About   Contact   Donate   Links   Main

The World's Best Improv

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


CIF 2009: SHOWS
Ensembles, schedules, and venues are subject to change.

CIF Artistic Director's Statement

CIF Artistic Director Mark Sutton about CIF 2009's roster: "The 2009 Chicago Improv Festival will bring together the most diverse collection of performers in the festival's 12 year history. I truly think it's the most exciting festival in our history, in that audiences will see improvisation's influence around the world played out in a tremendous variety of styles and ideas. It's a rare chance to see performers from so many cities and countries bring their unique voices to Chicago and share their love and dedication to an art form that is so woven into the fabric of our city."

CIF 2009 features 90 acts from 6 countries playing on 11 stages in 7 days.


CIF MAIN STAGE @ LAKESHORE THEATER


3175 N. Broadway, (773) 472-3492

MONDAY, APRIL 13 @ 7:30PM, $20
For Monday tickets please click: Monday Tickets
Emcee: Andy Eninger
Opening Act: GayCo Productions
Middle Act: Dyke-Prov
Headlining Act: GayMondo (Special Guest: Honey West)

TUESDAY, APRIL 14 @ 730:PM, $20
For Tuesday tickets please click: Tuesday Tickets
Emcee: Bob Wiltfong
Opening Act: Mission IMPROVable
Middle Act: Siblings of Doctors (with MTV's Wild-n-Out's Rasika Mathur)


Headlining Act: FACEBOOK (with MTV's Human Giant's Rob Heubel & Paul Scheer)


Show Note: Because he's shooting the season finale of 30 Rock, Rob Heubel will not be able to perform with FACEBOOK for this show.

THURSDAY, APRIL 16 @ 7:30PM, $20
For Thursday tickets please click: Thursday Tickets
Emcee: Strangers with Candy's Greg Hollimon
Opening Act: Barinholtz and Belushi
Middle Act: Velvet Gunn
Headlining Act: Ike Barinholtz & Jordan Peele (MADtv alums)

FRIDAY, APRIL 17 @ 7:30PM, $20
For Friday, 7:30pm tickets please click: Friday, 7:30pm Tickets
Emcee: Strangers with Candy's Greg Hollimon
Opening Act: Johnny Lunchpail
Middle Act: Sutton & Friends
Headlining Act: Frangela (with Frances Callier and Angela Shelton from the hit movie He's Just Not That Into You & V-H1's Best Week Ever)

FRIDAY, APRIL 17 @ 10:30PM, $20
For Friday, 10:30pm tickets please click: Friday, 10:30pm Tickets
Emcee: Strangers with Candy's Greg Hollimon
Opening Act: Oui Be Negroes (with Shaun Landry from the Academy Award winning movie Milk)


Headlining Act: Boom Chicago Alumni (with Madtv alums Ike Barinholtz and Jordan Peele)

SATURDAY, APRIL 18 @ 7:30PM, $20
For Saturday, 7:30pm tickets please click: Saturday, 7:30pm Tickets
Emcee: Strangers with Candy's Greg Hollimon
Opening Act: Johnny Lunchpail
Middle Act: Catnip
Headlining Act: 313 (with MADtv star Keegan-Michael Key, According To Jim's Larry Joe Campbell, MTV's Wild 'n Out's Nyima Funk)

SATURDAY, APRIL 18 @ 10:30PM, $20
For Saturday, 10:30pm tickets please click: Saturday, 10:30pm Tickets
Emcee: Strangers with Candy's Greg Hollimon
Opening Act: Pimprov
Headlining Act: The Doubtful Guests (with F/x's The Riches' Todd Stashwick)

SATURDAY, APRIL 18 @ 11:59PM
Note: Andy Dick's show has been canceled.

