The Improv Festival of Cincinnati is returning Oct. 15-17 for its first edition since 2019, bringing three nights of local and national improv comedy to the Know Theatre.
Produced by OTRimprov, the festival will feature more than a dozen Cincinnati troupes along with performers from Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor and Columbus. The lineup includes several returning IF Cincy performers.
“We wanted to make sure that we had some familiar faces join us,” said Neil Batra, festival producer and director of OTRimprov. “So we invited performers who have performed at previous IF Cincys like Carla Cackowski, Bob Weick and Broke Gravy.”
Cackowski, a Kentucky native now based in Los Angeles, has worked with PBS Kids, DreamWorksTV and Nickelodeon and has performed and taught improv internationally. Broke Gravy, based in Portland, Oregon, is a three-person Black improv troupe that explores relationships, work and everyday life through unscripted comedy.
Other visiting acts include Chicago’s Landry & Summers, which has performed together since 1986; Ann Arbor’s Work Friends, a long-running monoscene troupe; Flava, Flavor, Flavour, which mixes short- and long-form improv with audience participation; and Columbus’ Scoober Doober, a finalist in The Nest Theatre’s 2026 Dual Duel.
Several visiting performers also will teach workshops Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Know Theatre.
“Bringing the festival back to Know was an easy choice for us,” Batra said. “They’re a great partner and the heart of the theater community in Cincinnati. This festival is bringing these world-class performers to our city and showing off the amazing talent we have locally. We couldn’t be happier than to have Know as our home.”
Shows are scheduled for 7 and 9 p.m. Oct. 15-17. Tickets are $25 per show or $125 for a festival pass.
The full schedule and tickets are available at IFCincy.com.
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