What Happens at an Improv Festival?

The short answer

Shows at night and classes by day. Improv festivals bring visiting and local troupes to perform, hire visiting teachers to run workshops for every level, and hold open jams where festival-goers get on stage. IMPRO Amsterdam, for example, lists 30 shows and more than 50 workshops over eight days, and the Edinburgh International Improv Festival adds late-night jams.

Shows from visiting and local troupes

The Bellingham Improv Festival, hosted by The Upfront Theatre in Bellingham, Washington, brings troupes from across the Pacific Northwest and beyond, with a new mix of teams and formats each night; the 2026 edition runs from 5 to 8 November. IMPRO Amsterdam takes 15 groups from around the world each year, split between polished Mainstage shows and looser, more experimental Late Night shows; its next edition runs from 20 to 27 February 2027. The Mobile Improv Comedy Carnival in Alabama fills two nights with troupes from Mobile, the Gulf Coast and the rest of the country, on 16 and 17 April 2027. The Edinburgh International Improv Festival gives each night a headline show by guest improvisers.

Workshops by visiting teachers

Workshops are the other half of most improv festivals. Bellingham's are led by visiting improv professionals and pitched at a range of levels, and its festival pass takes 15 per cent off them. IMPRO Amsterdam says it programmes 60 workshops a year, taught by improvisers from around the world, from three-hour skill classes to 18-hour masterclasses, all in English. The Edinburgh International Improv Festival runs workshops by day and shows at night, and keeps one free scholarship place in every workshop. The Diablo Improv Festival at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, California (16 to 18 October 2026) offers workshops for all ages and experience levels, and the Mobile carnival holds its workshops on the second day.

Jams and the social side

Jams let almost anyone play. The Edinburgh International Improv Festival holds unticketed late-night jams on Friday and Saturday, where people put their names in a hat and the hosts try to give everyone stage time; a Scottish ceilidh follows the final show on Sunday. Solo travellers there can join an Ensemble Team that meets at the festival and performs that weekend, and people who are not performing can still book shows and workshops. IMPRO Amsterdam hosts two or three themed jams each year, built to get many people on stage, and the Diablo Improv Festival adds meet-ups and parties to its jams.

Shows from visiting and local troupes

Workshops by visiting teachers

Jams and the social side

Sources

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