GII Symposium 2026: Full Schedule

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8:00am PDT

Thursday July 9, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT

Artists

GII26 Team

The GII Symposium 2026 Team has worked on this event from the beginning, with our first team meeting back in July of 2025! This year's event would not be possible without this extraordinary group of folks!

... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 8:00am - 9:00am PDT
Broadway Entrance Lobby

z Organization

8:30am PDT

COFFEE in the Lobby

Thursday July 9, 2026 8:30am - 10:45am PDT

Recital Hall Lobby

Enjoy free coffee and snacks while supplies last

Artists

You

You have agency to make choices in life. Engage!

Thursday July 9, 2026 8:30am - 10:45am PDT
Recital Hall Lobby

z Wellness

8:30am PDT

GII Lounge & Book Gallery

Thursday July 9, 2026 8:30am - 5:00pm PDT

307 Design Studio

A free space to hang out, meet folks, work or relax! And where you can peruse the display table of publications by GII26 presenter/authors with various purchase options.

Artists

You

You have agency to make choices in life. Engage!

Thursday July 9, 2026 8:30am - 5:00pm PDT
307 Design Studio

z Wellness

9:00am PDT

The "Un-Keynote" with Anthony Veneziale

Thursday July 9, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am PDT

75 Recital Hall

Opening plenary with Anthony Veneziale, co-founder of Freestyle Love Supreme. Anthony will be introduced by Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, author of Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist (Simon & Schuster 2025).

You might be thinking, what is the "un-keynote"? In an interview for Conference Daily at ATD's International Conference in 2026, this is how Anthony described it:

"An un-keynote isn’t a performance. It isn’t a lecture. It’s a live demonstration of what modern learning must become. Yes, it includes high-energy Broadway-level talent. Yes, it is fueled by audience participation. But what makes it different is that it transforms passive attendees into active learners within minutes.

Our hope is that attendees leave not just energized, but primed. Primed to speak up in sessions. Primed to listen with curiosity and ask great questions of speakers. Primed to connect meaningfully with someone they don’t yet know.

The un-keynote isn’t just the opening session. It’s the warm-up for the entire conference."

Moderators

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Visiting Scholar in Theater, Portland State University

Daniel Pollack-Pelzner is the author of Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist (Simon & Schuster), one of NPR’s Books We Loved for 2025. He teaches English and theater at Portland State University. He received the Graves Award from the American Council of Learned Societies... Read More →

Artists

Anthony Veneziale

Anthony Veneziale also known as Two Touch, is the conceiver and co-creator of the acclaimed Freestyle Love Supreme.Anthony has been performing and teaching applied improvisation for more than 25 years and is a leader in the field of musical improvisation. He is the co-founder of the applied improvisation company , a Tony Award winner, a Grammy nominated Broadway & TV star and designer of a UCSF... Read More →

GII26 Team

Thursday July 9, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am PDT
75 Recital Hall

All Play Event

9:00am PDT

Keith Johnstone: The Canvas of Spontaneity

Thursday July 9, 2026 9:00am - 11:00pm PDT

The Broadway Gallery

An exhibit of select prints of paintings and sketches by Keith Johnstone, curated by Theresa Robbins Dudeck, PhD, Johnstone's Literary Executor and Biographer.

More info here: https://www.pdx.edu/events/keith-johnstone-canvas-spontaneity

Special thanks to...
Dale Dudeck for his photos and for preparing and handling the art for this exhibit.
Gary Hirsch for his expertise and support with the exhibit installation.

Artists

Theresa Robbins Dudeck

Assistant Professor | Co-Founder/2026 Chair, Portland State University | Global Improvisation Initiative (GII)

Theresa Robbins Dudeck, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Theater at Portland State University and co-founder (with Joel Veenstra) of the Global Improvisation Initiative. She is a Fulbright Scholar (Brazil) and considered one of the foremost teachers of Keith Johnstone’s impro system. Theresa serves as Johnstone’s... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 9:00am - 11:00pm PDT
The Broadway Gallery

Exhibit

10:00am PDT

Activating the Possible: GII26 Podcast Session

Thursday July 9, 2026 10:00am - 5:00pm PDT

205 Classroom

One-on-one Podcast Recording with GII Presenters & Attendees, hosted by Jonathan Pitts. More info forthcoming!

