It Still Moves Felt

On any given day in Chicago, the calendar of events happening throughout the city can seem daunting. It Still Moves looks to separate the wheat from the chaff, spotlighting some of the area’s best and longest-running comedy, literary, and variety shows.

What it is: Felt is a weekly improv show at iO with a cast comprised entirely of puppets. Every Wednesday night, a group of mustachioed businessmen, furry monsters, and anthropomorphic dogs assemble to take on different styles of long-form improvisation. The idea may sound gimmicky, but the overwhelming fun of the whole ordeal quashes any and all cynical, preconceived notions.

The show brings the funny on two different levels: the straightforward improvised comedy, and the inherent camp of puppetry as an art form. The caliber of improv performed is so high that it’s easy to get wrapped up in the scene, but many of the best moments during a Felt show are tied directly to the execution of the performance.

A brief history lesson: The idea of puppet-based improv was originally conceived by members of the improv group Atticus Finch. Cesar Jaime, one of the show's original cast members, had the idea to develop a Felt-type show in the late '90s, but was the concept shelved after Jaime discovered the expenses attached to the creation of a good quality, custom made puppet. It was not until years later that this vision came to fruition, when his improv troupe was given complete artistic freedom in producing a show at The Playground theater in the Summer of 2005. The crew scoured the internet for affordable, yet well-made puppets, eventually cobbling together a technicolor cast of human, animal, and monster dummies to be used for the show.

After a successful run at The Playground, the cast pitched the show to iO’s founder and programming director, Charna Halpern, who was immediately charmed by the concept. Felt was booked for an open run at iO in 2006, and has played weekly ever since. Each week, a different up-and-coming team of young improvisors opens the show, and returns to the stage after the main event to play a quick improv game, making for an enthralling, lighthearted bit of amateur human vs. professional puppet comedy.

The team has evolved over the last six years. Many past Felt cast members can now be seen at Second City and other iO shows, while others have moved on to careers in TV and film, like current SNL standout Vanessa Bayer and the up-and-coming comedic actress Lauren Lapkus. The show’s unique approach to improvisation helps performers grow as comedians, offering an alternative to the typical “two to five people standing around onstage acting goofy” scenario encountered at many improv shows. Felt allows improvisors to stretch different creative muscles, making for a unique, rewarding experience for all involved.

Why it’s still worth your time: One of the most charming aspects of the show is that the puppets treat each other as peers, rather than constantly drawing attention to the fact that an effeminate talking dog and a police man probably wouldn’t hang out together. Audiences quick to join the cast in suspending their disbelief will be rewarded handsomely when the absurdity of the situation is thrust to the forefront as both the limitations and the endless possibilities of the form present themselves. A puppet(eer) struggling to lift her arm or getting his leg stuck to the makeshift miniature stage is just as comedically rewarding as when the performers are manipulated with such subtlety and nuance that they appear to genuinely come alive.

Much of the press Felt has gotten over the years focuses on the “Sesame Street gone wild” aspect of the show. The conceit of puppets telling dick jokes had been popularized by TV shows like Crank Yankers and Greg The Bunny by the time Felt hit the scene, and the trope made its way into early performances of the show, as well. “We started off pretty raunchy, that was our schtick,” recalls Jaime. “As time went on, we found ourselves using f-bombs just for the sake of it. You really felt the audience pulling away, like, ‘We get it, that’s enough of that.’ We realized that the positive reactions we’d get came from the simpler things.” While cuss words and suggestive dialogue still crop up throughout the course of the show, it’s hardly the default setting these days.

Felt’s innovative approach to improv comedy is both accessible and wildly experimental. The fundamental joy of watching puppets onstage is enough to melt the heart of even the most hardened comedy snob, and the well-crafted scenes performed by this ragtag gang of fuzzy creatures stacks up against even the best human-based improv.