Ocean State Improv Festival
June 3-7, 2026
Festival Details
The five-day Ocean State Improv Festival brings together artists and troupes to create an interconnected community that teaches, learns, inspires, and performs together on Rhode Island’s beautiful southern coast!​
Show Schedule
Wed, June 3
7 pm: Galaxy View Improv Drive-In (RI), What If (PA), For You, Anything! (MN), Whatever Fate Decides (RI), Oliver Klosov - One Night Only (OR)
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9:30 pm: The Manny Rodriguez Show (MN), Bard to the Bone (RI), Create the Sound (MN)
Thurs, June 4
5 pm: The Silver Lining (MA), Ben Gardner's Boat (NY), Slumber Party (CA/MA/OR), A Sketch Show (MN)
7 pm: Just Another Cabaret (RI), Brotha Brotha (MN), Juliet & Juliet (MN/CA)
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9:30 pm: Pirate Improv - Mixer show featuring 5 directors competing for their vision!
Fri, June 5
5 pm: Maria's Basement (NY), Magical Lying Hour (TX), VORTEX (MN), Regionals: The Musical (WA)
7 pm: NEAT (MN), Untold Tales: Improvised Horror (RI), ​Hell Yeah! Improvised Musicals (NY)
9:30 pm: Micetro Mixer Show
Sat, June 6 ​
2 pm: Puppet Workshop Showcase, Campfire Dragons (CT), The Pacheacos (MN), JeanEric Improv Team (NM/RI), Crisis: An Improvised Comic Book (NY), Griswold-Jenkins (MA)
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5 pm: Improvised Shakespeare Workshop Showcase, Harpoon! (TX, CA), Oops, All Animals (MA), Bingewatch (CA), B&B (OR)
7 pm: But of Mind (CA/AK), Trash Can Orchestra (WA), Juliet & Juliet (MN/CA)
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9:30 pm: Theatresports Mixer Show
11 pm: Grandpa Phil Does a Bedtime Musical (WA), My Town (MN)
Sun, June 7
1:30 pm: Duo Bracket Challenge
Festival Passes and Tickets
Want to see shows at the festival? We've got your options covered!
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All-Access Festival Pass: $160 You get tickets to every performance and an Ocean State Improv Festival t-shirt! If you sign up for 9+ hours of workshops, you get an All-Access Festival Pass for free!​
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Day Pass: Wed/Thurs - $40, Fri/Sat - $60 You can get a Day Pass to see all of the shows on a specific day of the festival. Performers get a free Day Pass for the day of their performance and discounts on all passes.
- Individual Show Tickets: You can of course get tickets to each show individually if you want! Choose your own price based on our new pricing system for all of our performances. We want everyone to be able to enjoy these incredible performances!
- ​​Standard ticket price for OSIF shows is $35.
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$45 tickets are available to help support the Jack Albanese Scholarship Fund to ensure everyone has the opportunity to take classes and workshops at the CTC.
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$25 tickets are available is $35 is just a bit too much.
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$10 tickets are available for anyone 25 & under and anyone who needs them.
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Performers get special deals on all passes!
Workshops
The Ocean State Improv Festival is focused on providing opportunities to create a community of improvisers that teaches, learns, inspires, and performs together!
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All workshops are $40, except for 2-day workshops which are $80. If you take 9+ hours of workshops, you get a free All-Access Festival Pass! (That's 3 workshops or 2 if one is a two-day workshop!) Click any workshop to see details and register or scroll down to see all of the descriptions!
Reach out to Maggie Cady at cady@thecontemporarytheater.com for info on financial aid.
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Thurs, June 4
Morning: 10 am - 1 pm
To The Beat of a Different Drum: Rhythm Bonanza with Betse Green
Accessibility is Accessible! with Neco Pacheaco
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Afternoon: 2 pm - 4:45 pm
Advanced Music Improv: Game of the Song with Mike Descoteaux & Deana Criess
Improv Sabotage with Stephen Kadwell
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Fri, June 5
Morning: 10 am - 1 pm
Death, Dying, and Bereavement: An Improvised Journey with Rhiannon Jenkins
Moving in Space with Ross Flores
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Afternoon: 2 pm - 4:45 pm
Multimillion Dollar Budget with Philip Geurin
Finding The Courage with Chuy Zárate
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Sat, June 6
Morning: 10 am - 1 pm
Improvising with Puppets (DAY 2 of TWO DAY WORKSHOP)
Feel It to Believe It: Emotion as the Magic Ingredient with Diana Brown
Find The Common Ground OR Meet in the Middle with Jeanette Cerami
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Afternoon: 2 pm - 4:45 pm
No Fear (Improvised) Shakespeare (DAY 2 of TWO DAY WORKSHOP)
Setting the Table with Derek Landseidel & Michael Rogers
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Sun, June 6
Morning: 10 am - 1 pm
Thurs, June 4
Morning: 10 am - 1 pm
To The Beat of a Different Drum: Rhythm Bonanza with Betse Green
Thurs, June 4 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
If your scenes feel like “talking heads,” or you’re unsure whether you talk too much or too little, this workshop helps you break the pattern. Using the natural rhythms and cadence of your verbal and non-verbal communication, you’ll explore how to create dynamic, unpredictable scenes grounded in intentional movement and sound.
