When it came time to select acts for this year’s Chicago Improv Festival, the judges were given a special instruction: Experimental trumps traditional. This year, the world’s largest and longest-running improv festival is setting out to prove that the off-the-cuff art form is not only funny–it’s theater.
On Monday, the ninth annual CIF begins and 750 performers, including Horatio Sanz of “Saturday Night Live” and Emo Philips, converge upon the city for a week filled with shows, workshops and lectures–all centered upon the theme “Improv as Theater.” “I wanted to try and find acts that were a little more theatrical in nature and not the standard notion of what people see improv as,” says Mark Sutton, this year’s CIF artistic director and a founding member of Chicago’s Annoyance Theater. “I wanted to find groups that were experimenting with the improv form.”
While the storylines and dialogue will remain extemporaneous, the festival will spotlight improvisers that premeditate other aspects of their show, such as structure, set design and costumes.
The focus on experimental improv is part of the reason 39 groups are making their first CIF appearance. Audiences will have a chance to see some big names in comedy as well as acts that incorporate less-conventional aspects, such as Kabuki theater, video, puppets and physical comedy.
“Improv has been around for 50 years. If improvisers just continued to play the same game, there would be no difference between improv and basketball,” says CIF executive director Jonathan Pitts. “You’d only be showcasing individual players. But if it’s an art form–and improv is–it has to always evolve and change, and find new ways of being funny.”
Sanz, one of this year’s main attractions, headlines Friday. Like many CIF performers, Sanz honed his craft in Chicago’s improv theaters, including Second City and iO.
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Best of the fest
There are 73 ensembles and shows in this year’s festival, plus workshops and other events. Here are some highlights.
Bassprov with Mo Collins
7:30 p.m. Thu. on the Mainstage
“Bassprov” features Mark Sutton and Joe Bill as two hayseed fishing buddies sitting in a bass boat. This year, Mo Collins from MADtv (also emcee for the festival’s mainstage shows) will be along for the ride. “It’s very seldom that a woman has sat in our boat and played with us,” says Sutton. “That’s going to be fun.” (Whirled News Tonight and The Williamson Playboys open.)
Play
9 p.m. Thu. on Alternative Stage 2
Perhaps no other group at CIF exemplifies the “Improv as Theater” theme like Play. Along with a talented cast of improvisers, including “The Daily Show” correspondent Dan Bakkedahl, the cast incorporates lighting, sound effects and music to create an improvised play based on an audience suggestion.
Horatio Sanz and the Horatio Sanz All-Stars
7:30 p.m. April 28 on the Mainstage
Sanz grew up on the West Side and performed with Second City, iO and the Upright Citizens Brigade before moving on to “Saturday Night Live.” He’ll be joined by a host of accomplished improvisers and friends including Jerry Minor, Brett Gilman, Jack McBreyer, Ed Furman and Jason Mancoukis.
Full Frontal Nudity
8 p.m. April 28 in the CIF Lounge
This Ohio group includes Warren Johnson, the son of Tribune comedy writer Allan Johnson, who died earlier this year. The 2006 festival is dedicated in part to Allan’s memory.
Then … Again with Screwbuki
10 p.m. April 28 on the Mainstage
Then … Again headlines with VH1’s Adrianne Frost and Chicago improviser Andy Eninger. The Loose Screws, a Honolulu-based ensemble, uses traditional Kabuki theater in “Screwbuki.” The group won an award for innovation at last year’s festival.
Messing with a Friend with Ike Barinholtz
9 p.m. April 28 on the Alternative Stage 2
MADtv’s Ike Barinholtz, who trained at the iO, asked Susan Messing if he could play the “friend” in her critically lauded “Messing with a Friend.”
Pimprov
11 p.m. April 28 on Alternative Stage 2
Pimprov revolves around four pimps who decide to take improv classes. The group’s lack of political correctness and outrageous costumes are only part of the reason they’re growing in popularity. The other reason is, they’re really funny. They are paired with another Chicago show with a similar title: Let Them Ho’s Fight.
MADtv and MADtv Writers on Hiatus
7:30 p.m. April 29 on the Mainstage
MADtv cast members doing improv, including Mo Collins, Ike Barinholtz, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael McDonald, Crista Flanagan, Arden Myrin, Daniele Gaither, Nicole Johnson, Jordan Peele and Frank Caeti. “Writers on Hiatus” features sketches that, for various reasons, never made it onto television. This group’s previous CIF performances have been so successful that the MADtv producers have changed their minds and put the sketches back on the show.
Four Square
10 p.m. April 29 on the Mainstage
Before Dan Bakkedahl left for “The Daily Show” and John Lutz went off to write for “Saturday Night Live,” this four-man ensemble with Peter Grosz and Rob Janas was among the best in Chicago.
Child’s Play
10:30 p.m. April 29 on Alternative Stage 4
Child’s Play is a group of high school-age teens from Plantation, Fla., that didn’t bother submitting a tape for the CIF high school competition and went straight for the big time. “They’re extremely advanced for kids of that age,” says Sutton. “When I was that age I didn’t even know what improv was.” (Followed by Canadian Content and WIRT.)
Emo Philips and Big News
7:30 p.m. April 30 on the Mainstage
Downers Grove native Emo Philips is best known as a stand-up comedian with a pageboy haircut and cracked, falsetto delivery. This year, he’ll be performing topical sketch comedy on current events with the Los Angeles-based Big News, a popular live show started by SNL alum Michael McCarthy.
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WHEN: Monday through April 30.
WHERE: Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. and Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Randolph St.
TICKETS: $10-$30 for the Athenaeum shows, other events are free. Contact 312-902-1500 or www.ticketmaster.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact 773-935-9810 or www.chicagoimprovfestival.org
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About the fest
The festival lasts all week and takes place at venues around the city and suburbs. The main acts appear next weekend at the Athenaeum Theatre on the Mainstage, four Alternative Stages and the CIF Lounge. For a complete, downloadable calendar of events, go to www.chicagoimprovfestival.org. Also check out:
Workshops Wed. through April 30 at the Athenaeum and other locations; $50-$325 with online registration.
Cultural Center events including Xprovisation, Bodies of Work and Lunch Break performances; free.
Implosion College Improv Showcase April 28-29 at Mullady Theatre, Loyola University, 1125 W. Loyola Ave.; $5-$10.
CIF High School Festival 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. April 29 at The Playground, 3209 N. Halsted St.; $5.
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