January 2012
7 posts
1 tag
"enough laughs to rival any scripted show"! Yay,... →
Incubator auditions! Sign up!
We are holding auditions for our next Incubator team! You should sign up.
Process + Out of Character, Fridays at 8pm!
The Playground is excited to present its two most critically acclaimed shows — Process and Out of Character — Fridays at 8pm through February 10. Come see the shows Time Out Chicago called “a wild, Guffman-esque ride” and “also off to a great start” (plus you can try to guess which quote goes with which show). Tickets are just $10 and our theater is always...
Pizza Party + Formal Apology kick off a six-week...
Pizza Party + Formal Apology kick off a six-week run tonight at 8pm. $5 + BYOB!
More info on Facebook! YEAH!
December 2011
5 posts
Out of Character + K.C. Redheart crack up Time Out...
Playground Member ensemble K.C. Redheart and new production Out of Character were both selected by Time Out Chicago as people that cracked them up this year! Pretty great, right?
Oh, also! Playground alum Lauren Lapkus (The MISSfits) was mentioned for her amazing performance in Alone: Chicago’s Best Solo Acts, part of the Just For Laughs Festival hosted at the Playground.
Thank you to...
Micah Sterenberg is Mitchell Nigel, lover of... →
So many fun things happening this weekend! Let's...
Friday at 8pm: The Tweet Life featuring Mustang Repair, w/ Mort + Out of Character. Tonight’s show features the tweets of @leyla_a! $10 + BYOB.
Friday at 10pm: On the Edge: An Original Sketch Revue. Starring Molly Jones, Brigid Marshall, Shannon Noll, Kelly Reilly, and Molly Wilbanks. Directed by Sammy Tamimi. $10. BYOB.
Friday at midnight: The Davenports, featuring special guest Gary...
Patrick Rowland stars as Edison in Out of... →
You guys! The A.V. Club Chicago is totally... →
October 2011
4 posts
Patrick Rowland is Keith "Skinny" Lee tonight at...
The Playground’s newest production, Out of Character, focuses on well-written and performed solo character sketches, turning each piece into a fully-realized improvised show. This week the Out of Character cast explores the life of Keith “Skinny” Lee — created and played by Patrick Rowland — Friday at 8pm.
Keith is the middle child with a younger sister Gayle and older...
4 tags
THE NIGHT SHIFT presents FEAR, Saturdays @ 10pm.
Damian Anaya. Jeremy Bloxson. Carrie Grace. Molly Jones. Stephanie Jones. Mike Kelly. Noah Minnick. Steve Nelson. Meaghan Strickland. Craig Tommey. Directed by Sabrina Pratt. Tickets are $10. Our theater is BYOB. Halloween is nigh.
WatchThis week’s Out of Character stars PAT RAYNOR. Pat. Raynor. PAT RAYNOR. Tonight at 8pm. $10. BYOB.
September 2011
6 posts
Sneak peek of Rev. Derrick Vermulen! →
4 tags
Rev. Derrick Vermulen (a.k.a. Micah Sterenberg),...
The Playground’s newest production, Out of Character, focuses on well-written and performed solo character sketches, turning each piece into a fully-realized improvised show. This week the Out of Character cast explores the life of Rev. Derrick Vermulen, as played by Micah Sterenberg, Friday at 8pm.
Derrick grew up in Kalamazoo, MI the son of a pastor of a Lutheran church with about 50...
7 tags
2 tags
Incubator auditions! Sign up, friends. →
11 tags
Takin' It to the Beats PREMIERE! 8pm. $10. BYOB.
Takin’ It to the Beats! stars Sarah Ashley, Amber Gerencher, Dara Katz, Jeffrey Murdoch, Scott Nelson, and Adam Schreck as an a capella group juggling love triangles, occasional threats, chaos, and too much perky enthusiasm in general.
Tickets are $10 (or $5 w/ a student ID) + we are BYOB.
4 tags
Greg Curley (a.k.a. Anthony Oberbeck), Out of...
The Playground’s newest production, Out of Character, focuses on well-written and performed solo character sketches, turning each piece into a fully-realized improvised show. This week the Out of Character cast explores the life of Greg Curley, as played by Anthony Oberbeck, Friday at 8pm.
Greg is a recently divorced, infrequently employed aspiring artist. It took him seven years of...
August 2011
8 posts
We're back.
pgmarathon:
We’re doing it all again starting this Friday the 26th! But THIS year we have twitter: @pgmarathon! And a tweeter: @jsmurd!
