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Comedy Fri Nov 16 2012
30 Straight Hours of Comedy
On November 30 through December 1 at the Playground Theater (3209 N. Halsted St.), local improv troupe K.C. Redheart will sacrifice their health and well-being to perform 30 straight hours of comedy as part of the third annual Playground Improv Marathon, a charity event benefiting the Illinois Coalition of Reach Out and Read.
The five members of K.C. Redheart will test the endurance of their wits, going without sleep while performing for the Marathon's entire 30 hours. Each hour will mark the start of a new show as K.C. Redheart welcomes guests from around the city to improvise with them, including performers from CIC, Upstairs Gallery, Second City, ComedySportz, the Annoyance Theatre, iO, and the marathon's home, The Playground Theater.
With the help of so many different performers, the Playground Improv Marathon will showcase the diversity and vitality of Chicago's improv scene. There will be short-form games a la "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," experimental and narrative long-form shows, family-friendly shows during the day, and anything-goes sets during the late-night hours. As an added bonus, the audience will witness the Marathoners' transformation from well adjusted, productive members of society to sleep deprived comedy zombies that fiend for laughs instead of brains. And most importantly, all of the proceeds go to a great cause.
The Playground Improv Marathon begins Friday evening, November 30, at 5pm and ends Saturday night, December 1, at 11pm. Tickets are available at the door, and prices are as follows: $5 for matinee shows, $10 for prime-time shows, and $25 for passes to the entire Marathon.
K.C. Redheart is a Playground Theater house ensemble formed in 2008 with the goal of pushing the boundaries of improv comedy. Their quest to produce quality theater with deep humor earned them Time Out Chicago's pick for best indie improv comedy show of 2011. Time Out's Jason Heidemann said of their theatrical satire show, PROCESS, "Improv this good can't help but put a smile on your face. Go see [K.C. Redheart]... I'll go with you." The group's seven members are: Margaret Conway, Nick Leveski, Dave Maher, George Serad, Adam Shalzi, Bill Stern, and Meaghan Strickland
The Playground Theater is the nation's only not-for-profit co-op theater dedicated to the performance and instruction of improvised comedy. The Playground's 140 affiliated actors work on a 100% volunteer basis to perform and operate the theater.
Reach Out and Read is a nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud.
This article first appeared our sibling site, Lakeviewing.