Under The Gun Theater

Chicago, United States

3.9

17 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 773-270-3440
Website:
www.undertheguntheater.com
Address:
956 W Newport Ave, Chicago, IL, 60657
b/t Sheffield Ave & Clark St
Lakeview
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
170 ftClark & Newport/Sheffield
290 ftClark & Roscoe NB
310 ftClark & Roscoe SB
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Today

Today –
Local time (Chicago) 12:46 PM Friday, November 29, 2024

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Featuring Improv, Sketch Comedy, Stand Up, Storytelling, and Original Shows.

Classes in Improvisation, Writing, Storytelling, Teen Specialty Workshops, and Performance.

History

Established in 2013.

Under the Gun Theater’s mission is to create original theatre combining the mediums of Improvisation, Storytelling, Music and Physical Theater with a bent toward comedy.

Meet the Business Owner

Angie And Kevin M.

Business Owner

Angie is the Founding Director of Chemically Imbalanced Comedy and former Network Committee Chairman for the Chicago Comedy Association. Recent directing credits include «The Book of Liz» by Amy and David Sedaris, «Cartoon», by Steve Yockley, and «Sex» by David Wain. She recently was the Assistant to the Director of «The Second City’s History of Chicago» and currently serves as a faculty member in their Writing Program.

Kevin has taught improvisation for 17 years, first for iO Theater, then for the UCB Theatre in New York and now for the newly formed Under the Gun Theater in Chicago. He is the Artistic Director of Under the Gun Theater and the Chicago Improv Festival, the host of the IRC Improv Podcast and the webmaster of the Improv Resource Center. He is the former Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York, where he also served as the chief administrator of their training program. He directed numerous improv shows for the UCB.

Under The Gun Theater also recommends

Dimo’s Pizza

711

reviews

Pizza

,

Barbeque

,

Italian

Angie And Kevin M. says,

«Grab a slice before the show!»

Vicinity

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17 reviews of Under The Gun Theater

