8/15, 9/19, 10/17

WOAH! NEW EVERY MONTH. A raucous. raunchy, sometimes juvenile but always funny sketch show that will make your daddy give your mommy a pearl necklace... to clutch. Get tickets now, they're selling faster than a Stewie doll at Spencer's. DM: @Antivirginclub proof you bought tickets and we will draw you boobs.

8/14 + 8/21

Aquatic Wildlife Processing is a two-person sketch show presented as a series of training modules designed to help sea creatures confront their unprocessed trauma, grief, and existential dread. From manatees with anxious attachment styles to stingrays with treatment resistant depression, this sketch show has been hailed by scientists as “Mandatory viewing for emotionally unwell”. Equal parts soothing and ominous, Evelyn Lawrence and Michael Kneller lure audiences into an uncanny undersea environment where the boundaries between therapy, sketch show, and aquarium blur together until you’re finally whole again.

8/7 - 9/11

Despite zero playing history, unproven jokesters Scott and Bryce find themselves at the pinnacle of the basketball world — the 1996 Chicago Bulls. In this untold, untrue story, they’re shoved from the shadows of the bench to the center-court spotlight, putting their game to the test. When a scam is successful, who really gets played? Straining to maintain friendship amid fraud, they’re put on defense as they try to squeeze 15 minutes of fame into 12-minute quarters.

9/25

STOP SHAVING NOW!! BUSH is a sketch show made by lesbians for lesbians (and those that hold them dear). BUSH explores how the lesbian identity stretches beyond sexuality and into gender, politics, and haircut.

Open Run

Are you and your improv team looking for another place to get on stage? We've got a warm and supportive room ready to give you laughs and claps! Bring your own team to Annoyance on Tuesday nights to get a rep in and giggle. If you don't have a team to bring, no worries! There's a mashup team and we're happy to throw you on it! Signups are at 8:30PM and we'll hit the stage at 9:00PM. See you every Tuesday!

Open Run

An hour long comedy show featuring some of Annoyance Theatre’s best and funniest. Show Runner: Hails Reeves

8/22, 9/13, 10/31

Cafe Underground, Coffee Shop by the Lake, Lounge by the Water, Sea Bass Underground. These are all things our closest friends and family have referred to our sketch comedy show, Cafe Lounge Underwater, as.

Which may make you want us to explain what the name means. But guess what! It doesn’t matter what you call it, because all you need to know is this show will make you laugh and make you have the time of your life! Start your weekend off right with us. There will be music, dancing, singing, and maybe a couple of jokes in between. You may not leave knowing what we’re called, but you will leave laughing!

07/09 - 09/28

Close Quarters is an improvised comedy where every scene unfolds just a wall, hallway, or whisper away. Set in one shared location, this fast-paced, character-driven show follows multiple storylines that collide, overlap, and hilariously unravel in real time. Directed by an ensemble member of the original production, Close Quarters honors its origins while showcasing a new cast of sharp, fearless improvisers. Come see how close things can really get.

07/09 - 09/28

Close Quarters is an improvised comedy where every scene unfolds just a wall, hallway, or whisper away. Set in one shared location, this fast-paced, character-driven show follows multiple storylines that collide, overlap, and hilariously unravel in real time. Directed by an ensemble member of the original production, Close Quarters honors its origins while showcasing a new cast of sharp, fearless improvisers. Come see how close things can really get.

9/4 - 9/25

Just like your favorite snack, Comedy Chex Mix serves up a crunchy combo of comedy styles that keeps you coming back for more. Each show features these two dynamic high energy improv teams—Old Friends and Heya Toots!—whose sets are inspired by a guest stand-up's performance.

It’s the perfect blend of sharp local stand-up, spontaneous scenes, and that unpredictable flavor you didn’t know you needed. Every show is different, every laugh is fresh, and every bite-sized bit hits just right.

8/7 - 8/28

Day of the Comet is a wild sketch show set in a world turned upside down by a mysterious comet. As it streaks across the sky, reality unravels and everyone begins to lose their minds. Relationships implode, doctors are replaced by fuzzy monsters, and family game night spirals into chaos. Drawing inspiration from John Waters, campy sci-fi, and vintage sitcoms, the show delivers a heartfelt but unhinged hour of comedy.

7/10, 8/14

Treat yourself to Chicago’s most intellectual comedy show. Comedians of all kinds going on about books while sipping very high end beverages. Bring your date to impress them, or come alone to feel self important.

7/11

Hail and well met, traveler! Grab a drink, put up your cloak, and I’ll tell you a tale. Escapades is a completely improvised choose-your-own adventure. Sprinkled throughout each story are opportunities for the audience to vote on what happens next. Whether we’re riding jetpacks on Mars or a unicorn through a gumdrop forest, you’re guaranteed a night of gasps, laughs, twists, turns, and daring rescues. Excelsior!

