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The energy inside Old TOwn's PiPer's Alley, home to improvisational theater The second City, is kinetic tonight. Visitors to the main box office are greeted by a f lurry of activity and a maze of options. "Are you a comedian?" a pair of excited tourists asks a bearded dude holding a clip- board. "not officially," the f lattered youngster replies. Clipboard guy is in charge tonight. he points several ticket holders to UP Comedy Club on the third f loor, where headlining stand-up com- ics frequently hold court. Others he directs to the nearby e.t.c. theater, where an ensemble of six bends space and time in the playful revue Apes of Wrath. All others are sent to The second City's historic wells street entrance, where they will climb a stairwell decorated with vintage photos of famous alumni including Tina Fey, stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, and countless others before taking their seats inside the legendary Mainstage theater. Most people have come to Piper's Alley tonight to glimpse future comic superstars in action, and they likely won't be disappointed. A mile west, another scene is unfolding. At the new iO Theater at 1501 north Kingsbury street in the Clybourn Corridor, the last vestiges of summer are lingering in the air. electric candles illuminate the beer garden, where improv nerds— a jeans and T-shirt crowd mostly in their 20s and 30s—have gathered. inside, the smell of fresh paint lingers, and a group stands huddled around a large, circular bar. seemingly all of the city's comedy illu- minati are here, including legendary improviser T.J. Jagodowski, Cash Cab's Beth Melewski, for- mer Saturday Night Live writer Tom Flanigan, local stand-ups Cameron gillette and Tyson Karrasch, and Colleen doyle of iO cult favorite Dummy. it's nearly midnight and the joint is hopping. something seismic is happening in Chicago's comedy scene. long known as an incubator of com- edy greats, the city has garnered even more attention lately as local alumni like current SNL stars Vanessa Bayer, Aidy Bryant, and Cecily clockwise from top left: The Improvised Shakespeare Company at iO offers an Elizabethan twist on comedy; Steve Carell, Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert, and David Razowsky perform "The Obvious Song" at The Second City; Annoyance Theatre founder Mick Napier in front of its old home on Broadway; players Fran Adams and Stephen Colbert at The Second City in 1993; Phil Granche and Rich Fulcher in a scene at the Annoyance; the Deltones comedy act at iO is best known for its improvised musicals; Matt Walsh, Kate Flannery, Ellen Stoneking, and Craig Robinson get medical at the Annoyance. Courtesy of the seCond City (Carell group; adams and Colbert) michiganavemag.com 115