Not-So-D.C. Jobs: Meet an improv theater director

• Back then, WIT was an all-volunteer organization. But when the time came for its first employee, Chalfant raised his hand.
• "I was young enough and risky enough to be like, 'Well, I'll try it.'"

☀️ A typical day: Behind-the-scenes work to boost the improv scene in D.C.

• That could mean scheduling classes, finding performance spaces, or meeting with the group's board of directors and funders. And sometimes he leads a class or improv group himself.

🎉 Fun fact: He performs musical theater improv with a group called iMusical.

‼️ The intrigue: The D.C. improv scene is unique in that most performers aren't trying to make it on, say, "Saturday Night Live," like in Los Angeles or New York, Chalfant tells Axios.

• Instead, improv is usually a way for D.C. workaholics to "reconnect to the idea of playfulness and joy."
• This also makes the local improv community more supportive and less competitive, he adds.

Plus: Chalfant hears from comedians that D.C. audiences are smarter than others. "They like their stuff a little brainer, a little headier."

✅ Reality check: Improv is about more than making jokes — it's an exercise in imagination, listening, and empathy.

• "A big part of improvisation is trying to find ways to say yes to things instead of saying no," he says. "Improv gives you a different perspective on how you move through life."

💗 Fave part of his job: "Getting to help people see other parts of themselves that they might not."

💪 Advice for strivers: If you want to work in the arts nonprofit world, have a service mentality.

• "At all times, you've got to be serving somebody, whether it's the artists, the audience, the students."