IMPROV / SKETCH

Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted, 708-307-3150: Hip-hop comedy showcase featuring Justin Jackson and emcee Daryl Amandes. 11/3-1/6: Fri midnight, Wed 11/15 8 PM, Fri 12/29 and 1/6, 10 PM (with Graffiti), Sat 11/11 and 12/30, midnight, $10.

4840 N. Broadway, 773-561-4665: The comedy company presents a series of improv and sketch shows. Corrupt Ferret is a show by Annoyance students.

Open run: Mon 8 PM, $2. Chicagoland is a long-form improv show featuring vets Deb Downing-Grosz, Sue Gillan, Noah Gregoropoulos, T.J.

Jagodowski, and Dave Pasquesi. Open run: Tue 8 PM, $8. 58 (see separate listing in ).

Through 11/2: Thu 8 PM, $7, $5 for bike messengers with ID. Messing With a Friend: An Uncensored and Joyous Romp Through Hell features Susan Messing improvising with guest artists. Open run: Thu 10:30 PM, $5.

President Bush Is a Great Man (see ). Open run: Fri-Sat 8 PM, $15. Splatter Theatre (see separate listing in ) is a parody of slasher films using Grand Guignolesque gore.

Through 11/4: Fri-Sat 10:31 PM, Mon-Tue 10/30-10/31, 10:31 PM, $13. Grabass: A Carnival of Dummy, variety show. Open run: Fri midnight, $8.

Crickets is an improv show based on a single audience suggestion. Open run: Sat midnight, $5. $2-$15.

I.O., 3541 N.

Clark, 773-880-0199: long-form improv, featuring a changing lineup of guests. Scheduled for 10/30: Dave Pasquesi of T.J.

and Dave (see ). For 11/6: Chicago Sun-Times television critic Doug Elfman. For 11/13: Saturday Night Live alum Tim Kazurinsky.

Open run: Mon 8:30 PM, $12.
Playground Theater, 3209 N. Halsted, 866-208-6296: Don't Spit the Water!

finds company members trying to make audience volunteers laugh and spit out a mouthful of water, occasionally on each other or the first row. The competition escalates from spit take to spit take, and audience members who keep a straight face win. To fully enjoy this show, you should probably fill your mouth with a lot of booze beforehand.

(LB) Open run: Sat 10:30 PM, $12. A Demon Who Never Appeared showcases stand-up comedy and variety acts. Open run: first Sat of month, midnight, $5-$10.

Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln, 773-865-7731: "Saturday Night Showcase" features a rotating lineup of late-night comedy shows. Through 5/27: Sat 10 PM (no show 10/28), $10.

Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 777 N. Green, 312-733-6000: Short improv games played for laughs by competing teams. With its emphasis on improv for entertainment's sake, ComedySportz isn't for everyone.

Still, the formula is a winning one, and the seasoned performers play off one another's strengths exceptionally well. (NG) Open run: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 6, 8, and 10 PM, $17. The Hot Karl (see ).

Battle-Prov (see listing for ). $17.
I.

O., 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199: The late-night Cupid Has a Heart On: A Musical Guide to Relationships takes a standard element of improv revues--the satirical song--and makes it a raison d'etre.

A charmingly goofy cast performs original ditties, mostly keyed to the sensibility of the young, single, heterosexual urban male on the make. That this doesn't result in an unwatchable testosterone fest is testament to a wit that's firmly based in character and in situations that remain truthful however far they get pushed. (TA) Open run: Sat 10:30 PM, $14.

A doubleheader of sketch comedy, directed by Joe Janes. Using a title suggested by the audience, Danse Macabre spoofs the mayhem and melodrama of 1930s monster movies by fictional director Conrad Brunst. Some Jerk Stole Our Pants features the troupe Fool for Thought.

With its spooky effects and black-widow palette, Danse Macabre evokes a White Stripes video directed by Vincent Price. Some Jerk Stole Our Pants inventively takes on southerners, Abe Lincoln the bachelor, and wildly dysfunctional families. (RH) Through 11/18: Thu-Sat 8 PM, Athenaeum Theatre, first-floor studio theater, 2936 N.

Southport, 312-902-1500, $12.
Town Hall Pub, 3340 N. Halsted, 773-404-2555: Four guys in a bar improvise a conversation based on an audience suggestion.

The concept won't set the world on fire. But if half the tavernous chats I've sat through had been this lively or funny, I'd count myself lucky. The cast brandish wicked-hahd accents to convey the Boston setting, which helps lift this improv beyond the everyday, and they've mastered a trick few improvisers--or alleged conversationalists--seem able to get down: keeping the ball bouncing without hogging it.

