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Welcome to RISE Comedy (formerly Voodoo Comedy), Denver’s only full-time improv comedy bar and theater! We offer fun and unpredictable entertainment experiences in the heart of LoDo. RISE Comedy is the place to enjoy a wide variety of intriguing, original improv comedy, sketch comedy, Denver improv classes, karaoke and more; a well-stocked bar; and a unique, affordable night out that you and your friends won’t soon forget.
We have been performing in Denver since 2008, with The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show and Hit and Run: Musical Improv. Over the years, our passion for interactive, unscripted theater grew exponentially, and we realized it was time to expand our dreams and move into our own theater space. After a lot of hard work and planning, founder Stephen Wilder opened RISE Comedy as the Voodoo Comedy Playhouse, on Wednesday, October 26th, 2011.
Over its history, RISE Comedy has helped to raise the profile of improvisation and comedy, both in Colorado and beyond.
In 2011, the opening of the Voodoo Comedy Playhouse prompted the explosive growth of Denver’s improv community, bringing the city in line with larger improv and comedy destinations, and elevating the Denver improv community to a national audience.
In the next several years, the Voodoo hosted many nationally known improv and comedy acts, such as Kevin McDonald of Kids In The Hall, Frank Conniff & Trace Beaulieu of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Paul Brittain from Saturday Night Live, Ithamar Enriquez, Patrick Rowland, Karen Graci, Craig & Carla Cackowski, Brian Babylon of NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and many many more.
In 2015, the Voodoo created its own improv comedy curriculum and graduated its very first improv students, setting the standard for years to come.
In 2016, the Voodoo facilitated hosted the first meetings of the Diversity in Colorado Improvisation group, which promoted positive changes for inclusion & diversity in the Colorado comedy scene which continue to this day.
By 2018, the Voodoo set a new record by donating $30,000+ in shows and improv classes to nonprofit groups and disadvantaged communities over the life of the theater.
In 2019, the Voodoo was pleased to add Nick Armstrong and Josh Nicols as new partners and co-owners.
In 2020 and 2021, the Voodoo was able to weather the pandemic and return to live shows after 16 months of being shuttered. During this period, Voodoo Comedy became RISE Comedy, in an effort to help highlight our original mission statement put forth back in 2016.
In 2022 and beyond, we are all excited to help usher in the next evolution of Denver improv and Denver comedy!
(My bf was injured and in SOO much pain, but he was cracking up and participating.) �read more
Steve who runs the room is good people
You saw me in my awkward teen years as skippy on family ties
Now... see me perform live in my awkward adult years !!!read more
About The RISE Comedy Co-Owners & Partners
About The Founder Of RISE Comedy & Voodoo Comedy
Steve now operates as CTO and corporate/private workshops & events manager for RISE Comedy. He has personally deployed corporate workshops and events for companies such as Apple, Adobe, Comcast Xfinity, Chipotle, DaVita, Dell, Ernst & Young, Google, Microsoft, Vail Resorts, and many others. Steve is honored to have been chosen as the keynote speaker for the 2021 RMHA conference in Black Hawk, CO. Steve also created and runs RISE Comedy’s musical improv training program.
In addition to RISE Comedy, Steve is co-executive producer for The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show®, where he manages 8 cities across the country, as well as coordinating the websites for all 75+ locations. Steve is also founder and director of Hit and Run: Musical Improv™, Colorado’s longest-running improv comedy show, which has created hundreds of fully improvised Broadway-style musicals over the past 17 years, at theaters and festivals across the country. In 2016, Steve co-founded the Diversity in Colorado Improvisation group; this group kickstarted a change in inclusivity and diversity in the Colorado improv scene, which continues to this day.
In the virtual arena, Steve operates as Lead Digital Architect for The Virtual Detective. Through The Virtual Detective, Steve has so far produced 8 full-scale digital productions, and has performed hundreds of shows for dozens of colleges and organizations across the country and internationally, including shows in Canada, Bahrain, Hawaii, Morocco, Italy, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Scotland, and many other countries.
Steve’s comedy festival and improv festival performing & teaching credits include: Los Angeles Improv Festival, New York Musical Improv Festival, New York Improv Festival, Out Of Bounds Comedy Festival, Montreal Improv Festival, Duke City Improv Festival, Denver Improv Festival, Colorado Improv Festival.