The Mop and Bucket Co.

About The Mop & Bucket Company:
The Mop & Bucket Co. (MopCo) is the Capital District's premiere improvisational theatre company. The company has been in existence in its present form since 2005. MopCo is a resident company at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, NY. The company performs, teaches, and trains at venues around the region, as well as nationally and internationally.

They are a perennial favorite of Saratoga First Night audiences, where their shows have been standing room only for three years in a row. Local audiences may also have caught the company at Steamer 10 (Albany), the Arts Center (Troy), The Caffe Lena (Saratoga,) or the Wood Theatre (Glens Falls.) They have also appeared at the Edwards Opera House, and at private corporate events as far away as Orlando Florida.

MopCo presents several formats that have one thing in common: Each MopCo show is completely improvised. That's right: This isn't "sketch comedy", or a show "developed from improvisation"—MopCo works with the audience to craft a one-time only show that is as fleeting as the moment, and fresh as the dew.

Audience participation is a big part of a MopCo show, but unlike some comedians, the company never makes fun of its audience—they consider the audience to be their honored partners in creation, and treat them with respect at all times. (All right, maybe just a little good-natured ribbing pokes through, but just a little.) The company prides itself on delivering a show that is intelligent, witty, musical, yet "rated PG", so MopCo shows are suitable for a family outing.

Mission Statement
Live performance fills a central, universal need of humankind. This need cannot be met by passive reception of electronic or virtual paths, but must be experienced with all five senses. MopCo believes that the best theatre comes out of an active collaboration between performer and audience. We constantly expand, refine, and redefine our own concept of what improvisation in performance is. This is because the company acts on the assumption that "that which is unchanging is probably dead, and will therefore begin to stink soon, if it doesn’t already.”

The company uses improvisation as a direct form of entertainment in performance; as a developmental tool that helps individuals in their own personal development, and as an interactive training tool for businesses and nonprofits.