Who Should I Hire to Host My Event? A Guide for Conferences, Galas, and Fundraisers
A great host does more than read a script. They welcome people into the experience, keep the agenda moving, manage transitions, adapt when things change, and help your audience feel like they are in capable hands.
But not every host is right for every event. Here are our tips on how to pick the right person to hold the mic at your conference, gala, or fundraiser.
How People Find Local Events: Lessons from the Sketches of Minnesota Tour
Sketches of Minnesota is a community-inspired civic improv comedy tour created by Danger Boat Productions in partnership with the Minnesota Humanities Center. In 2025, we visited nine locations: Braham, New Ulm, Rochester, Kingfield, Rosemount, Fergus Falls, Bigfork, Fosston, and New York Mills.
We tried a bunch of different marketing methods to draw attendees to these shows. At each event, we placed paper surveys on the tables at our events and asked attendees to fill them out at the end. Here’s what we found.
14 Places to See Improv Comedy in Minnesota
Minnesota is known for its robust theater scene and burgers that ooze cheese. Avoid scalding your mouth and see an improv show instead!
Whether you’re looking for short-form games, experimental long-form, family-friendly comedy, or a late-night show, you’ll find plenty of places to see live improv across the state. There are dozens of venues that host a variety of different live theater or comedy shows, but here are 14 places where you can consistently see improv in Minnesota.
Why Your Healthcare Organization Needs an Improv Workshop
At Danger Boat Productions, we’ve always believed that improv is more than entertainment.
That idea is at the heart of a new research article in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, co-authored by Danger Boat co-founder Tane Danger, who also teaches improv to medical professionals as Artist in Residence at Mayo Clinic’s Dolores Jean Lavins Center for Humanities in Medicine.
The article, “Exploring the Promise of Improvisational Theatre Applications in Health Care,” reviews decades of research starting in 1973 on how improv is being used in healthcare settings. The authors screened 694 sources, reviewed 135 full-text articles, and selected 81 for analysis.
They saved you thousands of pages of reading — and we’re saving you even more by summarizing the article here!
Can comedy help people learn about serious civic issues? Our audience surveys say yes.
For years, The Theater of Public Policy asked a slightly strange question: What if a serious civic conversation and an improv comedy show had a baby, and that baby cared deeply about zoning, taxes, public health, and democracy?
Between 2016 and 2019, we collected 422 audience surveys across 29 shows at the Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis. We wanted to know if our “chocolate-covered broccoli” approach of mixing hard policy with unscripted humor actually worked.
The results were definitive.
12 Places Where You Can Take an Improv Class in the Twin Cities
When we finish an improv workshop, one of the most common questions from attendees is, “Where can I learn more?” While Danger Boat Productions offers workshops that focus on applying improv skills in the workplace and beyond, we don’t offer “Improv 101” classes geared towards performance. That’s why we’ve created this list to serve as a guide where you can learn more about what improv courses are available in Minnesota.
Our Values: How Danger Boat Uses Comedy to Build Connection, Creativity, and Trust
I’ll admit it: early in my career, I didn’t understand the importance of organizational values.
Drafting them took an entire day. An hour might be spent discussing whether you should use “and” vs “or”. Then, once they were finished, they’d go on the website and you’d never see them until the next strategic plan rolled around.
But I’ve come around.
Why is my doctor taking an improv class?
Danger Boat co-founder Tane Danger speaks with "Health Matters" podcast host Kristen Meinzer about his work as an inaugural artist-in-residence at Mayo Clinic, where he uses improv to teach healthcare professionals how to think on their feet, collaborate with team members, and really listen to their patients.
How the Danger Boat Productions and the Humphrey School are Teaching Students to Bridge Political Divides
In a time of rising polarization, the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs is piloting a unique approach to civic education: teaching graduate students the skills of constructive dialogue. Featured recently on PRX’s North Star Stories, the program creates space for students to practice respectful, curiosity-driven conversations across differences.
Connecting Communities Through Improv – Fox 9 Feature
Danger Boat Productions co-founder Tane Danger joined Fox 9’s Afternoon Shift to share how improv builds connection, teaches listening, and transforms tough conversations.