Improv Embassy Theatre Company

We're excited you're interested in performing at the 2026 Ottawa Improv Festival!

The Ottawa Improv Festival (OIF) is an annual improvised comedy festival that features hilarious and talented local, national and international performers. 

The 2026 Festival will run from Thursday, May 28th to Saturday, May 30th at Arts Court Theatre.

Submissions are open from Sunday, January 25th to 11:59pm on Sunday, February 15th.

How to apply

**Please only submit ONE application per team**

1. Click the button on this page that says "Register"
2. Complete the form on the following page
3. Choose the basic or support fee
4. Hit the final register button! (You will receive a confirmation email)

If you need help filling out the form or need a more accessible way to apply, please contact us by email at oif@improvembassy.com and we’ll make arrangements.

About PWYC submission fees

Did you know that OIF doesn’t make money? In fact, we spend thousands of dollars to make this festival happen.

Submission fees help us to offset the festival's costs. $20 is the basic festival fee to help us cover administrative costs. If you choose our support fee, your fee will go directly to the cost of running a great festival. The support fee starts at $30, but you may also input your own chosen support fee to provide even greater support to the festival. Larger teams are encouraged to use the support fee, but are by no means required to. The amount you pay has no effect on your potential acceptance into the festival.

When and how will teams be selected?

A selection committee made up of members of the Ottawa Improv community will decide on team selections for this year's festival. We will use an objective evaluation form that will help us to evaluate your submissions. A video of a recent performance is necessary to help us adequately assess your submission.

We hope to have the finalized selection of teams and schedule by the end of March.

We will only let teams who are chosen know if they have been selected. If you have not heard back by the end of March, you have not been selected for the festival this year, but there will still be lots of participatory aspects and we hope to see you at a workshop or jam instead.

Running a festival has a lot of considerations, if you do not get into the festival this year, it is not a reflection of your merits as an improvisor or as a troupe. We only have a small number of slots to fill compared to the number of applicants and attempt to incorporate a diversity of voices, formats and types of improv. Many experienced and talented improvisers and teachers have applied, but did not match our admission criteria. If we don't get to see you in this particular festival, we hope to be able to see you perform in the Ottawa community or at a future festival. If you didn't get in but still want to perform in Ottawa, we are always open to new performers and collaborations, please feel free to get in touch with The Improv Embassy team if so.

If you wish to learn more about the festival, you can go to the OIF website HERE. If you have additional questions about the festival please send us an email at oif@improvembassy.com.

Please note that if you are coming from out of town, you will be responsible for your own travel and accommodations. If you are accepted and this is barrier to your participation, you can reach out to us and we can see if there’s any available billeting for you, though there is no guarantee of billeting. 

Please note that due to limited time and resources, we are not able to provide feedback on your submission.

Finally please note that as a community-driven festival, our ability to provide honorariums depends directly on our turnout. While we hope to compensate all our performers, we understand if the uncertainty of a 'crowd-dependent' honorarium doesn't work for your current situation. We value your craft and want to ensure this partnership feels right for you.

The co-directors and OIF committee members will not tolerate or respond to any messages deemed harassing from any applicants.

Good luck and we look forward to seeing your entries!

Best in creativity, laughter and fun, & hope to see you at the shows this year!