This two-month showcase of Chicago sketch comedy features more than 30 local ensembles–some well established, some new to the scene–representing a remarkable range of styles and viewpoints, with two or three groups sharing the bill at each performance according to the schedule below. Participating troupes include Stir-Friday Night!, Annoyance Productions, Weaselicious, Brick, ÁSalsation!, GayCo Productions, the WNEP Theater, and many others; the festival is presented by Posin’ at the Bar. Sketch Fest runs through March 2 at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont. Performances are Thursdays at 7 PM, Fridays-Saturdays at 7 and 9:30 PM, and Sundays at 6 PM. Admission is $18 per show, $26 for a Friday or Saturday double bill, and $75 for a festival pass. For reservations, call 773-327-5252.
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Following is this week’s schedule.
The Roosters Pist cites 1950s motorcycle and rock movies as the inspiration for its show Varicose Veins. Also on the bill: Monsters From the Id in a self-titled sketch show and Off the Radar Productions in The Night of Naughty Narcissism, a mix of vaudeville and music that blurs the cast’s onstage performances and backstage blunders. 7 PM.
Teenage Sports Parade, an all-male ensemble presented by Annoyance Productions, shares the bill with the all-female troupe Broad Comedy, which performs its show Gynecology. 9:30 PM.
The Asian-American comedy troupe Stir-Friday Night! performs Woktoberfest! “[The] material is . . . sharp, intelligent, and wickedly funny. . . . Under the direction of Brian Posen, these guys segue from one blackout to another with the speed and grace of Second City,” says Reader critic Jack Helbig. Also on the program is Maximum Party Zone, a three-man sketch comedy show that “tackles the ups and downs of revolutions and anarchists and miscarriages of justices,” according to a publicity statement. 9:30 PM.
Wrap the Chair Productions, The Roosters Pist, and Off the Radar Productions
