About Change Through Play Improv Studio
We Teach People to Play.
The Results? Growth, Joy, & Insight.
Change Through Play is Portland's premier improv and applied improvisation studio, located in Raleigh Hills in SW Portland. Since opening in 2019, we've worked with thousands of individuals, professionals, and organizations — helping them communicate better, lead more effectively, and rediscover the power of genuine human connection.
Our students and clients range from curious beginners taking their first improv class to senior leaders at Nike, Intel, and PwC. What unites them is a willingness to show up, play, and be changed by the experience.
We believe that improvisation is a joyous form of meditation that reveals our psychology, making it one of the most powerful tools available to humans from all walks of life. We’ve also seen that the skills that make someone a great improviser — deep listening, staying present, building on others' ideas, adapting in real time — are the same skills that make someone a great colleague, leader, parent, and human being. And we believe the best way to develop those skills is through play.
Who We Are
We are a small, dedicated team of experienced improvisers, facilitators, and coaches. Our founder, David Koff, has spent 30 years as a professional improviser and facilitator and 25 years as a technologist — a combination that gives Change Through Play a distinctly practical, evidence-based approach to improv training.
We are not a comedy club. We are not a performance school. We are a training studio — and everything we do is designed to create genuine, lasting change in the people and organizations we work with.
What We Do
We offer programs for individuals, professionals, and organizations:
For Individuals — ongoing improv classes in Portland for adults of all experience levels, personal coaching, and performance training for those who want to take the stage.
For Businesses & Teams — corporate training, team building, leadership development, and corporate workshops for Portland-area companies and organizations nationwide.
For Professionals — specialized programs for attorneys (CLE-accredited), mental health practitioners, and educators, each designed around the specific needs of those communities.
An end-of-class-cycle pic of Natasha von Salza and her Foundations Class
Our Philosophy
We do things differently. Our approach is rooted in the belief that real learning happens through experience, not instruction — and that play is the most powerful vehicle for that experience that humans have ever discovered. Learn more about our philosophy
Our Community Guidelines
The words community and communication are nearly identical. Because of that, we focus on the solutions those things bring. Learn more about our guidelines.
Our Studio
We're located at 4905 SW Scholls Ferry Road in the Raleigh Hills neighborhood of SW Portland — easily accessible from Beaverton, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, and Vancouver.
What Our Students & Clients Say
We've earned a five-star reputation across Google, Yelp, and other platforms — built one genuine experience at a time.
David's Work Beyond the Studio
In 2018 David was invited to deliver a keynote address at the international AIN conference in Paris, sharing how learning improvisation helped middle school students at St. Andrew Nativity in NE Portland Oregon to develop agency over their own life stories. That talk — and the documentary that preceded it — capture the heart of why Change Through Play exists. Use the links below to watch David's Keynote or watch the documentary.
Why Improv? Why Now?
Improvisation is a powerful tool that goes far beyond comedy or performance. At its core, improv trains presence, adaptability, and creative thinking — skills that researchers have increasingly linked to resilience, emotional well-being, and professional effectiveness.
Studies have shown that regular improv practice develops resilience and adaptability and can facilitate a state of flow — the deep engagement that psychologists associate with peak performance and genuine fulfillment. It encourages risk-taking, dissolves self-judgment, and builds the kind of trust between people that makes real collaboration possible.
We'd love to show you what it can do for you.