model allowed the company to continue a full season while adding rehearsal and classroom capacity and developing partnerships with other arts organizations.

  Source

1. 1Jet City Improven.wikipedia.org