After successfully managing the D.C. Improv for 12 years, John Xereas is starting from scratch next month with the grand opening of Riot Act Comedy Theater, a two-story, 13,000-square-foot facility with a 330 seats. With partners Marjorie Heiss and Washington restaurateur and bar owner Geoff Dawson, the Riot Act opens Aug. 11 in the Penn Quarter. First thing’s first — how did you ever convince your parents you could make money doing comedy?

I started [bussing tables] at Improv my junior year of college so I got in early — my first night there, Dave Chappelle was the emcee and Ellen DeGeneres was the headliner. … I was at Improv for such a long time, but there were stretches in between where it was difficult and there were definitely times during the process where my mom’s like, ‘Why don’t you get a job?’ But I’ve been blessed that they’ve been supportive and they realize the potential of what I’m doing.