The Immediate Gratification Players - History

History

The Immediate Gratification Players were founded by Harvard freshmen in the fall of 1986. Unlike the majority of collegiate troupes, the Immediate Gratification Players do not charge for admission to their on-campus shows. Their red-and-yellow striped ties are one of the troupe's hallmarks.

Each year, the Immediate Gratification Players host the Laugh Riot improvisational comedy festival at the American Repertory Theater. The invitational festival, begun in the spring of 1999 and now entering its 14th year, includes many troupes from other colleges, such as Cornell, Wesleyan University, and Columbia University. On the weekend of the annual Harvard-Yale football game, the Immediate Gratification Players either host or travel to a show which also stars an improvisational comedy troupe from Yale. Along with on-campus shows, they frequently play at Boston's Improv Asylum and at comedy clubs in New York City. Beyond the Northeast, the Immediate Gratification Players have played in Florida, Los Angeles, Texas, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, and London.

Apart from a traditional long form, free-form, the Immediate Gratification Players annually perform shows in specialty forms such as the “dinner party” and “radio show” formats. In 2007, they were selected out of the numerous Boston-based improv troupes to star in a several comedy sketches produced by the Boston Globe in its Peter Post etiquette section. In 2010, they were selected to roast Wyclef Jean when he was named Artist of the Year by the Harvard Foundation. Shakira was honored in 2011 as the Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year, and again the Immediate Gratification Players were asked to roast her.