Artists

Jonathan Pitts

Owner/Producer, Global Improv Walkabout

Jonathan Pitts is an award-winning international improv theatre artist and storyteller living in Chicago. He's performed and/or taught in 30 countries and over 100 cities. He's the former Executive Director of Chicago Improv Productions; Co-Founder/Producer Chicago Improv Festival... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 10:00am - 5:00pm PDT
205 Classroom

Interview

11:00am PDT

Cog Creative: Navigating Dementia with Improvisation

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

319 Classroom

Cog Creative is a programme of improv classes for those living with dementia, their supporters and health care workers.

Artists

Nicola Pauling

Nicola Pauling is a New Zealand (Aotearoa) based theatre practitioner and specialist in applied practice. She has produced numerous performance projects working across the mediums of theatre, film and radio and in partnership with government agencies, local government, health professionals... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
319 Classroom

Panel

11:00am PDT

Improbable and the Many Worlds of Improvisation

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

221 Hybrid Classroom

For 30 years Improbable have been exploring where improvisation can take us, both on stage and beyond. Join us for a gentle chat about the likely and very unlikely places we’ve brought an improvisational approach, including Philip Glass operas, My Neighbour Totoro in the West End, making a show that is live directed by a learning disabled woman, hosting a conference about the future of theatre, and navigating a life threatening disease.

Artists Phelim, Lee, and Matilda will be joining us remotely, from their home in the UK. GII participants can join the conversation, in person, in LH 221!

Zoom Webinar links will be sent out to online registrants within 24 hours, at the latest, before session starts.

Artists

Lee Simpson

Artistic Director, Improbable

Lee is a founder member of Improbable and a Comedy Store Player. He’s also been a croupier, cinema projectionist and breakfast show DJ. He’s written plays, appeared in sit-coms and in some films, been on some Radio 4 panel shows and once did a very poor poodle act at the... Read More →

Matilda Leyser

Co-Artistic Director, Improbable

Matilda Leyser is a British writer, director, aerialist, and the first female Co-Artistic Director at the UK-based theatre company, Improbable. She is widely known for blending improvisation, storytelling, and physical theatre, and for navigating her creative work alongside personal experiences as a mother and a leukaemia survivor... Read More →

Phelim McDermott

Artistic Director, Improbable

Phelim is a founder member of Improbable. He has won various awards such as an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, TMA Awards for Best Touring Production and Best Director and a Critics Circle Best Designer Award. He was awarded a National Endowment for Science, Technology and the... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
221 Hybrid Classroom

Panel, Virtual/Online

11:00am PDT

Epic Disney: A Brechtian Approach to Improvisation

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

115 Studio Theater

Using elements of Brecht and Disney animated films as a launchpad, this interactive workshop will demonstrate and then break down the elements of how to tell the untold stories of a world where only 1% hold the magic. The Improvacateurs explore both dramatic and comedic theater to highlight our changing society. The Improvacateurs are Donna Arasin, Samson Caruth, Michele Guthrie, Samm Hill and Myra Lavenue.

Artists

The Improvacateurs

The Improvacateurs explore both dramatic and comedic theater to highlight our changing society. The Improvacateurs are Donna Arasin, Samson Caruth, Michele Guthrie, Samm Hill and Myra Lavenue.

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
115 Studio Theater

Performance, Demo

11:00am PDT

Human Connection & Improv: Solving Workforce, Mental Health & Inclusion Challenges through Authentic Connection

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

225 Classroom

How do we solve a workforce development crisis, mental health and substance use challenges, and diversity gaps? The answer: human connection. Join us on this journey. Come connect with us.

