ITS Comedy Festival 2026
PITCHING INFO
Our annual festival returns 8–15 Nov!
The festival takes place at our home in Redfern, on unceded Gadigal land, with a few events happening offsite.
It’s a week-and-a-bit opportunity to share the best of ITS with theatre and comedy lovers in Sydney, and to share the best national and international improv talent with the ITS community.
Pitches for the 2026 Festival are now closed.
If you would like us to consider a late pitch, please email Festival Director Jim Fishwick at jim@improvtheatresydney.com.au
The festival programme will be revealed in mid-September… follow us on instagram or sign up to our newsletter for updates!
WHAT WE’RE AFTER
Shows
We’re looking for performances of up to 50 minutes. As our name suggests, we tend to host improv. But we have an expansive appetite: we love solo shows, interactive theatre, standup, sketch comedy, clowning, cabaret, poetry, jazz… anything that shares our DNA of spontaneous, dynamic and connected work.
This could be a show with an existing cast/ensemble, or a format/concept that you direct with a guest cast of local improvisers and festival attendees.
(It’s called the ITS Comedy Festival for SEO reasons HOWEVER don’t let that stop you from pitching things that are more dramatic than comedic.)
Workshops
We’re looking for practical, hands-on workshops that either:
- Build core skills in improvised theatre & improv comedy
- Expand horizons and explore new ideas/areas of improv
- Introduce improvisers to related art forms (see our list above!)
Workshops are generally either 3 or 6 hours, but we’re open to discussing other lengths.
Talks/Panels/Social Events/Other Cool Stuff
If you have an idea for something else that a bunch of improv enthusiasts might enjoy, hit us up! This could be a half-hour presentation on a relevant bit of theory, a panel discussion on something improv-related, a trivia night, a game of mini golf, a giant game of tag that takes place across the festival… Anything!
WHAT WE’RE OFFERING
Everyone who takes part in the festival as a performer or teacher receives a pass that gives you:
- Access to festival social events
- A 50% discount on general admission tickets for all festival shows
- Free standby access to any shows that haven’t sold out
Shows
You will get a performance slot, and up to an hour of tech rehearsal time. Most shows will be in our Main Theatre (60 seats), with a handful in our Mini Theatre (30 seats). You can find details of these spaces and their tech inclusions here.
Each show receives a 50% cut of the net box office (after tax, booking fees and staffing costs are deducted). It’s up to you how you divide this money among your cast & crew.
Some shows may be split bills, dividing an hour-long slot between 2–4 shows of 15–30 minutes each. The 50% box office cut will be shared with the other shows in your split bill.
Workshops
For workshops, we will pay $150AUD per hour of teaching. If two or more people are teaching together, it’s up to you how you divide this money.
We will provide a workshop space (see our venues here), including a whiteboard, chairs for all participants, and some delightful improv lovers for you to teach.
Talks/Panels/Social Events/Other Cool Stuff
This depends on what you’re pitching! Let’s talk!
Out-of-town Guests
We love you and we want to help you attend the festival, but our dreams are big and our budget is limited. We will offer interstate and international guests a small subsidy to support travel and accommodation costs — this will be approximately $200–500 Australian dollary-doos, based on how far you’re travelling.
We have a special 10% discount with our gorgeous accommodation partner Hoteloco, just down the road. We can also try to put you in touch with local community members to see if anyone can put you up for free, but can’t guarantee this.
ADMIN BITS AND BOBS
We expect everyone taking part in the festival to create and support an environment that upholds our Bill of Rights. You are also covered by this bill of rights at all times.
We will send you settlement information within 15 business days of the festival finishing. We will pay you within 10 business days of receiving a valid invoice.
You should have the appropriate Public Liability Insurance to be able to present your pitch.
If you’re based in Australia, we require you to have an ABN (or fill out a Statement by Supplier form, don’t worry, it’s pretty easy, we can talk you through it).
If travelling from outside of Australia, it’s your responsibility to have the right visa to be able to work in Australia, and to have a valid bank or PayPal account we can pay you with. We legally have to pay you directly, and can’t forward your money to another person to send to you.
I have a question!
Please email ITS Artistic Director Jim Fishwick at jim@improvtheatresydney.com.au