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The World's Best Improv

The 13th annual Chicago Improv Festival
April 19-25, 2010


Update: 2/1/10
CIF Submissions Are Closed

Thanks to all the teams whom sent in a submission for CIF 2010, but the submission deadline has passed and it now closed. CIF will respond via email to all the acts and ensembles as to their invitational status by 2/15.


Update: 1/18/10
Cheers For Mark Sutton & Jet Eveleth

Congratulations to CIF's Artistic Director Mark Sutton and CIF's Co-Artistic Director Jet Eveleth for their recent professional accomplishments.

Mark has been cast as Rush Limbaugh in The Second City's new original musical that's opening this February called Rush Limbaugh! The Musical.

Jet has been chosen by New City magazine as one Chicago's "Top 50 Players" in Chicago's theatre and performance community for 2010.

To read about Mark's new musical role, please click: Rush Limbaugh
To read about Jet's recognition, please click: Top 50 Players


Update: 1/4/10
CIF Extends Submission Deadline

CIF has extended its submission deadline to 11:59pm (CST) on January 31, 2010. All acts and ensembles who submitted will be made aware of their invitational status via email by 11:59 pm (CST) on February 15, 2010.

The complete submission information is located further down this page.


Update: 12/31/09
CIF Show In Time Out Chicago's Top 10 For 2009

A show from CIF's 2009 festival (Toronto's Impromptu Splendor with special guest SCTV alum Joe Flaherty) made the top 10 comedy shows of 2009 in Time Out Chicago. To read the article, please click: TOC


Update: 12/6/09
CIF Town Hall Meeting

Attention Chicago Improvisers: Your presence is requested in a Town Hall Meeting for the Chicago Improv Festival. This Wednesday, December 9th from 6-7pm in the iO Cabaret. "Questions and Answers" with the Artistic Directors Mark Sutton and Jet Eveleth. iO Theater, 3541 N. Clark St.


Update: 12/12/09
Q&A With David Shepherd @ SC's 50th


David Shepherd & Jonathan Pitts, pre-Q&A @ The Second City Skybox

The Compass theatre co-founder David Shepherd was interviewed onstage by Jonathan Pitts, Executive Director of the Chicago Improv Festival, about the origins of The Second City's work at The Compass (1955-1958). The Q&A was part of The Second City's 50th Festival and took place on Saturday, December 12 @ The Second City Skybox.

David shared honest and insightful stories about his life and his life's works in improv. In the audience was Compass alumni and stand-up comedy legend Shelley Berman. Shelley also told stories of what it was like to be in The Compass, and what it was like to improvise on-stage with David.


Shepherd, Pitts & Shelley Berman, post-Q&A @ The Second City Skybox


Update: 11/17/09
CIF Seeking Submissions For 2010

CIF Productions invites improv ensembles everywhere to make their submissions for the 13th annual Chicago Improv Festival, April 19-25, 2010. The submission time period begins on November 20, 2009 and will end on January 20, 2010. The theme for next year's CIF is "Community: Chicago & The World". To submit your ensemble for CIF, here's a list of what's required for each submission.

To email CIF a submission on-line:

1) Email CIF a letter notifying us of your team's name, your theatre affiliation (if any), your city/state and if necessary, your country.
2) Email CIF an on-line video link to your ensemble in performance.
3) Email CIF a roster list of your team's players' names. We require two contact persons per submission, along with their email address and their cell phone number.
4) Email CIF a recent team photo. Please note, with your team photo, we'd like to have both a high-res version for the print media (1MB or higher) and a low res version for the web (500kb or less).
5) Email CIF link's to your team's pages or website.
6) Email CIF a submission fee via CIF's paypal account. The submission fee for Chicago ensembles is $10 per submission. The submission fee for non-Chicago ensembles is $25 per submission. Please note, if you want to submit two or more shows by the same ensemble or production entity, each show requires its own submission.

To email CIF your submission/s, please email it to CIF Productions Executive Director, Jonathan Pitts @ jpitts@chicagoimprovfestival.org.

To email CIF your submission fee/s, please send it via Paypal and send it to this email address: jpitts@chicagoimprovfestival.org

To send CIF a submission via snail mail:

1) Send CIF a letter notifying us of your team's name, your theatre affiliation (if any), your city/state and if necessary, your country.
2) Send CIF a DVD with your ensemble in performance (30 to 45 minutes).
3) Send CIF a roster list of your team's players' names. We require two contact persons per submission, along with their email address and their cell phone number.
4) Send CIF a CD with a recent team photo. Please note, with your team photo, we'd like to have both a high-res version for the print media (1MB or higher) and a low res version for the web (500kb or less).
5) Send CIF link's to your team's pages or website.
6) Send CIF a check or money order made out to Chicago Improv Festival to pay your submission fee. The submission fee for Chicago ensembles is $10 per submission. The submission fee for non-Chicago ensembles is $25 per submission. Please note, if you want to submit two or more shows by the same ensemble or production entity, each show requires its own submission.

