Atomic Comics
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For every well-established piece of entertainment the city has to offer, there seems to be five new ventures competing for your attendance. The New Pollution looks to cut through the smog to spotlight the events that could easily become the next big thing in Chicago's ever-growing comedy, literary, and storytelling scenes.
What it is: Atomic Comics: Masters of the Humorverse is a new comedy showcase at the Mayne Stage theater in Rogers Park. The show kicked off last month, with a lineup boasting some of the city's most popular standup comedians, including A.V. Club contributor Dan Telfer, the insanely talented Candy Lawrence, and viral hit Ever Mainard. In the coming months, the show will return to Mayne Stage, with the Double Header, a riff on the show's concept, running Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11.
Who's behind it: Nellie Huggins, a local freelance writer, was moved to work with the Mayne Stage after attending a showcase that the theater put together last fall when the scheduled headliner, Maria Bamford, canceled her appearance due to illness. “I've always loved Chris Ritter [general manager at Mayne Stage and former Lakeshore Theater owner],” says Huggins, “and when I went to Mayne Stage and the Bamford show got cancelled, without even skipping a beat, they comped everybody's tickets and still put on a really good show. It spoke volumes to me about independent comedy as a whole, as well as Mayne Stage, the vibe was so good.”
After this negative-cancellation-turned-positive-local-showcase, Huggins wrote Ritter to ask about producing a show, and spent the next few months developing the idea for Atomic Comics and aggressively scouting talent. While this is her first solo venture in producing shows, her experience within the scene is much deeper. In addition to her coverage of local comedy for Gapers Block (including a comprehensive, generation-spanning feature on some of the city's finest female comedic performers), Huggins also spent one season producing for local comedy juggernaut The Lincoln Lodge.
Why it's worth your time: The first Atomic Comics event happened to be booked for the one night in January 2012 with legitimately horrendous winter weather, but went on undeterred. “We had an amazing turnout despite the blizzard. It was the only show that didn't cancel and we still filled almost 70 seats,” recalls Huggins.
Those 70 or so people were certainly on to something, because soon after, Ritter asked Huggins to produce two shows in February, and the Double Header was born. A cousin to the Atomic Comics showcase that Huggins hopes to make a regular feature at Mayne Stage, Double Header provides three up-and-coming comics with the opportunity to open for a pair of popular local acts over two nights.
Dave Stinton, David Drake, and Natalie Jose will share the bill the first night with Kelsie Huff, producer of the all-lady showcase The Kates, and will spend the next evening with Adam Burke, cohost of Cole's excellent open mic night. The juxtaposition of fresh talent and well-versed scene vets will make for an especially intriguing set of shows.
The future's bright for all those involved with Atomic Comics. Nellie Huggins' ongoing collaboration with the folks at Mayne Stage has produced intelligently curated comedy with some of the city's finest, and at one of the most underrated venues.
