John Chesney blogs about how ComedySportz changed his mind about short-form improvisation.

I've always had a history of going with the flow and, just like in improv, the best things in my life happened by course of a happy accident. I started off working part time for Kiss FM in Cleveland and decided to take an improv class to help me think on my feet and, possibly, turn me in to zany morning zoo type DJ. My first class led to my first performance at the now defunct Second City Cleveland and a desire to keep doing it no matter how bad I was! I would take every class and soak up every bit of info I could, eventually not caring about first-time callers and the top nine at nine.

Without Second City in Cleveland our improv and sketch community was like a post-apocalyptic war zone. Some teams still existed and performed at irregular times and locations, competing with a much more vibrant Stand-Up and Music scene. Worse, there was no direction or realistic hope of achieving anything, which you could argue is the same in Chicago save the Pat O’Briens or Jon Lutzes. The key difference is that Chicagoans appreciate improv for what is - a separate art form. The city rewards its performers with many stages to grow and fail on. With the hope of failing in front of like-minded people, I moved to Chicago.

I have been in Chicago for approximately 3 years. Half of that time has been spent traveling across the country for work. The other half has been spent soaking in as much improv as possible in the form of watching shows and taking classes. I play with the long-form teams The Belmont Transfer and The Giant Eagles. I have gone through the iO program, taken the first two levels of The Annoyance and intend to go through the conservatory at Second City. It all seems like a rite of passage for all Chicago performers to go through the "big three." ComedySportz seemed like an afterthought to me. I believed that short-form in general was for two kinds of improvisers: new improvisers who haven’t yet been exposed to long-form and great improvisers looking to challenge themselves. I have felt myself to be in the doughnut hole of these two ideas.

My mind changed one night while at a show at The Playground. Sandwiched in between two boring long-form shows, which Ive seen many more than I like to admit, was a hilarious short-form team. Afterwards, I was excited because it was such a refreshing change pace from the opener . While discussing my new itch to see short form I talked with a friend of mine, David, who said “Long Form is great and its art and its fun, but when you have great improvisers doing short-form it is very much an art form in its own right.”

I decided to go to a ComedySportz show. Wow, it was like watching a fully-packaged, professional show. From the lights, sounds, and video clips it felt like - "Yes! Short-form can be great!" While watching the performers, I was impressed by the speed in which everyone makes choices and can change instantly. Also, there’s an enviable freedom in just being able to be silly.

I’m taking a class at ComedySportz. I hope I learn to play like the players I saw, and look forward to taking fearless choice-making abilities back to my long form roots. I don’t see this as a change in religion or blaspheme against long form. I think this can all be complimentary, making me into an all-around better performer.

Current CSz Student Carol Pearson Uses Improv - As Therapy!

Improv as therapy? Absolutely!