About Betse...
Betse Green is a Certified Improv Educator and Architect, internationally acclaimed Applied Improv teacher and improviser with almost 25 years of experience. She has been a key figure in the Portland improv scene since 2002 and is currently an ensemble member, teacher, and director at Curious Comedy and ComedySportz Theaters. Betse also performs regularly with independent improv groups, including B&B, B.A.B.E., and Slumber Party.
Accessibility is Accessible! with Neco Pacheaco with Neco Pacheaco
Thurs, June 4 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
This workshop will teach you skills to increase accessibility in your own improv community. Skills will be relevant to making shows, classes, and teams spaces that more improvisers and audiences can enjoy by considering varying access needs. This class is helpful for improvisers, directors, teachers, and folks in theater operations!
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About Neco...
Neco Pacheaco (she/they/Neco) has 20 years of scripted theater training and nearly 10 years of improv experience. Her college degrees focus on education, equity and accessibility, and theater. Utilizing all of these skill and experience areas Neco works to ensure anyone can access, enjoy, and grow their personal skills in improv and theater performance.
Thurs, June 4
Afternoon: 2 pm - 4:45 pm
Advanced Music Improv: Game of the Song with Mike Descoteaux & Deana Criess
Thurs, June 4 from 2 pm - 4:45 pm, $40​
Unlock the joy and comedic power of game-driven songs. Using two simple structures, you’ll learn to heighten lyrical, emotional, physical, and melodic patterns to follow the fun from the moment you hear the music start. Through playful, scene-based work, we’ll build the foundations that make great improvised songs succeed before the first note is even sung. Expect fast, fun reps and immediately usable tools. With decades of combined experience, Mike & Deana have helped performers worldwide turn off-the-cuff songs into show-stopping moments.
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About Mike and Deana...
Mike Descoteaux is a teacher, performer, and music director with over two decades of professional experience in improv, music theater, and comedy. He has served as head and creator of the Music Program at The Second City Training Center, music director of the Second City ETC stage in Chicago, and Artistic Director of Improv-Boston. Deana Criess has been a professional improviser for more than 20 years. A master instructor, director, and performer, Deana has done shows and workshops at festivals, theaters, colleges, and Fortune 500 companies. Deana founded, directs, and performs in NightWingz, a musical bat that is the country’s only completely improvised musical completely in the dark. Find out more about them here.
Improv Sabotage with Stephen Kadwell
Thurs, June 4 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
This workshop will challenge participants by placing restrictions, requirements, and other potential landmines into scenes to unleash creative potential. Has your improv become a bit comfortable? Have your choices become a bit predictable? Refill your creativity with a little sabotage.
About Stephen...
Stephen has a degree in Theatre from Western Michigan University. He is a former Associate Artistic Director of SAK Comedy Lab in Orlando, Florida and has had the pleasure of teaching hundreds of classes in the SAK U program. Stephen is also a founder and Artistic Director of OFFSIDES Improv which performed regularly in Central Florida for many years. Find out more about him here.
Fri, June 5
Morning: 10 am - 1 pm
Day 1: Improvising with Puppets with Jason Kelts and Alex Timmis of Electric City Puppets
TWO DAY WORKSHOP: Fri, June 5 AND Sat, June 6 from 10 am - 1 pm, $80
Showcase performance in Sat 2 pm festival show
Join Electric City Puppets for a crash course in puppetry where you’ll learn the skills to make the most ordinary inanimate objects come to life with movement and techniques that you can apply to your own performances! We’ll also share our insights on how to meet the unique challenges of improvising with a puppet on stage.
All of this will lead to a showcase performance in the 2 pm festival show on Saturday! (You do not have to perform in the showcase to take the workshop.)
