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CIF 5 Archives Better, Bigger, Finer & Funnier!
Performance Schedule
CIF MAINSTAGE @ Anthenaeum Theatre Thursday, April 4, 8:00pm
Friday, April 5, 8:00pm
Friday, April 5, 10:30pm
Saturday, April 6, 8:00pm
Saturday, April 6, 10:30pm
Sunday, April 7, 8:00pm
CIF Showcase @ Anthenaeum Theatre's Studio Theatre Friday, April 5, 8:00pm
Friday, April 5, 10:30pm
Saturday, April 6, 8:00pm
Saturday, April 6, 10:30pm
Sunday, April 7, 8:00pm
CIF Blue @ The Playground Friday, April 5, 11:59pm
CIF Duo @ ImprovOlympic Friday, April 5, 6:00pm
CIF Fringe @ WNEP Theater Thursday, April 4, 8:00pm
Friday, April 5, 8:oopm
Friday, April 5, 10:00pm
Saturday, April 6, 8:00pm
Saturday, April 6, 10:00pm
Sunday, April 7, 8:00pm
CIF Sketch @ The Playground Friday, April 5, 8:00pm
Friday, April 5, 10:00pm
Saturday, April 6, 8:00pm
Sunday, April 7, 8:00pm
CIF Solo @ ImprovOlympic Friday, April 5, 8:00pm
Saturday, April 6, 8:00pm
Saturday, April 6, 10:30pm
CIF Special Events @ Various Locations: CIF Noontime Performances @ Chicago Cultural Center
Monday, April 1 - The Noble Fool Theater Company (Chicago)
CIF Pro-Am Jam @ Chicago Cultural Center
This opening event will feature a ribbon cutting ceremony and improv troupes from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Isreal, and Japan. They will perform together that night. Then there will be a special performance that will combine two local Chicago professional improvisors with one celebrity followed by a performance featuring all 10 professional improvisors together. Donations will go to Gilda's Club. CIF Digital Video Night @ Chicago Cultural Center
10 to 12 short film's made by improvisors or using improvisation. The premiere of two short films by Saturday Night Live's Adam Mckay and a short by Madtv writer Rich Talarico. At 9pm, The evening will continue with a special screening of the world premiere of the 1-hour tribute to Del Close. CIF Super Cage Match Championships @ ImprovOlympic
Improv teams from Chicago, LA, NY, and Toronto compete one on one as the audience votes on a winner. The winner goes on to the next round until one team is left standing. Prizes include a six pack of Goose Island Beer for each member of the winning team and the first ever cage match trophy. CIF Presents Lo Roin Mi'Meter @ Chicago Cultural Center
Lo Roin Mimeter from Tel Aviv, Israel, performs an all-improvised show, spoken only in Hebrew. The Consulate General of Israel, along with the Chicago Cultural Center will co-sponsor this CIF event. CIF Tribute To Avery Schreiber @ WNEP Theater
The Moving Targets are a new Los Angeles improv and sketch comedy ensemble made up of 15 students of Avery Schreiber. The Moving Targets formed together post 9/11 to comment socially and politically on the events of the world. Avery, in addition to being the teacher of The Moving Targets, was also their Artistic Director. Avery guided their socio/political sketch scenes. He also taught them to play games and forms rarely seen or used since the early Compass Players/Second City days. Among these games The Moving Targets will present in this special performance honoring Avery are The Living Newspaper and The Del Narritivo. CIF Improv Forum @ Second City Mainstage
CIF Improv All Night @ ComedySportz
CIF Improv All Night will feature numerous ensembles. The performance begins at 10pm and goes non-stop until 6am. Better, Bigger, Finer, & Funnier!It is time to celebrate the art that came to Chicago in all of its theatrical forms. CIF has added 5 new venues exploring all of the offshoots of improvisation, and a whole slew of new improvisers are coming to Chicago to show off for you. April 1st through April 7th, 2002 is the funniest week in Chicago, the Fifth Annual Chicago Improv Festival. CIF AWARDS In keeping with the celebration, we have established the first ever Chicago Improv Festival Awards. The CIF's will be given out over the course of the 5 Mainstage performances at the Athenaeum Theater. This festival is dedicated to two men who both served CIF and and their respective artistic communities with love and nobility. On