The Playground Theater Alumni Association

04/12/2023

PG alumn Jordan Klepper hosting The Daily Show next week.

Hello friends. I’m hosting The Daily Show next week. April 17th. Right now I’m running across the country going to gun shows, eating antelope, slinging beers, talking politics, fi*****ng pulses and crafting a jam packed week of show. More show than a show can even show. Behind the desk AND out in the world. Be there, will be wild.

03/20/2022

So happy to see Playground Alumn Alana Johnston at the Lincoln lodge
with Mo Welch. Super funny show.
Shout out to The Missfits. One of the PGs great teams.

07/08/2021

Congrats to PG Alums Lorena Diaz and Wendy Mateo being name Artistic Directors for Teatro Vista. So proud of our PG family.

Drum roll por favor! We are thrilled to welcome Lorena Diaz and Wendy Mateo as our new Co-Artistic Directors.

Concluding a national search, Lorena and Wendy join our Latina-led executive leadership team that includes Managing Director Sylvia Lopez and Board President Adela Cepeda.

"We are deeply energized by Teatro Vista and its ensemble, with its tapestry of talent, innovation and unique perspectives. There is a depth to the American Latinx experience that has fueled our 20 years of storytelling and collaboration together. With this particular ensemble, we’ll be able to deepen that storytelling and bring in a kind of nuance and complexity to our stories that our audiences will be inspired by.”

Welcome to the Familia! Pa'lante!

07/11/2020

Hey PG Alumni I hope you are all doing as well as can be. If you are in need of any support please let us know. Also if you are doing any fun projects or have things to share please let us know. We want to know how and what your are creating. We all need as many laughs as possible.

Matt

05/25/2020

Who remembers THESE days? Circa March 1997. Before The Playground had a name...when it was just an idea, subversively spread hand-to-hand around IO and Second City via this postcard. For want of a better term, we shopped the idea around as an "improv collective," a tongue-in-cheek reference to the "people's revolution" we were trying to bring about against our bar-owning overlords -- those who assembled and broke up our improv teams at their own whims. On April 1, 1997, lured by the unheard-of possibility of a performing home that would grant every ensemble self-determination and an equal voice in theater decisions, nine teams (some previously existing, some assembled just for The Playground) bravely plunked down $45 each to become the first nine member teams. How many can YOU name?! (BTW, the AOL email address no longer works...) Rob KozlowskiToni Tabora-RobertsSteve MatuszakBecky EldridgeMatt BarberaKaydee DolanAmy StarksJen HendrickT.K. HoreisMark T. HendersonJim JarvisLarry ShureAndrew EningerAndrea Gall SchmittShaun HimmerickMichael HigginsJustin O'ConnorJustin O'ConnorJill E BradleyJosh BruckMargaret HicksLillian FrancesChris DayRoss FotiJeff ClampittNoel SteereNoel DinneenChris O BiddleScott GoldsteinFred MoweryLisa LinkeTimothy SniffenGus RichterRob MelloRob SmithEd O'RourkeNicky MargolisJen L. ShepardMatt LarsenMike DwyerRebecca LangguthStephanie HoernerBrian AmideiMick NapierLibby Baker HigginsCharles GlenJason Sudeikis

05/13/2020

Hey, thanks to everyone who contributed to last week's mini-fundraiser in honor of The Playground's 23rd Anniversary! To further commemorate that first show at the now-defunct Cue Club, here's another scene from opening night: Playground's first president Doug Diefenbach with Mick Napier, our emcee for the first show. Mick, founder of the Annoyance and already a Chicago improv icon, gave our brand new co-op a great lift with his incredible support (in fact, he emceed again when we opened yet another location, at Jako's Bar in Lincoln Square, our third location.)

05/10/2020

Thanks, Mark, for your awesome support!

The Playground Theater is a 501(c)3 non-profit, artist-led theater its roots in improvisational comedy. Our mission is to provide a home for artists to grow as writers, directors, performers, producers, and people. We are committed to entertaining audiences with successful shows that reflect our cor...

05/08/2020

Hey, TODAY is the TWENTY-THIRD ANNIVERSARY of the first performance of THE PLAYGROUND – our plucky little improv theater that gave each of us alumni an artistic outlet, tons of friends and forever memories. During COVID, our theater really needs our help, so would you consider a donation to commemorate 23 years? Perhaps give a multiple of 23 - $2.30, $23, or $230 – or whatever you can afford! Click below to give – then share the news on Facebook so others will follow your lead (maybe challenge your old teammates?). And, as always, please share old photos and memories to this space. Go, Playground!

https://playgroundtheater.z2systems.com/np/clients/playgroundtheater/membershipJoin.jsp

05/06/2020

More scenes from our fancy ribbon-cutting (or ripping) event. About half the people on stage are just friends of players who donated to the campaign that raised $25k...