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Chicago's Best Improv

Shows five nights a week featuring Chicago's premier comedic talent.

 
 

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 Jane Austen

Every Saturday at 8pm, 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

Improvised Shakespeare Company

Every Friday and Saturday at 8pm 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.”

Phony Award Winning presents: Improvised Wicked

Phony Award Winning Musical presents: Wicked! A fully improvised musical with singing, dancing, and a whole lot of gravity defying. Travel to the land of Oz and see our wickedly talented cast Oct 6 – Nov. 24 Sundays at 7 in the Weed.

Devil’s Daughter

Every Friday at 8pm! 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.

The Improvised Housewives of iO

Fridays at 8pm starting 9/20. In this town, the Improvised Housewives call the shots… and they’re thinking Malört! Fridays at 8PM this Fall, don’t miss the most dramatic season of Housewives yet, guaranteed to snatch your wig! 

 

THE FREE SHOW

Every Wednesday at 7:30pm– A free weekly show featuring Dumb John, Birdlady, and other iO House Teams. Never been to an iO show before? This is a great way to check out longform style improv from some of the best!

Thursday Night Thunder

Feel the power every Thursday Night Thunder with iO house teams Kismet and Big Deborah. Sit back and let the professionals steer you through an evening of high energy, eccentric, emotionally charged sets guaranteed to leave you feeling blown away.

Whirled News Tonight

Every Saturday at 8pm. 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.

Escandalo!

Escándalo is a weekly variety show that showcases Latine comedians, musicians, poets and much more! The show consists of a rotating cast of improvisers, solo performances, and special guests that all come from a Latine background. All are welcome to come join us in building community and celebrating nuestra cultura! WEPA! Fridays at 10pm!

DNA: Best of 2024

Get ready for a show of only bangers. We compiled all our favorite sketches from 2024 and packed them into a show to bring you one hour of non stop laughs. Join Avi, Declan, Jake, Kelly, and Ziv as they navigate family fights, fairytales gone wrong, and how to tell your friend that they shouldn’t run the Chicago marathon. It’s a sketch show of the creme de la creme (and there won’t be any Christmas Carol parodies at all. None.)

Chutzpah In The Chi

Come for the Jewish joy and stay for the best Jewish stand-up comedians in the city. Featuring: Ariel Julie, Josh Cahn, Rebecca Joey Schwab, with special guest Emma Finn. Hosted by Yoni Heisler.

Lil Sluggers: In The Dugout

Catch home team Lil Sluggers in The Dugout every Thursday night as they present a grand slam showcase of improv, bits, and slugs! Each week is a unique run around the improv bases featuring an all-star visiting team and a set by Lil Sluggers inspired by your life.

Trapped In A Musical

Saturdays at 8pm! Present by Malarkey Comedy, Trapped In A Musical is a completely improvised Broadway-style musical that the cast finds out about in the moment.

ComedySportz

Presented by Malarkey Comedy. Chicago’s longest running short-form improv show (founded in 1987) and the only comedy show in Chicago EVERYONE is welcome at – from age 8 to 80, our inclusive ‘everyone is welcome’ approach to comedy makes us perfect for patrons of all ages. Fridays and Saturdays!

Duluth: An Improvised Midwest Murder

Based on the hit FX show “Fargo”, Duluth takes audiences into the world of true crime in the Midwest. Each week, the cast of Duluth will improvise a story of murder, malfeasance, and general mayhem, all set against the backdrop of an audience member’s hometown.

The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience and Hootenanny

Created in 1995 by iO alum Armando Diaz (not the Italian general), the Armando is a historic improvisational form where actors improvise a series of interconnected scenes based on the true events and life experiences told from a guest-monologist. Featuring new players and a surprise celebrity guest each week, come watch the longest running comedy show in Chicago at it’s originating home, the iO Theater!

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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