ImprovFestivals.orgBay Area Musical Improv Festival
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 22-25, 2026 |
| Edition | 3rd |
| Location | Oakland, California |
| Venue | All Out Comedy Theater |
| Language | English |
| Organizer | Bay Area Musical Improv (501(c)(3) nonprofit) |
| Website | bayareamusicalimprov.com |
| BayAreaMusicalImprovFestival | |
| @bayareamusicalimprov |
Overview
The Bay Area Musical Improv Festival is a four-day festival dedicated entirely to musical improv, run by a volunteer nonprofit. The 2026 edition has nine shows with 29 acts, nine workshops, a free Opening Pizza Party on Thursday, and a free Closing Party on Sunday where people improvise songs with a live rock band.
The festival is held at All Out Comedy Theater in Oakland's Uptown district, a 90-seat venue a short walk from the 19th Street Oakland BART station.
The 2026 lineup mixes Bay Area teams such as BATS Improv, Knockoff Broadway, and RiOt: An Improvised Rock Opera with visiting acts from Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York City, Omaha, Portland, and Seattle. Visiting acts include Houndstooth and Hell Yeah! from New York, Teen Girl Book and HOT MESS: The Musical from Chicago, USS IMPROVISE from Portland, and OverWrought from Seattle. Two Mixer Teams of individual performers also play. Show tickets are sold through Eventbrite.
Workshops
Nine 2.5-hour workshops run Friday through Sunday, all taught by visiting teachers, including Tara Copeland, Aden and Eric Nepom, Betse Green, and Philip Geurin. Topics range from rhyming and freestyle rap to genre songs, duos, and solos. Registration opened September 9, 2026 on Eventbrite, and several workshops had sold out by mid-September.
Submissions
Performer and teacher applications for the 2026 festival closed on June 1, 2026. Mixer Team applications for individual performers closed on August 15, 2026.