Vintage Improv Festival 2023

Vintage Improv Festival 2023 will take place Oct 3-9 2023 at Ferry Beach Retreat and Conference Center in Saco, Maine. The site features oceanfront property, all meals and lodging packages from dorms to small private cabins. The faculty will be outstanding national and international master teachers.

SUPER EARLY BIRD SPECIALS ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH FEBRUARY 28

IMPORTANT: The link to register for VIF2023 is at the bottom of this page. Please read this page carefully so you understand what you are purchasing. If you need assistance, contact , and we will connect with you to walk you through the process.

Special offers available through February 28, 2023

If you register and pay your deposit for VIF2023 by February 28, 2023, you will receive:

A non-transferable credit worth $150 to apply toward one longitudinal 8- to 12-hour intensive
Early access to special lodging options, including single occupancy
Early access to special 8- to 12-hour intensives that are not part of regular festival programming
A payment option that avoids TicketLeap service fees
The option to switch to a refundable ticket
The ability to spread your registration fees out over six payments

NOTE: None of the above special offers will be extended or repeated. You must register by February 28, 2023, to receive the above special offers.

Why must I pay refundable deposits for optional services?

Your refundable deposits help us shape the festival to meet your needs. When you to show your commitment by paying fully refundable deposits you get the ability to:

Have guaranteed priority access to special intensive offerings
Establish your place in the queue for special lodging options, such as single, supplemental, and premium spaces
Easily begin or extend your membership in The Vintage Improv Community for 2023
Guarantee access for one or two additional curated teams to perform at VIF 2023
Apply for a spot in the musical improv phenomenon Vintage Vinyl with Tom Tollenaere
Indicate if you intend to bring a non-participant guest.
Indicate if you intend to arrive early or stay later than the Festival dates
Indicate you would like to pay all at once to avoid extra fees

Refundable Ticket Option

VIF2023 has a cancel-for-any-reason refundable ticket option, which reimburses you up to 75% of the total amount of your order. The refundable ticket option adds 10% to the total non-refundable registration fee. For example, if your total fees for VIF2023 are $1250, to make the fees up to 75% refundable, you’ll pay an additional $125 (10% of $1250).

Your refundable ticket allows you to send a written cancellation request to at any point up until noon Eastern (New York) Time on October 3, 2023. There is an administrative fee associated with the cancellation that increases as the festival approaches but you will still be able to easily recoup the majority of your festival ticket expenses in a no-hassle way.

Basic Festival Package

The Basic Festival Package includes:

All core festival workshops
One curated team
One spot in a double-occupancy, dorm-style room
All meals for as many days as you attend the festival
Admission to all festival programming, shows, and activities

NOTE: Meals and lodging start with supper on October 3, 2023, and end with lunch on October 9, 2023.

To allow a balance between studying improv and communing with each other and nature, the core festival workshops will likely be held in the early afternoon.

Cost of the Basic Festival Package for one person for up to six nights:

Non-Refundable: $1200
Refundable: $1320 ($1200 + 10%)

Would you like this to be your improv nirvana? For an additional charge to cover our expenses, you may participate in intensive tracks in both the mornings and afternoons. You may also elect to perform in one or to two additional curated teams.

25% Deposit Required

Everyone who registers must pay a 25% non-refundable deposit for the Basic Festival Package. Any extra services you choose are fully refundable until you accept the options we are able to offer. After that, the rules of your particular ticket type take precedence.

Although the deposit is due by February 28, 2023, to take advantage of the special offers listed at the top of this page, we recommend doing it as soon as possible, if you are want to add any optional services.

Non-Refundable $300
Refundable $330

Important Information about the Registration Process

Everyone pays a nonrefundable 25% deposit on the Basic Festival Package
You must register each person in your party individually
Your priority ranking for access to the special options is based on the date and time you make the deposit, so pay your deposit early for higher priority
Specific lodging and additional educational and ensemble opportunities that fall outside the core festival offerings will be announced at a later date
Your deposit allows VIF to commit to the facility, faculty, and staff to make the festival happen
Your refundable deposits for additional services help VIF understand what would make your personal festival experience more ideal. We love to offer you options, but the process is complex. We ask you to choose all the options you prefer in the same transaction. This is a system that has worked well in the past.

For example, let’s say you choose the following options:

Refundable pass
Single-occupancy room
One longitudinal intensive
Bring a friend
Spread your payment over five additional installments

You just add them all to your shopping cart, let the system total the fees, and pay.

When you make deposits in all those categories in the same transaction, we can easily and precisely know which information we need to send you, and what the price will be for your final total. Of course, if we cannot accommodate your additional requests, those elements of the ticket are totally refundable at this planning stage..

Extra Improv Options

We are planning an amazing list of longitudinal intensives that run over several days. None of these happen during regular festival programming. Each faculty members is currently working on proposals for one or two 8- to 12-hour intensives.

