Name: House of Improv
Start: 2026-07-15T00:00:00Z
End: 2026-07-15T00:00:00Z
Location: de Maat Studio Theatre - Chicago

Chicago

Here for a fun and memorable time? House of Improv is a showcase of 3 of the most exciting and celebrated improv teams we know of. This one hour showcase will have you howling with laughter, and in awe at their cohesiveness. Good improv really is magic. Served up in classic, Chicago scenic-style improv.

de Maat Studio Theatre - Chicago

These non-Second City productions are original works created and produced by guest performers and ensembles. With limited runs, these performances allow for complete creative freedom and may feature artists of any experience level.

Guest Performance

Characters, scenes, and songs created on the spot by our ensemble and based on your suggestions. You never know what might happen next...and neither do they! An improv show at The Second City is a lively, interactive event featuring the best improvisers in the world.

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The Second City&#8217;s 114th Mainstage Revue Pandemonium, Please Hold is a loud, fast, and gloriously unhinged night of comedic mayhem. The Second City’s six-person cast cranks the amps and stage dives headfirst into the chaos with blistering sketch comedy, unpredictable improv, explosive live music, and absolutely zero chill. Cathartic and wildly funny, brace for pandemonium and join us for a night of full-volume hilarity. Come scream into the abyss with us.

Pandemonium, Please Hold

After getting a single suggestion, the cast of six professional comedians asks the audience to choose a detective. Enjoy as they invent a tale of crime, secrets, and scandals right before your eyes. The performers will keep track of facts, follow leads, and conclude who is the murderer, all while you take in a comedy experience unlike any you’ve seen before. During the show, they’ll employ the tropes, character archetypes, and influences of Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes, Nick and Nora Charles, Encyclopedia Brown, and just a dash of Scooby-Doo.

Clued In

Don&#8217;t miss Chicago&#8217;s rising comedy stars before they hit TV, plus surprise guests from Netflix and Comedy Central! Get your tickets now for an unforgettable night of laughter!

UP’N COMING – CATCH CHICAGO’S RISING COMICS BEFORE TV DEBUT

Baby Wants Candy is a completely improvised, full band musical! Having performed over 3,000 improvised musicals to thousands of fans from Chicago to New York to Singapore to Scotland, this group not only performs in Chicago, New York, and LA but also tours internationally, including multiple sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!
BWC cast &#038; alumni include Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live), Jack McBrayer (30 Rock), Peter Gwinn (Colbert Report), Thomas Middleditch (HBO&#8217;s Silicon Valley), Lauren Conlan Adams (Kimmy Schmidt), Jessica McKenna (Party Over Here), Nicole Parker (Elephaba in Wickedon Broadway) and many more. Hailed as &#8220;Critic&#8217;s Pick&#8221; from the New York Times and &#8220;Best Improv Ensemble&#8221; from the Chicago Magazine, this is one improv show you don&#8217;t want to miss!

Baby Wants Candy, the Completely Improvised Full-Band Musical!

Reality Detox: The Improv Experience is a high-energy night of improvisation from The Second City, with a few sketch surprises mixed in along the way. Built fresh each night and shaped by the people in the room, every performance is different from the last. Funny, fast, and wildly unpredictable, it&#8217;s a chance to escape reality and enjoy a night of laughter. Come be part of the comedy magic.
<a href="https://www.secondcity.com/cast-and-crew-etc-2">Meet the Cast &amp; Crew</a>
Group of 16 or more? We’ll make it easy: <a href="https://www.secondcity.com/group-events" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contact Us for Group Events</a>

Reality Detox: The Improv Experience

Find out for yourself why The Second City has been the first name in laughter for over sixty years! From the stages that launched the careers of Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell and more comes the next generation of comedy superstars.
The Best of The Second City features some of the best sketch comedy and songs from our comedy vaults updated for the modern era, as well as some of our newest classics and our trademark improvisation performed by The Second City Touring Company’s best and brightest…and funniest!
Group of 16 or more? We’ll make it easy: <a href="https://www.secondcity.com/group-events" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contact Us for Group Events</a>

Best of The Second City

The Best of The Second City: Chicago-Style is a fast-paced sketch and improv comedy revue from The Second City featuring classic scenes from its legendary archives alongside fresh material from today’s ensemble. Blending sharp satire, iconic characters, and spontaneous audience-driven improv, it delivers a high-energy night of quintessential Chicago comedy.
Group of 16 or more? We’ll make it easy: <a href="https://www.secondcity.com/group-events" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contact Us for Group Events</a>

The Best of The Second City: Chicago Style

Kids, are you tired of grown-ups constantly telling you what to do? When to wake up, when to do homework, even making you do chores?! Well, on Saturdays at the Second City, it’s the kids’ turn to run the world! In this high-energy and fast-paced sketch and improv show, kids give all the ideas and even get the chance to get onstage! *Grown-ups are absolutely allowed because kids can’t drive or pay for tickets (the Tooth Fairy has not kept up with the pace of inflation.)
Group of 16 or more? We’ll make it easy: <a href="https://www.secondcity.com/group-events" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Contact Us for Group Events</a>

No Grown-Ups Allowed

Are you ready for a cinematic showdown where your favorite song lyrics inspire completely improvised, never-seen-before, and never-seen-again summer movies? Join us Saturdays in July for a celebration of everything we love about big-screen spectacles! Our team of movie buffs will use their knowledge of summer blockbusters to craft two hilariously action-packed, sometimes-logical 30-minute movies, poking fun at all the tropes and clichés that make summer blockbusters so unforgettable. Don&#8217;t miss out on this one-of-a-kind cinematic adventure!

Take Two: Summer Blockbusters

Millennials and Gen X comics go head-to-head in a battle for generational bragging rights. Featuring a rotating lineup of comedians you’ve seen on HBO, Netflix,  Last Comic Standing, and more.   The laughs are real, the trash talk is inevitable, and the audience decides the winner.  
Hosted by Todd Glover

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