Utah Collegiate Improv Festival

The Utah Collegiate Improv Festival (commonly known as UCIF) is a multi-day annual college level improvisational theatre festival held at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The festival is hosted by Hot Tea Improv, UVU's premiere improv troupe. The festival hosts Short Form and Long Form Improv performance rounds, as well as workshops, feedback, and panels, with professional improvisers currently working in television, film, and/or theatre. While the performances and panels are open to the public, workshops are available only to registered festival participants. The teams have the opportunity to participate in workshops held by invited guests and to compete in the Short Form and Long Form Improv rounds.

As of 2026, the Utah Collegiate Improv Festival is the only college level improv festival or competition held in Utah or in any of the surrounding states in the Rocky Mountain area.

The Utah Collegiate Improv Festival one of the few improv festivals in the USA that is a student run event, similar to festivals such as the National College Comedy Festival, the Bellwether Improv Comedy Festival, and Fracas! Improv Festival.

History UCIF 1 (2022)

The first Utah Collegiate Improv Festival was held on March 18 and 19, 2022. The festival was founded by UVU alumni, Hallie Purser and Tristin Jaurez-Smith. Hallie Purser designed and created the festival, Tristin Juarez-Smith wrote the grant to fund it, and the two students ran the first festival together. They wanted a way for their school and improv team to get more involved in the improv community, to push themselves, and to connect with and learn from other collegiate improv troupes.

UCIF 5 (2026)

The Utah Collegiate Improv Festival held its fifth year on March 20 and 21, 2026. Five colleges competed in UCIF in 2026, marking the highest number of colleges in attendance to date.

Notable Festival Judges/Guests

John Hildreth (Second City) Curt Doussett (Upright Citizens Brigade) Bart Johnson (Highschool Musical, Yellowstone) Lisa Valentine Clark (Show Offs) Jake Ben Suazo (Thrillionaires, Show Offs) David Knoell Clive Iverson Maddie Bell Craig Sorenson Chance Le Prey Leah Higginbotham Jesse Parent Jasmine Faye Kyle Smith Moni Cardenas

Festival Rules Those able to participate in the festival are improv teams or improv clubs from colleges in Utah and surrounding states. Currently there is not a preliminary round to participate in the festival, so a team can simply register and pay the registration fee to participate. Entry fee is per team, not per player. Performers competing MUST be college students or alumni who have graduated within the last year. Teams need a college affiliation as they will be representing their respective university in the competition.

If a team does not wish to participate in the competition, they can still attend the workshops by paying the registration fee.

Performance There is not a minimum or maximum number of players required to perform. Each team is allotted up to 30 minutes for both the Short Form Round and the Long Form Round. Teams are not penalized for going under that time.

Teams are judged based on how well and how often various improv techniques are used through a rubric. The rubrics are slightly different for each type of improv. The top team awards are Best Short Form Improv Performance, Best Long Form Improv Performance, Best Overall Improv Performance. These are awarded based on a point system on the rubric. 1 being a beginner understanding of the improv technique, and 5 being the technique used at the level of a professional team. There are also awards for individual improv performers, including the most prestigious award of the festival: The Best Team Player Award.

Awards

Top Awards Best Team Player (Individual Student Award) Best Overall Improv Performance Best Short Form Improv Performance Best Long Form Improv Performance

All Awards

Best Emcee Outstanding Performer in Short Form (2x) Outstanding Performer in Long Form (2x) Best Musical Improv Performance Ensemble Hive Mind (Team Award) Best Moment in an Improv Performance Fan Favorite Moment in an Improv Performance (Audience Vote) The judges also reserve the right to add one award of their choosing for that year based on any performance they were particularly impressed by.

Utah Collegiate Improv Festival

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