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National Festival and Tournament
April 15 - 18, 2026
Ottawa, Ontario

National Semi-Finals, April 15-17, hosted by:

National Finals, April 18th, hosted by:

Register for the National Festival
  • Four days of improv workshops with our experienced National Trainers, including both fundamentals and advanced training 
  • Four nighttime shows in the beautiful National Arts Centre,  with three semi-finals and a spectacular final performance of the top 5 teams. 
  • Access to our CIG rate at Les Suites Ottawa, with access to personal kitchen suites. 
  • Daily morning warm-ups, hosted by our experienced trainers, offering opportunities to warm up and socialize
  • Workshops, brainstorming events, and socials for teachers and coaches at our teachers’ conference, including workshops on how to teach improv in the classroom and how to create lesson plans
  • Demonstrations on long-form and short-form improv from our experienced alumni and performers. 
  • The chance to make a friend from every province!
  • Opportunities to explore Ottawa, with a hotel based just steps away from the Rideau Canal, Parliament Hill, ByWard Market, The National Gallery of Canada, and The Canadian Museum of History!
  • Awesome dance parties – what’s a National Festival without a showstopping disco?
  • And so much more!
 
Sample Itinerary and Events
 
Example Event Descriptions
Forums, showcases, and more!
 Alumni Showcase: Alumni from across the country will highlight their skills in the CIG National Alumni Showcase. Audience members are encouraged to take notes and to apply some of what they’ve seen in this showcase throughout the week. 
 
Toast and Jam: Your morning wake-up call! Toast n Jam is a chance to play, warm up, meet, and improvise with like-minded people from across the country. Toast n Jam is an hour of improv games hosted by our incredible staff. Forget coffee – Toast n Jam is the best way to start your day!
 
Short-form Demo: The short form demo is an opportunity for coaches, teachers, and students to see Short Form Improv in action. Senior trainers and national staff will perform various short-form scenes with the participation of students. Coaches and teachers are encouraged to take notes as all of these scenes are applicable to the classroom and beyond.
 
Long-form Demo:  What does improv look like outside of four minutes? The answer is at the Long-form Demo. This is a staff showcase event where improvisers from coast to coast will get on stage and showcase a long-form set. Come see improvisers from a variety of improv troupes from across Canada play on stage. 
 

Wrap Party: We’ve worked hard and played hard all week, time to shake it off and get down at our annual Closing Night Dance Party! Come dance & hang out with all your amazing new friends as we say goodbye to another wonderful year of Improv. There will be a quiet zone for students who want a more chill experience.

 

Example Workshop Descriptions (based on past years)
  • Make Good Choices!: Okay, so you’ve got your first offers in place. Your scene is looking good – and then what? What can you do to keep your scene rolling? This workshop will help!
  • Commit to THIS moment: It’s in the oath- but what does it mean to commit to a moment? In this workshop you’ll get out of your head and onto the stage!
  • Movement and Physicality: Improv doesn’t have to be verbal. Sometimes physical improv can pick up where words leave off. This advanced workshop will explore incredibly physical improv and how to use it in the CIG context.
  • Silence and Sincerity: Let’s all just slow down and listen. How can we show sincerity in our scenes without talking? Take this workshop to find out how!
  • Dynamic Characters: Characters aren’t just how they talk- they’re also how they MOVE! This workshop will infuse some physicality into your unique characters!
  • ADVANCED: Improv Toolbox: What are some unconventional tools an improviser can use? What is a swarm edit? What about non-verbal sequences? This workshop will explore advanced improv tools.
  • ADVANCED: Dreamscaping: Learn how to insert absurdist physicality into your scenes. I guess it was just a dream… and you were there… and you were there, and you were there…
  • ADVANCED: Long-form: If learning how to improvise outside the parameters of a four minute scene is something you’ve always wanted – this workshop is for you!

