The Armando Diaz Experience
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: The Armando Diaz Experience is a long-form improv show at the iO Theater featuring improvised scenes inspired by a series of monologues from a guest speaker. It’s iO’s longest-running show, with a format that allows celebrity guests and iO almuni to drop by and perform alongside current improv hotshots without missing a beat. The show’s pedigree and longevity have earned it a reputation as one of the best ensemble shows in the city.
Depending on the guest speaker and audience suggestions, the monologues can range from humorous anecdotes to in-depth explorations of the guests’ sense of themselves. These true-life tales are counterbalanced by the ensemble performance from the veteran improvisers who use the Armando as a means of blowing off steam; it’s a way for them to get onstage and goof around with their friends and peers. The dichotomy between the intimacy of the monologues and the drollery of the improv is the heart of The Armando Diaz Experience, and that has helped keep the show going for more than 15 years.
A brief history lesson: The Armando Diaz Experience was created in 1995 by Adam McKay (writer-director of Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers), David Koechner (character actor who’s been in nearly every comedy film since 2001), and the now-legendary improv teacher Armando Diaz. McKay named the show in honor of Diaz, who took on the role of monologist every week during the show’s first iteration. The show was a sort of homecoming for McKay, Koechner, and Diaz, who had all moved on from regularly doing shows at iO by 1995.
The idea behind the Armando was to draw from a well of experienced improvisers each week, and have them work in a somewhat humbling environment: “There were all these egos in the room … [so we thought] let’s do something where we all sacrifice our ego to this one person with a godlike power over the show,” recalls Noah Gregoropoulos, the sole member from the show’s original cast still performing the Armando today. While the idea of clashing egos may seem tense, the show is anything but; the performers are there to have fun and entertain, rather than to struggle for laughs and jockey for stage time.
The show soon became a phenomenon amongst improvisers and audiences, and has since featured guest appearances by damned near every funny person who has any sort of association with Chicago. When looking over a list of past performers, many of the usual iO alumni pop up: Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, and Andy Richter have all done the Armando. But what has kept the show unique is the variety of guest monologists (who all, by the way, open the show with “Hello, I’m Armando Diaz”), including former Ald. Bernie Hansen, a speechwriter for Bill Clinton, and a Chicago police officer.
Why it’s still worth your time: On a recent episode of WTF With Marc Maron, SNL’s Jason Sudeikis credits The Armando Diaz Experience with opening his eyes to the endless possibilities of live improv comedy. Sudeikis went on to take classes and perform at iO, a pattern that is not unusual. According to Gregoropolous, The Armando Diaz Experience is one of the most popular shows among iO students, “They get to see their favorite teachers and performers,” he says. “People who have gone on to the [Second City] Mainstage and e.t.c. can come and play on those nights as well. Within the community, it’s been a magnet.”
For curious readers who haven’t yet ditched Netflix, there’s a filmed edition of a performance of ASSSSCAT on Watch Instantly. ASSSSCAT is an Armando Diaz Experience-inspired show done at the UCB Theater in Los Angeles. This particular show features former iO students Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Horatio Sanz, and a host of other famous faces riffing on monologues from from Reno 911’s Thomas Lennon. This instant-watch recording is a great intro to the whole improv scene, and it’s an easy way to peep the vibes of its sister show, The Armando Diaz Experience.
The Chicago show’s experienced cast makes improv look both effortless and impossibly complex, and the quality of the monologists often rivals that of storytellers at The Moth. For 16 years, the Armando has dominated Monday nights at iO. An excitable crowd of iO students and ordinary citizens turns out to catch a stacked deck of improvisers cut loose.
