IO Theater

History

Early years

The ImprovOlympic was created in 1981 as the brainchild of David Shepherd who originally created the format in 1972 in New York with Howard Jerome. David Shepherd used the Theater Games, created earlier by Viola Spolin, as a way for teams of improvisational comic actors to compete. The first ImprovOlympic classes and shows took place at The Players Workshop in Chicago, where Charna Halpern was an improv student. Charna Halpern became David Shepherd's assistant, and eventually the producer of the competitions. There were also competitions at a network of local bars and clubs.

In 1982, the ImprovOlympic moved from The Players Workshop to its own space at Thomas Goodman's CrossCurrents theatre, 3207 N. Wilton Street. Teams began to form out of every major improv troupe in Chicago. Shows began shifting to a long-form approach by 1983.

In 1995, the ImprovOlympic moved to its location on Clark St. in Chicago.

iO West

An additional theater, iO West, was opened by Paul Vaillancourt in Los Angeles, California in 1997. The theater originally took up residence at The Stella Adler Theater (6773 Hollywood Boulevard), then The Complex Theater (6470 Santa Monica Boulevard), before finally moving into a new purpose-built space in the Palmer Building (6366 Hollywood Blvd) in 2000. The theater was home to the Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival. It was managed by Colleen Doyle and Zach Huddleston, before closing on February 24, 2018.

Name change

In 2001, the International Olympic Committee legally threatened the theater over its use of the name "ImprovOlympic" and the name was subsequently changed to "iO". On September 2, 2005, iO held its 25th anniversary show at the Chicago Theatre in downtown Chicago. The wireless microphones went dead shortly into the show, so the improvisers played using wired mics for the rest of the performance. Celebrity veterans of the iO program who returned to play included Mike Myers, Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler, and Ike Barinholtz. The opening to the Harold piece performed was conducted by the most veteran iO house team, The Reckoning. A DVD of The Reckoning is included in the book Art By Committee a sequel to Truth in Comedy.

In August 2014, after almost 20 years in Chicago's Wrigleyville neighborhood, Charna Halpern bought a building in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and moved the iO Theater to its new home at 1501 N. Kingsbury St.

Closure and reopening

On June 18, 2020, it was announced that iO would be closing permanently. Controversy ensued regarding whether the closure was due to financial difficulties or allegations of racism that had emerged in the form of an online petition that began circulating only a few days before. Halpern stressed that the reasons were strictly financial, highlighting the property taxes bills of nearly $100,000 that "would have had to come out of her personal savings" as the theater was not making any income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and acknowledging that, if not for the pandemic, she would not be closing. "I'm 68 years old," she said. "It's scary for me. We're in a pandemic right now and there's no end in sight. Even if we were able to open at half capacity it was not going to work."

In July 2021 the theater was bought by Scott Gendell and Larry Weiner of Chicago. The duo stated their intention to resume shows and classes at the theater, which was due to reopen on November 3, 2022.

Notable alumni

This includes people who have performed or taught at either iO West or iO Chicago:

• Stephen Colbert
• Chris Farley
• Tina Fey
• Kate Flannery
• Bill Hader
• Seth Meyers
• Mike Myers
• Amy Poehler
• Jason Sudeikis
• Vince Vaughn
• Bob Odenkirk
• Scott Adsit
• Vanessa Bayer
• Matt Besser
• Maria Blasucci
• Paul Brittain
• Kipleigh Brown
• Aidy Bryant
• Kay Cannon
• Wyatt Cenac
• Andy Dick
• Kevin Dorff
• Rachel Dratch
• Jon Favreau
• Neil Flynn
• Rich Fulcher
• Peter Gwinn
• TJ Jagodowski
• Angela Kinsey
• David Koechner
• Steve Little
• John Lutz
• Jack McBrayer
• Adam McKay
• Tim Meadows
• Susan Messing
• Jerry Minor
• Joel Murray
• Mick Napier
• Masi Oka
• David Pasquesi
• Danny Pudi
• Andy Richter
• Rick Roman
• Mitch Rouse
• Eric Stonestreet
• Cecily Strong
• Stephnie Weir
• Susie Youssef

