The Diablo Improv Festival returns for its second year at the Lesher Center for the Arts, stretching across three days in downtown Walnut Creek.
The festival runs Friday through Sunday, Oct. 16–18, at 1601 Civic Drive. According to the organizers’ press release, the lineup includes four showcases featuring multiple troupes, plus 11 workshops taught by 12 instructors. Two open improv jams let adult audience members try performing themselves. No prior experience is required.
Musical improv is among the new additions for 2026, as reported by the East Bay Times. The inaugural festival drew about 100 attendees and more than 100 unique ticket buyers, according to Jaime Rich and Randy Wight in that report.
Four co-producers organize the event: Kenn Adams, artistic director of Walnut Creek's Synergy Theater; Della Watson, founder of DKW Productions; Rich, executive director of the Walnut Creek nonprofit Spontaneous Mind; and Wight, Spontaneous Mind's co-founder. The Lesher Center is a presenting partner.
Wight, who also leads a Sunday workshop called "The Mechanics of Funny," described improv's everyday appeal in an interview with the East Bay Times: "I like to say improv starts when the car doesn't. We all improvise every day when something goes wrong, and we must figure it out. The difference is, improv training gives you tools before you need them."
Watson said people are craving human connection after years of isolation and the rise of artificial intelligence, the East Bay Times reported.
Eleven workshops run Saturday and Sunday, according to the official festival schedule. Saturday sessions include "Gifts With You" with Asa Erlendson, "Listen Specifically!" with Shulie Cowen, "Status in Relationships" with Karen Twelves, "Character Crash Course" with Navaris Darson and sessions with Amber Dyson and Mark Duncanson. Sunday workshops feature Rich, Paul Hitlin and Regina Saisi, among others. Free snacks will be available in workshop classrooms, a change organizers made based on feedback from the first year.
Performing troupes include BATS, Secret Improv Society, Emotional Overtones, All That Jazz and Women in ___. A full list of 11 troupes is on the festival website.
Shows and jams cost $35 general admission, or $28 for seniors and students. Workshops are $65, or $52 for seniors and students. Group discounts and festival packages are also available, according to the East Bay Times.
Tickets and the full schedule are available at lesherartscenter.org and diabloimprovfestival.org.
Upcoming at the Lesher Center
- Oct. 16–18: Diablo Improv Festival, 1601 Civic Drive. Tickets at diabloimprovfestival.org.
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m.: The Best of The Second City, Lesher Center Headliners Series (separate ticketed event).
