omaha Archives - The Improv Network

The Omaha Improv Festival celebrates its third year. I love watching a small town improv community attract great teams and great instructors. Omaha has done that very successfully. It just goes to show that improv can be anywhere and can be successful anywhere. I was able to interview Dylan Rohde who is the Executive Producer of the festival and Backline Improv.

You’ve created quite a scene in a somewhat small community. What’s your secret? What are the challenges?

There have been many challenges. Whether it was people wanting short-form more at first, to people rejecting Game, to dealing with people who feel like outcasts within our community. Moving downtown was also a struggle as we were almost kicked out of our first location by the health inspector and had to move with no money, at the same time that improv and standup had split ways in the community (lately we have mostly gotten back together though.)

My top 3 secrets are, it’s 1. Community- I try really hard to create a scene that people want to be a part of, and I encourage everyone to hang out as often as I can. For most of the people at our theatre, we are all our best friends. I’ve always believed you can get higher by helping others up rather than stepping on them. 2. I try and be a great teacher. That sounds too broad, but I’ve always felt the best teachers are able to make their material easy to understand to their students. I also think it’s important to work with each student on their strengths and weaknesses. While I was the only teacher for a while, I didn’t want everyone to have the same sense of humor and style. I also believe anyone can be good at improv and refuse to give up on anyone. 3. 3-Line Openers. I don’t know why more schools don’t do these, but they are done every single week in class through our 6 levels except for a few weeks in one level. I also have a different thing to focus on each week, which allows me to cover more ground and link all exercises together on one focus. One week, each line has to be 1 word, then the next week, the first line has to be a vague statement, then the 2nd line gives the specific. This has helped immensely, everyone should do these. I did less 3-line openers in 4 years at 2 schools in LA than my students do by Level 3 here in Omaha.

What’s new to the festival this year?

We have 2 new great venues, and got rid of the worst venue from last year. They are all still very close and within walking distance. We also have the best lineup of shows that we’ve ever had. This is the first year that we have a lineup at Backline that is just straight up solid. It’s the first year that I went out of my way to specifically invite teams I wanted, and got them from the 3 surrounding large improv communities (KC, Denver, and Minneapolis.) Plus, our theatre is cooler, and our part of downtown has improved quite a bit.

What do you look for in a team that’s submitted?

My two biggest values in improv are Trust & Listening. I look for teams that are able to do these well if they want to play the main stage. If I hear over-talking, or someone not taking in information from their partner, then I know they won’t be a good fit. However, we do accept most teams and I try and give everyone the slot accordingly. This year has a much higher rate of quality teams submitting, though, so you should not be butt-hurt if you do not make the main stage. Especially specialty shows and one or two-person teams.

What can improvisors expect at your festival?

They should expect great workshops and shows, as well as a fun time hanging out and getting to know improvisers from all over the nation, especially our neighboring communities. This festival is for improvisers far more than it is for the general public. We want you to land from the airport and start having fun immediately, then not stop having fun till you board to leave again.

What’s some fun stuff to do in town?

Besides the Henry Doorly Zoo (possibly the best in the nation,) and the Old Market (which is right next to most of our events and is basically a large outdoor vintage mall,) we also have Taste of Omaha going on just 9 blocks away. It’s a Food & Music Festival that cost nothing to get in and listen to music, and the food is pretty cheap. This takes place right next to the Missouri River. This is also typically the best week in Nebraska, so the weather should be great for it.

Submissions are due by Sunday the 22nd. To submit instantly to this festival click HERE.

Nick Armstrong

Nick is Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for adults in California and Pennsylvania. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network and performer at iO West as well as member of The Sunday Company at The Groundlings. He has also teaches improv throughout the country.

The first time I heard about The Omaha Improv Festival I was excited to submit and perhaps perform in a place I’d never played before, until I realized I was already set to play in Del Close Marathon. I know I’m not the only one. There’s a lot of curiosity about the sophomore festival. I got to talk with Dylan Rohde about the festival and the city. The festival is coming together quickly and it could be a great place to go experience something new.