Death, Dying, and Bereavement: An Improvised Journey with Rhiannon Jenkins
Fri, June 5 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
Ever found yourself on stage in a death scene and stalled? Unsure how to approach these difficult subjects? Want to bring more pathos to your improv? Then this is the workshop for you.
In this workshop, we will examine our relationships with the end of life, how we can represent these relationships truthfully onstage, and how we can treat our fellow players and audiences with compassion and humour while approaching these tough topics. There will be some in-depth discussion of death, dying, and cultural and religious attitudes to bereavement, which we will use as inspiration for introspective, open-hearted improv. Participants should be prepared to discuss both religious and non-religious aspects of death culture. This may be emotionally challenging.
We will discover together what death and bereavement mean for you, and how you can realistically portray end-of-life scenes in front of an audience.
About Rhiannon...
Rhiannon has performed and taught with Hoopla, the Nursery, and the FA in London, and worldwide for festivals such as Boom Chicago Comedy Festival, TILT, and The Dramatic Improv Festival. Rhiannon is currently touring her award-winning solo show Good Girl, and is a nominee for the BroadwayWorld Best Professional Performer award for her role as Carlo in At The Wedding at Studio Theatre Worcester. Rhiannon specializes in acting, performance technique, and theatrical presentation, as well as musical improv.
Moving in Space with Ross Flores
Fri, June 5 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
Move into your scene work with a sense of confidence and creativity! Do you ever want more movement options to add to your scenes? Do you want to feel a bit more physically centered while on stage? Do you occasionally bump into people on stage and then whisper "oops, sorry" to the people? This workshop is for you! In a welcoming and easygoing setting, we will explore qualities of movement, spatial awareness, and finding your center. All with the goal to help bring your character to life and connect with your body while on stage. Taken this workshop or a similar one? It is designed in a way where you can take it over and over and still find new depth - so come join us! Dance experience is not needed/required for this workshop - all are invited to join! Please dress in comfortable clothing for moving! Let's movey move!
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About Ross...
Ross Flores (he/him) is a comedian, actor, and dancer originally from New York but now located in Minnesota, specifically the great city of Saint Paul. Ross has been performing for about three decades, with his start in dance. He has trained at many schools such as, but not limited to, the Rock School for Dance Education, NYU CAP 21, and The Joffrey Ballet School and he graduated as a Dance Major at Northwestern University, where also studied Theatre and Musical Theatre. He started doing improv in Chicago at iO and, since then, has performed improv, stand up, and sketch comedy throughout the world. Find him on Instagram: @rofloflo.
Fri, June 5
Afternoon: 2 pm - 4:45 pm
Day 1: No Fear (Improvised) Shakespeare: I Can't Believe It's Not William! with Sami Haeli & Meghan Wolff
TWO DAY WORKSHOP: Fri, June 5 AND Sat, June 6 from 2 pm - 4:45 pm, $80
Showcase performance in the Sat 5 pm festival show
This workshop will cover all the basics you need to improvise the Bard’s work as though you’ve stepped right out of the 16th century and into an improv scene! We’ll get familiar with Shakespeare’s work, then explore and play with some of the basic building blocks, including wild metaphors, bold monologues, and passionate characters. On the second day we'll dig into advanced metaphor and simile, working with the historic and mythological sources Will drew from to inform both his language and his stories. From there we’ll move on to playing with the shape and tone of Shakespeare’s work, and we’ll explore how your own interests and values can shape your stories and your shows.
This workshop isn’t just for those interested in improvising Shakespeare. It’s also for anyone who wants to explore how presentation and delivery can change an audience’s experience of your show, for anyone interested in using improv to explore another art they love, or for anyone looking to shake up their improv with a new approach to scenework.
The workshop leads up to a showcase performance in the festival on Saturday at 5 pm. Everyone from the workshop is encouraged to join the showcase, but it is not required.
Multimillion Dollar Budget with Phil Geurin
Fri, June 5 from 2 pm - 4:45 pm, $40
Many stories are left unfinished because there was no dragon to slay. The improvisers had a blindspot. They needed a three-person-dragon.
Slay the dragon, take the jump, slo-mo dodge the bullet, self-destruct the secret layer, Godzilla the town, and fly to neverland. Improv is cheap, but it can look like a million bucks.
Intermediate and above.
About Phil...
A theatrical improviser and trainer. He has toured nationally, teaching thousands of people across the country at medical schools, universities, anime conventions, and more. He has performed over 500 shows reaching over 82,000 viewers. Phil is best known on TV and Radio as Ada Ford's comedic relief and spokesman. He's even on a billboard somewhere in Oklahoma - as a six inch tall character towering fifty feet above the skyline.
