It's June! When an improv school makes the completely altruistic and noble move of creating a Summer Intensive program. People (mostly young folks) come to Chicago for weeks at a time to study for hours a day. No matter which institution you attend, the program is, well, intense.
We could go on and on debating the ultimate educational benefits from such programs but this is neither the time or place... instead, here's a quick, and to be honest not-very-well researched, Summer guide to Chicago! (thanks to my friends on Facebook for chiming in!)
The Usual Suspects: your chosen school should offer some comps to their shows. Definitely, take advantage of that! And don't just go see the same show over and over, get the full taste by seeing a bunch of different shows. Also, go see shows at the other improv theaters as well!
Get up and Play! Various theaters offer an improv "open mic," where you can get up and put your expensive schooling to use!
The Playground Theater has a the long-running get-up-n-play show, The Mixer! It's Thursdays at 10pm.
The Art Institute of Chicago will be free all day the first and second Wednesday of every month. Even if you can't take advantage of that, the admission to one of America's great art collections is only $18.
Second City Mainstage and etc theater. Yes, of course, you should go see their scripted shows, but take advantage of the free improv sets after the sketch shows! Honestly, it's important for you to see at least once. Every night (except for Friday) there's an improv set.
The Green Mill Jazz Club. For a reputation so huge and a history so storied, the joint is pretty damn small. Check out their calendar for some amazing music. Also, it's about 100 paces from the Annoyance Theater.
The Brown Line & the Red Line. Take a ride on these great EL trains. It's fun and one of the best transit systems.
Downtown in the Loop. Visit recognizable Chicago landmarks, take your picture in front of them and send your parents a copy. Show them you're happy and safe and learning. If they're paying for your stay/school, thank them. Ah, thank them anyway.
Talk to your teachers! They'll have great recommendations as well! I mean, they live here right?
Festivals! Chicago is jam-packed with street festivals. In June alone, there are 26 festivals.
Here's a link to a list of them. My favorite? "SausageFest (formerly Lakeview Music Fest.)"
In all fairness, I am teaching part of the Summer Intensive at iO Theater. I imagine there will be more updates on this topic later. If you're a Chicagoan with some suggestions for our visitors let me know!!
Jason,
I thought this might be of interest to you and your friends (as well as any visitors to Chicago this summer) I created an app called Festival Finder - Chicago it provides information (dates, locations, bands playing, etc..) on over 80+ festivals throughout Chicago. The app is available on all 3 platforms.
Here's to a great summer!
Thanks,
Sean - Festival Finder