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Free Funnies
Monday Oct 03, 2005.
By Erin Brereton
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Nothin's more funny than free. I'm not sure why the Improv Olympic changed its name to i.O. It could be a branding thing, to be hipper; or a convenience thing (because people making time for comedy just don't have time for those extra syllables); or because someone there just really likes vowels. I believe it may have actually been for fear of a copyright infringement lawsuit from those folks with the interlocking circles. Regardless, here are some things I do know about the i.O.: I know that the i.O. is almost 25 years old. It is located on the North Side, about a five-minute walk from my old apartment (a very important detail, no?). I also know that, in addition to improv shows, i.O. offers comedic training classes. Several famous people whom I find very funny once studied there, including Mike Meyers, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Tim Meadows, Andy Dick and Vince Vaughn. But the best knowledge of all is the fact that you can get chock-full of comedy for free Wednesday, courtesy of some marvelous comedy troupes who show their wacky wares sans payment every week. My friend (and coworker comedian) Megan is a member of two improv groups, and manages to make me laugh at work every morning even when we're both groggily running into each other because we have yet to ingest any caffeine. Figuring her funnies would translate beyond the office, I gathered some friends last Wednesday, parked at a meter that shut off at 6 p.m. (it only cost a quarter!), drank some inexpensive sangria at Bar Celona (Wednesday is half-off drink night!) and headed over for more low-cost love at the i.O. It's just feet from Wrigley Field but miles away in character; dark, cabaret-esque and zany, almost all the seats offer a close, decent view of the stage. Drinks are cheap, too, our domestic beer cost $2 a cup. Three groups performed the night I went, with one group member serving as the MC, introducing everyone and encouraging clapping/waiter tipping. She was a fantastic, exuberant, charismatic MC. But as a comedian? She was a fantastic, exuberant, charismatic MC. I fully appreciate all these improvinarians do. Being funny is hard. Look, I've been trying to do it for the past three paragraphs and haven't succeeded at all. But that said, the best improv takes what is familiar and makes it more familiar, inserting hyperbole and characterization into the oddest or most mundane scenarios. And when watching skilled comedians do that, flying high into unknown territory with enthusiasm and panache, it's thrilling. But unfortunately, that can also go the other way. Taking one obscure in-joke and blowing it up or being weird just for the sake of being weird can break an improv session as quickly as you can say "scene." I'm not trying to speak to the nuances of theater; I don't know a rat's ass about acting, and I don't claim to. I do, however, know what's fun(ny) to watch, and without any bias I can say Megan's group was the best. They started out asking for an object, and built an entire sketch riffing off the word "popsicle." Some jokes worked, some didn't work as well, but their energy and enthusiasm teamed up with the precise timing and interplay that makes great comedy. And I don't even like popsicles. At the end of the day, the room, which seemed to be made up of many improv students, group members and cheap people like myself, loved each skit. And why not? The admission hadn't cost a penny and each group, even when a joke was faltering, couldn't have been more energetic or dedicated to the task at hand. So the next week when you need a pick-me-up, don't blow your rent money on joke books and rubber chickens: There's free comedy to be had in these thar hills, and now that Cubs season is over, the parking shouldn't even be bad. Want to get more information? Visit www.iochicago.net or I.O., 3541 N. Clark, for more details.
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Erin Brereton is our resident urban cowgirl on a bi-weekly search for life on the cheap.