Finding the Courage with Chuy Zárate
Fri, June 5 from 2 pm - 4:45 pm, $40
We are going to work on being honest about the feelings of your character. If you are a strong person in life, how does that translate to characters that are more timid, soft and loving? If you are a person that likes being lower status, how do we translate that to characters without going too dark? Separating your personal vulnerability from the vulnerability of a character you are playing can sometimes be difficult. Especially when playing someone villainous or a character that believes in things that go against who you are as a person. We will try to discover a balance between both worlds. Characters belong on stage, not in our everyday life.
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About Chuy...
Estevan J. (Chuy) Zárate is an award-winning actor/director/coach from San Antonio, TX, who has been improvising for audiences for 36 years. He has lived most of his life in Improv Mecca Austin, TX, USA. Chuy was one of the driving forces of improv in the early 2000s in Austin and helped make it the viable improv comedy scene that it is today. He has a very eclectic tool belt to reach into that allows him to teach all styles and formats. With specialties in improv singing, grounded/character-driven scenework and team building, Chuy has coached hundreds of kids, teens, students and adults for years. Find out more here.
Sat, June 6
Morning: 10 am - 1 pm
DAY 2: Improvising with Puppets with Jason Kelts and Alex Timmis of Electric City Puppets
Feel It to Believe It: Emotion as the Magic Ingredient with Diana Brown
Sat, June 6 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
In this emotionally rich, playfully deep workshop, we’ll explore how authentic feeling transforms improv from clever to captivating. Emotion isn’t just a tool—it’s the magic ingredient that gives your characters depth, your relationships weight, and your comedy heart. Through focused exercises and dynamic scene work, you’ll learn to tap into your emotional truth, respond instinctively, and leave a lasting impression on stage.
About Diana...
Diana Brown is an improv artist, teaching artist, actor, producer, director, and voiceover talent. Diana was named as one of The Improv Boost's 2025 Sudden Impact Teachers. She was voted Most Valuable Mentor and Teacher at the San Francisco Improv Festival. Diana has taught, directed, and performed at festivals and theaters around the country and in Europe, including Ocean State Improv Festival, Impro Amsterdam, Improv Fest Ireland, Liverpool Improvisation Festival, Camp Improv Utopia, Gather Fest, Belfast Improv Festival, Dramatic Improv Festival in Chicago, Vancouver Improv Festival, and others.
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Find The Common Ground OR Meet in the Middle with Jeanette Cerami
Sat, June 6 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
Your idea to initiate is just as valid as your scene partners, and they can BOTH exist in the same scene at the same time! In this workshop, we're going to explore how to commit to your initial pull/instinct at the top of the scene and allow your scene partner to bring their idea as well. Like a wall, you two will build the scene brick by brick until your two initiations are melded into one weird, beautiful scene.
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About Jeanette...
Jeanette is the Education Director and Corporate Events Manager for The Box, and recently co-wrote the curriculum for the new Training Program. Jeanette started her improv training in Denver, then advanced her improv, stand-up, and sketch training in Chicago -Second City Severn Darden Graduate Program, performing and coaching at iO, assistant directing and performing in Hogwash: An Improvised Tall Tale, and Annoyance - and sketch writing in LA at UCB. She's happy to be back in her birthplace of Albuquerque where she performs regularly as a cast member of The Show, has a two-woman hiphop improv team Mountain Coast, and is a member of the all women's sketch group The Doodles.
Sat, June 6
Afternoon: 2 pm - 4:45 pm
Setting the Table with Derek Landseidel & Michael Rogers
Sat, June 6 from 2 pm - 4:45 pm, $40
The first moments of your scene set the table for what’s to come. So how do you prepare your scene for success? What ingredients did you bring!? Have you brought the proper silverware to indulge in it!? Are you and your partner even sampling the same cuisine!?
Join us to develop strategies to begin scenes that leave the table set for you and your guests to enjoy. During the workshop, we will focus on engaging, clear openings that will propel you towards meaningful and joyful improv. With these tools, you’ll have the audience savoring every bite. Welcome to flavortown.
Sun, June 7
Afternoon: 2 pm - 4:45 pm
Dynamic Duos with Britt Johnson and Angelique Lisboa
Sun, June 7 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
Have you ever found yourself in a two-person scene and thought, “huh, we’ve been standing in one spot talking for a while.” Make your stage picture dynamic to the relationship and let them inform each other! Britt and Angelique will guide you through using techniques and strategies to deepen your understanding of how stage picture communicates relationship to the audience and practice use of stage picture to deepen relationships in meaningful ways. This workshop is great for duos or any group (short or long form) that emphasizes two-person scenes. How you show up on stage will never feel the same!
