At first it seemed like business as usual at the Annoyance Theatre on Tuesday. Improvisation and sketch comedy groups were spitting out skits realized from audience suggestions, and the crowd of about 300 enthusiastic fans loved every minute of it.
But a special kind of history was made. Tuesday kicked off the first Chicago Improv Festival, a six-day event featuring more than 20 groups from all over the city and around the country. Judging from the first night, it looks like Chicago has another winning fest on its hands.
Chicago is known for its strong improv community, and yet other cities have such gatherings. So Frances Callier, who with Jonathon Pitts created the festival, called this “a wonderful, festive thing, and a way to plant a flag so that the citizens of Chicago can come and see work that is indigenous to Chicago.”
Three Chicago-grown troupes got things going, and as usually is the case with improv, a lot of sketches were hit or miss. Zeitgeist Theatre, which opened the evening, scored several times in incorporating audience suggestions for their scenes. (Patricia Musker was especially sharp in a solo performance featuring a song containing titles derived from audience members.)
The Free Associates got more laughs for their props and costumes than for the scenes that made up “Back in the Shadows Again: The Lighter Side of Dark Shadows,” a sendup of the campy 1960s Gothic soap opera that some in the audience may have been too young even to remember.
But batting a thousand was the Uptown Citizens Brigade. Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Amy Poehler and Matt Walsh successfully mixed edgy sketches with smooth transitions and reckless performing abandon.
Using the premise of a promised visit by mythical daredevil team Saigon Suicide Squad as the hook, UCB deftly weaved in and out of sketches. They played rival daredevil group Hong Kong Danger Duo–which was actually three members performing such “dangerous stunts” as pouring “very wet” water on each other, shrieking “You can’t escape the danger!” after each lame trick; essayed a plea for the end of racism against astronauts (Besser chimed from the audience how “astronaut” Roberts will “try to stick an American flag in ya!” if one wasn’t careful); and gave an “apology” to the races for prejudice, but forced one lone Jewish man (Besser) to represent the masses.
UCB, who will host its own sketch comedy television series on Comedy Central in August, was a worthy example of why Chicago deserves an improv festival of its very own.
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The Chicago Improv Festival is scheduled to run through Sunday at the Annoyance Theatre, 3747 N. Clark St., unless otherwise noted. Ticket prices range from $10 to $15, with special package rates available. For more information, call 773-862-5082.