SUNDAY, APRIL 19 @ 8PM, $20
For Sunday tickets please click: Sunday Tickets
Emcee: Bob Wiltfong
Opening Act: Virgin Daiquiri
Middle Act: Improvised Shakespeare Company
Headlining Act: BASSPROV (with special guest Freak & Geeks' Joe Flaherty)


CIF SHOWCASE @ THE SECOND CITY SKYBOX


1608 N. Wells, 4th Floor, (312) 337-3992

For Friday tickets please click: Friday Skybox Tickets

Friday, April 17, 7pm, $15
Emcee: Jamie Black
Opening Act: Surf-n-Turf
Headlining Act: Snippets

Friday, April 17, 8:30pm, $15
Emcee: Jamie Black
Opening Act: The Dollhouse
Headlining Act: The DK And Morgan Show

Friday, April 17, 10pm, $15
Emcee: Jamie Black
Opening Act: JINX
Headlining Act: Without Annette

Friday, April 17, 11:30pm, $15
Emcee: Jamie Black
Opening Act: The Tuskegee Experiment
Headling Act: Hot Lawyer

For Saturday tickets please click: Saturday Skybox Tickets

Saturday, April 18, 7pm, $20
Emcee: Mark Sutton
Headlining Act: Impromptu Splendor (with SCTV's Joe Flaherty)

Saturday, April 18 @ 8:30pm, $15
Emcee: Jamie Black
Opening Act: pH Productions
Headlining Act: Rare Bird Show

Saturday, April 18 @ 10pm, $15
Emcee: Jamie Black
Opening Act: Little American Bastards
Headlining Act: 4Track

Saturday, April 18 @ 11:30pm, $15
Emcee: Jamie Black
Opening Act: Ay Diego!
Headlining Act: The Reckoning

* * * * * * * * *

CIF SHOWCASE @ THE PLAYGROUND


3209 N. Halsted, (773) 871-3793
Tickets will be sold only on the day of show at The Playground's box office.

Thursday, April 16 @ 8pm, $15
Emcee: Wendy Mateo
Opening Act: Stripper's Picnic
Headlining Act: Dummy

Friday, April 17 @ 7:30pm, $15
Emcee: Wendy Mateo
Opening Act: Impro Japan
Headlining Act: The Wilhelm

Friday, April 17 @ 9pm, $15
Emcee: Wendy Mateo
Opening Act: Atilla
Headlining Act: Sybil

Friday, April 17 @ 10:30pm, $15
Emcee: Wendy Mateo
Opening Act: WDWMKR
Headlining Act: Hello Laser

Saturday, April 18 @ 6pm, $10
Emcee: Wendy Mateo
Burning Desires

Saturday, April 18 @ 7:30pm, $15
Emcee: Wendy Mateo
Opening Act: Foxy Freestyle
Headlining Act: Bastards, Inc.

Saturday, April 18 @ 9pm, $15
Emcee: TBA
Opening Act: Dominizuelan
Headlining Act: Monkey 13 And The Masked Menace

Saturday, April 18 @ 10:30pm, $15
Emcee: Wendy Mateo
Opening Act: Whiskey Rebellion
Headlining Act: Parrallelagramphonograph's French Farce

* * * * * * * * *

CIF SHOWCASE @ CHEMICALLY IMBALANCED THEATRE


1420 W. Irving Park, (773) 865-7731

Friday, April 17, 10:30pm, $15
To buy Friday tickets, please click:
Friday Tickets
Emcee: Adam Higgins
Opening Act: Poser
Middle Act: Firth & Arjet
Headlining Act: Latch Key Kids

Saturday, April 18, 10:30pm, $15
To buy Saturday tickets, please click: Saturday Tickets
Emcee: Jay Gish
Opening Act: Space Robbers
Middle Act: The Uncle Ukulele Show
Headlining Act: Rooster

* * * * * * * * *

CIF SHOWCASE @ GORILLA TANGO THEATER


1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., (773) 598-4549

Wednesday, April 15, 8pm, $15
For tickets please click: Wednesday, 8pm Tickets
Headlining Act: Iceworm
Note: Iceworm's shows will be improvised entirely in Sign Language.

Wednesday, April 15, 9:30pm, $12
For tickets please click: Wednesday, 9:30pm Tickets
Headlining Act: Iceworm
Note: Iceworm's shows will be improvised entirely in Sign Language.