Artists

Brent Darnell

Owner, Brent Darnell International

Brent Darnell is undoubtedly a transformative figure in the construction industry, pioneering the integration of emotional intelligence and critical people skills into a traditionally male-dominated and technically focused field. His journey from being a third-generation construction worker to becomin... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
225 Classroom

Workshop

11:00am PDT

Improv for Role Playing Games

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

327 Acting Studio

This session explores the role and use of improv for role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and others. It covers key topics including: Character Development (Player Characters, NPCs), Storytelling, World Building and Game Play& Design.
The session also discusses how Game Masters (GMs) can use improv to collaborate with players, to provide opportunities for custom gaming experience, and to balance planned scenarios with sandbox settings.

Artists

Tiffany Crotty

Portland Comedy Theater

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
327 Acting Studio

Workshop

11:00am PDT

Play the Problem: Improv, Cynefin & the Art of Navigating a Complex World

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

7 Acting Studio

Bring greater weight to your improvisation or teaching. This interactive workshop will bring to life decades of research and practice around the Cynefin* framework, which helps you first identify the kind of problem you’re facing (Simple, Complicated, Complex, or Chaotic) and only then to choose an appropriate response. Improvisers have the skills to address today’s challenges—Cynefin is a road map for when and how to use those skills.

Artists

Caitlin McClure

Caitlin McClure helps people and organizations embrace change, unlock creativity, and co-create new possibilities through performance and play. Her work as a leadership development and organizational climate consultant champions the power of imagination and spontaneity as tools for... Read More →

Don Waisanen

Don Waisanen is a “pracademic” who’s always striving to help others level up their understandings and practices for communication and leadership. He's a Professor at Baruch College, CUNY, an adjunct at Columbia and NYU, and the founder of Communication Upward, which provides... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
7 Acting Studio

Workshop

11:00am PDT

The Improvisational Facilitator

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT

55 Boiler Room

Great facilitation doesn't just support improv—it is improv. Let’s explore the frameworks, practices, and personal strengths that will enhance your teaching and leadership in any context!

Artists

Kat Koppett

CEO, Mopco/Koppett

Kat Koppett is the Eponymous Founder of Koppett. a consultancy specializing in the use of improv and storytelling techniques to enhance individual and group performance. She is the author of Training to Imagine: Improvisational Techniques for Leaders and Educators to Enhance ... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
55 Boiler Room

Workshop

12:30pm PDT

LUNCH (on your own)

Thursday July 9, 2026 12:30pm - 2:00pm PDT

Portland (on your own)

Enjoy a meal in the amazing city of Portland

Artists

You

You have agency to make choices in life. Engage!

Thursday July 9, 2026 12:30pm - 2:00pm PDT
Portland (on your own) Portland, OR 97207

z Wellness

2:00pm PDT

OHSU Vital Talks: Improv in Medical Role-Play

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT

225 Classroom

Oregon Health Sciences University trains doctors and nurses in handling end-of-life conversations with patients, parents and children of adult patients. They use skilled improvisors in role-play sessions with students. This panel session will discuss the benefits and challenges, and provide a demonstration or two of the training.

Moderators

Patrick Short

Education Director, Portland Comedy Theater

Patrick Short is currently the Education Director at CSz Portland (Oregon) and Portland Comedy Theater; formerly co-owner and GM of CSz Portland; former Executive Director of CSz Worldwide. Member of the Applied Improvisation Network (AIN) Board; Board Member for Access To Play (Nigeria... Read More →

Artists

Jared Chiarchiaro

Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

Jared Chiarchiaro is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Clinical Chief for the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at OHSU. He received his internal medicine training at Duke University Hospital and his Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship training at the University... Read More →

Katie Stowers

Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

Dr. Katie Stowers is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her internal medicine residency and palliative medicine fellowship at The Ohio State University. Katie is an associate professor of medicine. She serves as the Interim Director... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
225 Classroom

Panel

2:00pm PDT

Making DAME: Exploring Under-represented Aspects of Female Identity through Improvisation and Community Connection

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT

115 Studio Theater

An interactive, educational, and playful roundtable discussion on methods of creating opportunities and safe spaces for discourse and exploration on the complexities of female experiences.

Elegant improv, comfortable shoes.
DAME is a Portland-based collective of seasoned femme improvisers. Their fun and grounded style explores identity and questions expectations through connected, relationship-driven scene work and storytelling. Their current project, Menoprov, blends improv with health education to demystify the menopausal transition.

