Detour: Improv Theater Festival

Come refuel after workshops! Meet other people, improvisers, and invited troupes! Food and refreshments will be served (first come first serve).

Recommended Experience Level: Basic Theatrical or Improv Experience

Matching (or “peas in a pod”) scenes are a shortcut to a great time for you, your scene partner(s), and the audience. This workshop focuses on the skills of matching physicality, voice, and point-of-view to create engaging, high energy, and funny scenes. You’ll leave with a strengthened ability to make more out of less, to establish trust with your scene partner, and to rely on your own creative instincts. Come ready to move!

Topic: Matching / Peas-in-a-pod

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Recommended Experience Level: Basic Theater Experience

Every moment on stage contains the seed of a story waiting to be discovered. This workshop introduces the fundamental principles of narrative structure through the lens of improvisation, teaching participants how to recognize and develop the dramatic potential in any scene. Through a combination of structured exercises and guided scene work, you'll learn to identify dramatic stakes, character wants, and emergent narrative structure that emerge through scenic play. We'll explore how to build narrative momentum while staying present and truthful in scenes, and develop compelling story arcs that engage both performers and audience. Perfect for theater practitioners looking to expand their toolkit and improvisers wanting to strengthen their storytelling foundations.

Topic: Narrative Structure & Scene Development

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Recommended Experience Level: Intermediate Improv Experience (Musical Theater Background Helpful)

Dive into the exhilarating world of longform musical improvisation where stories unfold through melody, harmony, and lyrical exploration. This workshop focuses on the unique challenges and opportunities of sustaining musical narratives beyond single songs or scenes. Through guided exercises, we'll practice the delicate balance of knowing when to speak and when to sing, how to initiate songs that advance the story rather than stall it, and methods for crafting satisfying musical conclusions. We'll also explore practical approaches to musical support, including basic accompaniment patterns, non-verbal underscoring, and creating instant choruses that the whole cast can join. Suitable for improvisers comfortable with basic singing who want to expand their musical storytelling capabilities.

Topic: Musical Longform Improvisation

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Recommended Experience Level: Intermediate Improv or Theater

You've probably heard the term "grounded scene", but what does that really mean? Great scenes come from strong roots, and this workshop will focus on the art of slow, patient scene work. You'll learn how to embrace silence, let your characters grow organically, and find the truth in the scene. If you've got some experience in improv, but want to learn how to play with more honesty, this is the class for you.

Topic: Emotionally Grounded Scenes

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Recommended skill level: Advanced Improv Experience (comfort with longform)

Some of the most powerful moments in longform come not from plot but when scenes echo each other in tone, image, or theme. This workshop is about learning to notice those echoes and follow them. You'll practice identifying the non-literal threads that emerge in a set, building the patience to let connections surface on their own, and making choices that deepen what a piece is about without explaining it. Whether you're looking to strengthen your editing instincts or just want to understand why some sets feel like they mean something, this workshop will give you tools to get there.

Topic: Non-literal longform connections

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Come see the closing night Detour performance! The performance will be filled with both short-form and long-form; most importantly, the show features the Detour workshop participants leveraging newly-gained skills learned in the earlier professional improv workshops! During the last two hours, there will be an improv Jam for anyone who wants to try their hand at performing a scene or two!

No ticketing for the show; just bring yourself and get ready for a show you've never seen before (and will never see again)!

Welcome to Detour! Come meet your fellow attendees, grab a nametag, and get situated. Hang out in the ground floor lobby of the Tepper School of Business building next to the Forbes avenue entrance and start making friends. NPP staff will then lead cohorts over to each workshop room so no one gets lost; the Carnegie Mellon University campus can be confusing. We're so happy to see you and this kicks us off!

Recommended skill level: Basic improv experience

Everything we need is right in front of us, we just need to notice it to use it. This workshop will teach you how to use the details already in scenes to deepen your character: your scene partner's choices, your own choices, the environment, the dynamics. Whether you're just starting out or want to brush up on your listening skills, this workshop is useful to improvisers of all levels.

Topic: Textured and Specific Scenework

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Recommended Experience Level: Basic Theater (Musical Background Helpful)

Discover the joy of spontaneous singing and unlock your musical instincts in this energetic workshop focused on musical improv scenes. Participants will learn practical approaches to generating melodies, embracing rhyme, and building simple song structures that support their scenes. We'll explore classic musical shortform games, techniques for establishing rhythm and style, and methods for creating verses and choruses on the spot. Suitable for improvisers with some performance experience who want to add musical elements to their toolkit, as well as singers interested in applying their skills to comedy and improvisation.

Topic: Musical Games & Song Structure

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Recommended Experience Level: Basic Improv

Shortform games are the typical entry point for improvizational theater, but wherever you are in your improv journey shortform has something to offer. For comedic performers hoping to improve live shows to longform specialists to scripted actors, shortform improv keeps you fast, energetic, and technically disciplined. This workshop is open to everyone, though some existing shortform familiarity is recommended. Come ready to react, say, and do; quickly, there’s no time to think.

Topic: Shortform practice and performance

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Recommended Experience Level: Basic Improv or Theater

Get out of your head and into your body!  We’ll put twists on classic children’s playground games, along with other improv games and guided exercises, to focus on the essential improv skills of connection and collaborative play.  You’ll leave with more confidence in your ability to find the fun by committing wholeheartedly to what’s happening, and to create comedy and maximize audience enjoyment. Come ready to be active and have fun.  
Topic: Playful Improvisation

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Recommended Experience Level: Basic Theater Experience

Our characters carry a past, we just have to discover it. This workshop will teach you how to build a coherent inner history for your character based on what emerges naturally in scenes and sets: a reaction, a relationship, a throwaway line. Rather than inventing a backstory, you'll learn to let details accumulate and discover something that feels real and lived-in. Whether you're just starting out or looking to build more grounded characters, this workshop is useful to improvisers of all levels.

Topic: Character Point of View

Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and check in with the NPP representative in front of the workshop location. If you can't make it, please cancel your reservation to allow others to register due to limited space. Thank you!

Come see award-winning improvisers from across the U.S. perform in a fun improv performance for everyone! The performers are also the instructors for the Saturday improv workshops; by coming, you'll also get a sneak peak of the forms they'll be teaching. No ticketing for the show; just bring yourself and get ready for a show you've never seen before (and will never see again)!