Portland's Newest Comedy Festival: The Stumptown Improv Fest

All the info we have so far so far is a website and a Facebook page;

dates and a venue: "August 15-17, 2014. Milagro Theater";

and the names of the organizers: Erin O'Regan, Leon Anderson, and Jed Arkley.

But we've been hearing whispers of a new Portland improv festival for some time now, and it reflects the fact that improv is currently having a moment in Portland. The Brody Theater is a longtime anchor of Portland improv; the Funhouse Lounge and Action/Adventure Theatre* both incorporate improv into their programming; and Curious Comedy's been instrumental in generating excitement around the form, with shows like their popular Friday Night Fights series (and I've said it before, but their improvised musical Pipes can be a ridiculous amount of fun). If you wanna know more about the Portland improv scene—hey! We wrote an article about it.



As for the organizers: Jed Arkley hilariously starred in the recent adaptation of Rudolph—On Stage (alongside my boss, Wm. Steven Humphrey); Arkley and Leon Anderson are members of Whiskey Tango, an all-dude troupe that's consistently doing the best improv in Portland (plus, they are handsome!); and Erin O'Regan is a member of Administration, the newish troupe coached by longtime local improviser/actor/director John Breen. In other words, these people are legit.

From the sounds of their Facebook page, they'll be accepting submissions soon, from performers both local and national.