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Reimagined for the next generation of comedians, the new iO Theater has re-opened and launched its upcoming online and in-person classes with award-winning faculty and instructors that are known for their improv, latenite, scene work, and sketch comedy. No matter your experience, iO Theater welcomes anyone with a desire to make people laugh.

iO Theater Instructors and Faculty

The newly redesigned classes were curated to give up-and-coming comedians a place to express themselves freely while getting creative critiques from industry experts. Take a peek at our current instructors and faculty at iO.

 

Rachael Mason

Rachael Mason

Rachael Mason is a Director, Writer, and Teacher schooled in the Chicago improv scene. While at The Second City, iO Theater,  the Annoyance she developed and now teaches her philosophy of not “yes and” but “Yes And Because” where scenes that are rich and sustainable are inevitable and infinite. She has toured and taught all over the world, headlining festivals with her comedy partner Susan Messing as The Boys. She’s worked with theater novices, Master’s Degree Candidates at universities, and working professionals both in and outside of the entertainment industry. Candor is her love language. She passionately believes that putting art where there was none before is an act of revolution.

Rachael’s courses include:

Book Class

 

Jake Noll

Jake Noll

 Jake Noll is a comedian, teacher and recent transplant to L.A. They have taught at Second City, Annoyance Theater and DePaul University in Chicago as well as Kickstand Theater in Portland. OR. As a stand up, they performed as a regular at Laugh Factory (Chicago), and participated in NBC’s Break Out Fest, SF Sketchfest, and Limestone Comedy Festival (Bloomington, IN). Additionally, Jake performed as a member of the LGBTQ+ improv team Baby Wine at The Annoyance Theater and as an understudy for The Second City’s E.T.C. stage. They hold a BA in Theater from Columbia College Chicago and have studied at iO, The Second City, The Annoyance, Black Box Acting, The Acting Studio and The PIT (NYC). They are currently a digital content creator for Comedy Central’s social media outlet The Gag.

Jake’s courses include:

Book Class

 

Ali Barthwell

Ali Barthwell

Ali Barthwell is an Emmy-winning writer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Ali was a director for The Second City National Touring Company as well as a teacher with The Second City Training Center and Columbia College. She is co-founder of Wakandacon, a three-day fan convention inspired by Afro-Futurism.  Ali’s writing has been featured in Vulture, Chicago Magazine, and The A.V. Club. Before all that, she was a member of the Second City National Touring Company and the Cards Against Humanity Writers Room.  Ali is a Chicagoland native and attended Wellesley College.

Ali’s courses include:

Book Class

 

Patrick Rowland

Patrick Rowland

Patrick is a writer, comedian, and actor from Chicago, now residing in Los Angeles. He’s studied and taught at The Second City and iO Theater. His solo character work was featured in Alone, Chicago’s Best Solo Comedy at The TBS Just For Laughs Festival in 2013. Austin Comedy Short Film Festival nominated Patrick as Best Supporting Actor for his work in Mr. Mainframe. He is the creator of The Patrick Rowland Sketch Show, a web series he writes, produces, directs, and films himself on an iPhone. He is a founding member of 3Peat, a critically acclaimed, award-winning sketch/improv troupe, who has several sketches with Comedy Central’s Digital platform, their most successful, The Blackening, garnered over 15 million views, and is currently being made into a feature. Patrick hosted a late-night talk show as former President Barack Obama called Barack All Night. Most recently, he participated in a virtual roundtable for Sony Pictures, which was led by Girls Trip producer and writer Tracy Oliver. Patrick currently writes for The Amber Ruffin Show.

Patrick’s courses include:

Book Class

 

Seth Weitberg

Seth Weitberg

Emmy-nominated writer/producer Seth Weitberg began his comedy career as a performer at iO Theater and The Second City, and is excited to share everything he knows about making the transition from improv and sketch stages to working in television.

Seth Weitberg is the creator of Game Theory with Bomani Jones on HBO. Prior to that he was the senior writer for the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj and a writer for The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. Seth has served as the co-executive producer on a number of shows including Drunk History and This Week at The Comedy Cellar on Comedy Central, and Barely Famous on VH1.

Seth’s courses include:

100% of the proceeds from this seminar will support the reopening of the iO Theater.

Book Class

 

Yazmin Ramos

Yazmin Ramos

Yazmin Ramos is an actor/comedian/writer who performs across Chicago, most notably in: The Revolution Will Be Improvised (The Second City at the Kennedy Center), The Second City’s She The People (Chicago, Boston, San Diego), Burlesque Is More (Annoyance Theatre), Holy F*ck Comedy Hour (Annoyance Theatre). She is also a staff writer on MeTV’s Toon In With Me.

Yazmin’s courses include:

Book Class

 

Asher Perlman

Asher Perlman

Asher Perlman an Emmy-nominated, WGA award-winning, Peabody-award-winning comedian, writer, actor, cartoonist, and hyphen-hunting multi-hyphenate. He is currently a writer for The Late Show, a cartoonist for The New Yorker, and a performer for the world! He is an alumnus of The Second City and his award-winning short film, “Accountabilibuddies,” was an official selection at the Just For Laughs Film Festival. He has also had two pilots premiere at the New York Television Festival. For 10 years, iO Theater was Asher’s creative home and he’s so excited to play a small part in its reopening!