4 tags
Chapter 51: How to Get the Lady Out Yo House
by Ludas Sinclaire You’ve just woken up and you notice the pretty little honey you took home with you last night is still there. Now don’t panic, this doesn’t mean you are in a relationship, just follow “Ludas Laws” and she will not only leave, but will feel like it’s her idea. LUDAS LAW #1: Never bed a woman in your own house, this way in the morning you...
K.C. Redheart presents the 30-Hour Playground...
via WickeLeaks
The brave members of local improv troupe K.C. Redheart will test their wits, endurance, and sanity as the core group of “marathoners” going without rest while improvising for 30 straight hours in this fundraiser for Namaste Charter School and the Playground Theater! But they are not alone! In effect, the marathon is 30 unique shows, as each hour the marathoners...
4 tags
Ludas Sinclaire (a.k.a. Patrick Rowland), Out of...
The Playground’s newest production, Out of Character, focuses on well-written and performed solo character sketches, turning each piece into a fully-realized improvised show. This week the Out of Character cast explores the life of Ludas Sinclaire, as played by Patrick Rowland, Friday at 8pm.
Ludas has never held a job for more than a year and always has absurd advice on what everybody else...
5 tags
The Fringe Show w/ Schnauzer, DMNK + Computer,...
The Playground Theater and Schnauzer welcome DMNK and Computer in The Fringe Show, Tuesday, August 16 at 8pm. $5 + BYOB. Two four-person groups bored with conventional Chicago-style improv, DMNK and Computer — like the moth to the flame — are drawn to the strange and find the most humor in the thoughts that fall off the edges of the psyche. Every week they will be joined by a...
4 tags
Dear BUST Magazine...Sincerely, Deb Shockenbottom
Dear BUST Magazine,
I’m writing to let you know how enthusiastic I am about your magazine. I myself am a woman who has long had “somethings to get off my chest” as your so apropos tagline suggests. I love your articles, your photos and your “real life” section as I like to think of myself as a lady who is “keepin’ it real” as you would suggest about your readers. As I sit here in Devon (full...
Deb Shockenbottom (a.k.a. Sayjal Joshi), Out of...
The Playground’s newest production, Out of Character, focuses on well-written and performed solo character sketches, turning each piece into a fully-realized improvised show. This week the Out of Character cast explores the life of Deb Shockenbottom, as played Sayjal Joshi, Friday at 8pm.
Deb says, “Little bit about me, I’m a 47 year old white female who has spent the majority of the 90s...
4 tags
Misty Burgers (a.k.a. Sarah Fineout), Out of...
The Playground’s newest production, Out of Character, focuses on well-written and performed solo character sketches, turning each piece into a fully-realized improvised show. This week the Out of Character cast explores the life of Misty Burgers, as played by Sarah Fineout, Friday at 8pm.
Misty is a 14 year old high school student at Green Valley High. She produces a podcast out of her bedroom...
July 2011
10 posts
OK, Cupid: The Brian Wallace dating profile.
My self-summary: 5’10”, one bad knee, near-sighted, pretty-in-shape and loyal. What I’m doing with my life: aaaahhh, God. I guess I’m shaping America’s youth? I’m really good at: spotting a breaker ball, spotting a lying student, keeping balls in their cages The first thing people usually notice about me: I usually go unnoticed at work. If they do notice...
4 tags
C.L.O.A.K.A. presents SCREWED: An Improvised Porn...
SCREWED, an improvised parody of “Skinimax” soft-core and other highly contrived porn films, explores the variety of movie genres in which incessantly preposterous reasons to have sex might arise. A sci-fi flick with excessive probing? Check. A horror film with a monster that really gets “up in them guts”? Definitely. A western? You bet C.L.O.A.K.A. will be knockin’ boots. Now hold your horses...
3 tags
Brian Wallace (a.k.a. Lisa Linke), Out of...
The Playground’s newest production, Out of Character, focuses on well-written and performed solo character sketches, turning each piece into a fully-realized improvised show. This week the Out of Character cast explores the life of Brian Wallace, as played by Lisa Linke, Friday at 8pm.
Brian Wallace is a PE teacher in his early 50s from Youngstown, OH. Brian recognizes that his chances for a...
Sculapasta: A Yelp Review by Ben Campbell.
