I’d like to make a quick mention of something that is definitely not torture. Far from it. Lisa and I went to see Whirled News Tonight, one of many groups performing at iO Chicago. Chicago is the American improv capital, and everything we’ve seen here has been at least, usually really good. WNT was very good. Unlike the other shows we’ve seen at iO in the past, there was no Harold; it was all short form stuff, nothing lasting more than a few minutes. That surprised me, and was maybe a little bit of a letdown because Improv Olympic (iO’s old name) is where the Harold was invented (or at least became famous in the improv community). I’m always so impressed with the performers’ ability to tie all the threads together that it was a little bit disappointing not to see them do that tonight.
That said, the show was very good. They surprised me several times with really well timed, hilarious creations, and I laughed all over the place. I’m sure there’s bad improv happening in Chicago, but if you stick with the good ones like iO, Second City (great sketch comedy and improv), ComedySportz, and other reputable venues, it seems you can’t go wrong.
Whirled News Tonight has started a podcast as well. The first act of every show, wherein they use audience-clipped bits of the day’s papers for suggestions, is offered. I’m looking forward to downloading tonight’s show when they release it.