opening night, Martin DeMaat and Del Close, two very distinctive men who left their mark indelibly on the improv world as well as Chicago will each be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards. Also, on Thursday night, Stephnie Weir of MAD TV will be recognized as The Female Improviser of the Year, followed by a reunion performance by the acclaimed ImprovOlympic team JANE. Friday night at 8:00 pm, both Avery Schreiber and Byrne Piven will be honored with Lifetime Acheivement Awards, followed by the CIF Festival Award at 10:30 pm to Schadenfreude for outstanding overall performance in prior festivals. At 8:00pm on Saturday night, we will be honoring Colin Mochrie (of ABC's "Whose Line Is It Anyway") with Male Improviser of the Year. He will then perform with his Canadian All-Stars. On Saturday, the Ensemble of the Year will be awarded to Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, with a 10:30 pm show that highlights ensembles from the UCB Theater. The evening ends with the critically acclaimed "Asssscat" show, featuring original members of the Upright Citizens Brigade. Sunday night at the closing of the CIF Mainstage, CIF pays tribute to those who helped perpetuate and nurture the art of improvisation. Our honorees for these CIF Lifetime Achievements are Bernard Sahlins, Sheldon Patinkin, and Joyce Sloane; the triumvirate responsible for putting The Second City on the map. These awards were born out of the spirit of Celebrating the Present, Honoring the Past and Showcasing the Future. The Largest Festival of its Kind in the World This year CIF is thrilled to play host to the world, with groups from New Zealand, Japan, Canada, and Israel coming to play on our CIF stages. They will be interacting not only on our stages but also with the City of Chicago. As well as performing on our Mainstage, Lo Roin M'Meiter (from Israel) will be performing a show entirely in Hebrew on Sunday night at 7:00 pm at the Chopin Theater. This event is sponsored in part by the Consulate General of Israel. Not only is the fifth year about exploring how far Improvisation has reached but returning to the roots of Improvisation. Over 70 years ago, Viola Spolin created the games of Improvisation to teach children. This year, the international groups will be teaching workshops for school children. We will also be hosting a series of workshops for the 10 Chicago grammar schools at the Chicago Cultural Center. We will be working with two high school groups from Denver and Kansas City. They will be involved in an Improv Immersion Program. CIF has put together teachers, workshops, tickets to shows and activities with the cooperation of the Improv community. Some of the new venues include: CIF Sketch, sponsored by the Playground; CIF Fringe sponsored by WNEP Theater; CIF Solo courtesy of ImprovOlympic and several events held downtown in partnership with The Chicago Cultural Center and the City of Chicago. There will be Digital Video Night held at the Claudia Cassidy Theater on Tuesday April 2nd at 8:00 pm. There will be a series of short films by improvisers or using improvisation followed by the world premiere of a Tribute to Del Close. There will be a pair of tribute performances held on Wednesday April 4th for Byrne Piven and Avery Schrieber. The Storefront Theater in the Chicago Cultural Center will house the Piven Workshop Story Theater performance at 8:00pm. WNEP Theater will be the host of the Moving Targets at 10:30 pm, an improv group formed by Avery Schrieber post 9/11 to explore comedy in a new political climate. Each of the tribute performances is open to the public and free. There are multiple events each day and night of the festival. The CIF website, www.cif.com, is a comprehensive schedule and guide to the many events. This is not only CIF's biggest year but also the best. The caliber of talent is beyond CIF's wildest dreams. CIF is just excited for you to come and share in the Festival. 5 countries, 10 venues, 100 performing groups comprised of over 1000 performers all coming to Chicago to celebrate the 5th year of the Chicago Improv Festival. |
Productions