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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ComedySportz Chicago to Mark 25th Anniversary Year with International Comedy Competition and Three Months of Activities
CHICAGO, February 10, 2012
The long-running Chicago improv show ComedySportz will mark its 25th Anniversary with a summer-long celebration called “25 Yearz: Competing. Celebrating. Giving Back.” The festivities will begin in July with ComedySportz Chicago hosting a tournament of 21ComedySportz clubs to include 19 clubs from across the US and two from Europe. In August, the Chicago club will salute its history with a series of especially themed shows and cast reunions. The party will conclude in September, as ComedySportz Chicago gives back to the community by raising money through ticket sales and other promotions for five different charities serving the Lakeview neighborhood, where the club is located at 929 West Belmont Avenue.
July – “Competing.” ComedySportz World Championship to be Held in July at Chicago’s Athenaeum Theatre.
“Competing” is the Anniversary theme for July, honoring the unique ComedySportz brand of competitive comedy, in which two teams of improv comedy players use spontaneous audience suggestions for scenes, songs and games. The teams earn points based on audience approval. The concept began in 1984 in Milwaukee and expanded to Chicago in 1987, with the first independently owned club to license the ComedySportz name and concept. All 21 clubs, including the European clubs in Manchester, England and Berlin, Germany, are expected to attend the July World Championship. Up to 150 players will perform at the Athenaeum from July 18 to 21. All performances will be open to the public.
August – “Celebrating.” ComedySportz Chicago Will Salute Its Many “Families” in August.
“Celebrating” is the theme for August, when ComedySportz will involve and pay tribute to the various groups that have contributed to the show’s success. ComedySportz performers from across its 25-year history will return to perform in “Alumni Weekend,” August 2-4. August 9 -11 will be “80s Weekend,” with special show content themed to the decade of ComedySportz’s birth. The theatre’s neighbors will be celebrated during Lakeview weekend, August 16-18, and the vibrant Chicago Improv community will be honored during the Chicago Improv Festival at ComedySportz from August 23-25.
September – “Giving Back.” Fundraising Events to Assist Community Organizations.
For each of the five weekends in September, ComedySportz Chicago will donate a portion of ticket fees to a local charity or community group serving the Lakeview neighborhood. Recipients will be announced shortly. Additionally, cast members will donate their time to the charity as well. “We couldn’t have made it 25 years without the support of our local community. This will be a great way to not only thank our neighbors, but also acknowledge and celebrate our community’s diversity,” says Matt Elwell, CEO of ComedySportz Chicago.
ABOUT COMEDYSPORTZ CHICAGO
One of Chicago’s longest-running improv comedy shows, ComedySportz has been performing continuously in Chicago since the summer of 1987, and has called 15 different venues in the area its home. Currently, the show’s home base is The ComedySportz Theatre, a 137-seat venue located at 929 W. Belmont, between Clark Street and Sheffield Avenue. In addition to its six ComedySportz performances per week, the theater hosts another six comedy shows weekly, some of which include guest artists in sketch, improv and stand-up comedy; and the popular Saturday morning kids series which introduces young people to classic stories told through the techniques of improv. The theatre also hosts hundreds of private shows for youth and other groups each year.
ComedySportz also provides improv-based corporate and college training workshops, and a touring company that brings the ComedySportz show into businesses, schools and private parties. The ComedySportz Training Center offers professional training in improv techniques for aspiring performers and anyone else seeking to develop the benefits of improv training.
ComedySportz of Chicago, Inc. is locally owned and operated. It is an independent licensee of the World Comedy League, Inc.
CONTACT: John Olson at The ComedySportz Theatre, (773) 549-8080, ext. 231
WEB SITE: http://www.COMEDYSPORTZCHICAGO.com