We already know that Jonathan Pitts will offer The Oracle, and Tom Tollenaere will offer Vintage Vinyl.

Once we get the complete listing, we will contact you so you can make your choices. As we go down the queue, some offerings may close out, but rest assured there are going to be some great choices!

Offerings include the following faculty, and will be subject to a minimum enrollment of five: Andrew Hefler, Vintage Vinyl with Tom Tollenaere, Michael Gellman, Deana Criess, Brian Palermo, Greg Tavares, Diana Brown, Jeff Michalski, Betse Green, Jonathan Pitts, and Tim Orr. Vintage Vinyl 2023 will be a longitudinal in the afternoon.

Full Payment Incentive

If you pay the balance of your festival fees in full by March 31, 2023, we will accept either a single Zelle transfer or an electronic check sent from your bank to ours. That allows you to avoid service fee charges which may be more than $75, depending on what your final choices are.

If you want to avoid ALL TicketLeap fees, you must state in writing to that you want to include the initial deposit amount in that transfer. As soon as the total payment clears our bank, we will refund the original TicketLeap deposit so you won’t have to pay any fees at all. If you have any questions, email .

Please choose the “I AM INTERESTED IN PAY AT ONCE TO AVOID FEES” option at TicketLeap to let us know you want us to set up one of the above options for you.

Converting to a Refundable Ticket

You may convert a non-refundable ticket to a refundable one within 72 hours of purchase, if you make your initial deposit by February 28, 2023. Notify us at to make the switch. If you do not receive a confirmation within 24 hours, please reach out a second time before the 72-hour deadline. You will receive a special link and you must pay the deposit difference within 72 hours to convert your ticket.

Note regarding refundable options when you book extra services

If you choose a non-refundable ticket, all optional services are non-refundable.
If you choose a refundable ticket, all optional services will be booked at the refundable rate.
If you add more options to the Basic Festival Package, you will be asked to pay a 25% deposit of the remainder due after we add your final lodging expenses and improv courses. See below for help in estimating these charges.

Estimated Costs to Help you Budget

Single occupancy or premium lodging costs $250 or more per person for the entire festival period
Optional longitudinal intensives cost about $300 for a 10-hour intensive
Each Additional curated team costs $100
The cost of spending additional nights at the Retreat Center depend on your final room and how many people you share it with

Paying in Installments

If you would like to pay your festival fees in installments, you must register as a Super Early Bird by February 28, 2023.

Lodging Choices

DORM STYLE

Although all lodging on the grounds is very close, the Basic Festival Package dorm-style room is in the classroom theater building, so it is centrally located for our purposes. There are 17 dorm-style rooms that share two large camp-style bathrooms with showers.

Many dorm style rooms have two sets of twin beds and can accommodate up to four people. Based on feedback from last year, we opted to use a double-occupancy as our base, but you may choose more people per room.

Your final cost will be related to how many people are assigned to your room, so we suggest that, if you want to lower your cost, you can plan and request roommates. If you do choose something other than a double occupancy, some people will be sleeping in an upper bunk. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to .

PREMIUM LODGING

Premium Lodging costs an additional $30 and more per night, per person, for a double-occupancy room. Actual cost depends on type of bathroom (private or lightly shared), location, ocean view, and extra space. Three double-occupancy cabin-ettes, four hotel-style rooms, as well as other lodging choices, are included in the premium locations. Those who express serious interest will receive more information.

If you prefer Premium Lodging, please register for the festival as soon as possible. We will offer Premium Lodging options in the order the deposits are made. Once we start filling spaces, we will do it as fairly as possible, but we can only wait 48 hours for you to respond to our offer. After 48 hours we must move on to the next person in line.

Solo Lodging

There is limited Solo Lodging available on campus. If the dorm fills up, or you wish to explore the Solo Lodging options, please pay the special lodging deposit in addition to the solo supplement deposit. Remember, all deposits (except the Basic Festival Package deposit) are refundable, if you do not end up using the option selected.

What if VIF Cancels the Festival?

It is incredibly unlikely that VIF2023 will be cancelled, but if the pandemic taught is anything, it is that we don’t always have control! If the festival must be cancelled, all ticket holders will receive a 100% refund of all festival fees collected

Administrative Fees for Refundable Tickets

A refundable ticket gives the holder a no-hassle cancellation option.

If the ticket holder requests cancellation by noon Eastern (New York) Time on October 3, 2023, VIF will refund 75% of all festival and lodging fees that have been paid by the ticket holder, less an administrative fee according to the schedule below.

The associated administrative fee depends on the date we receive the email.

Before June 1, 2023 … $25
June 1-30 … $50
July 1-31 … $75
August 1-31 … $100
September 1-30 … $200
After September 30, 2023 … $300

IMPORTANT: After noon Eastern (New York) Time on October 3, 2023, there is no refund of any kind, regardless of the type of ticket purchased.