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.”

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. 

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.

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.

Improvised Housewives of iO

Saturdays at 9:30pm starting May 3rd– The Improvised Housewives of iO returns for a fourth season of this totally unscripted parody of the Real Housewives franchise. Each Saturday, catch a new episode and watch the storylines unfold throughout the season, leading up to our dramatic reunion the final week.

People Presenting Things

3rd Wednesday of every month — People Presenting Things is a thrilling improvised comedy experience like no other. Performers take the stage ready to present a slideshow – but they have no idea what they’re presenting! Prepared in secret by PPT experts, presentation topics could be about ANYTHING – from “Historical Figures With The Sexiest Calves” to “I Want To Fight Your Grandpa.” Finally, a meeting worth clearing your schedule for.

Ladies of Chicago Improv

Tuesdays at 8pm starting July 1st– With combined experience of over 1200 years of comedic improvisation this ensemble of some of the most veteran lady improvisers in Chicago take the stage in an upbeat, unhinged, and fully improvised show.

Any Time But Now

Fridays in June at 7:30pm —

The iO Sketch Ensemble is proud to present its newest sketch show: Any Time But Now.
Any Time But Now follows our performers as they travel through history and back in search of less turbulent times. Along the way they’ll encounter a whole host of characters –  bears, magicians, and even a few Founding Fathers.  Any Time But Now is pure escapism, delivering both zany antics and razor-sharp satire. As hard as it is to believe, there’s never been a better time for Any Time But Now.

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.

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.

Hot Seat

Saturdays at 9:30pm, starting Feb 1,  the 2019 Reader-Recommended show is back featuring some of iO’s best players! Hot Seat invites the audience to ask the questions that we’re afraid to answer. Get ready for some good old-fashioned truth telling and improv that’s sure to melt your face off!”

Phony Award Winning Musical

Voila! The Improvised Musical

The most polished made-up musical strikes every Friday night at iO! From cabaret to comedy, heartfelt scenework is intermixed with improvised musical numbers in this two-act fully improvised musical. Every show is unique, so come back each week for the opening and closing night of a brand new theatrical production.

The Creamboy Show!

Every Saturday at 9:30pm. Comedy so good you’ll lick your lips and pat your belly. Longform improv from iO House team CREAMBOY, featuring different opening acts each week. Don’t miss this show, who knows, you could become the lucky audience member chosen as the Cream of the Week. Get your tickets now!

Kohl’s Cash presents: TGIF

Start your weekend off laughing at one of the hottest improv shows in Chicago! Every Friday at 9:30pm , iO house team Kohl’s Cash presents a completely original show based on your suggestions. With different openers every week, drink specials, and clean restrooms, you’ll for sure be saying TGIF (That’s Good Improv Fridays).

The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience and Hootenanny

Mondays at 7pm! 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!

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!

Fudge and Friends

“FUDGE is back for a night of improv with their very good buddies Erin Keif (Hey Riddle Riddle, Win or Lose) and Jesse Kendell (Love Dump). If you love their pod FUDGECAST (formerly Improv is Dead) then you’re gonna love this non-podcast show!

Harold Happy Hour

Every Thursday with iO house teams Kismet, Big Deborah and Lil Sluggers. Sit back, grab a cold beverage of your choice, and let the professionals steer you through an evening of high energy, eccentric, emotionally charged sets guaranteed to leave you feeling blown away.

FAMILY

Family is a completely improvised show that follows one family, within one living room, over the course of one day. Our cast of veteran comedians uses inspiration from the audience to generate 60 minutes of side splitting, tear inducing comedy that poses the question “Is every family as dysfunctional as mine?”  Each week our core cast is joined by special guest improvisers who help us explore how complicated relationships can be with the people who’ve known you since birth.

Cowboy Joe

Cowboy Joe is a hilarious and heartwarming tale about the fastest gun in the west, who faces a battle he can’t win with bullets—loneliness. In the midst of a gunfight, he’s suddenly summoned to the year 2025 to help his great-great-great-great-great grandson, Timmy, defeat his middle school bullies. As the gritty outlaw collides with the pathetic 10-year-old, Cowboy Joe discovers Timmy has a lot to learn if he’s ever going to be a true gunslinger!

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!

Horsegirl

One night only, July 23rd at 7:30pm–

A girl. A horse. Something else. This raw, heartfelt, and ridiculously comedic solo show from Stevie Shale dives into the untamed wilderness of identity. Caught between what we are and what we long to become, one woman explores the mess, beauty, and absurdity of being human—or something else entirely.

Loose Four Open Mic

Let loose and test out roughly four minutes of material every Tuesday at iO Theater. LOOSE FOUR is hosted by Maureen Nolan, with a new featured comic each week! POC, LGBT+ people, and women prioritized! FREE to attend and FREE to participate. SIGNUP begins: 5:30PM (in-person at the box office) SHOW starts: 6:00PM