When I was four years old, I had an often-fatal childhood illness called Reye’s Syndrome. In order to reduce the swelling on my brain, the doctors put me into a medically induced coma for a week. One of the potential complications of this disease is brain damage. Thankfully, I did not have any intellectual damage (I have an MA in International Relations), but I have had to deal with some emotional development issues throughout my life. I am not bringing this up because I want anyone to feel sorry for me, I just think that in order to understand the story of why I do improv, it helps to know where I’ve been.
Ever since I was four years old, I have had a hard time processing emotions the way a “normal” person would. I lack the filter that says, “Now you’ve gone too far. It’s time to pull it back.” Consequently, I was often mocked for overreacting or being a baby by my peers. My solution was to bury the emotions as much as possible. Unfortunately, it is impossible to bury emotions for any length of time without having it drive you insane, so at a certain point I realized I would need some way to release what I was feeling. I could either have a violent, no holds barred, freak out session, or I could use humor to diffuse my tension. Thankfully, being the good girl that I was, I went with the less traumatic for all option of humor.
My first foray into the world of comedy was the open-mic stand-up circuit in the comedy Mecca that is Indiana. I had some level of local success, but deep down wanted to branch out into other areas as I had hit a brick wall in my writing. In 2005, one of my fellow comedians suggested that I take some classes at Second City in Chicago. “Why not?” I thought. After all, I had called up to Second City Chicago after finishing college in the hopes of performing there, but had decided against it early on because I honestly did not think I needed classes. Well, seven years and a masters degree changed my view on classes and I immediately looked into signing up for the beginning improv program.
Fast forward five years and a move to Chicago, and I have now completed the beginning program at Second City, the program at iO (three times), and the Annoyance program. All that was left was ComedySportz, which I am working on now. I am addicted to the process of creating scenes out of nothing and seeing what happens. I love the idea of going on stage without a plan.
This brings me to the therapy applications of improv. The most common note that I have been given throughout this time, and this relates to the earlier emotional thing, is that my character choices tend to be either very bland, or too “jokey”. I must admit, this has been the hardest part of improv for me in terms of both short and long form. I am learning to not be afraid of opening up too much and not being able to pull back. It is something that I have gotten better at, and hope to continue to progress even more as time goes on. My hope is to not only master the art of playing in-depth emotionally deep characters on stage, but to continue opening up emotionally off-stage as well. I have noticed that as I’ve progressed through these various programs, my ability to interact with people and function in healthy relationships has improved dramatically. In less than five years, I have gone from standing against the wall in a crowd to walking into a room and knowing how to own it. It has been a liberating journey and I hope to continue it for the next five decades, provided I can find a retirement home with a decent stage.

Michael Pizza's Brett Elam on His First Classes at ComedySportz!

When I first moved to Chicago to study improv, my sister was performing with a team called Baby Wants Candy at the iO theater. It was hilarious and fun and the performers were lightning fast. The more shows I saw at the theater, the more I realized just how much I wanted to be onstage playing rather than sitting in the crowd watching. Almost immediately, iO became my home and long form improvisation became my life. I took classes at iO and The Annoyance and I went and watched shows 5 or 6 nights a week. I guess that's called an "improv nerd". But, in a new city without friends, I quickly found that it is easy to make friends in a community that is literally taught to "support" everyone.


Now, I am on two long form improv teams that regularly play on weekends and almost every person I know in this city is a friend I met through improv. It's great. But I still go watch those same great performers and try to study what it is that sets them apart from the others. How did they get so fast? How are their words so concise? What is it about them that makes them one step ahead of everyone else and how do I get to that level? Finally, in my study of some of my favorite improvisers, I realized one connecting thread that ties them all together: they all have shortform training at ComedySportz.


There can sometimes be a stigma among long form improvisers that short form improv is too "gamey" or "jokey". I've met improvisers from both camps that don't respect the other as an art form. But the best improvisers are getting off stage at their long form shows each week and high tailing it over to ComedySportz to do their short form shows. So I've decided that, in the interest of being the best improviser I can be, I'm going to study at ComedySportz.


I've been to two classes so far and they have been amazing. I forgot how much fun classes are. And what I'm realizing is short form incorporates all the same teachings that long form stresses. Support. Choices. Agreement. Short form just helps the performer get to those choices FASTER. And, with an added lay-on of a "game" in a scene, it is helping me exercise areas of my brain that have kind of atrophied recently with all these long form shows. Anyway, I will continue to update this blog with my thoughts on the class. But right now, I'm really excited about ComedySportz and all the potential I see to become a better improviser. This is gonna be fun...

What's this blog about?

Hey! Thanks in advance for reading. I'm Jamie Campbell, and I manage the Training Center at ComedySportz Chicago. We teach classes in improvisation for adults and high school students. I created this blog to share the experiences of the many people who've been a part of the ComedySportz Training Center. I'll be sharing my story, and we'll have guest entries from current and former students, teachers, and others who have made classes at ComedySportz part of their life. If you're interested in sharing, please send me an email at jamie@comedysportzchicago.com.
I'll see you around the theatre.

-Jamie