Do I need to have a team registered with CIG this year to attend Nationals?
NO! You can attend as a teacher or bring a handful of students outside of participating in a regional tournament.

Does my team need to win our regional tournament to attend Nationals?
Nope! All teams are welcome at the National Festival, no matter their placement in the regional tournament.

What happens if we register and then win our regional tournament?
Your registration fees (for up to 9 players and one coach) will be waived.

What is the hotel situation for the National Festival?
We’ve partnered with Les Suites Hotel again this year! These are suite-style accommodations with full kitchens, so students can buy groceries for their time in Ottawa. 

Are we required to stay at Les Suites?
No! You’re welcome to choose a hotel that works best for your team.

Are there workshops for teachers and coaches?
Yes! We’re hosting the Teacher’s Conference again this year. Winning teams will also receive one free coach/teacher registration for the conference.

The Canadian Improv Games also offers a Teachers Conference that runs in conjunction with the National Festival & Tournament. The Conference is open to all teachers across Canada whether they bring a student team to participate in the National Festival & Tournament or not!

This exciting and hands-on conference will give drama and english language arts teachers lots of games, activities and strategies for improving student’s speaking and listening skills as well as help get teachers comfortable introducing improvisational theatre into their professional practice.  Teachers can expect to work with veteran improvisors, coaches and theatrical performers to learn how to bring improv into their classroom.   Improvisational theatre is a great cross-curricular teaching methodology in all subjects that engages students and activates their learning in meaningful ways.

Our Conference includes tickets to nights of performance, improv demonstrations from our senior performers, and workshops on topics such as barriers in teaching improv and how to build an improv lesson plan. 

Teachers can attend the Conference with or without a student team. If you are registering a student team for the National Festival, the Teacher’s Conference is included in the registration fees. If you are attending without a student team, the cost of the National Festival is $100 for one day, $175 for two days and $250 for the full week!

The Conference will be hosted in Les Suites, Ottawa. Accommodations are arranged through the hotel manager Steven Carnaffan at Steven.Carnaffan@innvesthotels.com. 

Nationals Pricing Tiers

Day Pass – $100/student

Two workshops, each two hours in length, with an experienced CIG trainer

One ticket to one evening show at the National Arts Centre

Two Day Pass – $175/student

Four workshops, each two hours in length, with an experienced CIG trainer

Tickets to two shows at the National Arts Centre

Festival Pass – $250/student

Up to eight workshops, each two hours in length, with an experienced CIG trainer

Tickets to all National Tournament shows at the National Arts Centre

 

Les Suites Hotel

The Les Suites Hotel Ottawa is located at 130 Besserer Street, Ottawa. Located just steps from the historic ByWard Market and Parliament Hill. Each room is equipped with a full kitchen and sizeable living room. As the official hotel partner of the National Festival, Les Suites hotel offers a special rate for CIG participants. 

How to Book

Rooms at Les Suites can be booked through the hotel. Once you register, we will put you in contact with the hotel and you can book your rooms. The hotel will automatically book your school’s rooms on the same floor as the rest of the Festival. 

 

Pricing

Modern One Bedroom Suite
$224.00/night (1–4 occupants)

Modern Two Bedroom Family Suite – Queen/Double/Double
$334.00/night (1–6 occupants)

Performing Team Schedule

Wednesday April 15:

5 Teams TBA

Thursday April 16

5 Teams TBA

Friday April 17

5 Teams TBA

Saturday April 19

Top 5 Teams from the week

Register for the National Festival

Canadian Improv Games National Festival is an immersive educational experience that fosters creativity and camaraderie. Through improvisational theatre, students develop valuable life skills, forge lasting connections, and grow in a supportive, inclusive community. The Festival offers 4 days of specialized workshops and learning opportunities from experienced improvisers and instructors from across Canada, as well as four nights of performances from the best teams in the country! 

If your team advances from their regional tournament, your registration fees will be waived.  All teams are encouraged to register as a festival team ahead of time.