(BN) Through 11/3: Fri 8 PM, $10, $5 Fri 10/27 if wearing a costume.
I.O.

, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199: This improvised adult-oriented puppet show by the Atticus Finch ensemble suggests bitter, rejected prototypes of Elmo, Chewbacca, McGruff the Crime Dog, and Crank Yankers/Muppets characters ganging up in a dark alley off Sesame Street. But the show offers more than the easy laugh of vulgar-talking innocents: the performers display sophisticated physical control as they wield the puppets from behind the curtains of a bi-level ministage.

Sharp timing and self-mockery point to the troupe's long experience together, though the motley mob of puppets takes center stage: Felt is improv cut from new cloth. (RH) Open run: Wed 8 PM, $5.
3220 N.

Lincoln, 773-655-2889: Halloween Variety Show, featuring improv comedy from Angry Northeast, stand-up comedians, a costume contest, and four bands. Fri 10/27, 8:30 PM, $6 before 10 PM, $8 after 10 PM with costume, $10 after 10 PM without costume.
2512 N.

Halsted, 773-296-9700: Effen Funny is a sketch and improv show featuring the troupe Money in the Pants. Open run: Wed 9 PM.
1919 N.

Milwaukee, 773-598-4549: This Bucktown venue offers a rotating repertory of comedy shows. Doubleheader of improv from Recessive Jeans and HippoHorseyDonkeyMonkey. Opens Wed 11/1, 8 PM.

Through 11/15: Wed 8 PM,
Apollo Theater studio, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100: The revue Perfect iSolation combines improv and sketch comedy. Through 12/30: Sat 10:30 PM, no show 11/25 or 12/23, $8-$10.

Speakeasy (basement), 678 N. Orleans, 312-664-5496: Speakeasy Improv Fridays, with Liquid and the Happy Village. Open run: second Fri of month, 8:30 PM, $5.

1638 W. Belmont, 773-472-5139: The Cool Table performs improv and sketch comedy with "rock and roll transitions." Open run: Tue 11 PM, $5.

The latest HeadCheese sketch revue is in a variety show style reminiscent of Monty Python. Silent interludes and songs alternate with wisecracking scenes about historical and current events, gender differences, and contemporary culture. Not all the material is fresh, but this quick-paced hour-long show is often sharp-witted.

(JG) Through 10/30: Mon 8 PM, Apollo Theater, studio, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100, $11, $1 off with donation of nonperishable food item.
3551 N.

Sheffield, 773-348-0009: Sketch troupe Mice With Helmets hosts Cooler Heads Get Shot!, a weekly open mike for singers, poets, and musicians as well as comic performers. Open run: Tue 10 PM, $3.

I.O., 3541 N.

Clark, 773-880-0199: ComedySportz presents a late-night long-form improv set whose name comes from a sex act that involves pooping on your partner. The performers revel in shamelessness, but ironically, the grosser they get, the more expertly they improvise, creating strong scenes and rich, uncliched characters. (JHe) Open run: Sat midnight, $10.

3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199: Formerly known as ImprovOlympic, this comedy theater and training center is a whirlwind of activity whose schedule changes frequently. I.

O.'s specialty is long-form team improv, whose excitement lies in seeing skilled players toss comic ideas back and forth in intricate patterns. (AW) There are shows seven nights a week at prices ranging from free to $14.

The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience and Hootenanny: (see ). Open run: Mon 8:30 PM, $12. The Improv Match Game, inspired by the 1970s TV game show, stars a rotating cast of performers.

Open run: Mon 10:30 PM, free. The Mystery Twins is a sketch show by Sumi Folz and Duncan Teater. It's on a double bill with Practice Scaring a Bear, featuring T.

J. Miller and Thomas Middleditch. Through 12/5: Tue 8 PM, $10.

Felt (see ). Open run: Wed 8 PM, $5. T.

J. and Dave (see ). Open run: Wed 11 PM, $5.

Listen Kid . . .

(see ). Previews Thu 10/19, 8 PM. Opens Thu 10/26, 8 PM.

Through 12/21: Thu 8 PM, no show 11/23, $12. The comic duo Nogoodnicks is made up of Tim Baltz, who has a lazy sensuality, and Seth Weitberg, who's commanding and energetic. Together they weave a smart, long improv out of three narratives with overlapping themes.

Individually the stories are funny, pointing out the humor in fairly ordinary situations, but juxtaposed with one another, with intercut dialogue, they're even funnier. By the end of the one I attended, the performers had given each story poignancy without losing their comic edge. (JV) Open run: Thu 10:30 PM, $5.

