Love to Laugh? Don’t Miss Chicago Improv

Chicago. The Windy City. Chi-Town.

It’s known for many things, this great city — from gangsters to deep dish pizza. But did you also know that it’s known for its improv scene?

Chicago is funny. Or, at least, it has honed the talents of some very funny people.

Over the past 50 years, Chicago has grown into somewhat of an improv mecca, with the popular Second City giving many comedians and actors a push into stardom. Big names like Steve Carell, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, and many more.

But, while The Second City may be the most well-known improv venue and school in Chicago, the improv choices don’t stop there.

In fact, if you wanted my honest opinion, I’d tell you to seek out improv elsewhere in the city first. Because, while The Second City is often known as being “the best,” there are so many other great teams and venues out there — others that won’t be as hard on your wallet.

When I was in Chicago last month, I made it a point to check out some improv. Comedy of any sort tends to impress me, simply because I don’t think I’m all that funny myself. And comedy that’s made up and performed on-the-spot? I can’t get enough of it. I’ll admit that I still watch reruns of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” on ABC Family, and was genuinely upset when Ryan Styles brought his “Whose Live Anyway?” improv show to my university when I was studying abroad.

So, for me, seeing some improv in Chicago was a no-brainer. I poked around online before my trip to the Windy City, and asked some friends in Chicago for suggestions on improv shows outside of The Second City.

If Thou Seekest Laughs…

A recommendation from a friend lead me to possibly the funniest group of people I have ever seen perform live — the Improvised Shakespeare Company.

Performing at an improv school and company called iO not far from Wrigley Field, the Improvised Shakespeare Company did not disappoint. I was still laughing days later, just thinking back on the show I’d seen.

The group of actors do exactly what their name suggests — they improvise full, two-act plays in the style of Shakespeare, right down to the language, themes, and even iambic pentameter.

The stage the actors perform on is fairly plain — just some doorways and a few chairs. Their costumes, too, are plain — just peasant tops and cropped pants. This show really is all about the performance, and nothing else.

The ISC actors are very good at what they do, taking a suggestion from the audience for the title of an as-yet-unwritten Shakespeare play, and then spending the next hour and a half crafting that play. I have no idea how they do it, but you can tell that none of it is rehearsed when they make each other break character and laugh. You can expect princes and maidens; wizards and shipwrecks; love and tragedy; kings and nefarious plots — all the expected trappings of a traditional Shakespearean play. Except this certainly isn’t a traditional Shakespearean play.

It gets silly. It gets raunchy. It even may get confusing. But there’s no doubt that it will be funny.

The ISC performs two shows every Friday at the iO Theater — at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are only $16 each, and the theater includes a bar, meaning you can enjoy drinks along with the show.

A Different Place to Play

I was so impressed by the Improvised Shakespeare show at iO, that I decided I was in the mood for even more improv the next night. My friend and I met up with Katie and Val for dinner, and we all decided that we were in the mood for a laugh.

We settled on The Playground this time, a tiny little improv theater that is owned and run by the people who perform there. We paid $10 at the door, and brought in our own drinks  — you gotta love the BYOB policy.

Three separate improv groups performed here — Wing Night, The Basic Eight, and K.C. Redheart. The first two groups were okay, but K.C. Redheart really delivered as the closing act, performing an improv game called “Process.” In this game, they improvised the process of putting on a play. Again, the audience was asked for the name of an unwritten play, and the improv actors then went through the process of auditioning for, rehearsing, and performing that play.

I was impressed with all the improv actors, especially since this game required them to play two characters — the actors cast in roles, and the made-up characters — and remember off-the-cuff lines and plot points from scene to scene. Thinking back on it now, that’s really impressive. And it was funny, too!

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I could have easily done nothing else in Chicago but watch improv. There are so many options — many more than I’ve listed here, of course. And the best part is that you don’t have to pay big money for most of these shows. Theaters like iO and Playground even do late-night shows on the weekends that only cost $3-$5 to attend.

So, if you’re like me and love a good laugh, don’t skip the improv scene in Chicago. It’s definitely worth checking out.

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Are you a fan of improv? Have you seen any shows in Chicago (or elsewhere) that you’ve loved? Tell me about them!

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Note: ISC photos pulled from the group’s Flickr stream.

Chicago Vacations

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