Espontâneo - International Improv Theatre Festival

Espontâneo was created in 2012, by the Portuguese improvisation company Instantâneos, and since then is the only festival dedicated exclusively to improvisation theater in Portugal. The main aim was to create a space where improvisation theater could be explored in its various expressions and formats, a place where artists from around the world could perform, teach and share points of view.

From its creation, Espontâneo, has created a solid artistic network, where more than 200 artists from all the continents, have performed on the festival´s stage, over the last decade. The fact that the festival has 3 official languages, Portuguese, Spanish and English, creates a huge opportunity to many artists, not only from Europe but also to Latin American countries, to present their work and to exchange different lines of thought with colleagues from different backgrounds. In every edition, the festival promotes the creation of new shows, that are directed and performed by an international ensemble.

Another structural point of Espontâneo, is the artistic training. Throughout its existence the festival has promoted more than 1500 hours of artistic training, not only to dedicated to professional artists but to the general public has well. Some of the most influential improvisation teachers, from around the world, have set presence in the festival, which gave a unique opportunity to local artists to have access to the most vanguardist artistic views.

Since 2022, Espontâneo has expanded across the borders, and impletemented itself in teh city of Bogotá (Colombia) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).
This expansion was only possible due to the fact that in the last decade the festival has developed a solid network with artists from across the world, that allowed Espontâneo to bring the original structure and goals, to the local communities of these two countries.
In 2024 edition, the festival will welcome artistis from Portugal, Brasil, Spain, Hungary, Egypt, United Kingdom and France.
Apart from the original shows that each company will present, the festival also promotes collective creation, with the Impro Ensembles.
These shows are created during the festival days, and challenges the interanational cast to create original shows to be presented to the audience. These moments maximize the culture exchange and promote the artistic learning of new techniques and aproaches.
In total, Espontâneo will welcome a total of 34 artists, 15 shows, in only 6 days.