10/1

Two teams will go head to head to win your hearts and laughs in the hopes to be the triumphant winner of Family Fight Night.



Come join us for a fun evening of comedic kinship! Two families will take on guessing answers through improv in the hopes to win your hearts and laughs. Watch these families test their relationship, cleverness, and improv skills in this new comedic gameshow!

8/16, 8/30 - 9/13

On March 23rd, 2012 a group of best friends attends the midnight showing of the most anticipated film of the millennium, The Hunger Games, only to find that their favorite book has been besmirched by an unfaithful adaptation. When their English class final project rolls around, they know what they must do - create a truly accurate adaptation, and restore honor to Suzanne Collins.

8/23

Kath Courtney and Rockie Wenrich are: Father Figures! Two dudes with the ability to fix your car, be fuckable, and die before you really get the chance to understand them. Directed by Chelsea Matkins. Made for fathers and DILF-enjoyers everywhere.

8/16 - 10/25

Enjoy an evening of off-the-cuff improv with some of the best emerging talent in the Chicago area. Fire & Beer is a fully improvised comedy show that explores the dark sides of life, relationships and human beings. The show features the Annoyance House Ensemble who excel at both long- and short-form improv. You can expect lots of laughs during this unpredictable improv show.

Open Run

A two act improv show. First, Annoyance students get a chance to enter their IDs into a fishbowl to be randomly selected to perform in an improv jam with veteran Annoyance teachers and performers. Then, the night closes with a set from Sight Unseen, an Annoyance house team who, for almost the past decade, has been known for its loose narrative form and vibrant (sometimes vicious) characters.

9/5

Gifted Children is a three person sketch show from AJ Hernandez-Sortore, Alex Limarzi, and Miranda Bianchi. The Gifted Children will take you on a back to school journey through St. Louis, Disney World, gay wedding venues and of course, the classroom. Make sure to take notes, we will be giving a quiz at the end! Please note: this show is not for kids, we get scared of those guys.

9/18 - 10/2

GOOD MORNING! Come one, come guffaw... as we spotlight our starry-eyed shitheads. We'll explore a world where oddballs are at the center, their logic is questioned, and next-to-no lessons are learned. But hey, ain't that always the case? Good Morning, Big Boring! features a cast of original characters and original music, all from the brains of Emma Linder, Hayden Burke, and Mitch Shepperd. Poster artwork by Reilly Branson.

Open Run

A Chicago based improv comedy show and drinking game based on the works of Alfred Hitchcock. Based on an audience suggestion, the cast weave together an intricate Hitchcock-like drama, while holding true to the amount of drinking shown in his movies. You'll barely be able to stand the suspense, and the cast will barely be able to stand.

Open Run

See a collage of character studies, scenes, songs and maybe even some audience interaction, all written in a week by some of Chicago’s most accomplished comedians. The “Holy Fuck Comedy Hour” is a curated hour of eclectic, comedic material written in a week with no rehearsals. Featuring a powerful collective representing a wide cross-section of the Chicago comedy community, the material varies every week.

Open Run

You've been summoned...to laugh.

Jury Duty is a fully improvised courtroom comedy where the only thing on trial is sanity itself.

Each night, the cast creates a brand new legal disaster based on audience suggestion, questionable logic, and total chaos. Watch as the foreperson loses their mind, evidence makes things worse, and deliberations go off the rails.

No script, no rules, no justice. Just comedy

The trial is fake, the laughs are real

8/2, 9/12, 10/10

Kentucky Dirty! A monthly revue of original sketches, video shorts, and bullet-paced blackouts. Galloping from the elegantly grounded to the downright feral, this comedy show doesn't trot, it bucks! There's no telling how this show crosses the finish line, but it's sure to be a real humdinger!

8/9 - 8/30

In Full Moon, Half Brains, Late Night Shenanigans returns to the Annoyance Theatre with a new collection of sketches that mix absurd characters, physical gags, and moments of surprising honesty. The show reflects the duo’s growth as performers and writers — taking bigger swings with tone and structure while keeping the silliness intact. There are still puppets and primal yelling, but it’s all in service of something a little more considered and the result is a show that’s strange, sharp, and occasionally touching. Directed by Jayson Brooks.

7/9 - 9/24

A new sketch show from The Annoyance Theatre!

7/13 - 9/28

A new sketch show from The Annoyance Theatre!

9/8

Enjoy Low Standards, a two-person comedy show from Jaffe & Magy, whose work has been called “sketch comedy at its best.” For one night only, experience an hour of whip-smart original sketches, full-blown musical numbers, and the magic of friendship. Expect angsty armadillos, modern dance meltdowns, and Broadway-style belting! It’s a show about big feelings, dumb jokes, and finding joy in unexpected places.

