History - Countdown Improv Festival

2023

The 2023 edition of the Countdown Improv Festival took place from August 9-12 across three separate stages at the HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa. The festival featured 79 separate improv shows starring approximately 145 performers from 17 different states, including three performances from the second annual Countdown Improv Festival Ensemble. The festival also hosted 11 separate improv workshops, and a Saturday afternoon family workshop/matinee geared for children 12 and under.

The festival was produced by Countdown Arts, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Festival sponsors included the Hillsborough County Cultural Assets Program, the Ybor City Development Corporation, the Gobioff Foundation, BarrieHaus Brew Co., Battery Park Financial Partners at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Brass Taxes, Trader Joe’s, Adobe Express, the Happy Valley XL Fest, and Stranded Creative Ltd. Co. The festival also enjoyed the generous support of dozens of individual donors. Finally, the festival was sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Participants included:

123 Avenue D (Madison, Wis.)
The Absent-Minded Professor (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Alexander (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Ant Farm (Orlando, Fla.)
Big Bang (Boston, Mass.)

Bingewatch (San Francisco, Calif.)
Bryan vs. Music (Portland, Ore.)
BS and Dave (San Antonio, Texas)
BUTT CANDLE (Chicago, Ill.)
Camera (Madison, Wis.)

Can’t Buy a Thrill (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Carpool (Orlando, Fla.)
CatBird (Boynton Beach, Fla.)
CatBomb (Long Grove, Ill.)
ChemisThree (Miami, Fla.)

CLUTCH (Miami, Fla.)
The Conglomeration (Tampa, Fla.)
Cowboy Kevin Rides Again (Riverview, Fla.)
Crossed Wires (Madison, Wis.)
Cuzzins (Miami, Fla.)

Da’Boyz (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Daddy’s Little Nest Egg (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Dancing with Disaster (Chicago, Ill. / Schenectady, N.Y.)
Dueling Richards (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
The Bryan Fernando Improv Experience ft. Bryan Fernando (Portland, Ore.)

FLY (Orlando, Fla.)
Four First Names (Orlando, Fla.)
The Friendship Show (San Francisco, Calif.)
From Justin to Kelly (New York, N.Y.)
FST Improv (Sarasota, Fla.)

Gamesome Frolic (San Francisco, Calif.)
The Grownups (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Happy to Be Here (Orlando, Fla.)
The Harmonica John Show (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
He Said They Said (State College, Pa.)

Honk & Wave (Tampa/St. Pete, Fla.)
Hot Mess! The Musical (Chicago, Ill./Kansas City, Mo.)
Hype Squad (Tampa, Fla.)
I Am the Show (Chicago, Ill.)
ImprompTwo (Sarasota, Fla.)

Improñol (Chicago, Ill.)
It’s All About Amy (St. Augustine, Fla.)
Ivories Guy (Naples, Fla.)
Kapusta Improv Troupe (Bradenton, Fla.)
Kat and Kelly: Uninterrupted (NYC/West Palm Beach, Fla.)

LimboLand (New York, N.Y.)
The Magnificent 7 (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Matt Walker Just Got the Very Worst News (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Mixed Emojis (Clearwater, Fla.)
The Kevin Michalski Improv Trio (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

Mom & Dad (Atlanta, Ga.)
… mumbles … (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Casey J. Newman (The Villages, Fla.)
Nothing to See Here but a Normal Improv Show This Is Fine (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Ohio (Madison, Wis.)

Okay Google (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Ophelia’s Rope (Houston, Texas)
Playtime with Patrick and Preston (Chicago, Ill.)
¡Punctuation.Marks! (Miami, Fla.)
RC Cola Presents: Wisconsin Laugh Trip, Brought to You by RC Cola (Richmond, Va.)

Ready Set No! (Baltimore, Md.)
Screaming Armadillo Comedy Presents: Stories by the Campfire… to Die For (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Shrubzy and the Boy (Orlando, Fla.)
Slashie (Chicago, Ill.)
Sloogle (St. Louis, Mo.)

Small Town (Houston, Texas)
Solovela (Plantation, Fla.)
Splonge (Sarasota, Fla.)
Supreme Court Jesters (Orlando, Fla.)
The Three Insane Rituals (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Together/By Myself: A Solo Improv Experience (Coconut Creek, Fla.)
Too Shy Guys (Dallas, Texas)
Unconsciously Coupled (Sarasota, Fla.)
Wallares (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Wisenheimer (Des Moines, Iowa)
With(Drew) (Chicago, Ill. / Tampa, Fla.)

