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Chicago's Best Improv

Shows seven nights a week featuring Chicago's premier comedic talent. The best longform improv in the world.

 

iO Fest 2025 Lineup is Here!

Tickets go on sale Friday May 23rd at 11am!

 
 

The Home of Longform Improv

Since 1981, iO Theater has inspired and trained generations of America’s greatest comedic talents.

 

Premier Event Venue

Plan your next conference, celebration, or team-building event at the historic iO Theater. It's the perfect one-stop shop and a welcome break from your typical stuffy hotel conference room.

 

Take An Improv Class

Learn more about why tens of thousands of performers have chosen to learn at iO!

 

Harold Night

Come see iO's signature longform style of improv, The Harold, performed nightly by one of our house teams.

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Featured Shows

We love all of our shows equally but here’s some we think you’ll really like. To see a list of all upcoming shows, click the View All Show button down below.

Improvised Shakespeare Company

Every Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm– since 2006! Inspired by one audience suggestion, these dazzling players create a brand-new Shakespearean masterpiece right before your eyes.  Come witness the shows critics have called “staggeringly brilliant.”

Whirled News Tonight

Every Saturday at 7:30pm. Twenty years running! The audience provides inspiration by picking their top stories from the day’s news. From these journalistic suggestions, a team of experienced improvisers create a fast-paced, topical, intelligent, & hilarious show.

Improvised Jane Austen

Every Saturday at 7:30pm, Improvised Jane Austen is a comedic ensemble that creates unscripted performances using Jane Austen’s tropes, themes, and language. Playing in Austen’s world, Improvised Jane Austen’s stories delight 21st century audiences with a modern sense and sensibility. Come for the humor, stay for the heart! Throughout the show’s run, Improvised Jane Austen’s has been Chicago Reader Recommended, named a PerformInk Critics’ Pick, voted Best sketch/improv troupe 2019 in the Reader’s Best of Chicago, and was featured on WTTW playlist, in Time Out, on WGN’s Daytime Chicago and most recently on CBS News Chicago

Escándalo

Fridays at 7:30pm! — ESCÁNDALO is your weekly escape into the heart of Latine culture in Chicago! We’re a collective with a mission of creating a welcoming and inclusive space for everyone – especially trans, femme, non-binary, and disabled creatives—through bold, hilarious comedy. Enjoy a rotating cast of Latine improvisers, solo performers, and special guests. All Latines are welcome, regardless of background or fluency.

Phony Award Winning Musical
Every Thursday at 7:30pm — Award Winning features Chicago’s best musical improvisers. Each week the ensemble will perform a brand new show in the style of  a beloved Broadway musical from their repertoire. All based on audience suggestions.
Deep Schwa

Every Sunday at 8pm– Chicago’s longest-running Harold team returns to iO to bring their unique blend of chaos and creativity to iO’s signature form The Harold. Formed in 1996 Deep Schwa has over 50 members, has done over 1,000 shows, performed in theaters all over Chicago and beyond. Made up of a cast of Chicago’s most seasoned and eclectic players and teachers it’s a show perfect for the improv initiate and those just looking to chase away the Sunday scaries. Every Sunday, 29 years and counting.

Blast!

Every Monday at 7:30pm– Blast! is a rotating cast featuring some of Chicago’s best female long-form improvisers. We believe the most important thing about improv is having fun doing it, so we invited our favorite people to play with us! Each week, our veteran cast performs different long-from structures highlighting big group scenes. Watch as they expertly navigate through each form, rooting a world in grounded scene work and heightening the fun of every moment. Get ready to have a Blast!! 

Devil’s Daughter

Every Friday at 7:30pm! Devil’s Daughter features a cast of seasoned comedians who have performed together in Chicago and around the country for over a decade. This award-winning team has their own unique spin on a classic improv form, The Harold, and is known for their solo scenes, artistic style, and dastardly sense of humor.

Food & Drink

Grab a bite before, during or after the show

Bar and Kitchen open at 4:30 pm
Wed-Sun
Open at 11:30am on Sat and Sun

No tickets required, all ages welcome

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The skills we use to train talent on our stages are the same skills applied in collaborative settings across the entertainment and corporate world, in writer’s rooms, board rooms and beyond.

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