Unexpected Productions and Clown Garage open a shared creative arts space offering improv, clowning, circus arts training, and community programming for the growing Eastside.
ISSAQUAH, 3/11/26 - Join us for the Ribbon Cutting Celebration at Issaquah Improv School & Clown Garage—fun, laughs, and good vibes!
ISSAQUAH, 3/11/26 - Join us for the Ribbon Cutting Celebration at Issaquah Improv School & Clown Garage—fun, laughs, and good vibes!
Join us as we officially welcome the Unexpected Productions Improv School and Clown Garage to Issaquah! On Wednesday, March 25, at 11:00 AM, Mayor Mark Mullet will lead a ceremonial ribbon-cutting to mark the opening of this exciting new creative space dedicated to laughter, play, and fearless creativity.
Presented in partnership with the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, this event celebrates the launch of a new hub for training in improv, clown, and physical comedy on the Eastside. The school will offer classes, workshops, and performances designed to build confidence, creativity, communication skills, and community.
After the ribbon-cutting, stay to celebrate with light refreshments, conversation, and a chance to explore the new space, meet instructors, and learn more about upcoming classes and programs.
Whether you're an artist, educator, student, or simply curious about improv, we invite you to come celebrate this exciting new chapter for the Issaquah arts community.
Come meet your neighbors, take a look inside, and help us cut the ribbon on a new home for creativity in Issaquah. Unexpected Productions, Seattle’s award-winning improvisational theater and education nonprofit, is bringing laughter, creativity, and community connection to the Eastside with the launch of the Unexpected Productions Eastside Improv School in downtown Issaquah.
Located at 1315 NW Mall Street #4, next to the Gaslamp Bar & Grill and across the street from the Hobby Lobby, the new school opens inside a shared creative arts space developed in partnership with Clown Garage, creating a vibrant new hub for performance, education, and creative exploration serving Issaquah and the greater Eastside community.
“For more than forty years, Unexpected Productions has helped people discover confidence, connection, and joy through improv,” said Jay Hitt, Unexpected Productions Managing Director. “We are excited to bring that welcoming spirit to Issaquah and create a place where neighbors can laugh together, try something new, and build community.”
A Creative Home for the Eastside
The Unexpected Productions Eastside Improv School will offer classes for adults, teens, and youth ranging from beginner introductions to advanced performance training.
Unlike traditional theater education, improv classes are designed for everyone, not just performers.
“No experience is required,” Hitt added. “Many students join simply to meet people, reduce stress, improve workplace communication, or rediscover creativity.”
Programs include:
• Beginner improv classes
• Specialty workshops and themed intensives
• Youth and teen programming
• Corporate and professional development training • Storytelling and personal narrative workshops
The Issaquah expansion builds on Unexpected Productions’ long-standing presence at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, where the organization operates one of the Pacific Northwest’s longest-running improv theaters and education programs.
About Clown Garage
In a studio filled with movement, laughter, and the occasional intentional fall, Clown Garage brings contemporary clowning, physical humor, and circus arts to the Eastside. Based in Issaquah, the performing arts education center, and event producer offers classes, workshops, performances, and experiences rooted in physical comedy, creative risk-taking, and the joy of playful imagination.
Clown Garage also provides team-building and event production services for corporate, nonprofit, and civic organizations seeking dynamic ways to engage and energize their communities. This summer, the company will produce Aire Craft, a first-of-its-kind street arts and paragliding festival in Issaquah — blending public performance, natural landscape, and aerial spectacle.
The studio is led by internationally acclaimed performer Mick Holsbeke, whose career spans more than two decades and includes collaborations with Cirque du Soleil, Teatro ZinZanni, and The 7 Fingers. Through Clown Garage, Holsbeke brings global performance experience into an intimate, community-centered learning environment.
At the core of the studio’s philosophy is a simple idea: creativity grows through play. Students are encouraged to experiment, embody playfulness, make mistakes, fail safely, and discover new forms of expression.
“Clowning teaches resilience,” Holsbeke says. “When we can laugh at our mistakes, we remember we’re human — and we reconnect with ourselves and each other.”
Programs serve children, adults, and professional performers alike, helping participants build confidence, physical awareness, collaboration skills, and creative resilience. For Holsbeke, the work is both playful and purposeful. His role, he says, is to help students learn to “fall down gracefully, get back up joyfully, and invite everyone else to enjoy the chaos” — an approach that transforms vulnerability into creativity and performance into connection.'
Why This Matters Now
As the Eastside continues to grow, families, educators, and workplaces are seeking meaningful ways to reconnect beyond screens and routines. Clown Garage offers something rare in the region: professional-level contemporary circus and clown training delivered through accessible, community-centered arts education programs, events, and experiences.
By blending world class talent, humor, and creative collaborations, Clown Garage creates spaces and experiences where people rediscover imagination, wonder, confidence, and connection.