The festival ensemble was directed by Liz Marcucci and featured the following performers: Larry Bukovey, Daniel Dagesse, Victoria Koenitzer, Joe Llorens, Harvey Shifrin, and Randy Wood.

Improv workshops were taught on Friday, August 12 by Amy Angelilli, Alex Grindeland, Brian James O’Connell, and Stephen Wyeth; and on Saturday, August 13 by Diana Brown, Joe Bill and Jen Lavenhar, Jill Eickmann, Chris George, T.J. Mannix, Emily Ramirez, and Carlos Rivera.

2022

The 2022 edition of the Countdown Improv Festival took place from August 10-13. The first night of the festival was a hybrid live/online night, taking place at The MAR St. Pete in St. Petersburg, featuring five teams performing virtually, three teams performing live, and numerous bits. The next three nights all took place live and in person at the HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa. All together, the festival featured 65 separate improv groups featuring 128 performers from 18 different states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. The festival also featured the inaugural Countdown Improv Festival Ensemble, comprised of eight individual improvisers from all over the United States. Shows took place across three separate stages at HCC Ybor. The festival also programmed 7 separate live, in-person improv comedy workshops.

Participants included:

123 Avenue D (Madison, Wis.)
Alexander (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The Alumni (Bradenton, Fla.)
&Anthony (Starring Dallas Wait) (Delray Beach, Fla.)
Anomaly (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

Ant Farm (Delray Beach, Fla.)
Beatrice and Prudence Tell You What You Need To Hear (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Big Bang (Boston, Mass.)
Bryan vs. Music (Portland, Ore.)
CatBird (Boynton Beach, Fla.)

CatBomb (Long Grove, Ill.)
CLUTCH (Miami, Fla.)
Countdown Improv Festival Ensemble (Various)
Cowboy Kevin Is Movies (Riverview, Fla.)
Crossed Wires (Madison, Wis.)

Cruise Line Is It Anyway? (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Cuzzins (Miami, Fla.)
CYA Improv (Tampa, Fla.)
Daddy’s Little Nest Egg (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Dancing with Disaster (Chicago, Ill. / Schenectady, N.Y.)

Epcot Fitzgerald (Chicago, Ill.)
Flava Flavor Flavour (Chicago, Ill.)
For(Matt) (Tampa, Fla.)
Four First Names (Orlando, Fla.)
From Justin to Kelly (New York, N.Y.)

FST Improv (Sarasota, Fla.)
Happy to Be Here (Orlando, Fla.)
The Harmonica John Show (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Honk & Wave (Tampa/St. Pete, Fla.)
Hot Mess! The Musical (Chicago, Ill./Kansas City, Mo.)

I Am the Show (Chicago, Ill.)
I’m With Her (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Impromptu (Sarasota, Fla.)
Improvisers Making Puppets Speak (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
improvuppets (San Francisco, Calif.)

Intense For Too Long (IFTL) (Tampa/St. Pete, Fla.)
It’s All About Amy (St. Augustine, Fla.)
Ivories Guy (Naples, Fla.)
Los Improviachis (Chicago, Ill.)
The Magnificent 7 (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

Matt Walker Just Got Some More Bad News (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Meta?Nigma (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
The Kevin Michalski Improv Trio (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Milk and Cookies (Miami, Fla.)
Mom & Dad (Atlanta, Ga.)

Mornings With Pattie (Madison, Wis.)
… mumbles … (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
NAFTA (Austin, Texas / Ottawa, Canada)
NC-17: Nick and Conor (Houston, Texas)
Casey J. Newman (The Villages, Fla.)

Okay Google (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Playtime with Patrick and Preston (Chicago, Ill.)
PREACH! A Gathering of Inappropriate Improvised Sermons (Tampa, Fla.)
¡Punctuation.Marks! (Miami, Fla.)
Screaming Armadillo Comedy Presents: Stories by the Campfire… To Die For (Boca Raton, Fla.)

Sharon & Darren (Washington, D.C.)
Shrubzy and the Boy (Orlando, Fla.)
Siblings (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Solovela (Plantation, Fla.)
Third Wheel (Tampa, Fla.)

