Chicago Improv Festival Wrap Up: Day 3

Saturday started with another trip to our new regular breakfast spot, Yolk. Here’s a picture of the gang waiting for a table.
Then we headed to The Art Institute of Chicago. It had a beautiful collection with some very famous key pieces.
And some fascinating miniatures in the basement. 
Courtney and Sara relish a teensy cup of tea.
After over an hour of walking around looking at art we were all a little tired and agreed on having a snack in the cafe at the Institute to rest and then regroup for more art appreciation. And then it took us another half an hour wandering through the museum to find said restaurant. Happily, we stumbled upon this view of the city. 
Foggy Chicago: Courtney and Avi in repose
Back at the hotel we had a pool/sauna party, featuring more ninja fighting. 
That night we headed back to Wrigleyville. First we stopped at Ian’s pizza, which was my favorite pizza of the trip. They had unusual toppings like macaroni and cheese pizza or chicken parmesan pizza, but without the CPK markup. Excellent stuff. 
Right as we finished dinner, the biggest rainstorm of the weekend hit. We walked/ran in the rain and wind for what seemed like forever until we got to The Playground Theater. We saw local troupe “Computer” coached by Bill Stern and a duo from Bellingham Washington called “The DK And Morgan Show.” Some good, solid Manprov.
After the show, the crew shotgunned some drinks in the alley behind the theater and headed to Mullens for the after party. Sara and I left to go to the Annoyance, the only big improv theater in Chicago I hadn’t visited yet. We caught Mick Napier in “Swear Jar” and “Skinprov” where the men get progressively less dressed as the show goes on.
Then we joined the gang back at Mullens for sweet party times. I think the camera just didn’t focus properly on this one, but it gives an accurate effect.

After shutting Mullens down, we headed to the Bill and Mel’s house for an after-after party. Long story short, we didn’t get to bed until 5:30am, dreading checking out at 11am.

About Shana Merlin

Merlin Works is the brainchild of Shana Merlin: improviser, teacher, and performer. Since 1996, she’s been leading classes that stretch people’s imaginations, push them out of their comfort zones, and make them laugh out loud for hours at a time.
Replies: 1

One comment

  1. Sara Farr said:

    I like that you looked annoyed in the Annoyance photo. Very fitting.

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