A Safe and Respectful Community for All

Improv Cincinnati’s highest priority is fostering a fun, inclusive, and welcoming community built on meaningful and supportive relationships. This agreement applies to everyone participating in IC activities, including students, performers, teachers, coaches, staff, and volunteers.

We value the different backgrounds, cultures, identities, experiences, and perspectives within our community. Racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, identity-based slurs, harassment, and other forms of bigotry are not acceptable in scenes, classroom conversations, rehearsals, shows, or other IC activities.

Improv encourages spontaneity, discovery, and creative risk. Mistakes will sometimes happen, but spontaneity is not an excuse for harmful behavior. We ask everyone to act with kindness, consider both intent and impact, remain open to feedback, and take responsibility when their choices cause harm.

If someone tells you that something you said or did was hurtful, listen and try to set aside defensiveness. Depending on the circumstances, an apology and a sincere effort to learn may be appropriate. More serious conduct may require intervention or additional action from IC leadership.

If a serious boundary is crossed during a class, rehearsal, or performance, anyone may pause or interrupt what is happening or seek help from a teacher, coach, host, tech, or member of IC leadership. No one is required to continue a scene that feels unsafe. People who are directly affected should not bear the sole responsibility for addressing harmful behavior.

Personal Boundaries and Consent

Physical contact in classes, rehearsals, and performances should be consensual, appropriate to the activity, non-intimate, and non-lingering. Participants should not sexualize another person or portray sexual contact, harassment, or intimate physical behavior involving them without clear consent.

Teachers and coaches should create opportunities for participants to communicate their physical boundaries, access needs, and preferences. Those boundaries must always be respected. Consent to one interaction does not imply consent to others, and anyone may change or withdraw consent at any time.

Harassment and Misconduct

Sexual harassment, abuse, discrimination, stalking, threats, retaliation, and other conduct that threatens the safety or dignity of our community are prohibited. This may include conduct outside IC activities when it creates a safety concern within the IC community.

Teachers are prohibited from pursuing or having romantic or sexual relationships with students currently enrolled in their classes.

Violations may result in corrective or disciplinary action, up to and including removal from a class, show, team, leadership role, or participation in IC activities. IC will consider the nature, severity, circumstances, and impact of each situation individually.

Reporting Concerns

If you experience or witness harassment, discrimination, a boundary violation, or other behavior that makes you feel unsafe, you may speak with a teacher, coach, or member of IC leadership, or submit a report to our Safety Committee. Reports may be submitted anonymously. Retaliation against anyone who raises a concern or participates in a review is prohibited.