Three Improvisers from Atlas Improv Company (Madison, Wis.)
Tobin Tales (Milton, Vt.)
Together/By Myself: A Solo Improv Experience (Coconut Creek, Fla.)
Unconsciously Coupled (Sarasota, Fla.)
Wallares (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Wisconsin Laugh Trip (Richmond, Va.)

Improv workshops were taught on Friday, August 12 by Claire Biddiscombe, and on Saturday, August 13 by Joe Bill, David Hepburn and Alex Taylor, Ralph Krumins, LD Madera, Liz Marcucci, and Heather Marie Vitale.

2021

The 2021 edition of the Countdown Improv Festival took place from October 20-23. It was initially scheduled for September 8-11, but the rise of the Delta variant of COVID-19 in summer 2021 forced a postponement. The 2021 festival was a hybrid live/online festival, with the first night featuring teams performing virtually and the next three nights all taking place live and in person. It featured 50 improv groups from across the United States, performing across 2 different stages, as well as 12 improv workshops (7 taught in person, 5 taught online). Festival sponsors included the Hillsborough County Cultural Assets Program, Brass Taxes, Lilith Elektra Coaching, Magnanimous Brewing, The MAR St. Pete, the North Fork TV Festival, and Stranded Creative Ltd. Co. Participants included:

Ant Farm (Delray Beach, Fla.)
Big Bang (Boston, Mass.)
Bryan vs. Music (Portland, Ore.)
CatBird (Boynton Beach, Fla.)
CatBomb (Long Grove, Ill.)

Cheeze&Crackerz (Sarasota, Fla.)
Cuzzins (Miami, Fla.)
Daddy’s Little Nest Egg (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Four First Names (Orlando, Fla.)
From the Heart with Jill and Jackie (Oakland/Marin, Calif.)

From Justin to Kelly (New York, N.Y.)
FST Improv (Sarasota, Fla.)
Gritty Hamburglar (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
The Haiku Lady (Tampa, Fla.)
Harmonica John (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

Honk & Wave (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Hot Mess! The Musical (Chicago, Ill./Kansas City, Mo.)
I Am the Show (Chicago, Ill.)
I’m With Her (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Impromptu (Sarasota, Fla.)

Improvised Phone Calls w/ Steve Horton (Chicago, Ill.)
Inimitable Aluminum Anemones (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Interpretive Word (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
It’s All About Amy (St. Augustine, Fla.)
Kevin Is Subjected to a Series of Minor Annoyances While Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London Plays in the Background (Feat. COVEN) (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

Leaves of Three (San Francisco Bay/Los Angeles, Calif.)
The Magnificent 7 (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Matt Walker Just Got Some Bad News (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Meta?Nigma (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
The Kevin Michalski Improv Trio (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

NC-17: Nick and Conor (Houston, Texas)
Casey J. Newman (The Villages, Fla.)
Okay Google (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Ophelia’s Rope (Houston, Texas)
Playtime with Patrick and Preston (Chicago, Ill.)

The Project (Austin, Texas)
¡Punctuation.Marks! (Miami, Fla.)
Rat Kween (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Right-Hand and Man (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Screaming Armadillo Comedy (Boca Raton, Fla.)

Sharon & Darren (Washington, D.C.)
Solovela (Plantation, Fla.)
Sweaty Dee (Seattle, Wash.)
The Third Thought (Tampa, Fla./Boulder, Colo.)
Together/By Myself: A Solo Improv Experience (Coconut Creek, Fla.)

A Tribute to Grease (Various)
Unconsciously Coupled (Sarasota, Fla.)
Wisconsin Laugh Trip (Richmond, Va.)
The wUw Show (Omaha, Neb.)
Yes, And, You: A Journey into Improv-eing Your Life with Buddy Lee Schoenbrunn-Gnadenhutten (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

2020

The 2020 edition of the Countdown Improv Festival took place from August 12-16. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was held entirely online. All shows streamed live and free of charge to Twitch and Facebook. The festival featured 50 improv groups from all across the United States, as well as 7 separate improv workshops. Festival sponsors included Battery Park Financial Partners at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Brass Taxes, The Improv Network, JuneShine Hard Kombucha, and the Palm Beach Improv Festival. Participants included:

The B-Team (Miami, Fla.)
Beautiful Dreamers (New York, N.Y.)
Big Bang (Boston, Mass.)
Bryan vs. Music (Portland, Ore.)
CatBird (Delray Beach, Fla.)

