Chicago Improv Festival Thursday Night Recap
Although there was a noticeable absence of giant, city-destroying monsters at Thursday’s installment of the Chicago Improv Festival, there was no shortage of monstrous laughs, thanks in part to the amazingly smart duo, TJ Miller (of Cloverfield and Carpoolers fame) and Thomas Middleditch, who headlined the night.
Opening for the twosome was SCRAM. Composed of Chicago improv veteran Joe Bill and Minneapolis powerhouse Jill Bernard, SCRAM put on a stunning and emotional set. The duo began by setting up two separate scenes, independently of one another, at the same time. After establishing the essentials of their own scenes, the two switched, assuming other characters in the worlds established previously. It’s one of those formats better understood once seen. And seeing it in action was pure beauty. Bill and Bernard’s scenework is incredibly grounded, giving rise to extraordinarily emotional scenes, tinged with true situational comedy.
Up next on the roster was iO’s veteran Harold team The Reckoning. The group started their set with a bang—literally—with Jet Eveleth, a true starlet on the Chicago improv scene, playing a lady who had just been killed by a falling air conditioner. This set the stage for several ongoing themes, including murder, abuse and air conditioning, that the players wove throughout, creating a psychotic dreamscape of madcap comedy.
Rounding out the night were the Ritalin-deprived antics of Miller & Middleditch. These two former Chicago regulars completely blew the audience away with their ability to walk the thin line of believable absurdity. The first scene began with Miller playing a caddy who reveals to Middleditch a secret outpost that the caddies call home. A few scenes later the duo played testosterone-fueled frat boys who ceased their fighting thanks to a shared passion for underwear. But the highlight was when Middleditch grabbed a microphone and conducted a poetry slam, with Miller assuming the role of an angst-ridden, 17-year-old poet.
Miller and Middleditch are pure energy on stage, sometimes assuming several characters each in the same scene. Miller’s experience as a stand-up brings an impeccable sense of timing to their scenes, with comedic tension rising and falling at exactly the right moments. In fact, the two share such a chemistry, they’d probably make a great offstage couple.
Stay tuned for additional coverage of CIF. Photo from the CIF website.
The Bastion doesn't generally take kindly to outsiders. We have a whole lot of amazing home-grown comedy on our stages every night, and we're darn proud of it. But if a respected NYC group is performing weekly at our own Lakeshore Theater, maybe we'll check it out. If that group is the Upright Citizens Brigade, you bet your insulin medication we'll be there.
The Lakeshore Theater is lining up more and more amazing comedy offerings with the fall season. Check out this list of visiting comedy dignitaries lined up for performances in the next few months: 
And, oh yeah, they're also bringing Upright Citizen's Brigade founders to their hometown of Chicago on Sept. 11 to kick off a series of amazing shows and improv classes taught in the time-honored UCB style that the cool kids on the coasts have been enjoying for some time now. "Beginning Tuesday, September 11, 2007 every Tuesday night will be 'UCB Presents' night at the Lakeshore Theater. UCB will be presenting hand-picked, cutting-edge comedy shows from its two locations in New York and LA. The series will premiere with two performances of the UCB signature show Asssscat starring founding Upright Citizens Brigade members Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Horatio Sanz and Matt Walsh."
The Bastion loves an opportunity to make some fast cash so we ran to see "
