The Playground Theater is a continuously operating

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

dedicated to Modern Theatrical Improvisation, a form of theater invented in the city. The Playground was founded in 1997 by a collective of Chicago improvisors. Originally located on

Halsted Street Halsted Street is a major north-south street in the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois. Location In Chicago's grid system, Halsted Street marks 800 West, west of State Street, from Grace Street (3800 N) in Lakeview south to the city limits ...

, the theater now produces shows at different theatrical venues across Chicago. The Playground Theater was created to provide a Chicago venue where improvisors could have complete artistic control over the work they produced. The theater initially existed as a non-profit co-op, governed by its member companies, or "teams." The Playground was formerly home to over 12 house teams in addition to guest teams, and members of the theater's Incubator Program. The Playground's former ''Incubator Program'' allowed applicants to be judged on their skills at scene-based

improvised comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

, assembled into Incubator Teams, and subsequently guaranteed a certain number of shows on The Playground's stage. The newly created teams were then allowed to perform, hire their own coaches, and generally pursue a career as an improv ensemble. The Playground launched Playground Theatricals in 2015 with the production of Don Chipotle, an original play written by Juan Villa. At the end of 2016, The Playground Theater announced the launch of a new program for writers, directors and performers called MOSAIC. MOSAIC accepted a 7-month MOSAIC writer and production residency ran in association with The Department of Cultural Affairs at the

Chicago Cultural Center The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building operated by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The Cultural Center houses the city's official reception venue, where the Mayor of Chicago, M ...

, and featured workshops and readings of work that were in development at the time. In March 2020, The Playground Theater announced a temporary closure of their venue as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In May 2021, The Playground announced that they would not return to their venue on Halsted Street. Since then, they have produced shows on behalf of artists at venues across Chicago. In April 2025, The Playground Theater announced on their website and their Instagram feed that they were moving into a new venue at 4416 N. Clark, above the bar MyBuddy's.

References

External links

The Playground's web site
Improvisational theatre Theatres in Chicago Comedy clubs in the United States {{Chicago-struct-stub

See also

References

External links