Improvisational theater festivals, also known as Improv comedy festivals or Improv festivals, are venues where multiple improvisational theater groups perform. They are usually not limited by improvisational style, though they may limit entrants to professional-only or collegiate-only. Most improvisational theater festivals are hosted by a single troupe, but others are hosted by conglomerations of troupes or a company set up solely for that given festival. These festivals are breeding grounds for collaboration between groups and the discovery of up-and-coming comedians.

Festivals

Name	|Reference
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...	Victorian Tourism Commission	Melbourne, Australia	1986
National College Comedy Festival	Skidmore College Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....	Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...	1990
Kansas City Improv Festival Kansas City Improv Festival In 1994, improv was just leaking into TV with the British version of Whose Line Is It, Anyway? Groups like ComedySportz and Theatresports gathered their franchisees from around the world at tournaments, but "independent" troupes were scattered all over the country....	Improv-Abilities	Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...	1994
International Improvisation Theatre Festival in Amsterdam International Improvisation Theatre Festival in Amsterdam The International Improvisation Theatre Festival is an improvisation festival located in Amsterdam, Netherlands organized by Theatersport Vereniging Amsterdam ....	Theatersport Vereniging Amsterdam	Amsterdam, The Netherlands	1995
Improvfest	The Georgetown Improv Association The Georgetown Improv Association The Georgetown Improv Association is a collegiate long-form improvisational troupe at Georgetown University founded in the spring of 1995. The troupe performs on-campus at Bulldog Alley at Georgetown’s Leavey Center, as well as at other colleges and venues in the surrounding District of Columbia... , Georgetown University Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...	Georgetown Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years... , Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....	1997
Chicago Improv Festival	CIF Productions	Chicago, Illinois	1998
IGP's Laugh Riot	The Immediate Gratification Players The Immediate Gratification Players The Immediate Gratification Players are a collegiate improvisational comedy troupe based out of Harvard College. They specialize in long form, free-form improvisation.-History:...	Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...	1999
The Del Close Marathon	Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre or UCB Theatre is an improvisational theatre and associated UCB Training Center with locations in Chelsea, New York, the EEast Village, New York and Hollywood, California.....	New York City, New York	1999
North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival The North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival is an annual comedy festival in Carrboro, North Carolina, United States. The festival was started in 2001 by Zach Ward as an improv showcase and improv seminars. The festival has grown year over year...	Dirty South Improv Comedy Theater	Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...	2001
Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival	I.O. West I.O. West The iO WEST, is the Los Angeles branch of the iO in Chicago. The theater is located at 6366 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California. In addition to presenting improv and sketch comedy shows every night, the iO West has improv training classes and is the home for the Los Angeles Improv Comedy...	Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...	2002
Out of Bounds Improv Festival Out of Bounds Improv Festival The Out of Bounds Improv Festival and Mini-Golf Tournament is a week-long festival of improvisational theater and sketch comedy that takes place every Labor Day weekend in Austin, Texas...	Jeremy Lamb Jeremy Lamb Jeremy Emmanuel Lamb is an American college basketball player. He is a shooting guard for the Connecticut Huskies. As a freshman, he was a the second-leading scorer on the 2011 Huskies team that won the National Championship.-High school:...	Austin, Texas Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...	2002
Phoenix Improv Festival	Phoenix-area improv companies	Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...	2002
Toronto International Improv Festival	Toronto International Improv Festival	Toronto, Canada	2002
Seattle Festival of Improv Theater	Wing-It Productions Wing-It Productions Wing-It Productions, sometimes simply called “Wing-It,” is a 501 non-profit theater company based in Seattle, Washington, USA which exclusively produces improvised theater...  and Unexpected Productions Unexpected Productions Unexpected Productions is an improvisational comedy company in Seattle, Washington, USA. From their home at the Market Theater in Seattle's historic Pike Place Market, Unexpected Productions produces year-round shows, teaches improv classes, and hosts the Seattle International Festival of...	Seattle, Washington Seattle, Washington Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...	2003
Black Box Improv Festival	DramaTech DramaTech DramaTech is Georgia Tech's student run theater. They are also home to Let's Try This! and VarietyTech .-Early history:...	Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...	2004
San Francisco Improv Festival	? ? or is a letter derived from the Latin alphabet. Both glyphs of the majuscule and minuscule forms of this letter are based on the rotated form of a minuscule e; a similar letter with identical minuscule is used in the Pan-Nigerian Alphabet and some alphabets based on the African reference...	San Francisco, California San Francisco, California San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...	200?
Fracas! Improv Festival Fracas! Improv Festival The Fracas! Improv Festival is a three-day annual improvisational theatre festival held at The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. The festival is hosted by Second Nature Improv, one of USC's improv troupes...	Second Nature Improv Second nature improv Second Nature is a long-form improvisational theatre troupe based in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California.Second Nature was founded on November 19, 2002. The troupe performs every Friday night at USC's Ground Zero Performance Cafe, providing free, comedic, one-hour shows...	Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...	2004
Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival The Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival, nicknamed "IndyFringe," is a 10-day showcase of traditional and non-traditional theatre, dance, music, improvisation and a wide range of other performance and visual arts, performed and created by local, national and international artists...	Indyfringe	Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...	2004
Gainesville Improv Festival Gainesville Improv Festival The Gainesville Improv Festival, or GIF, is a 4 day long festival in Gainesville, Florida which celebrates improvisational and sketch theatre. The mission is to share the culture and traditions of the vibrant Gainesville improvisation scene with the rest of the national improv community...	Florida Improv, Inc.	Gainesville, Florida Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...	2005
Philadelphia Improv Festival	Philadelphia Improv Festival, LLC	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...	2005
Twin Cities Improv Festival Twin Cities Improv Festival The Twin Cities Improv Festival is a four-day improvisational festival held at the new HUGE Improv Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Started in 2007, the annual festival showcases improv from around the world....	Five Man Job, the Onion The Onion The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club... , Brave New Workshop Brave New Workshop The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theatre , located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been writing, performing and producing live sketch comedy and improvisation performances for 50 years – longer than any other theatre in the nation...	Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota	2007
New Zealand Improv Festival	Wellington Improvisation Troupe Wellington Improvisation Troupe The Wellington Improvisation Troupe is Wellington’s not-for-profit, community-based improvisational theatre group. WIT performs and teaches the skills of improvisational theatre at community venues around the Wellington region....	Wellington, New Zealand	2008
Bristol Jam	Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...	Bristol, England	2009
Improv Festival Oklahoma	Red Dirt Improv	Oklahoma City, OK	2009
Beijing Improv Interactive Arts Festival	Beijing Improv	Beijing, China	2009
Ottawa Improv Festival	Insensitivity Training	Ottawa, ON. Canada	2010
Orange County Improv Cup	The Lobby The Lobby (improv) The Lobby is an improvisational comedy group based in Southern California. Unlike many improv groups, which are composed of many members who perform on a rotating basis, The Lobby is a small, close-knit group. The audience gets to know each of the players and feel they are part of the group...	Fullerton, California Fullerton, California Fullerton is a city located in northern Orange County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 135,161.It was founded in 1887 by George and Edward Amerige and named for George H. Fullerton, who secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway...	2010