DI F 2026 Shows
All shows/Events will take place at The Edge Theater (directions here) at 5451 N. Broadway.
All shows $20
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 7 PM SHOWS
Las Tinas Improvised Telenovelas
Las Tinas creates a fully-improvised telenovela experience, filled with all things dramáticas: passion, betrayal, love, and revenge. Heralded by the Tribune and the Sun Times, Las Tinas brings the heightened stakes and raw emotionality of Spanish-language soap operas to an audience-interactive experience (improvised in English with a touch of Spanglish). We ARE your abuelita’s (grandma’s) telenovela! Please feel welcome to bring the family!
Avocabros
Avocabros is a two prov group telling character focused stories.
Ben & Tom
Important life moments are the catalyst for this one act improvised play. Choices and the consequences of those choices drive and shape this one journey onstage. Tension, connection and impulse mix as the characters experience a true human experience as the story unfolds.
Super Scaries: The Improvised Horror Musical
Super Scaries presents a completely made-up narrative musical that conjures an entirely new nightmare each night - never seen before, never to be seen again. The cast crafts a chilling tale from one audience suggestion of an ordinary object that turns out to be anything but. A cursed hairbrush that steals your best friend. A radio that won’t stop whispering your name. A key that unlocks something best left closed. Equal parts terror and hilarity, Super Scaries is a darkly funny dive into fear, fate, and the unexpected, before it's gone forever by the final note.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 9 PM SHOWS
Desires
Step into a world where nothing is written… and everything is possible. What would it mean to see our hidden wishes come to life on stage? What stories would they tell us, what truths would they whisper, and what joy would they awaken when given a voice under the lights? In Desires, the audience becomes the playwright, the muse, the spark. Each whisper, each longing, each fleeting thought is transformed into a living scene - spontaneous, unrepeatable, unique to this very night. No script. No repetition. Only the alchemy of imagination, where laughter and wonder mingle with the courage to dream out loud. Every performance is a journey into the unexpected, a celebration of creativity shared between stage and audience. Your desires become the heartbeat of the play - a theatre piece born anew, right before your eyes.
Letters From Bonnifield
Letters from Bonnifield is a one-act improvised play centered on small tight-knit communities.
Theatre Momentum: A Love Story
"I love you" means so many different things and is said so many different ways. How different is the first time we say it from all the other times? A Love Story explores the many facets of love and the journeys we experience with those we give our hearts to.
Edgar Allan Poeprov
Edgar Allan Poe is dying in a ditch. One last story drifts through his mind... this is that story, different every night. Poeprov is a fully poeduced, fully impoevised play based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe and suggestions from the audience. This show features some of Chicago's most talented narrative improvisers, a different Poem every night, and... Darkness. you'll die laughing!
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 7 PM SHOWS
DIF Insta-team
The DIF insta-team has been rehearsing for HOURS! Yes, we just met today. Yes, we made up this show structure this afternoon. No, we can’t tell you anything about it. You’ll just have to see what it’s all about!
Improvised Jane Austen
Improvised Jane Austen is a comedic ensemble that creates unscripted performances using Jane Austen's tropes, themes, and language to create a satirical romantic comedy set in Regency-era England. Playing in Austen’s world, Improvised Jane Austen’s stories delight 21st century audiences with a modern sense and sensibility. Come for the humor, stay for the heart!
Improv On Demand
Improv On Demand is excited to perform our signature format: an unscripted rendition of today's most popular TV show, movie genre, or video game! Our ever-changing format is inspired by the media that's trending in 2026. Think genres like Disney Channel Original Movies and summertime Slashers, highly anticipated games like Grand Theft Auto, and trending shows like Bridgerton, Survivor, and White Lotus. We lean into creative structures, but regardless of the genre, Improv On Demand plays with an emphasis on grounded emotions and relationships. We're excited to bring your favorite shows to life onstage!
