Jet City Improv Festival 2026

​Back Again... For the First Time

​Friday, July 17
​

Be Dramatic! Theatricality for Improvisers​
Did you miss out on the chance to be a theatre kid in school? Or maybe you just miss the youthful days of singing showtunes way too loud in a Denny’s at midnight? Either way, this workshop is for you!
​Teacher:
Raynee Morris

Workshop Time:
10:00am to 12:00pm

​Location:
​University Height Center
​(The Green Room)
Master Class: Intermediate Musical Improvisation 
Improvising music is a freeing, empowering, joyful practice. In this session, Tara & Rance will lead thoughtful warmups, short musical theory, lean into commitment to the moment, and stress emotional connective play so you can earn the song right in front of you. We'll do vocal work, paired scenes into songs, and even step into side-support of your clinic ensemble. Take a deeper dive into Musical Improv using intuition and support to find magic in this incredible wing of the art.​
Teachers:
Tara DeFrancisco & Rance Rizzutto

Master Class Time:
1:00pm to 4:00pm

​Location:
​University Height Center
​(The Green Room)

Saturday, July 18
​

Headliner Workshop: Point of View
It’s the bedrock of every relationship. You state your point of view, and your partner says theirs. Sounds easy, right? But how often are scenes derailed because the actors don’t hold onto their points of view or mindlessly add unnecessary details that throw the scene off course? Recognizing, maintaining, and evolving a point of view creates confident and exciting scenes.
Teacher:
David Razowsky

Headliner Workshop Time:
10:00am to 12:00pm

​Location:
​West of Lenin Theatre
(Front Studio)
Master Class: This is Where the Story Begins
Brief moments, explored tales, epic journeys; we tell stories! Join us as we explore how to define different styles of storytelling, look for that “stickiness” in the messages we want to deliver, and most importantly learn to identify our audience and play to their highest intelligence. No matter what the size, bring your story to this interactive workshop, or come create a new one. This is where the story begins....
Teachers:
Eric and Aden Nepom

Master Class Time:
10:00am to 1:00pm

​Location:
West of Lenin Theatre
​(Back Studio)
It's Already There
We've all been in an improv scene that has felt like work - rather than allowing relationship to develop and content to arise, you've wasted the moments feeling lost about plot going on trying to force an agenda to happen. In this workshop through listening work, group exercises, and two person scenework with side-coaching, we'll find that everything you need was in the scene from the impetus as long as you lean into what makes the artform beautiful - creating with each other and listening to each moment along the way.
Teacher:
Tara DeFrancisco & Rance Rizzutto
​
Workshop Time:
10:00am to 12:00pm

​Location:
​University Height Center
​(The Drama Room)
The Four Circles of Improvised Songwriting
The best improvised songs take the audience on a journey. But when the music plays, it's easy for us improvisers to feel like *we* are the ones being taken for a ride.

This workshop explores the mechanics of premise, vocabulary, structure, and escalation with practical exercises. When you're done, you'll have an expanded toolkit for quickly and confidently creating songs that stick in people's heads for years to come.
Teachers:
Jeffrey Kranz and Noah Samuels

Workshop Time:
10:00am to 12:00pm

​Location:
​University Height Center
​(The Green Room)
Improv for Actors
St. Louis-style Improv! In this workshop students will practice establishing and playing strong, authentic emotional points of view in their scenes. We will explore how meaningful emotion - played truthfully - can drive scene work in unexpected ways and make an improviser a more confident performer and more reliable scene partner. Students will leave with exercises for continued practice and new tactics for supporting their scene partners and developing their characters.
Teacher:
Ryan Myers

Workshop Time:
12:30pm to 2:30pm

​Location:
​University Height Center
​(The Drama Room)
​To the Beat of a Different Drum
This workshop focuses on skills for improvisors, addressing common pain points like talking too much, too little, or feeling like a “talking head” in scenes. You’ll learn to embrace silence, use purposeful chatter, and support your scene partner through enhanced communication. Explore how rhythm influences movement and speech, and how stepping into a scene with intention and rhythm can create more vibrant, grounded performances.
By the end, you’ll leave with tools to amplify your scenes, transform challenges into opportunities, and communicate more effectively through rhythm and presence.
Teacher:
Betse Green

Workshop Time:
12:30pm to 2:30pm

​Location:
​University Height Center
​(The Green Room)
Headliner Master Class: Find Focus
What are you focused on when you begin a scene? What great offers are you missing because you’re building a story instead of a relationship? Learn how paying attention to your heart and breath leads to strong scenes and surprising dynamics.
Teacher:
David Razowsky

Headliner Master Class Time:
1:00pm to 5:00pm

​Location:
​West of Lenin Theatre
(Front Studio)
Master Class: Let's Break the Rules
Improv has rules, and experienced players know them so well they barely have to think about them. In this workshop, we will intentionally breaking them, and discover how great scenes can still thrive when we step outside the lines.
Teacher:
Michael Haycock

Master Class Time:
1:30pm to 4:30pm

​Location:
West of Lenin Theatre
​(Back Studio)
Caring About the Impossible
Fantastical fiction works like travel stories.  When you're five years old, Thailand and Tatooine are both far away places you don't expect to go to.  The tools that allow you to care about one can bring the other alive.  In this workshop, you'll examine what exactly makes your own stories of real times in real places engage an audience.  You'll then look at how to use those tools to create care for made-up people in fantastical places.  Come supercharge your fantastical storytelling by bring it down to earth! 
Teacher:
Tim Harahan

Workshop Time:
3:00pm to 5:00pm

​Location:
​University Height Center
​(The Drama Room)
​Can You Kick It? Yes You Can!
This is a beginner level improv workshop to open the door to getting comfortable doing improvised rapping. The focus will be on getting comfortable rhyming, and using exercises, games and mental skills to achieve that. Then the class will work on utilizing rhythms and beats, provided by your instructor/DJ, as a structure to put your lyrics on. Finally we'll work on including your newfound skills into some scene work, rather than just using them as a standalone exercise. By the end of the class you should feel more comfortable jumping into a game or MC circle/cypher and laying down some bars.
Teacher:
Nathan Cox

Workshop Time:
3:00pm to 5:00pm

​Location:
​University Height Center
​(The Green Room)

Sunday, July 19
​

​End of Festival Dust Up
Close out the Jet City Improv Festival with one final chance to play, connect, and shake off the weekend together.
This open jam is a low-pressure space for improvisers to get on their feet, try things out, meet other performers, and celebrate the end of the festival in the best way we know how: by making something up together.
Jam Leader:
Raynee Morris

Jam Time:
10:00am to 1:00pm

​Location:
​University Height Center
​(The Drama Room)

​Festival Workshops will take place at either:

​West of Lenin Theatre
203 N 36th St
Seattle, WA 98103

University Heights Center
5031 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
​West of Lenin Theatre
University Heights Center