9/7

Mars... The Musical is a brand-new musical all about Mars... Pennsylvania! Mars is a small
town known mainly for their unique name and the Martian New Year festival sponsored by NASA that happens every two years. However, when a NASA mission to Mars and an
unconventional businessman threaten the festival and lifeblood of the town, a ragtag team
made up of an inventive teen, an eclectic antiquer, a chipper housewife, and a
conspiratorial mechanic must find a way to save the town. Based on the real town of Mars,
this comedy musical is a story about looking up and looking within, and is sure to be a hit for
all ages.

8/15

Veteran improvisors Susan Messing and her guest TJ Jagodowski go on an uncensored romp through hell.

Open Run

Hosted by members of Tuesday Musical Improv, this free weekly jam allows anyone to try out musical improv on the Annoyance Mainstage. Sign-ups begin at 6:45--no experience necessary!

Open Run

Open Stage is an opportunity for anyone to get on stage and try out whatever they're currently working on - standup, sketch, songs - you name it. At Open Stage anything can happen and it usually does!

7/30 - 8/20

There’s a spirit that haunts The Annoyance Theater....

Come with us on a journey where Fate is in your hands…

Every night the Petite Boy haunts a new member of our cast. We need your help to catch him!!!

Inspired by the hit TV show Traitors, party games like Mafia and Fakin’ It”, experience a fun evening of improv, drama, accusations, deception, and spooky vibes!

THE CAST: Hayley O’Toole, Alison Davis, Lily Adams, Josh Braden, Matt Hicks, Stevie McDunn

8/27 - 9/17

Pilot Season is your new weekly obsession! Every week, we're brewing up a new, CW-style teen drama inspired by your suggestions for mythological drama and very niche boarding school themes. Will there be brothers who hate each other? An anonymous gossip blogger? Brooding and spell casting? Yes. Join us Wednesdays at 9:30 PM from August 27th to September 17th for a brand-new improvised CW pilot every week...because no one does teenage angst like 30-somethings in denim jackets.

3/18 - 4/22

Looking for a Stand-up Comedy Open Mic that’s a supportive room,
always a good time, AND HAS FREE PIZZA?! Look no further than the Pizza Mic. The Pizza Mic (formerly at Pizza Serio) is, first and foremost, a safe space for all. Whether you’re a seasoned comic, an improvisor who’s always wanted to try standup, or you just decided that today’s the day for your first open mic (kudos) – The Pizza Mic is a great venue to workshop your bits. The show is every Tuesday from 5:30pm – 7:30pm. Signup is online and the signup sheet is posted on Facebook & IG on Mondays. The list is emailed out a few hours before the show. Comics get 4 minutes of stage time (and a lifetime of memories.) While all are welcome, the room prioritizes BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and Femme comics. Come laugh with us!

8/23

Eric Striffler & Scott Cramer are hitting the road to watch movies together on The DCOM Tour! And while you might think you know what that stands for, our DCOM stands for Dallas, Chicago, Orlando, & Minneapolis. Join Eric & Scott for a night of laughs, drinks, & hopefully a little Eddie!

9/5 + 9/6

Viral internet sensation Puppy Songs is coming to Chicago and bringing his Musical Journey to the Annoyance Theatre! Matt Hobbs, the creator of Puppy Songs as well as a songwriter, composer, and playwright, reveals more of the man behind the songs,the songs behind the man, and the puppies in the songs—in Puppy Songs: The Musical Journey of an Oblivious Dog Dad.

This one-man show is part musical, part retrospective, part memoir, and all love to Leni and Mar Pup, the two dogs that expanded Hobbs’s creative horizons and inspired the creation of Puppy Songs. Come sing along to the tunes you know and love, and be delighted by the stories and songs you’ve never heard before.

9/5 + 9/6

Viral internet sensation Puppy Songs is coming to Chicago and bringing his Musical Journey to the Annoyance Theatre! Matt Hobbs, the creator of Puppy Songs as well as a songwriter, composer, and playwright, reveals more of the man behind the songs,the songs behind the man, and the puppies in the songs—in Puppy Songs: The Musical Journey of an Oblivious Dog Dad.

This one-man show is part musical, part retrospective, part memoir, and all love to Leni and Mar Pup, the two dogs that expanded Hobbs’s creative horizons and inspired the creation of Puppy Songs. Come sing along to the tunes you know and love, and be delighted by the stories and songs you’ve never heard before.

8/23, 9/20, 10/18, 11/15, 12/20

Secret Family is a monthly sketch show featuring a cast that is exactly like a real family, only their drama and infighting is mostly pretend, and their love for each other is 100% conditional. To the best of their knowledge, they are not related. The family members are Brian Park, David Resnick, Evelyn Lawrence, Haley Gillman, Lola Selby, Nic Nightingale, Nichole Reed, and Thomas Toles. Follow them on instagram: @secretfamilysketch and you'll get a kiss on the cheek.