Sculapasta Italian Restaurant
1.5 Star Average 3/22/2011 User: BuffaloTeach Buffalo, NY Thsi was my first visit to Sculapasta Ristorante. We had reservations, but they were busy and couldn’t find it, so we ended up having to wait at the bar for an hour. These things happen and it gave the gf and I some time to talk. When we were finally seated, the waitress (who, yes,...
3 tags
Ben Campbell (a.k.a. Rob White), Out of Character,...
The Playground’s newest production, Out of Character, focuses on well-written and performed solo character sketches, turning each piece into a fully-realized improvised show. This week the Out of Character cast explores the life of Ben Campbell, as played by Rob White, Friday at 8pm.
Ben is a first-year teacher (7th grade English). A graduate of Ithaca College, Ben received his Teaching...
Let's make a couple from this Craigslist missed... →
OUT OF CHARACTER, Fridays at 8pm, beginning July...
Chicago, Il. - July 5 - The Playground Theater and GRAFITTI Productions are excited to premiere “Out of Character” on Friday, July 22 at 8pm, running through September 30. Tickets are $10 and available online or at the box office located inside the theater at 3209 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Improv is king as far as comedy in Chicago is concerned, and comedy as a whole knows no...
June 2011
7 posts
#JFLChicago @the_playground = SOLD OUT!*
*a teeny-tiny amount of tickets may be available at the door.
Thank you — past, present + in advance — for helping us sell out the Playground this weekend as part of the TBS Just For Laughs Festival! You can follow us on Twitter and/or like us on Facebook to keep posted on all JFL happenings as, um, they happen.
AND send us your pics + tweets! We’d love to see what...
I Am the Horizon at SketchFest NYC, June 8 + 12.
Congratulations to Anthony Oberbeck on his invitation to SketchFest NYC!
Anthony will be performing his one-person sketch show “I Am the Horizon” at the UCB Theatre on Wednesday, June 8 and Saturday, June 12.
More information can be found on SketchFest NYC’s website or in Time Out New York’s feature on the festival.
Sex with GayCo: Fridays @ 10pm in June.
GayCo Productions presents a super sexy night of sex stories (June 3) and a sexy sassy sketch comedy revue (June 10 & 24), Fridays at 10pm at the Playground.
From fun frolicking tales to some sexy best-of sketches from their archives, GayCo will make your heart tingle, if your heart is in your pants. These intimately hilarious shows are performed by a rotating rep of sexy GayCo stars...
The Davenports Season 2: Fridays @ midnight, June...
Get reacquainted with The Davenports — Lincoln, Nebraska’s billionaire first family of dance — Fridays at midnight, June 3 through July 22. The hit improvised soap opera returns this summer to put the funny in your late-night theatre experience. Evil senators? Love triangles? Bitch slapping? Count on TheDavenports to provide enough scandals, secrets, and enemies to fill Mariah...
Skinny Jeans presents Four Square, Wednesdays at...
The long-form improv juggernaut of the early 2000s, Four Square, returns with an all-female cast. Directed by the acclaimed director of the original incarnation, Ryan Archibald, four women tackle drama and comedy within this intense no-holds-barred improv explosion. The piece starts at break-neck speeds and transforms in and out of touching longer scenes to leave the audience on the edge of...
May 2011
3 posts
Mustang Repair presents the #TweetLife of...
The Playground Theater’s house ensemble Mustang Repair presents The Tweet Life, a show that incorporates Twitter users and their tweets as the inspiration for an evening of improv. This week features the tweets of Liz Strauss, a.k.a. @lizstrauss, founder of SOBCon, brand strategist, and leadership trainer.
Each week the Tweet Life selects one follower of @the_playground to be the source...
International Stinger presents "Stinger3D,"...
International Stinger premieres their newest form — Stinger3D! — at the Playground Theater, Saturdays at 8pm, June 4 through July 16.
Blending comedy, props, and action with themes mined from 3D films old and new, International Stinger creates a live-action improvised play that seems to come RIGHT AT YOU. They will SCRATCH, they will BREAK, they will DEMOLISH the fourth wall,...
"I Am the Horizon" premieres TONIGHT at 8pm.
Anthony Oberbeck debuts his one-person sketch show I Am the Horizon at the Playground Theater, Tuesdays at 8pm, May 3 through June 7. In this half-hour show Anthony performs a rotating set of sketches and character monologues about failure, heartbreak, isolation, and desperate attempts to push past these. Short, sparse, stylized pieces are framed as a darkly surreal night of performance by a man...