Off-Off Campus is an improvisational and

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

group at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. It was founded in 1986 by

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre o ...

co-founder

Bernie Sahlins Bernard Sahlins (; August 20, 1922 – June 16, 2013) was an American writer, director and comedian best known as a founder of The Second City improvisational comedy troupe with Paul Sills and Howard Alk in 1959.Sahlins, Bernard (2001)Days and Nig ...

, who is also an alumnus of the University of Chicago. Off-Off Campus stems from a tradition of improv comedy at the University of Chicago. In the early 1950s, improv as it is known today was invented on the University of Chicago campus at the Woodlawn Tap. In 1959, the group, called the Compass Players, went on to form

. In 1986, Bernie Sahlins returned to the U of C in order to re-establish improv and sketch comedy on the south side of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. The first generation of Off-Off Campus was trained by Sahlins, and the group continues to build on the foundation he created.

Pulitzer prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

winner

David Auburn David Auburn (born 30 November 1969) is an American playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. He is best known for his 2000 play '' Proof'', which won the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play and Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He also wrote the scre ...

was a member of Off-Off's second generation. Sarah Koenig, host and executive producer of the acclaimed podcast '' Serial,'' was a member of the same generation as Auburn. In addition,

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

-winner Greg Kotis was one of Off-Off's original members. Off-Off Campus operates in accordance with the University of Chicago's quarter system. Auditions are held during the first week of each fall quarter.Univ. of Chicago, University Theatre
/ref> New members train significantly (roughly 20 hours a week) during fall and winter quarters before becoming responsible for mainstage revues in the spring and the following fall. Offoffcampus 273431056 517317936367556 5905013204009004107 n

Offoffcampus 273431056 517317936367556 5905013204009004107 n

References

External links

Off-Off Campus official websiteGuide to the University of Chicago, Off-Off Campus Records 1986-2008
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{authority control American comedy troupes Sketch comedy troupes Theatre companies in Chicago University of Chicago University performing groups