The Arena
2028-08-03 20:00 - 21:00, 2028-09-07 20:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | The Backline Comedy Theatre, 1618 Harney St., Omaha, Nebraska
The ARENA has been Omaha’s No. 1 Improv Competition for 13 years! Pitting together two2 improv teams to find out which group is the best. Every first and fourth Thursdays at 8 p.m.!

Whichever team wins the votes of the audience comes back the next time to face a new Challenging team, each getting 20 minutes to win over your votes. Teams need 7 wins to make it on the record board, and the No. 1 spot has two teams tied right now with 16 consecutive wins, “4 Average People” and “Zip-Zopera: The Improvised Hip-Hopera” has won 16 times in a row! Will another team ever beat that record? You decide!

Backline's Best
2028-08-04 19:00 - 20:00, 2028-08-11 19:00 - 20:00, 2028-08-18 19:00 - 20:00, 2028-08-25 19:00 - 20:00, 2028-09-01 19:00 - 20:00, 2028-09-08 19:00 - 20:00
Start your night off with laughter as we showcase Omaha’s finest improvised acts. These stellar teams only have limited four-month runs, so catch them lighting up our stage before they rotate out!

Recognized as a premier training hub for improv in the heart of America, The Backline invites you to experience the magic firsthand!

The Broken Magic Comedy Hour
2028-08-05 20:00 - 21:00, 2028-09-02 20:00 - 21:00
The Broken Magic Comedy Hour is a standup comedy series brought to you by founding OK Party Member and national touring stand up comic Zach Peterson. Featuring some of the best stand up comics in the Midwest and beyond, The BMCH is a professionally run stand up show that will have you coming back for more month after month.

Comedy After Dark
2028-08-05 21:30 - 22:30, 2028-09-02 21:30 - 22:30
Comedy After Dark is Omaha’s longest running comedy series for a reason! The first Saturday of each month you can catch this uncensored, unapologetic, wild ride of a Stand Up Comedy showcase. Brought to you by savvy veterans of the local comedy scene (Chuck & Bill Comedy) and their misfit associates. Expect BIG laughs and COLD drinks as always.. but take precaution if you are easily offended. This may not be the show for you. See our calendar for a list of suitable alternatives. Cost is $13 online, $16 at the door.
CAPACITY ALERT: This show often sells out online prior to showtime so purchase tickets in advance. Ticketed customers get seating priority over walk up traffic if there is a full house.
This show is Rated R for graphic language and adult situations.

Open Mic
2028-08-09 19:30 - 20:30, 2028-08-16 19:30 - 20:30, 2028-08-23 19:30 - 20:30, 2028-08-30 19:30 - 20:30, 2028-09-06 19:30 - 20:30
It’s a comedy open mic, at the same place, on the same day at an earlier time, and with a new updated format! Each comedian who signs up in advance gets 4 minutes or you can show up and put your name in the hat which are pulled randomly every five comics and only get 3 minutes. Typically there are 30-40 comics each week.

Do You Duo?
2028-08-10 20:00 - 21:00
This FREE show is for long-form improvisers to get some stage time in at The Backline! NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED! Sign up on this event, or at the event, to be included.

Show up at the Backline at 8pm, and grab any beverage.

Watch your hosts “Sassy and Sammy” perform a quick duo set and explain the rules.

Two random names will be drawn from a hat, and those two improvisers will get to perform a never before seen duo performance!

Length of set will be determined night of.

Dad Jokes
2028-08-11 20:00 - 22:00, 2028-09-08 20:00 - 22:00
Dad Jokes (featuring Michael Johnson, Michael Smith, Justin Edmonds, Taylor Grote, and Rachel Ware) has been voted as one of the best improv shows at The Backline. They don’t tell “jokes” and they aren’t your dad, but you’ll love them just the same. Their show is some of the best longform improv comedy you can find in Omaha!

Top Comic
2028-08-11 21:30 - 22:30, 2028-09-08 21:30 - 22:30
Laugh plenty and have some delicious drinks downtown this weekend! Hosted by Joslyne DeBonis, a stellar lineup of the area’s best standup comics bring their most fire material in this competition to become the Top Comic in Omaha (and win a cash prize!) If you want to see the best Omaha has to offer fight it out with everything they have, then you are going to want to see this show. This show is great for showing up with friends, as a date, or even just all by yourself.

Date Night
2028-08-12 19:00 - 20:00, 2028-09-09 19:00 - 20:00
Scoop up your sweetie (or anyone, really!) and start your Saturday night off right! Date Night features some of Omaha’s best two-person improv teams, shaping this into a full hour of fun and laughs you won’t soon forget. No date? No worries! This show is just as fun to watch alone or with a group of friends. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet a future date here!

The Strangers
2028-08-12 20:30 - 21:30, 2028-09-09 20:30 - 21:30
“The Strangers” is a two-person improv show featuring Timmy Tamisiea and Will Meinen; two people who at one time didn’t know each other and now they do! Timmy trained and taught in Chicago and LA and continues to perform around the country with the Westside Comedy theater. Will got his start at The Backline, and trained/performed in Chicago at the iO and Second City theaters.

Both Timmy and Will moved back home to Omaha during the pandemic and decided to start performing together, initially as strangers and now as friends.

Richie B's Mic Drop: Comedy Battle
2028-08-12 21:30 - 22:30, 2028-09-09 21:30 - 22:30
Mic drop is a 1 v1 tournament style competition. The contestants are seeded 1-8 and battle it out with their best stand up performance through three rounds where each round someone is eliminated until they’re two comics left who go at to become champion. Then we end the show with one of Omaha’s great talents doing a featured set!

Juicy Deets
2028-08-18 20:00 - 21:00
The Backline’s hottest new improv show asks Omaha’s most influential people to share some of the juiciest details from some of their wildest stories. Then a team of Backline’s best improvisers create scenes based off these stories on the spot. Get ready to learn a little and laugh a lot.

If you are familiar with improv in cities like Chicago, NYC, and LA, consider this our own version of iO’s Armando or UCB’s ASSSSCAT. For 12 years, The Backline held a similar style show called ‘Interrogated’ and featured guests like Amber Ruffin, Kevin McDonald, and tons of other celebrities and amazing people!

Power Hour
2028-08-18 21:30 - 22:30
The Midwest’s BEST stand up comedians all jam-packed in to one hour of fast-paced live comedy like nothing else you’ll find in Omaha. 11 comedians that could each headline their own show all in just over an hour. Now that we have a FULL BAR, we will have a special shot deal for folks looking to party! Cost is $10 online, $13 at the door.
This show is every third Friday of the month at 9:30 p.m. and ran/hosted by Rachel Ware.