References

References

1. Jennifer Swann. (February 15, 2018). "Comedians React to the Closing of L.A. Improv Institution iO West". Los Angeles Magazine.
2. Obejas, Achy. "Comedy Guru Charna Halpern Carries On".
3. "Inside the new iO, where Fey, Poehler got their start".
4. (2014). "Improvisation". Getting the Joke.
5. (November 14, 2017). "Charna Halpern". Tribune Publishing.
6. "IO Chicago Theater".
7. Darel Jevens. (February 13, 2018). "iO West, the L.A. branch of Chicago improv house, to close next week". Chicago Sun Times.
8. "New Improv Page: I.O. Rebranding and 25th Anniversary".
9. "The Reckoning".
10. "Art by Committee: A Guide to Advanced Improvisation{{!}}Other Format".
11. "Petition accuses Chicago's iO Theater of racism".
12. (19 June 2020). "Chicago's famed iO Theater is closing".
13. George, Doug. "Chicago's iO Theater is shutting down permanently".
14. (20 July 2021). "iO theater sold: Buyers plan to resume improv shows and classes - Chicago Sun-Times".
15. (19 July 2021). "Chicago Comedy Institution iO Theater Will Reopen After Sale".
16. "Alumni Archives - The iO Water Cooler".
17. (25 January 2006). "Stephen Colbert".
18. "Chris Farley Biography".
19. "APA - Comedy/Spoken Word/Branded Properties > Improv Olympic".
20. (10 April 2013). "Tina Fey - The iO Water Cooler".
21. "Kate Flannery".
22. (14 March 2013). "Second City vs. Groundlings vs. UCB: Where Do the Most 'SNL' Cast Members Come From?".
23. "Comedian Seth Meyers".
24. "Mike Myers".
25. (14 March 2013). "Amy Poehler - The iO Water Cooler".
26. "Amy Poehler".
27. "Breaking News - How Jason Sudeikis Landed 'SNL'".
28. (17 December 2015). "50 facts about comedian Bob Odenkirk".
29. (15 June 2012). "Miracle workers: Scott Adsit and friends improvise at iO".
30. "APA - Comedy/Spoken Word/Branded Properties > Vanessa Bayer".
31. "And Scene.".
32. "Maria Blasucci - The iO Theater - iO West".
33. Moynihan, Rob. ''SNL''{{'s "Fab Four", ''[[TV Guide]]'', March 7, 2011, Pages 44-45
34. "Kipleigh Brown".
35. Lawton, Claire. (2 October 2014). "Aidy Bryant's Made It Big on Saturday Night Live, But Phoenix Still Feels Like Home".
36. (12 September 2013). "Jason Winer & Kay Cannon Pilot Picked Up by CBS - The iO Water Cooler".
37. "Wyatt Cenac".
38. (23 December 2013). "Andy Dick - The iO Water Cooler".
39. (23 December 2013). "Kevin Dorff - The iO Water Cooler".
40. (2 October 2014). "Rachel Dratch To Star In Off-Broadway Show - The iO Water Cooler".
41. (7 March 2006). "Jon Favreau".
42. (15 October 2013). "Neil Flynn - The iO Water Cooler".
43. (15 May 2013). "iO Alumni Strengthen TV & Film Projects in 2013 - The iO Water Cooler".
44. "You searched for Peter Gwinn - The iO Water Cooler".
45. "TJ Jagodowski - The iO Theater - iO Chicago".
46. "One on One with Angela Kinsey - HoboTrashcan".
47. "David Koechner talks improv, exploiting yourself to build great characters, and comedy by way of poly-sci".
48. "John Lutz".
49. "Jack McBrayer".
50. (July 2025). "Tim Meadows".
51. "Instructors - The iO Theater - iO Chicago".
52. Rhoshalle Littlejohn, Janice. (17 April 2003). "On top of their game".
53. "One-on-One with Actor Joel Murray".
54. Martinez, Alexandra. (25 February 2016). "Miami's Villain Theater Gets a Chicago Makeover With Mick Napier From Second City".
55. "David Razowsky - Part 1 - 2/15/07".
56. (14 July 2005). "Making it Up: An interview with David Pasquesi, improv powerhouse, busy actor and show creator - Chicago film, commercials, advertising, video, production, post, tech news from ReelChicago.com".
57. "T.J. Miller, Danny Pudi top Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival lineup".
58. (17 April 2012). "Talking Del Close and the Early Days of Chicago Improv with ''SNL's'' Alex Baze".
59. (1 October 2013). "Alumni Return To Teach at iO - The iO Water Cooler".
60. "Big Slick Celebrity Weekend - June 17-18, 2016".
61. "SNL star Cecily Strong returns home amid dream year".
62. (2 November 2011). "The Quiet Genius of Stephnie Weir".
63. (8 March 2016). ""There's some funny stuff too" - Susie Youssef on loneliness, anxiety and of course, comedy.".
64. (15 August 2016). "CE in Conversation with Susie Youssef.".