Saturday, April 18, 11:30pm, $12
For tickets please click: Saturday, 11:30pm Tickets
Emcee: Shaun Landry
Headlining Act: The Great Puppet Bollywood Extravaganza by Un-Scripted Theatre Company
Note: This show runs 90 minutes without an intermission.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

CIF SHORT-FORM SHOWCASE @ LAUGH OUT LOUD


601 N. Martingale Road, Streets of Woodfield, Suite 171, Schaumburg, IL, (847) 240-0386

For tickets please click: Laugh Out Loud Tickets

Friday, April 17, 7:30pm, $15
Opening Act: On The Spot Improv
Headlining Act: Laugh Out Loud Players

Friday, April 17, 9:30pm, $15
Opening Act: On The Spot Improv
Headlining Act: Laugh Out Loud Players

Saturday, April 18, 7:30pm, $15
Opening Act: The Improv Mafia
Middle Act: Team Bobby
Headlining Act: Laugh Out Loud Players

Saturday, April 18, 9:30pm, $15
Opening Act: The Improv Mafia
Middle Act: Altermania
Headlining Act: Laugh Out Loud Players

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

CIF LATINO SHOWCASE @ NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MEXICAN ART


1852 W. 19th St., (312) 738-1503
Tickets will be sold only on the day of show the NMoMA box office.

Friday, April 17, 8pm, $10
Emcee: Will Luera
Headlining Act: Los Aztecas del Norte

Saturday, April 18, 8pm $10
Emcee: Will Luera
Headlining Act: Los Aztecas del Norte


CIF LATE NIGHT @ ANNOYANCE THEATRE


4830 N. Broadway, (773) 561-4665
Tickets will be sold only on the day of show at the Annoyance box office.

Thursday, April 16, 10:30pm, $10
Emcee: Alison Royer
Headlining Act: Messing with a Friend (Special Guest: Mick Napier)

Friday, April 17, Midnight, $10
Emcee: TBA
Opening Act: Three Hole Punch
Headlining Act: Psychic Improv

Saturday, April 18, Midnight, $10
Emcee: TBA
Opening Act: Babel Fish
Headlining Act: Mustache Rangers

* * * * * * * * *

CIF NIGHT OWL @ THE PLAYGROUND


3209 N. Halsted, (773) 871-3793

Saturday, April 18 @ Midnight-3AM, $5
Tickets will be sold only on the day of show at The Playground's box office.
Emcee: Leah Eva

12:00am, Standards and Practices
12:20am, Sutton and Shelo: Middle-Age Meets Middle-East
12:40am, Skinprov
1:00am, T & A
1:20am, Bearded Men
1:40am, Naomi Ikegami
2:00am, Blackout
2:20am, All-Fest Improv Jam


CIF SPECIAL EVENTS
Note: CIF's Special Events are listed chronologically.

CIF's One World On One Stage

Tuesday, April 14, 8pm @ ComedySportz Chicago, $5
929 W. Belmont, (773) 549-8080
Tickets will be sold only on the day of show at the CSZ box office.
Emcee: Matt Elwell

Opening Act: 808 All-Stars
Middle Act: Altermania
Headlining Act: Improvisers from Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, and USA playing together.

* * * * * * * * *

CIF's Lifetime Achievement Awards

Wednesday, April 15, 7pm @ The Second City ETC., $75
1608 N. Wells, 2nd Floor, (312) 337-3992
For tickets please click: Lifetime Achievement Awards Tickets
Emcee: Mark Sutton


Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients:
Andrew Alexander; Joe Flaherty

To read about Andrew's career, please click: Andrew Alexander
To read about Joe's career, please click: Joe Flaherty
Spotlight Award Recipient: George Earle

* * * * * * * * *

CIF's Puppet Cage Match: The Fur Will Fly!!

Wednesday, April 15, 8pm @ IO Comedy Theatre, $10
3451 N. Clark St., (773) 880-0199
Tickets will be sold only on the day of show at the IO's box office.
Emcee: Beth Melewski

Felt vs. The Noah Ginex Puppet Company

* * * * * * * * *

Interactive Performance Lab's StoryBox: iTeam Show

Wednesday, April 15, 8pm @ Barnes & Noble on the corner of Jackson & State
1 East Jackson, (312) 362-6000
Tickets are free and available only on the day of the show at the Egan Urban Center.