Artists

DAME

Elegant improv, comfortable shoes.
DAME is a Portland-based collective of seasoned femme improvisers. Their fun and grounded style explores identity and questions expectations through connected, relationship-driven scene work and storytelling. Their current project, Menoprov... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
115 Studio Theater

Performance, Demo | Panel, Demo

2:00pm PDT

Failure is Fuel: Using Table-Top Role-Playing Games to Teach Resiliency

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT

7 Acting Studio

Risking failure is a necessary part of the creative process as we grow, innovate, and learn. But we are also conditioned to fear the consequences of failure. As students, teachers and creative changemakers alike look to their uncertain futures – an uncertainty amplified by the spread of global violence, climate change, systemic discrimination, and technological zealotry – how can we reframe failure as fuel for our creative innovation?

When a character ‘fails’ in a table-top role-playing game (TTRPG), the story instantly becomes more interesting, the character becomes more complex, and everybody leans in, wondering: What’s going to happen next? Is there a way to use elements of TTRPGs in how we teach, build our creative professions, and cultivate our lives, that could foster an attitude of playful curiosity – or even eagerness – toward failure? What happens to our ability to tolerate and build on failure when it’s reframed in this way?

In the first half of this workshop, come watch and be part of a demonstration merging table-top roleplaying mechanics with an improvised scene, exploring what happens when the characters fail. Then, we’ll dig into these ideas through group and partnered discussions. You’ll walk away with ways you can practically apply these ideas to your own life and work.

Artists

Caitlin Lushington

Caitlin Lushington (she/they) coaches actors and arts educators to radically reimagine how we teach and inhabit creative professions. She has 13+ years of professional experience as a performer, director, and intimacy choreographer, including serving as the Artistic Managing... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
7 Acting Studio

Workshop

about <br>

2:00pm PDT

Stories That Move Us

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT

327 Acting Studio

Stories That Move Us invites participants to explore personal storytelling through Playback Theatre and improvisation, transforming lived experiences into dynamic, collaborative performances.

Artists

Damilola Apotieri-Abdulai

International Improv Artist, Playback Nigeria, CEO

Oluwadamilola Apotieri-Abdulai (NG) is the CEO of Playback Nigeria and a member of the board of Centre for Playback Theatre (USA). He is a confidence coach and communication skills trainer dedicated to bringing effective change to individuals and organizations through theatre and improv. He is Nigeria’s first Applied... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
327 Acting Studio

Workshop

2:00pm PDT

The Audacity of Nope: Replacing Passive Agreement with Generous Redirection

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT

55 Boiler Room

Keith Johnstone’s playful “Nope” encouraged improvisers to discard ideas that didn’t serve the evolving relationships or narrative. In this workshop, we will explore how to honor the spirit of “Yes And” by generously killing original, “brilliant” offers that do not inspire your partner or support the unfolding collaborative creation.

Artists

Theresa Robbins Dudeck

Assistant Professor | Co-Founder/2026 Chair, Portland State University | Global Improvisation Initiative (GII)

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
55 Boiler Room

Workshop

2:00pm PDT

Using Applied Improv for Speech, Language and Cognitive Challenges

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT

319 Classroom

There is a distinct need for treatments in the areas of speech, language, and cognition that can address multiple goals and still keep the clinicians’ students/clients/patients engaged during the practice phase of learning. Improv meets those needs!

Artists

Ruth Jenkins, CCC, MS-SLP

President, CSz Portland

Ruth Jenkins, BFA, Theatre, University of Colorado, Boulder (1985), CCC - MS, SLP Portland State University (1995), is the former co-owner and President of CSz Portland, where she still teaches and performs after 38 years. Ruth was also a Speech Language Pathologist working primarily... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
319 Classroom

Workshop

2:00pm PDT

Vulnerable Improvisation: The Aesthetic of Chaos, Viscerality & the Dramaturgical Discourse of the “Wild” in the Contemporary Scene