The Improvised Shakespeare Company (see ). Open run: Fri 8 PM, $14. The four improvisers in the late-night Let Them Ho's Fight set a blistering pace in ever sharpening bits.

They don't milk jokes dry--they don't even wait for them to register. Sometimes they seem preoccupied with just making one another break into giggles. That approach is risky, but with their comic savvy and dorky looks, it works for them.

The trade-off for this kind of speed is inconsistency. If only their humor rocked out every scene. (RH) Open run: Fri midnight, $5.

The Halloween Show, written and directed by Jason R. Chin. Through 10/28: Fri 10:30 PM, Sat midnight, $15.

Whirled News Tonight Presents Newspeak (see ). Open run: Sat 8 PM, $14. The Del Tones present an improvised musical featuring, among others, members of Baby Wants Candy and the .

Open run: Sat 8 PM, $14. Cupid Players (see ). Open run: Sat 10:30 PM, $14.

The Late Night Late Show (see ). Open run: Sat midnight, $5. The Hot Karl (see ).

Open run: Sat midnight, $10.
3419 N. Clark, 773-868-6423: This improv dinner-theater venue features performers telecast live from studios adjacent to the restaurant, appearing on plasma-screen TVs at each table.

Short-Form Ragnarok, four-team improv competition. Open run: Thu 7 PM. Triviarificness, trivia game featuring "edgy categories.

" Open run: Mon and Thu 10 PM, Sat 9 PM. Classic Special Affect features the Improv Kitchen's home company. Open run: Fri 7 and 9 PM, Sat 7 PM.

$8-$12.
I.O.

, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199: Seven strapping men in swashbuckler shirts improvise a two-act Shakespearean play based on a title suggested by the audience. Director-performer Blaine Swen has assembled a vigorous ensemble of actors and proven improvisers.

Their experience doing Shakespeare flowers in the language: they relish iambic dialogue, execute perfectly timed asides, occasionally utter rhyming couplets, and drop parodic phrases and well-placed anachronisms. (RH) Open run: Fri 8 PM, $14.
Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W.

Belmont, 773-327-5252: The sketch and improv troupe's revue Mid-World Life Crisis explores "modern culture, ancient secrets, and the crossroads of life." It's presented by Jeff Rogers Productions Through 11/18: Sat 11 PM, $10.
I.

O., 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199: This mostly fake talk show, hosted by "Mark Luge," mixes late-night staples--monologues, guests, interviews--with a sketch show's satirical characters.

Zany skits--updated weekly--and appearances by actual semicelebrities buoy the appeal. Ultimately, though, the show never satisfactorily imitates or parodies its sources in late-night TV. (RH) Open run: Sat midnight, $5.

Apollo Theater studio, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100: The three-man comedy troupe performs The Unbearable Lightness of Death, a set of interrelated sketches about a man's final days. Through 11/16: Thu 8 PM, $10.

I.O., 3541 N.

Clark, 773-880-0199: Peter Gwinn (writer for The Colbert Report) created this new musical that explores "what kids really need to know." Rich Prouty directs. Opens Thu 10/26, 8 PM.

Through 12/21: Thu 8 PM, no show 11/23, $12.
Pheasant Run Resort Spa, Preservation Hall Studio Theater on Bourbon Street, 4051 E. Main (Rte.

64), Saint Charles, 630-584-6342: Flanagan's Wake, an improvised, audience-interactive comedy about an Irish wake, is a fresh, silly carnival of a show, powered by a warm cast and the audience's goodwill. (JV) Through 6/24: Fri 8:30 PM, Sat 6 and 9 PM, Sun 2:30 PM, $27.
Stage Left Theatre, 3408 N.

Sheffield, 773-342-3575: The company presents improv and sketch shows. ShupHle invites audience members to bring their iPods to each show, and then requires the actors to incorporate whatever comes up on the "shuffle" function into each scene. Through 10/26: Thu 11 PM.

pHreedom pHalls is an improvised sitcom. Open run: Fri 11 PM. The competitive improv show pHrenzy whittles down contestants in reality-TV style.

For the first five rounds, elimination is governed by the host, whose arbitrary rules are concealed from the cast but not the audience. After that things get more democratic--the players fall prey to audience whim. Throw in random "refereeing" and you've got a recipe for the most athletic idiocy you'll find on a late-night stage in Chicago.

