The iO West (formerly known as the "ImprovOlympic West") was the Los Angeles branch of the
iO in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. The theater was located at 6366
Hollywood Blvd., in
Hollywood,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. In addition to presenting improv and sketch comedy shows every night, the iO West had improv training classes and was the home for the Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival. On February 24, 2018, iO West permanently ceased operations.
History
The
iO was founded in the 1980s by
Del Close
Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999) was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was ...
and
Charna Halpern
Charna Halpern (born June 1, 1952) is an American comedian who is co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as iO. Upon iO's founding, in 1983, with partner Del Close, she began teaching Harold to many students in the Chicago theater community ...
in Chicago. The iO approaches improvisation as an art form in and of itself; this differs from the
Second City approach, where improv is used as a tool in creating sketch comedy.
In 1997, Paul Vaillancourt opened a companion theater to the
iO Chicago
iO, or iO Chicago, (formerly known as "ImprovOlympic") is an improv theater and training center in central Chicago, with a former branch in Los Angeles, called iO West and in Raleigh, North Carolina called iO South. The theater taught and hosted ...
, then "ImprovOlympic West," now iO West, in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. The theater originally took up residence at The Stella Adler Theater 6773 Hollywood Blvd., but soon moved to The Complex Theater, 6470 Santa Monica Boulevard before finally moving to the new purpose-built space on 6366 Hollywood Blvd in 2000.
iO West’s three theater spaces—the Main Stage, a two-level, 99-seat theatre, the Del Close Experimental Black Box 70-seat Theater, and the 40-seat Loft Space black box theatre—feature various stand-up, sketch, and improv shows nightly. iO West's training center offers long-form improv classes year-round. The iO West is also involved in the annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival.
iO West's Artistic Directors are Colleen Doyle and Zach Huddleston.
iO West's Musical Director is Eric Schackne. Former Musical Directors include Andrew Melton and George Caleodis.
Closure
On February 13, 2018, iO Chicago co-founder
Charna Halpern
Charna Halpern (born June 1, 1952) is an American comedian who is co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as iO. Upon iO's founding, in 1983, with partner Del Close, she began teaching Harold to many students in the Chicago theater community ...
announced via Twitter that the theater would close permanently on February 24, 2018. As of 2020, the venue space remains vacant.
References
External links
*
The iO - The Original Chicago TheaterOpening Night: The Musical - iO West's Longest Running Musical Long-Form Improv ShowTrophy Wife - The Official Site for Harold Team Masters, Trophy WifeTop Story! Weekly - iO West's award-winning sketch comedy show - brand new every Sunday night at 8 based on the events of the previous seven days
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Improvisational theatre
Theatres in Hollywood, Los Angeles