![]() “When the emotional moments acme and we have a crescendo of emotion in a scene, we break out into song,” Mannes said. The comedy theater also puts on an improvised musical show every Saturday at 10 p.m. There are live shows every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, in a similar fashion to Second City or iO. “College Night” at Studio Be is just one of pH Productions’ several offerings. “It’s different than anything that’s going on anywhere else in the city at this time,” said Mannes. The team took third place in the competition.Īnother reason for the College Night’s success? This marked the first time the Cosby Sweaters competed at the national competition.Ĭolumbia College Chicago’s Droppin’ $cience also made an appearance at the College Improv Tournament National Championships in 2010. In 2010, the team earned the Wild Card distinction and competed against seven regional winners and one other wild card team at the Nation Championships held in Chicago. The Cosby Sweaters have competed in the College Improv Tournament, part of the Chicago Improv Festival annually since 2008. Since then, the team has performed at The Second City, iO Theater and The Playground Theater in Chicago, in addition to several theaters outside of Illinois. The team from DePaul University traces its history back to 2004 when student Sarah Pappalardo decided to partner with pH Productions and founded a college improv team on her own campus. The Thursday night comedy shows are headlined by two Chicago university improv groups: DePaul University’s Cosby Sweaters and Columbia College Chicago’s Droppin’ $cience. “The teams have really made a name for themselves,” Geis said. “That is the number one reason why people come.” Mannes attributed the surge in attendance to the talent of the young comedians who take the stage every Thursday night that draws full houses in the 3,000 square foot, 99-seat storefront theater week after week. “It just spread like wildfire.”īrett Mannes, executive director of pH Productions, called College Night “this great phenomenon that landed in our laps.” ![]() “Over the last couple of years, people have really become excited about it,” Geis said. It seems Chicago’s college population has finally caught on. A BYOB theater, the club’s college-aged audience buzzes with excitement before the first improv comedy troupe takes the stage. A standing room only crowd squeezes into the cozy Studio Be just a short walk from the Belmont Red Line El stop. Sheffield Ave, Chicago).įast-forward to a rainy October night in 2011. “Nobody really came,” said Jason Geis, Co-Artistic Director of pH Productions, a performance group dedicated to educating audiences about live theater that puts on original comedic productions at Studio Be (3110 N. When pH Productions started offering College Night in 2003, it was slow-going at first.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |