Improv troupes take center stage in Schaumburg, Chicago
Chicago is about to be invaded by throngs of visitors who are known for questioning authority and mocking standards of decorum.
No, we're not talking about anticipated protesters for the upcoming NATO Summit in May. It's the hundreds of comedy performers participating in the Chicago Improv Festival, running from Monday, April 23, to Sunday, April 29.
Now in its 15th year, the Chicago Improv Festival is set to host more than 70 improv troupes from five countries on 10 different stages in Chicago and Schaumburg. The festival's theme this year is "Celebrating the Art of Play" and features international troupes from Russia, Mexico, Switzerland and Canada, plus comedy groups from other major U.S. cities like New York, Los Angeles and Detroit. There's also plenty of acclaimed homegrown companies for Chicago comedy boosters to cheer on.
"The great part about the Chicago Improv Festival is its main mission which is to forward the art of improvisation," said Addison and Bloomingdale native Matt Barbera, who has been president of Chicago's comedy-focused Playground Theater since 2004. "They're taking it not only from Chicago, but certainly expanding it to the world."
For those unfamiliar with improvisation, it's theater crafted on the spot from performers who can create scenes of drama and comedy at a moment's notice.
There are many approaches to improv, ranging from short-form sketches (in the style of the hit TV show "Whose Line is it Anyway?") to long-form where audience suggestions can provide the foundation for an evening-length performance. Improv can be competitive (as seen by the long-running Chicago franchise institution of ComedySportz), or honed to fit a specific performance style (for instance, Chicago's Improvised Shakespeare Company creates comedy scenes in an Elizabethan style of versifying).
Thanks to revered institutions like The Second City, Chicago has become world famous as a mecca for comedy and improv. So many companies seek out performing at the Chicago Improv Festival.
More than 150 groups applied to participate in the 2012 Chicago Improv Festival.
"We're inviting performers to perform and the income is coming from the audience," said Kevin Mullaney, a native of Morton, Ill., and former New Yorker who is a co-artistic adviser for this year's festival. "We want to make sure audiences are seeing great shows, not just getting as many groups to Chicago as we can."
Audiences can see plenty of comic variety since two different improv troupes are often paired together on the same performance bill. This two-for-one deal benefits not only the audience, but performers as well.
Elmhurst native Micah Sterenberg is a member of DMNK, a four-person Chicago long-form improv troupe making its first appearance at the festival. DMNK is paired on the same bill with the New York troupe The Garys for a 7 p.m. show on Saturday, April 28, at the Playground Theater.
"I've been to a few improv festivals and it's really cool to see things from all over," said Sterenberg, noting how beneficial it is to compare and learn from each troupe's style. Yet Sterenberg admits to being biased, since "every time you go to one of these festivals, it's kind of reassuring since the Chicago teams are always the best."
In one case, the Chicago Improv Festival has even helped to foster the creation of a special Canadian-American comedy troupe called Border Patrol. Festival co-founder Jonathan Pitts suggested that members of Rapid Fire Theatre's OLYMPROV from Edmonton, Canada, should combine with The Upfront Theatre from Bellingham, Wash., after seeing the two winning groups perform at an improv tournament in Vancouver.
"We're all seasoned improv veterans," said Julian Faid, a senior company member of OLYMPROV who will also be making his Chicago Improv Festival debut. "(As Border Patrol) we'll be new and I think it's Jonathan's vision that we would see maybe the Canadian perspectives and the American perspectives and see how they combine onstage."
As in past festivals, Schaumburg-based Laugh Out Loud Theater will be playing host to international improv companies. Border Patrol and the Toronto duo 2-Man No-Show are set to share performance bills with Laugh Out Loud's collection of Chicago-area improvisers.
According to Laugh Out Loud owner and artistic director Lillian Frances, her 118-seat theater is actually one of the more sought-after venues for the festival despite its distance from downtown Chicago.
"The year that a group from Israel came, they had a Tuesday night show (in Chicago) where only a dozen people showed up," Frances said of the 2009 visit by Israeli troupe Altermania. "When they came out to Laugh Out Loud, we had two sold-out shows for them."
Last year Laugh Out Loud played host to an improv troupe from Turkey. Even though the Turks spoke little English, Frances said they had the audience stomping and clapping along in a rousing and participatory experience.
"The crowd went nuts, even though we didn't really know what was going on," said Frances with a laugh. "I really hope they can understand the Canadians this year."
The Chicago Improv Festival
Performances run Monday through Sunday, April 23-29
Locations:• Laugh Out Loud Theater, 601 N. Martingale Road, Schaumburg• Annoyance Theater, 4830 N. Broadway St., Chicago• ComedySportz, 929 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago• The Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted St., Chicago• Athenaeum Theatre, Studios 1, 2 and 3, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago• Chemically Imbalanced Theater, 1420 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago• Martyrs', 3855 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago• The Second City (4th floor Skybox, 3rd floor DeMaat and 2nd floor e.t.c. spaces), 1618 N. Wells St. Chicago
Tickets: $5-$20 (prices vary by venue and show)
Full schedule: (773) 875-6616 or