Brave New Workshop’s Battle of the Improv All-Stars is back at the Dudley Riggs Theatre
Rotating cast of BNW veterans face off in an ever-changing gauntlet of laugh-inducing challenges
TICKETS GO ON SALE FRIDAY, APRIL 24 AT 10 A.M.
MINNEAPOLIS (April 21, 2026) — Hennepin Arts has announced that Brave New Workshop is setting the summer stage for improv, comedy and laughs in the return of Battle of the Improv All-Stars Friday, June 5 to Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Dudley Riggs Theatre (824 Hennepin Ave.).A rotating cast of very special guests and Brave New Workshop veterans take the stage every night as your host guides them through an ever-changing gauntlet of laugh-inducing challenges.
The audience does what they do best: judge from the darkness… You get to anonymously use your phone for audience voting that determines who achieves glory and who continues to wallow in the rank miasma of not-glory. Who wins? You decide! Feel the power!
Tickets for Battle of the Improv All-Stars 2026 go on sale at HennepinArts.org on Friday, April 24 at 10 a.m. For reservations for groups of 10 or more, please call (612) 373-5665. Show dates are Friday June 5 to Saturday, Aug. 8. Performance schedule, prices and cast are subject to change without notice.
And because everyone needs a good laugh right now, we have a very special deal only for summer 2026: all ticket prices for the Battle of the Improv All-Stars 2026 have been reduced by $20! Take advantage of this limited summer discount to vote for your favorites, immortalize the winners and shame the losers. But hurry, because this bone-crushing comedy competition is only here for a short time. Get your tickets to Battle of the Improv All-Stars 2026 today!
Jon Pumper (Music Director) has been with the Brave New Workshop since 2017. In addition, he served as the Music Director for Stevie Ray’s Comedy Cabaret at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. He also works as the Director of Music for Grace Lutheran Church of Northeast and runs a successful music/comedy YouTube channel that has garnered over 180K subscribers and 87M views as of January 2023.
Matthew Vichlach (Technical Director) designs lights, sound, images, and videos for each Brave New Workshop production. He also serves as the Technical Director for The Hennepin event center. He has been working professionally in theatre for almost twenty years doing sound design for theatres in the Twin Cities including Yellow Tree Theatre, Theatre Mu, Theatre Pro Rata, Commonweal Theatre, and many more.
Performance dates:
Friday, June 5 to Saturday, Aug. 8
Performance schedule is Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m.
Note: there are no performances on June 26-27 and July 3-4.
Ticket prices:
All performances: $33
A $3 service fee per ticket is included.
Age recommendation: PG-14
Group discounts: Save on groups of 10 or more
Putting together an event that requires customized entertainment, renting space at the theater, catering or drinks for your party, or something so off-the-beaten-path you have to whisper it in confidence? Intriguing. You have our attention. Let’s make this happen! Just call us at (612) 373-5665.
Standard Disclaimer: For over 50 years, the Brave New Workshop has proudly covered controversial topics in a satirical manner. Therefore, our shows may include all or none of the following: adult situations, sexual content, blatant irreverence to whatever you hold sacred, irresponsible depictions of gunplay, knife fights and taser usage, and very, very naughty language.
The Brave New Workshop has been crafting audacious and original satirical sketch comedy and improvisation since 1958 and is the longest running comedy theatre in the United States. Dudley Riggs, a fifth-generation circus aerialist who performed all over the globe, originally founded BNW as the “Instant Theatre Company.” Riggs assembled and led a talented group of writers and performers intending to make people think by first making them laugh. The company opened off-Broadway with a show consisting of vaudeville-style sketches, burlesque blackouts, and something completely new: the use of audience input in the creation of “instant theatre.” This “theatre without a net” would be the beginning of comedic improvisation as it is widely known today.
After touring nationally, Dudley and his “Instant Theatre Company” found a permanent home in the Twin Cities in 1958, and the name Brave New Workshop, was added in 1961. In 1997, co-owners John Sweeney and Jenni Lilledahl purchased Brave New Workshop from Dudley Riggs to ensure long-term sustainability and honor the unique history of the theater. In 2021, Hennepin Theatre Trust purchased the Brave New Workshop and the downtown facility (824 Hennepin) from Sweeney and Lilledahl to steward the theatres' rich world-class sketch comedy and improv tradition.
Since the beginning, Brave New Workshop has made its home on Hennepin Avenue – first in the original East Hennepin location, then in uptown from 1961-2010. Their mainstage theatre home is now in the downtown facility at 824 Hennepin in the heart of Minneapolis’ theater district. In the more than 60 years since its founding, Brave New Workshop has produced more than 400 original productions and exposed over 4 million people to the theatre’s unapologetic and unwavering brand of sketch comedy and improvisation. With an impressive list of alumni, including Louie Anderson, Lizz Winstead, Stevie Ray, Al Franken, Melissa Peterman, Tom Davis, Mo Collins and Cedric Yarbrough, the Brave New Workshop is a true Minnesota institution.
Hennepin Arts drives cultural and economic vitality in Minnesota through leadership of the dynamic Hennepin Theatre District in downtown Minneapolis and educational programming that reaches every area of the state. Its historic theatres — Orpheum, State, Pantages and Dudley Riggs — and event center at 900 Hennepin Avenue light up Hennepin Avenue with top-tier entertainment, including the best of Broadway and a wide variety of arts programming. Hennepin Arts is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at HennepinArts.org.
Brave New Workshop has been crafting audacious, hilarious, and thought-provoking original comedy, improv and satire in Minneapolis, is a Twin Cities comedy institution, and a truly unique place to enjoy an evening of laughter that will make you think on the car ride home. Brave New Workshop has been writing, performing and producing original sketch comedy, music and comedy improvisation longer than any other theatre in the United States.
This activity is made possible by voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.