NOW IN ITS 8^TH YEAR.

In 1994, Whose Line Is It, Anyway? was still a British show on Comedy Central. If you mentioned improv, you meant the national stand-up comedy franchise. And to find other improvisational comedy troupes, you went to the phone book, not the Internet.

That year, Spontaneous Combustion (produced by the now-defunct Kansas City group Lighten Up) became one of the first independent festivals to bring improvisational troupes from across the country together to study and perform. A half-dozen years and a name change later, SIX: The U.S. Improv Festival had a reputation in the burgeoning improv community as a don't-miss showcase for established and up-and-coming talent.

Skip ahead seven years. Now there are a dozen festivals across the country- from San Francisco to Providence, LA to Atlanta, an "Improv Festival and Miniature Golf Tournament" in Austin, Texas. 7: The KC Improv Festival brought the festival back as a collaboration between the City 3 Project, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating a community of performers, and a number of local improvisers. Members of ComedyCity, Hype 7, Improv-Abilities, The Trip Fives and 2 Much Duck are involved in planning. Trish Berrong, coordinator of the first six events, provides continuity.

And this year, Improv-Abilities-fresh from their experience as a Chicago Improv Festival apprentice team-takes over as festival producer.