Why should I apply to the Countdown Improv Festival?
Because it’s the best damn improv festival in the country. We think so, at least! The Countdown Improv Festival is a truly performer-focused festival, and we are intent on ensuring that our performers have a good show and a great time. Our goal is to provide the very best performer experience on the improv festival circuit. We try very hard to meet that goal.
Founders Justin Peters and Kelly Buttermore are longtime NYC-based touring improvisers who’ve performed hundreds and hundreds of shows all around the world and have headlined dozens of festivals. In creating the Countdown Improv Festival, they vowed to make it the sort of festival that they themselves would want to attend. We are committed to ensuring that our festival represents and reflects the community it serves.
All performers get free (incredibly soft and stylish) T-shirts; free standby admission to shows; discounted rates at the festival hotel; carefully curated swag bags with plenty of local flavor; free beer, wine, soft drinks, and snacks in the green rooms; and free food at each night’s festival after-party. The festival is covered in all the major local media outlets, and the shows routinely sell out. There are parties every night, and no one feels left out. Everything is walkable. Kelly and Justin will pick you up from the airport, greet you by name, introduce your show personally, and give you everything you need to succeed while at the festival. We do not have headliners and we do not stratify our participants; we welcome and value every performer on the bill. From the moment you arrive in Tampa to the moment you leave, you will feel appreciated, encouraged, and empowered to do your best work.
“This festival is gold standard.” –Jill Eickmann, San Francisco
Who produces this festival?
The Countdown Improv Festival is a production of Countdown Arts, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The founders and executive producers of the Countdown Improv Festival are the New York-based comedians Kelly Buttermore and Justin Peters, who perform together as the improv duo From Justin to Kelly. They are partial owners of the Ybor City comedy space The Commodore. On the festival production team since 2017 has been Dan Deming-Henes of Stranded Creative Ltd. Co. In 2021 Marisa Cutaia and Anthony Francis, who run Improv U and the O-Town Improv Festival in Orlando, joined the production team. In 2023, Chicago improviser Chris George joined the production team.
If you’re based in New York, why produce a festival in Tampa?
Hoo, boy, it’s a long story.
Where is the festival taking place?
The festival is located in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, which is one of the most interesting neighborhoods in the United States. The historical center of Cuban emigré culture in the Tampa Bay region, Ybor City is home to dozens of coffee shops, cigar factories, bars, restaurants, and stray roosters.
Local highlights include the century-old Columbia Restaurant, the world-famous Cuban bread at La Segunda Bakery, the craft beer at Barriehaus Brew Co, the thick Cuban coffee at the redolent King Corona Cigars Bar and Cafe, the skate-punk aesthetic of local cafe The Bricks, and so much more. There’s also a Scientology center nearby, if you’re into that sort of thing.
All shows will take place at the HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building, on the campus of the Ybor City branch of Hillsborough Community College, in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, Florida. There are multiple dressing rooms and green rooms. The Ybor Performing Arts Building is located on the corner of E. Palm Ave. and N. 15th St.
When is the festival?
August 7-10, 2024.
Will there be improv workshops open to the public?
Yes! Please stay tuned for more information.
Do Countdown Improv Festival performers have to pay for bottled water?
Emphatically not.