(BN) Open run: late Fri-Sat 12:30 AM The shows 10/27-10/28 are styled as pHrenz-O-Ween and follow a Halloween theme. pHamily tosses dysfunctional family dynamics into a blender with generous helpings of madcap character work and anything-goes goofiness. Long-form improvisation at its most intelligent, the production rollicks along at a pace that speaks well of the troupe's collective sense of rhythm.

(NG) Open run: Sat 11 PM. $10-$12.
3209 N.

Halsted, 773-871-3793: This venue features a rotating core of comedy ensembles who improvise based on audience suggestions. Open run: Tue-Wed 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 PM, $5-$10. Goldibear is a four-person sketch troupe.

Through 10/30: Mon 8 PM, $5, call 312-281-2908. Fresh 'N Clean features all-female sketch troupe Blaire. Open run: Mon 10 PM, $5, call 773-316-7040.

Adventure Club is a hip-hop comedy showcase featuring Justin Jackson and emcee Daryl Amandes (see ). Through 1/6: schedule follows. 11/3-1/6: Fri midnight, Wed 11/15 8 PM, Fri 12/29 and 1/6, 10 PM (with Graffiti), Sat 11/11 and 12/30, midnight.

$10, call 708-307-3150. Stark Naked and Poised blends improv, hip-hop, and spoken word. Through 11/22: Wed 10 PM, $5.

Improvisation in Chicago seems to have entered a Rube Goldberg phase via The Big Yellow Bus, in which the performers' greatest creative challenge has less to do with making something wonderful right away than with developing a wildly convoluted mechanism to contain it. Unwieldy as it was, the machine worked thanks to the skill, energy, and generosity of the whole messy tribe onstage. (TA) Open run: Thu 8 PM, $10, performances free during November and December.

Open Court invites improvisers to sign up for a one-night-only pickup team, or to watch the fun. Open run: Thu 10 PM, $5. Grafitti showcases established and emerging sketch groups from the Chicago area and around the country.

Open run: Fri 10 PM, $10. The Midnight Hellhouse (see separate listing in ). Through 10/27: Fri midnight, $10, call 773-961-2045.

Blewt! Productions' Don't Spit the Water! (see separate listing under ).

Open run: Sat 10:30 PM, $12, call 866-208-6296. A Demon Who Never Appeared (see separate listing under ). Open run: first Sat of month, midnight, $5-$10, call 866-208-6296.

The Belmont Burlesque Revue features strippers, comics, and novelty acts. Open run: third Sat of month, midnight, $5-$10, call 773-556-8238. SassyPatch performs a "dirty Armando" and features different guest monologists.

Open run: fourth Sat of month, midnight, $10. Overstock is a comedy showcase featuring improv and stand-up artists. Open run: Sun 9 PM, $10, call 773-527-2963.

Annoyance Theatre, 4840 N. Broadway, 773-561-4665: The Annoyance Theatre's Bush-bashing satirical revue, performed by a top-notch ensemble, ladles sarcastic praise on the president in a string of Stepford-esque song and dance numbers. From director Mick Napier's precisely fucked-up choreography to composer Lisa McQueen's razed-brain paeans to the Decider, a focused surreality holds this compendium of bogus cheer tightly together, bleeding pitch-black hilarity into our long, long national joke.

(BN) Open run: Fri-Sat 8 PM, $15.
Gallery Cabaret, 2020 N. Oakley, 773-489-5471: The sketch comedy group performs Schadenfreude Rent Party, new material from its Internet comedy site .

The performance will be recorded for video and audio podcast. Through 12/15: third Fri of month, 9 PM, $10.
1616 N.

Wells, 312-337-3992: War is the number one subject of the main-stage revue War! Now in Its 4th Smash Year!, but deception's the theme.

The big liars are of course Bush and Rumsfeld, but we're all implicated; bits about duplicitous parents, dates who inflate their credentials, and a job interviewee who hides nothing imply that the world's better off a little deceived. The ensemble castigates conservatives for their policies on immigration, privacy, and marriage, and also chastises liberals: a deified Oprah, an unethical Kennedy-esque senator, and a sexually obliging George Clooney. Under Marc Warzecha's direction, the rapid pace is invigorating, and the performers' energy, talent, and exquisite timing are exemplary.

This is potent, sophisticated comedy. (RH) Open run: Tue-Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 11 PM, Sun 7 PM, $18-$24. Free improv sets follow shows Mon-Thu 10 PM, late Sat 1 AM, and Sun 9 PM.

A touring company performs The Best of the Second City in an open run: Mon 8 PM (free improv set follows), $12.
Piper's Alley, 1608 N. Wells, 312-337-3992: Second City's second stage's 29th comedy revue, Disposable Nation, takes a look at "what--and who--is disposable in America today.