Chicken & Waffles (Tampa, Fla.)
Coven (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Crossed Wires (Madison, Wis.)
Cuzzins (Miami, Fla.)
C.Y.A. (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

Da’Boyz (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Daddy’s Little Nest Egg (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Dirty Blondes (Delray Beach, Fla.)
Don’t Let Matt Improvise (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
El Improviachi (Chicago, Ill.)

From Justin to Kelly (New York, N.Y.)
Four First Names (Orlando, Fla.)
Gene Pool Party Improv (Bonita Springs, Fla.)
HaegandButts (New Orleans, La.)
HBCUnity (Miami, Fla.)

Hot Mess! The Musical (Chicago/Kansas City/Nashville)
The HR Department (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
I Am the Show (Chicago, Ill.)
I Win Improv (Bethesda, Md.)
Impromptu (Sarasota, Fla.)

Internet Friends (Orlando, Fla./Miami, Fla.)
It’s All About Amy (St. Augustine, Fla.)
JewMama (Gainesville, Fla.)
Katie & Chris (Denver, Colo.)
Let’s Get Real (Orlando, Fla.)

Liss n’ Sams (San Francisco, Calif.)
The Magnificent 7 (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Meta?Nigma (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Mixed Emojis (Clearwater, Fla.)
Musical Swords Improv (Bonita Springs, Fla.)

Okay Google (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
One Show/Two Guys (Tampa, Fla.)
Playtime with Patrick and Preston (Chicago, Ill.)
The Project (Austin, Texas)
¡Punctuation.Marks! (Miami, Fla.)

Ralphie & Tuh (Orlando, Fla.)
Sharon & Karen (Washington, D.C.)
Snooze Button (Kansas City, Mo.)
Sweaty Dee (Seattle, Wash.)
The Third Thought (Tampa, Fla./Boulder, Colo.)

Together/By Myself: A Solo Improv Experience (Coconut Creek, Fla.)
tum tum (Chicago, Ill.)
understated (Miami, Fla./West Palm Beach, Fla.)
We, Robot (Chicago, Ill.)
Wisconsin Laugh Trip (Richmond, Va.)

2019

The 2019 edition of the Countdown Improv Festival took place from August 15-17 at the HCC Ybor Performing Arts Building in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, Florida. The festival featured 45 improv groups from all over the United States, performing across two stages to sold-out crowds. It also featured five improv workshops and three stellar after-parties. Festival sponsors included Brass Taxes, The Bricks, Camp Improv Utopia, the Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa/Ybor City/Downtown, King Corona Cigars, the Northfork TV Festival, and Stranded Design. Participants included:

Ant Farm (Delray Beach, Fla.)
As Yet Unnamed (Miami, Fla.)
The B-Team (Miami, Fla.)
Before Ghosts (Orlando, Fla.)
Big Bang (Boston, Mass. / Sarasota, Fla.)

The Bitter And (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Bryan vs. Music (Portland, Ore.)
CatBird (Delray Beach, Fla.)
Chicken & Waffles 2.0 (Tampa, Fla.)
Crab Leg Cheesecake (Tampa, Fla.)

Crossed Wires (Madison, Wis.)
Cuzzins (Miami, Fla.)
Da’Boyz (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Daddy’s Little Nest Egg (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Feminunchucks (Delray Beach, Fla.)

Four First Names (Orlando, Fla.)
Free Tacos (Delray Beach, Fla.)
From Justin to Kelly (New York, N.Y.)
FST Improv (Sarasota, Fla.)
Get Out of My Head! (Winter Park, Fla.)

Helmet Thieves (Austin, Texas / Amsterdam)
Interpretive Word (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
It’s All About Amy (St. Augustine, Fla.)
JewMama (Gainesville, Fla.)
Katie & Chris (Denver, Colo.)

Lamp Money (Madison, Wis.)
The Magnificent 7 (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Meta?Nigma (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Mixed Emojis (Clearwater, Fla.)
Musical Swords Improv (West Palm Beach, Fla.)

Okay Google (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
One Show/Two Guys (Tampa, Fla.)
Playtime with Patrick and Preston (Chicago, Ill.)
Power of Godt (Tampa, Fla.)
¡Punctuation.Marks! (Miami, Fla.)

