Travel Information

What venue(s) will be a part of the festival?

AS IF features two venues. The primary venue is McPhetres Hall, a modern proscenium stage with flexible seating, full light grid with standard fixtures, and locally milled cedar throughout the building.

Our "late night" space is the Hangar Ballroom, a more intimate venue allowing for beer and wine sales, as well as shows with riskier themes.

Both venues are centrally located in downtown Juneau, an easy walk from the hotel.

Additionally, all performers receive all-session, space available passes at no cost.


What lodging options are available?

The festival arranges for a room block within easy walking distance of the venues. Last year's rate was $89 per night, double occupancy plus taxes. The bid for 2017 has not been set, but base rates are expected to be between $79 and $119 per night, double occupancy plus taxes.


What transportation options are available?

The festival provides courtesy transportation to and from the airport. Our airport pickup incluses a locally guided tour of the Mendenhall Glacier visitors area and, with morning and afternoon arrivals, may include other local areas of interest.

Some performers choose to rent a car. This guarantees access to more out of the way areas such as the Shrine of St. Therese or Outer Point; however, a rental car is not necessary to access many area trails, historic sites, stores, restaurants, and museums.

A city bus system is available and can take performers to Sandy Beach and the ruins of the Treadwell Mine on Douglas; within walking distance of the Alaskan Brewing Company, Costco, University of Alaska Southeast campus; and directly to additional shopping areas including Fred Meyer.


What dining options are available?

Performers are in the heart of downtown with a variety of restaurant options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Expect to spend $10 to $15 on lunch entrées and $15 to $30 on dinner entrées.

The Sandpiper Cafe is the most popular brunch spot, featuring a variety of omelettes, pancakes, crêpes, French toast, waffles, and exotic burgers.

The Rookery has incredible quiche and pastries in the morning, sandwich offerings at lunch, and incredible fusion dinners - often including locally sourced ingredients. Its sister restaurants include In Bocca Al Lupo, a dinner-only Italian restaurant that also features wood-fired pizza, and The Taqueria, Mexican comfort food.

Coppa is best known for its hand-made artisanal ice creams; however, also serves breakfast pastries as well as salads, soups, and sandwiches for lunch.

Late night, many performers opt for the $7 Russian dumplings at Pel Meni. Cash only!

The festival also hosts after parties on Friday and Saturday, often with smoked salmon, cheese, and fruit platters and donated product from Alaskan Brewing Company.


What local events or attractions are available?

AS IF offers a discounted, performer-only whale watching tour. This year, with the reopening of the State Museum, we will also feature a Museum Day.

There are many hikes, galleries, and museums in the immediate downtown area.

The first day of Juneau's tourist season is May 1. If enough people express interest in staying longer, AS IF can explore group rates on the Mount Roberts Tram and/or a zipline excursion.

Festival Information

How much stage time will performers receive?

Performers receive 1 to 2 sets, generally 22 to 25 minutes in length. Headlining sets are latitude to run longer, as time allows.

In addition, AS IF has offered a variety of mash-up sets. Sometimes these are long running mash-up formats like Maestro or The Sickest F***ing Stories I've Ever Heard; other times these are performer formats that have been modified for mash-up play.


What is the range of shows and styles the festival is seeking?

The festival is primarily interested in longform and improvised theater. Our rubric was recently published in The Improv Network blog, and that describes very nicely how we select acts for inclusion.


What is the local improv scene like?

The improv scene is small, but committed. Our shows are designed with the intent of putting festival-grade shows on stage every time we go out. Our shows have been seen at Out of Bounds, Improvaganza (HI), San Diego Improv Festival, and the Seattle Festival of Improv Theater.


What are the festival's goals?

The festival's goals are threefold:

1) To build the Alaskan improv community by sharing our experiences and learning from those Outside our borders.

2) To engage local audiences by presenting the highest quality and diversity of shows possible, expanding their perception of what improvised theater can be.

3) Creating a welcoming and exciting festival experience for our Outside visitors, thus encouraging them to share their experiences of Alaska, perpetrating the inflow of talent to AS IF.


What are the selection criteria for this festival?

Our selection criteria are explained in detail in The Rubric, a recent blog post on The Improv Network.


What unique improv experiences will performers gain?

Juneau - the host city - is located in Alaska's Alexander Archipelago. Islands, mountains, and fjords rise straight from the Pacific. It would be hard to imagine a more majestic setting for an improv festival.

While AS IF has two venues, only one is operating at any given time. With our courtesy passes, performers can see everyone else's shows without having to pick and choose. AS IF performers leave Alaska feeling that they have not only shared a stage, but shared an experience.