2 key leaders abruptly resign from Huge Improv Theater

The ingredients could possibly be made into an improvised comedy. But it’s not the kind of work that Huge Improv Theater would likely show to audiences.

The Minneapolis company known for its longform comedic sketches is in the throes of an existential crisis. The trigger was the announcement of a nearly all-white cast for an upcoming show at a theater whose mission includes being a safe space for marginalized groups that are often the butt of jokes rather than the teller of them. Those performers include artists of color, women and members of the LGBTQ community.

The situation has a fair amount of drama.

Last week both co-founder Butch Roy and artistic director Becky Hauser abruptly resigned from Huge after a dustup with another employee, co-executive director John Gebretatose, who joined the theater in October 2016.

Roy and Hauser are white, Gebretatose is Black.

Gebretatose, also the company’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion, wrote a public letter questioning the company’s commitment to its stated goals of providing access to everyone, regardless of age, race, gender and financial status after the “Throwback Thursday” show was cast.

“Throwback Thursday” was scheduled to run Sept. 12 through Feb. 27, 2025. It was to be one of about 500 that the company puts on annually.

The board would not address the employees’ conflict directly, saying that it is a personnel matter. But it issued a statement reaffirming its commitment “to identifying the concerns and details surrounding the professional conflict on staff, execution of job duties and addressing the issues brought forward by our DEI director.”

Board chair Amy Derwinski said Wednesday that while the resignations of Roy and Hauser were unplanned, Huge was undergoing a years-long leadership transition.

She also asked for some understanding and forbearance.

“We’ve done some really fantastic things around representation but that does not mean that we don’t have work to do,” Derwinski said.

Huge was founded in 2005 by Roy, Jill Bernard, Nels Lennes, Joe Bozic and Mike Fotis.

After renting for many years, the company purchased a permanent home at 2728 Lyndale Av. S. in Minneapolis for $2.4 million, and moved in last September. In 2023, Roy told the Star Tribune that it was a major step for Huge to have its own space with hopes that it would generate revenue, increase the number of improv classes and build equity. It has not been borne out.