Robbery (Jupiter, Fla.)
Scharf&Waldon (Orlando, Fla.)
Storytime with Grandpa (Winter Garden, Fla.)
Ten Trick Ponies (Des Moines, Iowa / Minneapolis, Minn.)
Tobin Tales (New York, N.Y.)

Tone Tata Improv Music Comedy Show (West Palm Beach)
Tower of Bone (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
The Third Thought (Tampa, Fla.)
understated (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Wisconsin Laugh Trip (Richmond, Va.)

Improv workshops were taught on Friday, August 16 by Will Luera and L.E. Zarling, and on Saturday, August 17 by Lauren Morris & Alex Streu, Kevin Miller, and Kiki Hohnen.

2018

The 2018 edition of the Countdown Improv Festival took place from August 16-18 at the HCC Studio Theatre in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa, Florida. The festival featured 39 improv groups from all over the United States, performing to sold-out crowds. It also featured five improv workshops and three stellar after-parties. Festival sponsors included Brass Taxes, The Bricks, the film The Happytime Murders, King Corona Cigars, the Northfork TV Festival, Stranded Design, and the Ybor Chamber of Commerce. Participants included:

Ant Farm (Delray Beach, Fla.)
Before & After (Tampa, Fla.)
The Belt (Miami, Fla.)
Big Bang (Boston, Mass./Sarasota, Fla.)
The Bitter And (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

CatBird (Delray Beach, Fla.)
Chicken and Waffles (Tampa, Fla.)
Da Boyz (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Derivatives of K (Madison, Wis.)
Elemenopee (Winter Park, Fla.)

Escape Artisans (Tampa, Fla.)
Exes (Baltimore, Md.)
The Farce and the Furious (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Feminunchucks (Delray Beach, Fla.)
Free Tacos (Delray Beach, Fla.)

From Justin to Kelly (New York, N.Y.)
FST Improv (Sarasota, Fla.)
Glassworks (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Goodison (Washington, D.C.)
The Grownups (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

Half-Baked Boomer (Largo, Fla.)
Hot Pursuit (Baltimore, Md.)
I Am the Show (Chicago, Ill.)
Improv4Lawyers (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
It’s All About Amy (St. Augustine, Fla.)

Merit Badge (Chicago, Ill.)
Mixed Emojis (Clearwater, Fla.)
Okay Google (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
One Show/Two Guys (Tampa, Fla.)
Ophelia’s Rope (Houston, Texas)

Organic Kittens (Miami, Fla.)
Power of Godt (Tampa, Fla.)
Screwballs (Tampa, Fla.)
Snooze Button (Kansas City, Mo.)
Tobin Tales (New York, N.Y.)

Tom & Jamie (Miami, Fla.)
Understated (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
Ricky Wayne (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Wisconsin Laugh Trip (Richmond, Va.)

Improv workshops were taught on Friday, August 17 by Ricky Wayne and Kathleen Kenny, and on Saturday, August 18 by Laurel Posakony, Christopher George, and John Windmueller.

2017

The inaugural edition of the Countdown Improv Festival — then known as the 321 Improv Festival — took place from August 17-19, 2017, at the HCC Studio Theatre in Ybor City. The festival featured 22 improv groups from all over the United States, performing to sold-out crowds. Teams included:

&Anthony (Delray Beach, Fla.)
Almost Funny (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Blue Arc (Chicago, Ill.)
Cary Farrow IV (San Antonio, Texas)
Christopher Walkens Adventure Through Time (Miami, Fla.)
The Farce and the Furious (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
FST Improv (Sarasota, Fla.)
From Justin to Kelly (New York, N.Y.)
Goodison (Madison, Wis./Washington, D.C.)
It’s All About Amy (St. Augustine, Fla.)
Just Friends (Dallas, Texas)
LimboLand (New York, N.Y.)
Lo-Key Bush (Orlando, Fla.)
Meta-nigma (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Richard Regan Paul (Orlando, Fla.)
Power of Godt (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Reckless Fireweavers (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Ripley (Orlando, Fla.)
Risky Biscuits (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Rough Draft (Richmond, Va.)
Screwballs (Tampa, Fla.)
Side Pickle (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Tom & Jamie (Miami, Fla.)
Underhanded Improv (Chicago, Ill.)

The festival also featured five improv workshops and three stellar after-parties. It was co-produced by Improv Utopia and sponsored by The Bricks, Coppertail Brewing Co., and Stranded Design.