Michael Pizza and The Scene
Michael Pizza
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: Michael Pizza and The Scene are two improv groups that experiment with the long-form improvisation format that the iO Theater is known for. The teams share a double bill every Thursday at 10:30 p.m. at the iO Theater, where their wildly different (but complementary) approaches to the form are allowed to run free.
Michael Pizza, on the surface, appears to be a relatively straightforward improv team made up of four dudes with substantial chemistry. But to the trained eye, the group’s experiments with formlessness are something special. By eschewing the Harold, a performance structure developed by iO founder Del Close, the members of Michael Pizza throw caution to the wind and freely explore their scenes as they naturally develop. Their magnetic personalities (both as a group and as individual performers) and relentless energy shine in the controlled chaos of the Michael Pizza performance.
On the other end of the spectrum lies The Scene, a group of seasoned veterans trying their hands at a completely new form of improv. Throughout a performance by The Scene, any member of the team can, at any time, become the “director” and change anything about the performance. This innovative format (created by the cast members themselves) allows scenes to be reworked several times, without alienating audiences. Scenes may be replayed two or three times depending on the ector(s)’ suggestions, which produces polished scenes that could stand up to any prewritten comedy sketch.
A brief history lesson: The juxtaposition of these two experimental (yet accessible) approaches to improv comedy was accidental. The two groups had similar availability and were both looking for a regular spot on the iO calendar in late 2009, and ended up together out of coincidence. Birthed from this fortuitous pairing was a tour-de-force doubleheader that’s endlessly entertaining for audiences, as well as a demonstration for iO students (who often make up a considerable portion of the audience) of just how far improv comedy can be stretched.
Eric Christensen, Brett Elam, Ben Kass, and Josh Logan met in Level Two of the iO training program. Their friendship blossomed during the course, and in early 2008, they formed Michael Pizza, a team that embraced their natural skills as improvisors and ability to work off of each other. The group quickly ascended to notoriety around town, winning iO’s 2009 Improv Cagematch and 2010’s CIC King Of The Hill award, and was named “best new improv ensemble” by Chicago magazine. The group members began their open-ended run with The Scene at iO in late 2009 and have only grown as performers since then.
Featuring some of Chicago’s finest performers working within an unusual format, The Scene is one of iO’s most interesting teams. Each member of the group (which includes Tim Baltz, Sarah Fineout, Rush Howell, TJ Jagodowski, and Brian Wilson) is challenged to work within the scene and keep it entertaining for audiences, while also looking for points within the scene that would benefit from direction. This unique approach to comedy stemmed from a discussion between a few of the team’s members about improv theory, and is heady enough for tried-and-true comedy nerds, while remaining accessible enough for casual fans.
Why it’s still worth your time: The Michael Pizza members’ willingness to push each other in every performance is what attracted Jet Eveleth, local improv superstar, to assume the role as the team’s coach. “You can see a lot of great individuals in the improv world, but it is rare to see amazing ensembles,” Eveleth says. “These guys crack each other up and are more interested in having fun than how they look.”
In The Scene members’ newly minted type of performance, each show is another step toward an unseen end for a conceptual form perpetually in development. The endless refinement of The Scene’s concept perfectly mirrors the frequent edits of the performance itself. Seeing veteran improvisers push the boundaries of the form they have become so accustomed to is something truly special.
The twin billing of Michael Pizza and The Scene is hard to beat. New territory is explored every week, with ample space for die-hard fanatics, note-taking iO students, and average Joes on the hunt for a night of comedy.