" It's in previews through the end of the month. Jim Carlson directs. Previews through 10/29: Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 11 PM, Sun 7 PM.

Opens Thu 11/2: 8 PM. Open run: Thu 8 PM, Fri-Sat 8 and 11 PM, Sun 7 PM, $18-$24. Free improv sets follow regular shows Thu 10 PM, late Sat 1 AM, and Sun 9 PM.

Donny's Skybox Studio, Piper's Alley, 1608 N. Wells (fourth floor), 312-337-3992: The Second City Training Center's scruffy showcase space hosts shows by students, alumni, and guest artists. Thu 10:30 PM, 10/26-11/16: The Farnsworth Quintuplets take you on a "genre-filled adventure" in this improv show.

Fri 7:30 PM, through 11/10: Sex, Rye and Videotape is presented by students in the advanced writing program and directed by Andy Miara. Fri 9 PM, through 11/10: Sensitivity Training is a sketch revue by advanced writing students, directed by Mary Scruggs. Fri 10:30 PM, through 11/17: Now Fear This is a sketch comedy revue written by Mike McKeown and Joshua Hanson.

Fri midnight, through 11/3: Oddrock is "an hour-long phantasmagoria of free-form musical improv and character monologues." Sat 7:30 PM, through 11/18 (no show 11/11): Monkey See, Monkey Deux is a sketch show that "aims to examine the unexamined life (wait, is that a paradox?)" Sat 9 PM, through 11/18: We Shall Overcompensate is a new sketch show by Second City Outreach and Diversity, directed by John Hildreth.

Sat 10:30 PM, through 10/28: The Saturday Morning All-Star Cartoon Show offers a look at the lives of cartoon stars of the 1970s and 80s--today. Sat midnight, through 10/28: Improv Jelly is an open improv session hosted by Jason Flowers. Sun 8 PM, 10/29-11/19: Sunday Double Header features improv ensemble Barstool Philosophers in The Barstool Effect and Ellie McDonald's new look at the break-up, Lifebuoy, directed by Bina Martin.

$5-$10.
Apollo Theater studio, 2540 N. Lincoln, 773-935-6100: The troupe presents Deep Inside Your Box.

Through 11/18: Sat 8 PM, $10-$15.
4437 N. Broadway, 773-728-8933: This restaurant/bar/theater (in the location formerly known as Frankie J's) offers three venues--a street-level eatery, an upstairs "Second Story Basement Bar" with a comedy and music stage, and a top-floor Green Room loft lounge.

Random Milk features a rotating lineup of improv teams. Open run: Mon 9 and 11 PM, $3. A Two-Man Sketch Show in One Act is presented by Assembly Line, with musical guest Jon Reyes.

Open run: Wed 7:30 PM, $5. Lip (see listing in ), Thu 11/2, 8 PM, $5. "Triple Threat Thursday" features three improv teams going against one another at 8 PM and another three teams meeting at 10 PM.

The winner of each of those matches meet in a midnight showdown. Open run: Thu, $3 for one show, $5 for two shows, third show free. Picasso at the Lapin Agile (see separate listing under ).

Through 11/11: Fri-Sat 7 PM, $25, call 773-250-3332. Battle-Prov highlights competitive improv from ComedySportz alumni (see separate listing for ). Open run: Sun 7 PM, $5.

"Drew Paul" improvise a musical sing-along. Open run: Sun 9 PM, free. $3-$25.

I.O., 3541 N.

Clark, 773-880-0199: In what is perhaps the country's best improv city, this is perhaps the best ongoing improv show, long-form or otherwise--with a healthy cult following to prove it. T.J.

Jagodowski and David Pasquesi, who have 30 years of stage time between them, are what most improvisers are not (liberally intelligent, extremely talented actors as well as comedians) and do what most improvisers do not (carefully listen to each other before responding). The result is an hour of subtle character development, verbal facility, and pantomimic agility that anticipates and plays off the audience's reactions. (RH) Open run: Wed 11 PM, $5.

The company that launched the careers of several prominent comedy stars (including Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live relocated to New York from Chicago many years ago. They return to the area for a one-night stand. Sat 10/28, 8 PM, College of DuPage, Harold D.

McAninch Arts Center, main stage, Fawell and Park, Glen Ellyn, 630-942-4000, $10-$20.
I.O.

, 3541 N. Clark, 773-880-0199: This satire of current events features players who exhibit a genuine rapport: articulate dialogue unfolds logically, swiftly, and concisely. (MSB) Open run: Sat 8 PM, $14.