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The Philadelphia Improv Festival (PHIF) was founded in 2005 in celebration of improvisational comedy. What started as an invitation-only local showcase in the spring, quickly expanded to become a full-length national festival later that same year. Since that time the festival has occurred annually each Fall.
PHIF includes a combination of commissioned and submitted improvisational comedy acts. Although exact numbers vary from year to year, roughly a third of the shows are Philadelphia based, another third heralding from Mid-Atlantic cities like New York, DC and Baltimore with the remaining performers representing every corner of the country.
Since its inception, PHIF has expanded to include several dozen shows, featuring over 200 comedians a year. Each summer, over a hundred comedic acts submit their shows for consideration. PHIF has grown to become the third largest festival of its kind on the East Coast, behind the Del Close Marathon (New York, NY) and the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival (Carrboro, NC).
In addition to incredible theatrical talent from distinguished institutions the likes of Second City, iO, Annoyance Theatre, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, The Groundlings and The Steppenwolf Theatre Company, PHIF has showcased performers featured on television programs such as Saturday Night Live, The Office, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien, Crossballs, MTV's Made, The VMAs, and VH1's Best Week Ever.
PHIF includes a combination of commissioned and submitted improvisational comedy acts. Although exact numbers vary from year to year, roughly a third of the shows are Philadelphia based, another third heralding from Mid-Atlantic cities like New York, DC and Baltimore with the remaining performers representing every corner of the country.
Since its inception, PHIF has expanded to include several dozen shows, featuring over 200 comedians a year. Each summer, over a hundred comedic acts submit their shows for consideration. PHIF has grown to become the third largest festival of its kind on the East Coast, behind the Del Close Marathon (New York, NY) and the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival (Carrboro, NC).
In addition to incredible theatrical talent from distinguished institutions the likes of Second City, iO, Annoyance Theatre, Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, The Groundlings and The Steppenwolf Theatre Company, PHIF has showcased performers featured on television programs such as Saturday Night Live, The Office, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien, Crossballs, MTV's Made, The VMAs, and VH1's Best Week Ever.