Simmer
Like the complex flavors that emerge from a long cooked stew, Simmer gives breadth to scene work that may not be given time to develop in a faster-paced, comedy-first show. Offering windows into lives that can be chaotic or mundane as our own, Simmer's shows take a more theatrical approach to improvisation that largely eschews 'bits' and 'game' in favor of depth and emotional realism. Never forced, the group's comedy comes from a place of honesty, trust and play as audiences are invited to taste what's simmering.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 9 PM SHOWS
Last Action Movie: The Haunt
Prepare yourself to enter a spine-tingling, bone chilling world of improvised horror. Last Action Movie Improv presents "The Haunt" - an unnerving, eerie and totally unscripted horror movie show. What creatures lurk in the darkness? What terrifying surprises hide around every corner? Who will make it out alive? Find out for yourself by getting a ticket to Last Action Movie Improv's "The Haunt"... if you dare!
Hot Ham & Cheese: Hamadeus
Hot Ham and Cheese invites you to join them in a daring experiment. Watch as this group of friends improvise an entire one act play based on a story from the audience. Will there be drama? Romance? Betrayal? You have no idea what you're going to get, and the truth is, neither do they!
A Visit From the Goon Squad
Entire lives change together across the decades, moving together and then back apart again. Or is it the other way around? Regret and nostalgia; hope and anxiety. Unfurl the past and bear witness to the future with us. Just remember: The goon squad is time, it comes for us all.
Roni & Jill presents: A Playback Theatre Duo
Roni Alperin and Jill Eickmann invite you into an intimate Playback Theatre experience. Your real-life stories are transformed in the moment through music, spoken improvisation, movement, and ritual—creating a shared space of witnessing, connection, and meaning.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 7 PM SHOWS
This Improvised Life
This Improvised Life is an improvised drama following two characters' relationship as it changes over time.
Carpe DM: Undertone
Undertone is a one-act play created in real time. Two performers begin with nothing prepared, only emotion. Moving through shifts in time, they uncover a relationship as it unfolds, guided by what lies beneath the surface. Through silence, connection, and subtext, a story emerges that feels intimate, unpredictable, and deeply human.
Home Slice
Home Slice is an improvised slice-of-life 2-act play with live musical underscoring, props, costumes, and set pieces. It follows the pacing of a play, but is completely improvised as we take you into a new home every show.
Columbus Unscripted: Rethinking What We “Know”
Rethinking What We “Know” Inspired by the space between perception and reality, this improvised performance explores the quiet ways we misread each other—and ourselves. Through honest, unscripted moments, the show invites audiences into real-time discovery where vulnerability, instinct, and human connection take center stage. Less about being right, more about being real.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 9 PM SHOWS
Snafu
Body language means everything - watch as Snafu lets the audience decide how the improvisers use their bodies to develop delightful characters who explore their relationships and the meaning of life.
Landry & Summers
Social and Political Longform Improvisation
A Park, A Policeman, and A Pretty Girl
A delightful storytelling experience bringing the true nature of improv and theatre together! Join the cast of P3 as they create a narrative adventure with twists and turns, surprises around every corner, and the best part - the audience decides what every single moment is! Giving the audience full control of the show at any time, P3 creates a story and journey that is the definition of “never to be seen again!”
Rook
Rook is an award-winning improvisational theatre troupe from Austin, Texas, known for pushing the boundaries of improv with authenticity, emotional depth, and daring performances. Since their formation, Rook has captivated audiences with their unique blend of character-driven storytelling, theatrical skill, and improv expertise. The troupe explores raw, unscripted moments that are both surprising and profoundly resonant, offering an experience that is as emotionally moving as it is entertaining. Rook has built a reputation for creating performances that are dynamic, heartfelt, and unforgettable, making them a standout in the Austin improv community.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 6 PM SHOWS
Thrice the Drama
If you love improv but want more than just laughs, you've come to the right place. Life isn't just punchlines - it's messy, beautiful and real. That's what Thrice The Drama brings to the stage one unscripted moment at a time. Representing the concrete jungle of New York City, Karina Mikhli, Anthony Saldana and Julian Vargas can’t wait to return to the 2026 Dramatic Improv Festival.
Nudge
Veteran Minneapolis-based group Nudge creates one long mono scene of improvised comedy: grounded, relational, sometimes sweet, often awkward, and always funny. Real life, but truly dumb.
BMT: Process
Ben, Michael, and Tony join each other for a once-in-a-festival trio and show off. They promise you it will be worth your time.
The Free For All Teachers Jam
The teachers jam! This is where all the teachers get a chance to take the stage and jam out together. See your festival instructors put their skills to good use and close out the festival in style!