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT

221 Hybrid Classroom

This session aims to promote discussion on vulnerability as a central and philosophical axis of contemporary theatrical improvisation, moving it beyond the exclusive sphere of play, risk, and light entertainment. The analysis begins with the play "WILD IMPROVISATION" (authored and directed by Aline Bourseau), which adopts long-form improvisation as a form of dramaturgical discourse capable of addressing viscerality, chaos as an aesthetic language and carefully planned narrative discourse, and socially "savage" or marginalized themes, or those not popular within improvisation (such as domestic violence, abuse, hate speech, etc.). The connections between improvisation and philosophical concepts of freedom, becoming, imbalance, ethics, and the Deleuzian "violent encounter" with what is "Outside" will be explored, proposing a technique not only as a performing tool but also as a thought practice and an ethical-aesthetic exercise of (re)existence. The debate will focus on how performative surrender and the abandonment of defenses—vulnerable improvisation—create a territory of investigation that allows reflection on the human in its constitutive contradiction: the boundary between the civilized and the visceral.

Artist Aline Bourseau will facilitate from her home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! GII26 participants can join the workshop, in person, in LH 221!

Zoom Webinar links will be sent out to online registrants within 24 hours, at the latest, before session starts.

Artists

Aline Bourseau

Founding Director, Cia de Arte Boursoria

Brazilian, born in Rio de Janeiro. Actress, Director, and Researcher with over 20 years of experience in the performing arts. She began her career in 1999, accumulating experience under the direction of names such as Barbara Heliodora, Luiz Furlanetto, Demétrio Nicolau. With an academic... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
221 Hybrid Classroom

Workshop, Virtual/Online

3:45pm PDT

Improvisation for Personal & Community Healing

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT

225 Classroom

Practitioners from a variety of fields will discuss the research, merits, challenges, and applications of improv for personal and community healing. We will look at work in the fields of conflict resolution, counseling and therapy, palliative care, and medical leadership. We will investigate questions like: How has improvisation changed these fields to date? What does the Venn diagram between "Healing and Health" and "Improv Practice and Skills" look like? Where might there be more opportunities for improving personal and community health using impro?

Panelists: Brad Fortier (Host); Barbara Tint, PhD; Kate Westmoreland, MD; Traci Beibel, LCSW

Moderators

Brad Fortier

Principal, Northwest Cultural Solutions

Brad Fortier studies why humans behave the way they do — and uses that understanding to change how teams, organizations, and communities work together. He holds an MA in interdisciplinary studies from Portland State University, where he researched the neuroscience and anthropology... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT
225 Classroom

Panel

3:45pm PDT

Reindigenizeing Improvisation Storytelling

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT

319 Classroom

In this round table, we will discuss how applying Indigenous knowledge systems to improvisation benefits the ways in which we understand storytelling. We will discuss how global Indigenous knowledges are strategically silenced through settler colonization in impro theater, and how to Reindigenize (rather than “decolonize”) our art form.

Artists

Cassie Funmaker

GII Steering Committee

Cassie (Mąąhociwi) Funmaker is a Portland, OR based theater artist with a specialty in devising and improvisation performance. Their artistic work is in service of social liberation and indigenous sovereignty in the theater. They are currently working on their bachelor’s degree... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT
319 Classroom

Panel

3:45pm PDT

Making Your Improv Auditions Equitable and Ethical

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT

7 Acting Studio

In this workshop, you’ll learn what you need to do to have equity in casting and how to design an inclusive, ethical casting process.

Artists

Mary C. Parker

Mary C. Parker has over ten years of improv comedy experience across Pittsburgh, London, Portland, and Seattle, performing at festivals in Edinburgh, Pittsburgh, and Richmond. She is a member of the Pro Team at CSz Seattle, serves as the Education Lead at Bandit Theater, and is founding... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT
7 Acting Studio

Workshop

3:45pm PDT

The Information Is In The Room: Improvisation for Inclusion

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT

327 Acting Studio

Explore DanceAbility, a method that includes all people in an improvisational movement class. Use your body and attention to experience how improvisation practices facilitate adaptive and inclusive practices and spaces.