8/16 - 9/13

Shake the Baby is a 90-minute original sketch revue directed by Mick Napier.

The show’s cast and writers consist of Chicago’s up-and-coming comedians - Hope Brannon, Francesca Bucci, Kathryn Courtney, Luke Herman, Sage Huston, Max Kantor, Edgar Nevarez, Liam Reed, Mario Turner, and Rockie Wenrich. Music Direction by Justin Jacobs.

10/3 - 10/24

Slay! elevates LGBT voices and challenges the community to laugh while they confront the hypocrisies and internalized homophobia that still lurks among us.The show incorporates a fundraising component for The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people. Come out and enjoy the show as a dynamic ensemble of queer actors serve up campy scares and killer laughs in this equally dazzling and spooky spectacle.

8/22

SLUT LITURGY (How Does That Make You Feel?) is a one hour solo show written and performed by Hope Brannon and directed by Max Kantor.
It follows both Hope’s time in an intensive outpatient program and with religious bipolar mania. Crude and genuine, funny and chaotic, SLUT LITURGY asks: will Hope get in to heaven after therapy? Be not afraid… unless…

9/3 - 9/24

Bennington Slipdale, III, is ridiculously overqualified and pathetically underskilled. And his name makes him sound like he's an heir to a sausage fortune. In actuality he's a penniless weiner of a man. Bennington struggles to survive a job that entails delivering mountains of boxes at a staggering pace. But if he's slow, his tech skills are glacial. Bennington has too much pride to quit, but not to worry - that false pride shouldn't stand in the way of him getting canned. It's the heart of COVID and Bennington is considered an "essential worker." But, he's not very “essential," and nobodies ever called him a “worker." Alas, our poor Bennington, he is not the heir to a fortune as his name implies. He would have been much more successful, and happier, as a Walmart greeter.

11/14

Varun Thakur is back with his latest special Space Cadet—a hilarious deep dive into the existential chaos of adulthood. From navigating marriage without a user manual to debating whether having kids is just signing up for 18 years of unpaid internship, Varun tackles life’s big questions with relatable rants, unhinged act-outs and the energy of a man who’s just realized his EMI will outlive him.

With his signature high-energy storytelling and spot-on impressions, Space Cadet is a wild ride through the mind of a man just trying to keep up with life… and occasionally escape it. Buckle up and blast off with Varun Thakur’s Space Cadet!

09/20-10/31

Our yearly blood pageant - running since 1987!

Open Run

A night for Annoyance students to JAM!

Open Run

Super Human is an improv team that tore into Chicago’s comedy scene in 2012 at The Upstairs Gallery (RIP). Since then, Super Human has become synonymous with bold, hilarious, fearless and fun comedy. Described as a “splash zone of women,” Super Human prides itself on the team’s diverse personalities and playing styles, with an unmistakable focus on creating inclusive learning and performance spaces. They are Super Human and SO ARE YOU!

9/19 - 10/24

Super Scaries: The Improvised Teen Horror Musical will have you screaming for your life -
and singing along! Inspired by everyone's favorite nostalgic teen horror book series, the cast will
improvise a fully original musical based on an audience suggestion of one unusual object that
causes havoc around their weird little town. A haunted eyelash curler that melts faces? A
possessed film projector that shows you your own demise (with a jazz backing track)? A quilt whose seams will tie you in knots? Whatever the culprit, you'll be stunned at the twists and turns. Reader Beware!

Bi-Weekly

A night of Roman fuckery. Watch philosophers roast each other, improv gladiators battle, and kneel to Cesar in this truly unruly night of alt-comedy.

10/2 - 10/30

A creature is stalking the streets of Wrigleyville in 1927 - this 70-minute comedy follows an investigative journalist and her ex-girlfriend, a private eye, as they look into a series of murders that have been afflicting this sports enthused neighborhood in Chicago. They'll chase rumors of a wolf the size of a man as they are faced with thrills, farces, a cavalcade of incompetent men, and of course - a big ol' moon! There's plenty to sink your teeth into here for a howling good time this October at The Annoyance Theatre.

Open Run

Annoyance founder Mick Napier created the Trigger Happy form out of a desire to make improv look as slick and beautifully put together as a scripted show. Through a language invisible to the audience, the fully improvised show magically comes to life. There is truly nothing else like it. An Annoyance Signature Improv show.

Review: https://www.newcitystage.com/2015/01/31/review-trigger-happythe-annoyance-theatre/

Open Run

The Annoyance's very own musical ensembles. Every Tuesday at 8pm, two groups improvise brand new musicals based on audience suggestions. Featuring Musical Director Lisa McQueen and starring the Annoyance Musical Ensembles. Follow us on instagram: @tuesdaymusicalimprov

Open Run

They take edibles. Then they improvise. There's a 'too-high' button, for when it gets too crazy.