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About Britt & Angelique...
Britt Johnson and Angelique Lisboa are veteran improvisers, educators, and all-around nonsense makers from the Twin Cities. They have created, directed, and produced multiple shows both independently and collaboratively. They can routinely be found improvising long form, short form, stand up, puppetry, and occasionally clowning. Honestly, the fact they find time to be in the same room at the same time is a bit of a miracle with their schedules. Both have taught at HUGE improv theater, and now continue to build community and create welcoming spaces to push the boundaries of what improv can be—whether that is through movement, challenging perspectives, or encouraging new honest reactions in improv.
Improv Houdini with PJ Nally
Sun, June 7 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
There are no mistakes in improv, only unsupported choices. This workshop is about the art of escaping an uninvested or nerve-ridden scene—not by bailing on it, but by finding joy in it. We’ll cover framing the behavior of an erratic scene partner, putting responsibility on your character rather than on circumstance, turning a scene that’s about someone who’s not present to one that says everything about the people who are, taking delight in the tiniest decisions, and more.
The fun is that both Houdini and his audience trusted that he work his way out, no matter how dire the situation appeared. Trust is the difference between worry and excitement. So let's take delight in facing whatever our sets may bring us, and let's hear that delight echo throughout the room. There’s no use not having fun in improv.
About PJ...
PJ Nally (he/him) performs, coaches, and teaches improv in New York City. He’s been improvising since 2018, beginning his career in London, and he is constantly pushing improv both artistically and professionally. Together with Maria Nally, he created and performs on Hell Yeah!, one of New York’s premier musical improv teams, as well as the Off-Broadway improvised musical The Others of Oz. He does regular improv with his beloved indie teams The Daily Harold and Easily Annoyed and is a member of the house team Middle Brain at The Magnet Theater. He’s studied and performed at Hoopla Impro, The Magnet Theater, UCB, and more. He’s as at home in a game-based Harold as he is in an improvised tap break.
Animate, Inanimate Objects with Maria Nally
Sun, June 7 from 10 am - 1 pm, $40
This workshop is all about playing non-sentient beings in improv, injecting them with honest, human emotion. How does an old sock feel when it’s forgotten and collecting dust behind the dryer? What about a computer with a loud fan at a library, or a go-to favorite shirt that is often worn as soon as it’s washed? We’ll focus on how objects would move (if they moved on their own), and grounding non-human things with honest human feelings. By focusing on the acting and treating objects with the respect they deserve, we’ll have beautiful, hilarious scenes that are as believable as they are fun!
About Maria...
Maria Nally (she/her) is an improviser, coach, and actor who has been performing in New York City for several years. In 2025, she made her Off-Broadway debut in The Others of Oz: The Improvised Musical, and performs musical improv regularly at The Magnet Theater with her house team Houndstooth. Maria has a BFA in Musical Theatre from Missouri State University, where she studied with Lisa Brescia, Ann Marie Daehn, and Robert Westenberg, amongst others. Past roles (in case you’re curious) have included Sister Act (Sister Mary Robert), Legally Blonde (Vivienne Kensington), and lots of other classic high belters. Offstage, she is a huge fan of Robert Caro. If you’ve read his books, she would love to talk with you about them. If you haven’t read his books, she highly recommends them.
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Housing
There are many nearby hotels and B&Bs in the South Kingstown and Narragansett area. We also have a limited number of community homestay options available. As the festival has continued to grow, we cannot guarantee community housing for everyone who may want it.
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Are you a Rhode Islander interested in hosting some amazing improvisers? Every year we need kind local folks to help us house our visiting friends! Reach out to Maggie Cady at cady@thecontemporarytheater.com for info!
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Travel
We are located in Wakefield, Rhode Island in beautiful South County.
Driving: We are 20 minutes off of I-95 at 327 Main Street, Wakefield, RI 02879.
Train: Kingston Station on the Northeast Corridor of Amtrak is 15 minutes from the theater. Wickford Station on the commuter rail from Boston is 15 minutes from the theater. We will have transportation from the stations available if you let us know your arrival time.
Air: Providence T.F. Green Airport is half an hour from the theater, and Boston Logan Airport is an hour and a half from the theater. We will have transportation from the Providence Airport available if you are traveling within certain timeframes at the beginning and end of the festival. (It's harder for us to get transportation in the middle of the festival because we're all busy at workshops and shows!)