Asher’s courses include:

Book Class

 

Susan Messing

Susan Messing

Susan Messing is a NJ native and graduate of Northwestern University’s Theatre School, has been an improviser and comedian for almost thirty years. She is an alumna of the iO Theater, Second City’s Mainstage, and a founding member of Chicago’s infamous Annoyance Theatre. Susan created and has taught her curriculum at iO Theater and iO West, The Annoyance Theatre, The Second City, and around the globe. Susan is an adjunct instructor for DePaul University, The University of Chicago, and The School at Steppenwolf. Her standup act with her puppet, Jolly, was featured at the HBO/US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and NBC’s Late Fridays. Her most impressive movie bit-role was as a bad stripper in a halo brace in Let’s Go to Prison! She was in the lineup for the TBS/Just For Laughs festival all five years of its residence in Chicago. She presented ‘Braving the Unknown’ at TedXUofC in 2014. She has been lauded as “Improviser of the Year” by Chicago Improv Festival, “Best Improviser” by Chicago Reader and the “Funniest Woman in Chicago” by Chicago Magazine.

Susan’s courses include:

Book Class

 

David Yontz

David Yontz

David Yontz is a songwriter and music director based in Chicago. For years he has provided live piano accompaniment, composition and sound design on such noted stages as The Second City, The Annoyance Theatre, Comedy Sportz Chicago and iO Chicago. He is a two-time winner of The Chicago Department of Cultural Services and Special Events individual artist prize, and currently serves as the on-call music director understudy for Second City’s newly opened 110th mainstage revue and regular MD for CsZ Chicago’s weekly Trapped! In a Musical!

David’s courses include:

Book Class

 

Jonald Reyes

Jonald Reyes

Jonald Jude Reyes is a writer, teacher, and director from Chicago by way of Rutgers University in New Jersey. He has trained at The Second City, iO, Annoyance, Chicago Dramatists, and the Neo-Futurists. As a Director, Jonald was honored to be named Chicago Reader’s “Best of Chicago” Best Stage Director in 2016. He was a member of the Director’s Lab at Lincoln Center Theater (2017) and DirectorsLabChicago (2016). His highlighted directing credits include The Second City Touring Company (2018-2021); Stir Friday Night’s We Are Asian. We Do Comedy. (Steppenwolf Theatre’s LookOut Series); Hyde Ya Kids, Hyde Ya Park (The Revival); and the 30th anniversary of “Splatter Theater” (Annoyance). Jonald is on the Steering Committee for DirectorsLabChicago and is an Associate Artistic Director at The Revival. He is also a founding member of Stepping Stone Theater. More info at jonaldjude.com.

Jonald’s courses include:

***Prerequisite is at least 2 years of improvisation and comedic sketch writing.*** 

Book Class

 

Calvin Evans

Calvin Evans

Chicago native Calvin Evans’ comedy career began during his time at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. While obtaining his degree in Sport Management, he fell in love with stand-up comedy and would put his business aspirations on hold. He took his talents back to Chicago and was quickly named Chicago’s Next Big Comic. Calvin received a Puma Scholarship to attend the famed Second City Training Center. Upon completing their Improv Conservatory program; Calvin was awarded a Bob Curry Fellowship. With stand-up as his focus, he traveled the country performing at colleges and clubs. In 2017 he was recognized as a New Face at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. In 2018 he was one of 8 finalists in the nationwide NBC Standup competition.  His television credits include the Fox series APB, NBC’s Chicago PD, Sherman’s Showcase on IFC, and  Shameless on Showtime. He has also performed standup on the Kevin Hart Comedy Central series Hart of The City, LOL @ JFL, TruTV Laff Tracks, and NBC Bring The Funny.

Calvin’s courses include:

Book Class

 

Neal Dandade

Neal Dandade

Neal Dandade is an actor, writer, improviser, facilitator, and educator based in Chicago. TV acting credits include TNT’s Sirens, ABC Family’s Kevin from Work, and NBC’s Shrink. Neal was featured in the 2016 CBS Diversity Showcase. He was also a member of the Second City National Touring Company and a regular writer/performer/improviser at the iO and Annoyance theaters in Chicago. Apart from his acting work, Neal has written and produced web content for online platforms, Second City Network and Mas Mejór (a subsidiary of Broadway Video). Neal holds an MFA in Writing for Screen and Stage at Northwestern University, where he was invited to join as an adjunct lecturer in the department of Radio/TV/Flim. While at Northwestern, Neal was the recipient of the Chris Rock Internship at MTV Networks, which allowed him the opportunity to be a writing intern on the Colbert Report and the Daily Show in addition to working in Development at Comedy Central. A passionate educator, Neal worked with at-risk youth in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side in addition to developing/implementing an after-school improv curriculum on Chicago’s Devon Avenue, a neighborhood that primarily serves newly immigrated South Asian Americans. Neal has parlayed his experience as a writer, performer, and educator into the business world through Second City Works (SCW). He has joined the SCW team in collaborating with myriad companies and continues to expand the use of comedic improvisation, as applied to business solutions.

Neal’s courses include:

Book Class

 

More Classes to Explore

iO is constantly adding new courses and instructors to their catalog of classes. For more information on the online and in-person courses, visit our online course catalog.

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