This year's festival will host performances at Go Comedy! Improv Theater and The Ringwald Theatre in Ferndale as well as Planet Ant Hall in Hamtramck. More than 40 improv troupes from across North America will visit Metro Detroit for the event.

The duo that tours globally has a quick chat with KOIN on the AM Extra show!

SOLD OUT + standing O - Seattle, Washington - Tara & Rance HERE: The (Improvised) Musical headlined and sold out the show, along with two packed workshops!

WOSU & NPR feature comedian Tara DeFrancisco on making the world a little happier bit by bit (17 minutes with Amy Juravich on All Sides)

The Twin Cities Improv Festival Is Turning 20?! Yes, and It’s ‘Full of Headliners.’

CLICK HERE: Episode 28 of Hello, Puzzlers was a REAL WIN!

Hello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: comedian and creator of HERE: The (Improvised) Musical, Tara DeFrancisco! Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals. Subscribe to Hello, Puzzlers! wherever you get your podcasts! And come join our growing puzzle community over on Patreon, where you can find bonus episodes and other exclusive content! Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas. The show is produced by Claire Bidigare-Curtis. Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.

This year, our readers voted for Tara DeFrancisco to take the top slot at the city’s best comedian. Tara might best be known as the co-founder of The Nest Theatre in the Old North neighborhood, but she is also one of the city’s most multifaceted performers. From improv to sketch to musicals to stand-up, Tara has entertained with local performances as well as a variety of appearances all over the country while touring on the road. In addition to performing, Tara is also a comedy instructor who leads classes and workshops, helping to train up the next wave of comedic performers in Columbus and beyond.

The 2026 MICC featured 17 performances over two nights on one stage in the Mobile Carnival Museum, including our headlining act: HERE the Improvised Musical, from Columbus, Ohio!

Hilarious, unscripted comedy from improv troupes from Chicago, Columbus, Mobile, Birmingham, Boston, Florida, Minnesota, Seattle, and more!

The headliner is HERE: The (Improvised) Musical! Starring veteran improvisers Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto, HERE has headlined in dozens of countries and scores of cities around the world, thrilling audiences everywhere with their heartfelt and hilarious improvised musical theatrical productions.

Tara is the first official guest on Rebel(lious) Podcast, a new pod by actor/director Jen Esposito (Fresh Kills, Spin City, NCIS) and Cat Yezbak (artist, comedy person, musician) in NYC! Recorded in East Village/Alphabet City June 22, released July 2 / posted July 8 here!

Despite and because of their explosive success, the comedy duo had a dream of moving to central Ohio, where DeFrancisco is from, to open a theater and create a community for comedy in Columbus.

Igniting Curiosity, Inspiring Action: 2025 Ohio STEM Innovation Summit Recap

Tara was a guest on Sister Sessions with Susie & Jenny, released late May 2025! This casual chat about social media, meaningful work in the arts, and the humanist approach to humanities is a short dip into comedic life.

Tara & Rance are keynote speakers and breakout session hosts for OH STEM / Ohio Stem Learning Network’s 500 person SOLD OUT EVENT - June 3, 2025 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center!

Tara & Rance chat about the upcoming season and recent victories and fun at The Nest Theatre (Cbus) for Spring 2025 - including lots of sold out classes & shows, 3 stages, a classroom, and a new podcasting studio in late Summer 2025!

Tara (@taradefrancisco) is a seasoned vet in the world of improv comedy w/her worldwide show “HERE The Improvised Musical”, she’s co-founder of The Nest Theatre (@thenesttheatre). Lately - she’s become your resident positive pep-talker over on instagram/TikTok (there’s a real good chance you’ve seen one of her videos shared on social). If you’re into comedy, creative spaces, or just want a dose of genuine inspiration, this one’s for you!

Tara was awarded Top 10 Comedians in Columbus in December 2024, the only one known for (primarily) improv-only on the list!

NBC Cbus chats about all the shows and classes Tara & Rance have structured and curated, and all take a fond look at this incredible community of artists at The Nest

All Sides with Anna Staver interviews Tara on the changing landscape of comedy and her experiences as a seasoned performer and artistic director.

LD Madera interviews Tara & Rance from HERE: The (Improvised) Musical (July 2023) - “Guests today are the incredible team of Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto. They are the stars of HERE, which has been performed in 24 countries around the world. They founded and operate The Nest Theatre in Columbus, Ohio /run The Improv Retreat since 2012. These two never cease to inspire me, and I hope they inspire you as well!

The Nest Theatre & Comedy Arts Center expands to three stages and a dedicated classroom in Old North/Clintonville (CBus) - with Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto.

The Nest adds a classroom (Old Towne East)!

The Nest makes community and magic in Columbus, OH (with Tara DeFrancisco, Rance Rizzutto)

The Nest’s original show ANONYMOUS (featuring Tara & full ensemble) gets an article in OSU’s paper

Packed shows at a new Nest - making it through the pandemic with incredible amounts of work leads to a new home, and lots of folks clamoring to get in to laugh.

(WSYX) Columbus, OH — The Nest Theatre is bouncing back as the pandemic shifts and wanes in 2022! Hosting 25+ rotational mainstage shows and teams throughout the year doing all styles of comedy! Since restarting shows back in February, they had nonstop, consecutive weekends of sold out shows, highlighting the pent-up demand for comedy at it’s new location in the Old North at 2643 N. High Street!

Tara and Rance have been engaging audiences all over the globe, whether with iO, the Second City, or with their two-person improvised musical, "Here." These 20+ year veterans of improv have done it all. They opened their theatre, the Nest, in Columbus, OH. Tara and Rance are now guest professors at both Ohio University and Columbus College of Art and Design. They talk about what it takes to run a theater during a pandemic, the joy of performing across the world and the relief that this is an explicit podcast! Give it a listen!

Improving the World (Hong Kong, China) interviews Tara DeFrancisco on improvisational performance and hard work around the world

HERE to DC - Bethesda's Imagination Stage brings the critically acclaimed show to the area to bolster the DC Arts scene

The Nest finds a big home on Broad Street in Franklinton after loss of a full buildout/bad actor landlord. (2017)

a focus on Columbus economy and its impacts on the arts as the launch of The Nest begins (2016)

HERE: The (Improvised) Musical is on the list for Best of Chicago - right before the two move to start The Nest (Cbus, OH).

HERE’s first review from the Tribune!

Danielle Mari and Nick Cusumano interview TD about The Improv Retreat, iO, Chicago improv, and an upcoming launch of CBus Improvisational Theatre (The Nest)

Pam Victor interviews with well-known, highly experienced improvisers. (2013)

TD talks with Chicago Reader about her work in defrancisCo, her “Funniest In Chicago” award, BlipTv/ABC Family’s Delusions of Grandeur (2012)

New City chooses the top 50 performers across all artistic theatrical disciplines, awarding Tara the honor