Dear Mick and Jen,

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You saved Chicago Improv.

Thank you for reaching out to the new owners of iO to let them know about the little gem they bought.

Thank you for making me your first hire because you knew this was my dream job.

Thank you for assembling a core team of rock stars who feel as passionately about their jobs.

Thank you for helping to reopen iO Theater and understanding that iO, The Annoyance, and Second City make Chicago a global destination to study improv.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to reinvent how we teach our art form and treat our artists. Because of you the new iOtc will have a focus on the ensemble and how it creates art. Artists will be reminded that respect for one’s self and each other is paramount, that being brave takes a team, that putting art where there was none before is an act of revolution.

The new iO Training Center is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment where performers and ensembles can practice the art of long form improvisation …and we have you both to thank for that.

Our community is forever indebted. -Mason

Rachael Mason

Director of Education

iO Theater