Omaha is a bit of a mystery to many performers from outside the region. Many performers have never visited to perform before. What’s the scene like? What are some of the things you celebrate in your improv?

The scene started 3 years ago, and most weekly performers have been doing it 1-2 years right now. We have about 40 people who perform regularly, and they are very dedicated to helping make the community thrive. There is a little bit of a mix between stand-up and theatre, but we’re mostly our own entity. Characteristics of our style is that we play a little slower, average scene is 2-4 minutes, but they are fairly focused on game, while still have solid relationships. Above all else, we strive to have fun in every scene.

The Backline

Backline is the main venue. What’s the venue like? What kind of audiences generally come on down for shows there?

The venue is sharp, and fairly large. The entire space consists of a large lobby, performance area, green room, costume and props room, warm-up room, and small rehearsal/sketch room. It’s downtown, just outside of the historic Old Market. Our audience is generally 24-34 and a mix between small groups of friends or dates.

Last year you had some great coaches and surprises. Outside of a performance slot, what can visitors expect to get out of the weekend?

You can still expect some amazing shows performed by both our great coaches, and some good teams visiting. We are bringing in a very heavy UCB list of coaches this time around, but their individual styles are very different. This time around, we have everything located downtown. The hotel is 1 block away, and will also be the location for one of the workshops. This should make it very convenient to get around. If you fly here, you shouldn’t even need to rent a car. The furthest anyone will travel for a show is 5 blocks. This should also give them a chance to go explore our city. May is also the most beautiful month in Omaha, before it gets too hot, just after it was too cold. The city is completely covered in green and the temperature is perfect.

Your festival this year runs from Wednesday until Sunday. Many performers sometimes shy away from festivals if they’re likely to be scheduled on days they can’t get away from their day jobs. How will the scheduling of local and out of town groups be set up this year on weekdays?

The weekday slots are more designed for our new local teams to get a chance to be a part of this. We try an be as inclusive as we can, and this is the best way for us to do this, and still maintain a killer line-up during the weekend. We don’t really expect outsiders to be here for the Wednesday night show, or probably even Thursday.

Who wouldn’t want to ride this?

The show is going to be near the Old Market. Many visitors aren’t familiar with the area. What can they do during the day in Omaha? What are some of the best places to eat around the venue and hotel?

My favorite place for lunch in all of Omaha, or really any city I’ve been in, is Block 16. If you like burgers, gyros, or phillies, this place is for you. They also have great unique sandwiches like a buffalo burger with duck confit as their daily specials. Pretty much all the restaurants downtown have great food though, and are all within just a couple blocks. The Old Market is great for people who want to walk around old brick streets and check out a huge array of stores for blocks and blocks consisting of many antique shops along with fashion, music, and other ‘mall-type’ shops. We also suggest everyone check out the Henry Doorly Zoo while here, it’s one of the best in the nation. They can also easily walk down to see the Missouri river, or cross it and start gambling.

Every festival strives to showcase great improv to local audiences and each festival has different goals in that regard. What are you really hoping to showcase to your audience? What kind of shows are you looking for to come and perform?

Even more than our audience, we do this for our performers. We want them to see what else is out there in the world. See how other cities perform, learn from some of the best coaches out there, and above all else, have fun. We want people who want to have fun to come and perform.

Everything that’s been said of the 2013 festival is that it went off great. 2014 is an opportunity to grow and try new things. What are you really hoping to accomplish in this year’s festival?

Last year, one of the biggest downfalls was that performers stayed at a single venue all night because it was too much travel or hassle to bounce around. this year, we’re hoping people go from one venue to the next to see the shows they want to see. We also brought in over twice as many coaches, and half of them are female, compared to last year’s mostly all-male line-up.

When the festival’s done and people go home what do you hope people will be saying about the festival and the improv community in Nebraska?

I hope they say the same things they did last year, including that we aren’t jokey, we’re very accepting and friendly, and this is one of the most professionally put together mid-sized city improv festivals they’ve been to.

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Submissions for Omaha Improv Festival 2014 are open right now, but won’t be for long. You can submit right now.