Improv lovers gather outside Denver’s Avenue Theater before a performance.

– Like to make stuff up? The third annual Denver Improv Festival, which continues in various locations through Sunday, might just be for you. The events include performances and workshops at the Avenue Theater, Impulse Theater and Bovine Metropolis Theater. We chatted with Cindy Laudadio-Hill, chairwoman of GroupMind Foundation, which organized the festival, about the benefits and variety of improv, and why it’s so hot right now. Check it out…

Get Real Denver: Hi Cindy, thanks for talking with us. So this is your third year, right?

Cindy Laudadio-Hill: Thank you, and yeah, it is.

How many people are you expecting?

As far as participants at workshops we’re expecting about 100 people, but in terms of audiences we have seven different shows, so we’re hoping 600-700 audience members. We’ve got people coming in from all over the country to teach and perform in three different venues. The main stage is at the Avenue Theater on 17th Street, then we have midnight shows, one at the Impulse and one at Bovine Metropolis.

I know there’s also the big Brad Sherwood/Coline Mochrie (of “Whose Line Is It Anyway”) show at the Buell on Saturday, too. Pardon the cliché, but this is sort of a perfect storm of improv for the city, isn’t it?

Yeah, I think there’s growing interest in improv, and I think what’s happened is that it’s in more and more pop culture, from TV shows like “Whose Line” to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to those Sonic drive-in commercials. Even shows like “30 Rock,” which is scripted but inspired by improv actors and writers. Sometimes sketches in “Saturday Night Live” are done by improv and then written down.

And “Reno 911″ on Comedy Central is all improvised dialogue.

Right, then you’ve got all the mockumentaries: “Spinal Tap,” “Best in Show,” things like that.

An improv performance at the Impulse Theater.

This may be a dumb question, but is comedy the only type of improv?

Well, there are two forms of improv: short-form and long-form. Short-form is what Colin and Brad do, the improv games that you see. That’s basically always comedy. Long-form takes one suggestion and is more theatrical, more character and story-based. It can be dramatic, although I’d have to say 90 percent of all improv you see if comedic. I think actors prefer to do comedy improv, anyway.

Denver would seem pretty friendly to this type of festival, with our growing comedy scene…

Denver’s a funny town, it really is. That’s one of our best kept secrets that I’d love to get more locals to know about. There’s a group called A.C.E. which is fantastic, then another called Plays Well with Others. Bovine Metropolis Theater has a house troupe called Sans Script. These are all primarily long-form groups and most of them have been in other festivals around the country, besides performing regularly in town.

The men of improv group Johnny Lunchpail.

What are the benefits of taking these improv classes for the average person?

There’s beginners and advanced workshops, the latter of which is obviously for performers that want to get better at what they do. But for beginners the huge advantage of the art is that it helps you think a little quicker on your feet and gets your creative juices flowing. It gets you out of your own way and gets you to stop editing your ideas.

How do people respond to the classes?

I teach this and watch people just light up. It really engages the child in them again, and I think it’s just one of the freshest art forms in theater.