Dobama Theatre had been presenting short plays following 8 pm “mainstage” productions for several seasons before artistic director Joyce Casey asked David Hansen to act as the producer of a series of late-night events geared specifically to audiences in their late-teens and twenties. Called Dobama’s Night Kitchen, the title inspired by the 1970 Maurice Sendak children’s book, began in Fall, 1995. Dobama's Night Kitchen was the first Cleveland area theater to present long-form improv. These included the MTV inspired The Realistic World and the X-Files inspired One Step Beyond.