Artists

Aaron Wheeler-Kay

Creative Manager, Echo Theater Company

Aaron Wheeler-Kay is Creative Director at Echo Theater Company in Portland OR. Aaron teaches and directs original performance work hybridizing circus arts, physical ensemble theater and inclusive/adaptive practices. Aaron is a Certified Master Teacher in DanceAbility, a modality using... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT
327 Acting Studio

Workshop

3:45pm PDT

The Pedagogy Beneath Johnstone’s Exercises: Less Pressure, More Play

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT

115 Studio Theater

This in-person workshop is a practical teaching lab for anyone drawn to improv—teachers, applied improv practitioners, performers, and beginners—who wants to explore the facilitation choices that make relaxed playfulness more likely.

Artists

William Hall

Fratelli Bologna

BATS Improv co-founder. Actor, director, trainer, facilitator and mask teacher.
Find Improv games and activities on: www.ImprovGames.com

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT
115 Studio Theater

Workshop

3:45pm PDT

Welcome to the Cypher: Intro to Freestyle Improv

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT

55 Boiler Room

Improvising Freestyle Rap with the co-founder of Freestyle Love Supreme

Artists

Anthony Veneziale

Thursday July 9, 2026 3:45pm - 5:15pm PDT
55 Boiler Room

Workshop

5:15pm PDT

DINNER (on your own)

Thursday July 9, 2026 5:15pm - 7:00pm PDT

Portland (on your own)

Enjoy a meal in the amazing city of Portland

Artists

You

You have agency to make choices in life. Engage!

Thursday July 9, 2026 5:15pm - 7:00pm PDT
Portland (on your own) Portland, OR 97207

z Wellness

7:00pm PDT

Love, Shakespeare

Thursday July 9, 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT

55 Boiler Room

Witness the magic of unscripted Shakespeare, as a troupe of traveling players performs one of the Bard's “forgotten” comedies. Love, Shakespeare troupe members: Rose Bonomo, Rachel Rosenthal, Andy Perkins, Peri Ahmadi, Jake Hull, Tyler Quinn, Kristen Schier

Artists

Love, Shakespeare

Step into the offbeat world of Love, Shakespeare, where seasoned comedians attempt something audacious: a fully improvised Elizabethan play based on your suggestions! Follow a merry band of players, former buddies of the great Will himself, as they unravel one of the Bard's “unfinished” gems. Each show is an unpredictable tribute... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
55 Boiler Room

Performance

7:00pm PDT

Mosaic Complex and Oprah's Book Club

Thursday July 9, 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT

115 Studio Theater

Performances by two of Portland's premiere BIPOC improv teams, seen regularly at Kickstand Comedy!

Artists

Mosaic Complex

Every neighbor has a story. Come take a peak inside the Mosaic Complex, a comedy show that explores the many lives that enrich a completely improvised apartment building. Every show we visit a new apartment—all based on your stories! If you enjoy eavesdropping on characters from... Read More →

Oprah's Book Club

What’s your favorite book? Oprah's Book Club, a favorite at Kickstand, features three bold, hilarious Black women with undeniable chemistry. Their shared perspective shapes the tone, blending sharp wit with real-life insight. Every show is playful, smart, and full of surprises.
... Read More →

Thursday July 9, 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
115 Studio Theater

Performance

8:15pm PDT

Worlds Collide: FreeStyle Love Supreme meets American Immigrants

Thursday July 9, 2026 8:15pm - 9:15pm PDT

75 Recital Hall

A musical, improvised show containing elements from Freestyle Love Supreme, and Anthony’s American Immigrants.

FEATURING:

Anthony Veneziale
Vivek Venugopal
Emily Larkin
Patrick Short
Rachel Rosenthal
Ian Lootens (Beatboxer)
Alexandra Washington (aka, A’ Revolution)

Artists

Anthony Veneziale

Thursday July 9, 2026 8:15pm - 9:15pm PDT
75 Recital Hall

Performance

9:30pm PDT

Keith Johnstone’s Maestro Impro™

Thursday July 9, 2026 9:30pm - 11:00pm PDT

75 Recital Hall

16 Improvisors compete in scenes and games to crown a Maestro!

Thursday July 9, 2026 9:30pm - 11:00pm PDT
75 Recital Hall

Performance

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