Please send CIF your submission/s to this address:
Chicago Improv Festival Productions
2936 N. Southport Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657

CIF Productions will notify all the ensembles of their invitational status via email on January 31, 2010.


Update: 10/29/09 CIF 2010 Changes Gets Local Media Reaction

The news about the changes made by CIF Productions for CIF 2010 received coverage in both The Onion and the Chicago Tribune. To read The Onion's blog, please click: The Onion/AV Club-Chicago.


Update: 10/27/09

CIF Previews 2010 Fest; Jet Eveleth New Co-Artist Director

Chicago Improv Festival Productions is proud to announce the addition of Jet Eveleth as co-artistic director for the 2010 Chicago Improv Festival, April 19-25. After five years as artistic director, Mark Sutton will be stepping down from his position after this year's festival and usher in Jet Eveleth as the new artistic director for the 2011 Festival.

"I am extremely excited to be working with Jet Eveleth as co-artistic director for this year's Chicago Improv Festival," says Mark Sutton. "Jet has established herself as an outstanding performer, inspiring teacher and an innovative voice for improvisation over the past several years. Her insight, and passion for improvisation will be a welcome addition to the CIF artistic team and her presence will serve to make a great Festival even better."

"It is an honor to be the new co-artistic director of the Chicago Improv Festival", adds Jet Eveleth. "I feel that my experience teaching and performing at many of the city's leading improv institutions will serve as a solid foundation for this position. My vision for improv has developed from my years on The Reckoning, an ensemble that strives to challenge the limits of the work. I identify most as a Chicago improviser and want to promote this evolving art form with emphasis on community inclusion."

Other changes to the 2010 Chicago Improv Festival include the elimination of the main stage to focus and promote local, national and international ensembles within a community setting. This will provide the Chicago Improv Festival a better opportunity to explore the talent within Chicago and showcase how improv is celebrate by ensembles around the world.

Mark Sutton on the changes for the 2010 festival, "Improv is an intimate experience. I really think it works best for both the performer and the audience when they are connected to one another. Moving away from a Mainstage and putting more emphasis on Chicago's improv community and it's venues will further emphasize that connection. It will also continue to bring focus to the notion of ensemble based, collective creation which is what is so exciting about improvisation."

Says Eveleth, "I believe the focus on smaller venues will offer the art more intimacy and this is where improv tends to thrive. Such a decision puts the concentration more on the community and the modest nature of the art form. I look forward to participating in a festival that is willing to adapt, as improv itself is in constant transformation."

CIF 2010 will feature performances in venues with 150 seats or less, with festival programming in 10 venues throughout the city and suburbs.

CIF will accept submissions November 15 through January 15.

-Allison Yates-


Update: 9/1/09
CIF 1-7 Archives & CIF 10-12 Archives
CIF Productions has begun a massive year-long project to get archival content, photos, and videos from CIF's 12 year history posted on-line through CIF's website, as well as Flickr and Youtube. Posted are the performance schedules from CIF 1-7 (1998-2004), and the full archives for CIF 10-12 (2007-2009) This will be an on-going project, so please check back often. To see these archives, please click: CIF Archives


Update: 8/26/09
Fest Dates For 2010 Announced
The 13th annual CIF will be April 19-25, 2010. Submissions will be accepted November 15, 2009-January 15, 2010 and more information on that will be released soon. There will also be some other exciting announcements for CIF 2010, so please check this site for more updates.

CIF 2010 Schedule:
Monday, April 19: Opening Night Festivities
Tuesday, April 20: One World On One Stage
Wednesday, April 21: Lifetime Achievement Awards
Thursday-Sunday, April 22-25: Shows
Sunday, April 25: Closing Night Party

If you have any questions regarding CIF 2010, please email CIF's Executive Director Jonathan Pitts: jpitts@chicagoimprovfestival.org


Update: 7/16/09
CIF 2009 Photos On Flickr
To see photos from this year's festival, please click: 2009/Flickr


Update: 6/13/09
CIF 2009 Showcase Videos
To see videos from CIF 2009 Showcase, please click: 2009/Showcase


Update: 5/18/09
CIF 2009 Opening Video
To see the opening video that was screened before each show at many of this year's festival venues, please click: 2009/Opening


Update: 4/22/09
CIF 2009 Photos On Facebook
To see photos from this year's festival, please click: 2009/Facebook


Update: 4/21/09
CIF 2009 Photos By Jerry Schulman
To see his photos from this year's fest, please click: 2009/Schluman


CIF 2009 Archives
To see content from the 2009 festival, please click: 2009/Archives


 


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