Childrens Theater

Founded in 1981, iO (Formerly ImprovOlympic) is the world famous flashpoint of comic creativity that spawned an entire generation of America’s best and brightest entertainers. Over 5000 people have trained and performed at iO’s Chicago and Los Angeles theaters, including some of the most recognizable names in show business; Mike Myers, Chris Farley, David Koechner, Adam McKay, Tina Fey and many, many more.

Charna Halpern held a belief that improv was capable of more than the short games and competition-style shows that dominated the scene through the 1970s. It was then that she met legendary director and improv luminary Del Close. Their shared vision for a deeper, more robust form of improvisation based on trust and agreement would be rounded into shape and set in motion when they developed the Harold at iO (then ImprovOlympic). With Del serving as the mentor and Charna the guide, longform was born and the two would change the face of improvisational comedy.

UP Comedy Club presents an eclectic mix of comedy seven days a week featuring the best in Chicago stand-up, sketch and improv comedy.

This exciting new club is located on the third floor of Pipers Alley in the heart of a rich comedy community, adjacent to the legendary Second City.

This custom designed, new cabaret-style club has:

State of the art audiovisual capabilities in an inviting room wrapped with intimate booth seating and two levels of cabaret-style seating on the third floor of Piper's Alley.
5000 sq. ft. of space designed by Ryan Nestor of Barker Nestor
This warm and intimate space seats 285 people
Full service kitchen and bar with a no drink minimum
Make a dinner reservation and receive priority seating

Located in Chicago's historic Beverly/Morgan Park neighborhood, the Beverly Arts Center is a multidiscipline, multicultural center offering fine arts education, programming and entertainment for all ages. The BAC has classes in art, music, dance, and theater; rotating exhibitions of art by established and emerging artists; and one of the most dynamic performing arts programs in the city.

Gorilla Tango Theatre (GTT) is a live theatrical venue where audiences can consistently go each week to see a wide variety of performances by a diverse group of talented producers, directors, actors, writers, etc. etc. If its live and will fit on our stage, you could see it at GTT!
Gorilla Tango is one of the best theaters in Chicago for all things new and fresh.

The Kohl McCormick StoryBus is a children's literacy museum on wheels that visits schools and community events in the Chicago area. Housed inside a 37-foot Winnebago, the bus promotes reading to students at the kindergarten and pre-k levels. Filled with a rotating collection of hands-on interactive exhibits, the StoryBus transports children inside the worlds of favorite children's stories, such as The Little Red Hen, The Gingerbread Man, The Three Little Pigs, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Located within a sprawling 169 acre resort complex, Marriott's Lincolnshire Theatre brings more than 400,000 people to the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire each year. Once known as Drury Lane Theatre North, the facility hosts world-class musicals.

Formerly known as the Blackstone Theatre, it was renamed the Merle Reskin Theatre in November 1992. Each year, the 1,325 seat proscenium theatre provides performance space for the nearly 200 public performances of the Theatre School, including The Theatre School Showcase, Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences, and The School of Music's Annual Opera, along with several not-for-profit arts organizations who use the world-class stage when it is not occupied by DePaul Productions.

Although originally created as an ensemble to perform a specific show, The Neo-Futurists have grown to become one of the most highly regarded experimental theater companies in America.
From humble beginnings as the first late-night theater production in Chicago, we have expanded into a company that mounts full seasons of adventurous, smart, interactive theater while still pursuing the ideas that inspired our creation. Although we pride ourselves on focusing on the future, we will briefly look at the trail we have blazed in the past.