Headlining Act: iTeam

* * * * * * * * *

Interactive Performance Lab's StoryBox: Dream A Little Dream...

Thursday, April 16, 7pm @ Barnes & Noble on the corner of Jackson & State
1 East Jackson, (312) 362-6000
Tickets are free and available only on the day of the show at the Egan Urban Center.

Headlining Act: iTeam (with special guests Joe Bill from Bassprov, Shaun Landry from Oui Be Negroes, Rachael Mason from iO, Will Luera from ImprovBoston, and Cory Rouse from Disney Imagineering)

* * * * * * * * *

CIF's The Battle For The Border

Thursday, April 16, 10pm @ ComedySportz Chicago, $10
929 W. Belmont, (773) 549-8080
Tickets will be sold only on the day of show at the CSZ box office.
Emcee: Matt Elwell

ComedySportz Chicago vs. Montreal's On The Spot Improv

* * * * * * * * *

CIF's Open Court

Thursday, April 16, 9:30pm @ The Playground, $10
Tickets will be sold only on the day of show at The Playground box office.
3209 N. Halsted, (773) 871-3793
Emcee: Wendy Mateo

Chicago Improvisers play with Festival Improvisers.

* * * * * * * * *

CIF's All Ages Shows

Saturday, April 18, 1pm @ Ridge Park, $0
9625 S. Longwood Dr, Chicago, (312) 747-6640
Tickets are free to the public

Headling Act: Josh Funk & Nyima Funk

Saturday, April 18, 2pm @ Laugh Out Loud, $10
601 N. Martindale Road, Streets of Woodfield, Suite 171, (847) 240-0386
For tickets please click: Laugh Out Loud Tickets

Headlining Act: Hogwash

* * * * * * * * *

CIF Presents Improv Legends

Saturday, April 18, 3pm @ Lakeshore Theater, $5
3175 N. Broadway, (773) 472-3492
For tickets please click: Movie Tickets

"Improv Legends: ideas, insights, icons" is a new documentary on improvisation by producers Joel Veenstra and Marc Warzecha. At this special first screening of "Improv Legends", Joel and Marc will show extended segments of the soon to be released documentary, and take your questions on the project. "Improv Legends" features some of the greatest minds in improv sharing their thoughts on the work, and includes exclusive interviews with: Bernie Sahlins: founder and original owner, The Second City; Gary Austin: founder, The Groundlings; David Shepard: founder, The Compass Players; Valerie Harper: Second City alum and star of Rhoda; Keegan-Michael Key: MADTV, Second City; George Wendt: Cheers, Second City; Matt Besser: Co-founder, UCB; Joyce Sloan: Producer Emeritus, The Second City; Andrew Alexander: Second City Owner and CEO; Mick Napier: founder, Annoyance theatre; Jennifer Estiln: Executive Producer, Annoyance theatre; Charna Halpern: Founder and Owner, IO; James Grace: IO West; Kelly Leonard: Executive Vice President Second City; Anne Libera: Head of the Second City Training Center; Jonathan Pitts: Executive Director, Chicago Improv Festival; Michael Gellman: Second City alumni and teacher; Tim O'Malley: Second City alumni and teacher; Ruby Streak: 30 year Second City Music Director, and many more.

To see a trailer for this film, please click Improv Legends

* * * * * * * * *

CIF's Apprentice Teams

Sunday, April 19 @ 12pm-3pm @ Gorilla Tango Theater, $5
1919 N. Milwaukee, (773) 598-4549
For tickets please click: Sunday Tickets
Emcees: Jill Bernard, Emily Dugan, Ed Reggi, Asaf Ronen, Rebecca Sohn, Rich Sohn

Performing in alphabetical order:
The Comedy Project
The IMPers
The Moving Walkways
The Nannie Tharp Experience
Pale Imitations
Spontaneous Combustion


For More CIF 2009 Information:

Please click: Ensembles
Please click: Parties
Please click: Workshops
Please click: Homepage


 


Productions