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Posts in category "Playground Theater"

A Chicago Guide for the Intense

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... Read more »
By Jason Chin,
May 31, 2011 at 11:19 am
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Famous People Doing Funny Things

The third Chicago-based Just for Laughs Festival comes roaring into town June 14th! The Festival began in 1983 all the way up in Montreal, but in 2009 a Chicago Festival was added and with the added financial and broadcast capabilities of the TBS network it has grown very fast. What I personally like about the... Read more »
By Jason Chin,
May 26, 2011 at 11:02 am
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HalloQUEENS

I grew up in Queens, New York in the 70s and 80s. Halloween was a special time of year and I can remember it being a time of terror and hilarity. As you aged out of “trick-or-treating” you became more involved in “bombing” and “egging.” Various groups of (barely) teenagers would roam the neighborhoods of... Read more »
By Jason Chin,
October 25, 2010 at 1:32 pm
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No Joke- Improvisers on the EL Fire

Several improvisers, some of them traveling together, and some just coincidentally on the same train, suffered through the smoke and heat of the Red Line EL fire on Sunday afternoon. That’s Deanna Moffitt (an improviser at ComedySportz and of the R&D Project, a show I sound-designed a few months ago) on the Chicago Tribune website... Read more »
By Jason Chin,
June 21, 2010 at 1:03 am
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Merry Prankmas!

(Molly Hall and our victim, Louie Saunders) If you improvise with someone, trust is an important part of your relationship. Louie Saunders is a trusting soul. Louie Saunders is an improviser in Chicago. He plays at iO and the Playground and with the group, Pudding Thank You, at the American Theater Company. He has a... Read more »
By Jason Chin,
December 15, 2009 at 9:46 am
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Buddy, Can You Spare $125 For an Improv Show?

Most of the Second City 50th Anniversary shows are either sold out or very expensive. The Mainstage show on Saturday (Alumni) at 8pm costs $125, while the SCTV Reunion show has tickets ranging from $175 to a whooping VIP package of $750! (to be fair, the VIP does include all panel discussions, the afterparty, and... Read more »
By Jason Chin,
December 10, 2009 at 3:03 pm
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Greatest Improv Theater Ever.

The Chicago Comedy Theater Challenge will decide definitively which improv theater/group is the best! Two teams enter, one team leaves! It’s Thunderdome! Well, maybe not as dramatic as that. Though that would be a show I’d definitely go see. No, it’s the 22nd anniversary of ComedySportz and they’ve invited their colleagues to play on their... Read more »
By Jason Chin,
July 28, 2009 at 10:07 am
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Schedulenomics

What’s it like being an improv student in Chicago? Let’s spend a week with a very busy (but still possible) fictional player/student.   Monday - 8am – 5pm – temp job down in the loop 5 – 6:30 – run home, eat, shower change, yell hello at roommate 7- 9:45pm – do an improv show... Read more »
By Jason Chin,
May 29, 2009 at 1:43 pm
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