The Casting world is a living, breathing monster with a life of its own – sometimes it’s booming and there are audition left and right, and other times you aren’t sent out for roles for a good while. Whenever those casting lulls happen, the best thing to remember is to keep yourself busy and keep nurturing your artistic spirit. Here are 5 things going on in LA right now that you can occupy your off-time with and still stay creatively charged and inspired!

1. The 6th Annual SUMMAHFEST
Summah, Summah, Summahtiiiiime. Get your music, comedy, and mayhem on! Comedian and rapper Howard Kremer (of the Have a Summah comedy albums) returns to host the popular blowout, which includes music, water slides, food trucks, free beer, water-balloon fights, face painting and other summer-themed activities. At 6 p.m., stand-up comedians Steve Agee, Paul Danke, Cornell Reid, Nick Rutherford, Jada Catta-Preta, John Roy, Brody Stevens and Saturday Night Live alum Brooks Wheelan provide the chuckles, followed by an improv show at 8. So slap on the SPF and have a couple of laughs before it’s suddenly September.

2. The 13th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival
Kicking back and laughing is the best way to get out of your head. iO West, the famed comedy theater that has helped groom the likes of Vince Vaughn, Bill Hader and Bob Odenkirk, hosts the 13th annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival.Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet, Cheers’ George Wendt,The Middle’s Neil Flynn, Anchorman’s David Koechner and other celebrity guests appear in more than 200 improv, sketch and stand-up performances across three stages, including iO West staples The Armando Show andBeerSharkMice. A highlight this year is the seven-day Improv Show, which will attempt to “set the Guinness Book of World Record for Longest Continuous Improv Show.” In addition to a competition, the festival offers workshops led by instructors with credits including the Emmys, Saturday Night Live, MADtv, Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Part of the proceeds benefit the Chris Farley House, a sober facility in Madison, Wisconsin.

3. Listen to Free Jazz at the LACMA
Some say jazz feeds the soul and inspires a spark of creativity! Take advantage of that this summer with one of LA’s best free live music offerings, Jazz at LACMA has featured such legends as Wayne Shorter, John Clayton, Kenny Burrell, Les McCann, Billy Childs, Arturo Sandoval, Cannonball-Coltrane Project and Ernie Watts. Celebrating over twenty years at the museum, the program continues to be one of the museum’s most recognizable (and beloved) programs. It’s a celebration of LA’s finest jazz musicians, and more than 42,000 visitors attend the program annually from April through November, making it a true LA rite of passage.

4. KCRW Summer Nights
Eat, drink, dance, and be merry, y’all. This all-ages concert series from KCRW sets up shop across the city every week from June through August, and is definitely among the liveliest of LA’s summer concerts. Participate in cultural workshops before busting a move on the dance floor to DJ sets and live bands. Sample food-truck grub or cuisine from surrounding restaurants as you party ‘til midnight in the heart of Chinatown and Pasadena as well as at the Hammer Museum. A photo booth, craft beer garden and variety of fine art classes round out the fun to be had at this music-centric event.

5. The Silver Lake Picture Show
Free things to do are the best things to do. Back for its fourth consecutive year, The Silver Lake Picture Show is a free, summer-long community event that screens popular films in a picnic-like setting at Sunset Triangle Plaza, which is specially closed off to automobiles during the event. The Silver Lake Picture Show feature presentation is prefaced with performances by live bands and additional screenings of short films produced by local filmmakers. Screenings routinely attract around 500 guests and the series claims to have had over 10,000 attendees in total since its inception. No RVSP is required but seating is highly limited, however, so early arrival is encouraged to claim a spot.

Want more ideas for fun (and potentially FREE) things to do around LA this Summer? Check out these sites:

LAist
LAWeekly
WeLikeLA
TimeOut