From law to laughter: Naperville native finds niche in improv

She calls it her “Monsters, Inc.” moment.

Naperville native Emily Herrell had been working as a trial lawyer for two years when she decided to take an improv comedy class at The Second City in Chicago. Learning to make people laugh brought to mind the Disney film where monsters discover that there's more power in inspiring laughter than fear.

“I realized I was a happier person in those three hours a week than in the rest of my daily life,” Herrell said. “I realized I could just get as much joy out of making people laugh as making them cry.”

Herrell quit her job and took a law position with fewer hours, leaving her more time for improv rehearsals and shows.

Now the Chicago resident is regularly performing throughout the city. She'll be on stage with two different groups at the 18th annual Chicago Improv Festival, which kicks off on Monday, April 20, and runs through April 26 at various Chicago locations as well as Laugh Out Loud Theater in Schaumburg.

One of Herrell's groups at the fest is Pilip & Dove, which performed a four-week run last summer through the Second City Training Center. The group emulates documentary films by acting out a set of two-person interviews based on an event suggested by the audience. Their festival appearance is April 23 at The Second City.

“The name originated from a really fun rehearsal that we had,” Herrell said. “We got a suggestion for an Amish furniture-making festival. We had two people who were collectors of fine furniture, two people who lived in the town and had gripes with it every year, and then we had two Amish folks who were brothers — Pilip and Dove. One of them only communicated through a series of tongue clicks. His brother was the only one that could communicate with him. It was so memorable that we kept the name.”

After the run ended in August, the performers went on to other shows until the group submitted a video of one of their first performances to the week-long Chicago Improv Festival and it was selected to be part of the fest's emerging artist category.

“We're so thankful for it,” Herrell said. “We've had shows leading up to (the festival) and they've been extremely successful fun shows. We've had tons of support from other performers who have given us the opportunity to open for them.”  

The group recently wrapped a variety show at Stage 773 in Chicago, where they performed along with other emerging artists. Herrell said she loves meeting and working with other performers.

“As a 27-year-old, you kind of feel like you've established all of your friend circles through home and growing up and college and law school and your job,” she said. “You don't think those avenues are open to you anymore. This community, you step into it and you have 10 friends. You see people who inspire you and make you want to be a better performer and work with them.”

You can also see Herrell performing at the festival with Bastards of the Underground, which plays at Chicago's iO Theater at midnight every Saturday. They'll perform April 25 for the fest at de Maat Studio Theatre.

“That show is one of the most diverse casts in the city,” she said. “One of the things they prioritize is getting women involved. They really try to balance the genders in that cast along with the diversity of backgrounds. It's nice to be showcased in that way. Improv can be very dude-heavy.”

Along with preparing for the festival, Herrell has been working on writing a musical and is looking forward to performing in a female version of “Sweeney Todd” called “Sweeney Maude” at The Annoyance Theatre and being part of the 2016 election-themed “Ready for Hilary: The Musical” at The Public House Theatre this summer.

So her foray into showbiz has paid off.

“It was extremely scary,” she said. “You don't know if it was going to work out OK, but it did. The general improv philosophy is ‘yes, and.' You take a leap and hope that you'll be supported. Learning that philosophy and applying it to comedy is one thing, but I started applying it to life and everything has worked out.”

Chicago Improv Festival

<b>What:</b> More than 150 acts performing various forms of improv including long form, musical and experimental. Headliners include Sasheer Zamata, Trainwreck, the Katydids and Wild Horses.

<b>Where:</b> Various Chicago locations and Laugh Out Loud Theater in Schaumburg

<b>When:</b> Monday, April 20, through Sunday, April 26

<b>Tickets:</b> $5-$25

<b>Schedule:</b> See <a href="http://chicagoimprovfestival.org">chicagoimprovfestival.org</a>