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Went to see Never Have I Ever show … Let me say … It was GREAT! Comedians were funny, host was engaging! Drinks awesome! Me and my husband had a fantastic time. For the price, it is definitely underrated! Love the community feel and all around great service! Definitely planning on a second visit!
Place rating: 5
Brickell, Miami, FL
I was here for the opening night of the «never have I ever» show and the experience was amazing. It was just the right touch of intimacy (if you know what I mean). Most importantly, the cast was on point, approachable, and f-​ing funny. Ended up there by random chance, but you should try to end up there by choice.
Place rating: 5
Phinney Ridge, Seattle, WA
I went to see A Swarm of Spoilers with my boyfriend and it was so fun! The actors were hilarious to watch and they stayed true to the Game of Thrones storyline. The theater itself is more intimate, probably sitting around 100 people and there’s a bar with a good selection. The night I went had $ 4 fireball shots and a GoT-​themed drink called the Redder Wedding. Overall it was fun and I’ll be interested to see what future shows they have!
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
These are my thoughts after seeing Fucked Up Family Reunion: Firstly, I was torn about checking out this theater based on some of its Unilocal reviews. But my friend got cheap tickets to see one of the thursday night shows, so I said why not.
Turned out it was the last time the Fucked Up Family show was even going to be performed on Thursdays – so I was 100% glad to see it, because most weekends I work.
The show was funny and entertaining. It was not like some of the underground comedy shows that my co-​workers have invited me to, where the improvisers seem more afraid of each other than the audience. The small cast of four people brought the goods.
The first part they interviewed an audience member, she was great – she told the audience about her bratty half brother, another super «flamboyant» brother (who adopted her ‘mistake’), and a nagging mother. I wasn’t too sure how the group would turn this into improv without repeating exactly what she said – but they were pretty clever and more-​so, even insightful.
The second half they used slips of paper that we all wrote on and then finagled them into the show in hysterically unexpected ways.
So needless to say, me and my friend had fun. The hour flew by. The cast seemed really nice too, one of them even talked to us briefly.
The show is apparently moving to Saturday nights. So if you like hearing about families as fucked up, or more fucked up than your own – I hope you’ll love this as much as I did.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
I have twins that turned 4 and we had their birthday party there and it was fantastic! All the actors were great with the kids and full bar for adults? They let the kids play dress up and act like maniacs, one hour play they all got to participate in and then cake after! What a great time!
Place rating: 2
Chicago, IL
For $ 15/​ticket, I wouldn’t come back for Comedy Against Humanity. The concept is very creative, however, our performance was mediocre. Improv is pretty hit or miss to me. Some of the actors were hilarious, but others just obnoxious and awkward. The theater can fit a good amount of people; the process getting in the theater seemed cramped and a bit confusing.
Place rating: 5
IL, IL
Saw «Based on a True Story» last Sat. night. Based on past reviews, I set my expectations pretty low. Perhaps the troupe has evolved since the negative reviews from a month ago, or perhaps the past reviewers are just assholes, or perhaps it’s a combination of the two. Regardless, we were pleasantly surprised.
Place rating: 1
Chicago, IL
So I love to give every show the benefit of the doubt…
The idea and price of this particular one completely peaked my interest.
Unfortunately that’s where it ends…
There were too many things going on, timing was off, just a mish mash of a lot of stuff that made absolutely no sense at all, while lacking a natural flow.
Imagine Second city if you will…
this was the complete opposite.
The show lasted about 45 minutes, but felt like the longest 2hrs off my life, and had me looking for the nearest exit to see if I could escape unnoticed.
I’m not an actor, just an average theatre junkie, but a couple things that may have helped this production…
~actual fairy tale characters.
~Less improv and more of an actual script.
~Alcohol
Things you should know about the Under the Gun Theatre…
Parking is pretty slim in this area.
Bathrooms are dirty, while walls are paper thin.
If the show sucks, no worries, the trains passing every 15 minutes work as a constant distraction.
Place rating: 2
Chicago, IL
My friend invited a group of us here after finding a good deal on Groupon. I was pretty disappointed by the show. I saw Based on a True Story and I guess I just didn’t really understand the concept. They interviewed someone for half the show (pretty much a regular interview with no humor) and then did improv for the other half. I guess I just wasn’t expecting to watch someone be interviewed for half the show.
The people seemed nice enough. I just didn’t like the format of the show or think it was very funny. Perhaps one of their other shows would have been more what I was expecting.
Place rating: 3
Chicago, IL
A friend invited me here on a wet, chilly saturday last month. I didn’t even know the place existed as it is next door to a bar I have never been to. The signal is on the front door so you will not see a marquee or big ass sign identifying its location.
Walked up a few stairs to get there and walked inside and welcomed to a full bar which is cool. We were there to see a comedy show and it was this kid that told not so funny jokes while some of his experiences were being drawn out on an etch a sketch type of screen. HIs jokes got better during the end of his set though. I would probably see another show here but not that same guy
Place rating: 2
Chicago, IL
Valentine’s Day + Improv Show = Perfect
Am I right? A little bit of laughs, a little bit of romance?
In THEORY, this would be perfect. But, I just wasn’t feelin’ Under the Gun.
Don’t get me wrong — the people were lovely and friendly. I loved that there was a full bar + the venue was cozy and intimate, so any seat was a good seat. Also, the ticket prices were fab and it seemed like there were alot of promos of Unilocal,Living Social and Groupon.
We went to the 9:00 pm show called ‘Based On a True Story’ where the host interviews someone and the cast then improvs scenes around what was said in the interview.
But, honestly? I found the first skit to be semi-​offensive. Like, part of me wanted to say something during the skit and part of me wanted to see if it would get better. My BF was probably even more offended as they were poking fun/​attacking many stereotypes/​scenarios close to him. And, I get it, it’s improv — there will be offensive remarks in exchange for laughs. But… I wasn’t laughing. I did not feel like spending my Valentine’s Day hearing about the history of Chicago neighborhoods through the eyes of some misinformed transplants.
Maybe we just picked the wrong show to attend. Based on the four people who left in the middle of the skit mentioned above, they probably felt that way as well.
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
This is a review for the Chicago storyline show. My friends and I all really enjoyed it. I suppose it’s the luck of the draw. The woman interviewed, sadly, wasn’t a Chicago native. Apparently she had hosted a Ted Talk (but her name and the nature of the talk wasn’t made clear). But she did have an interesting life, so I suppose that’s what matters. The improv team did a nice job collaborating and keeping the flow going. They were pretty funny. For $ 12, it was a decent performance. I’d go back to test out their other shows.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Such a great theater! The shows are fun, the drinks are cheap and it’s easy to get to on the Red Line (Addison or Belmont stops). My new favorite comedy venue for sure.
Place rating: 3
Chicago, IL
Meh. With so much great improv in Chicago, I was not extremely impressed.
The location itself is okay, the chairs are fairly comfy, and it appears since the place is so small everyone can pretty much see everything. Everything is clean and pleasant. The bar serves canned beer, which is a big turn off, they should be serving tap or bottled, not cheap cans.
We saw the cards against humanity show and it was just okay. There were a couple of funny moments, and those pretty much always came from 2 people, the other 4 people were okay. I don’t know if it was the cards that we pulled out for the improv, but some scenes just did not flow.
Would I return? If there is some interesting show going on, especially if tickets are once again right around 10 bucks a person.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Such a blast! Very talented cast. Seemed to by BYO (wish we knew that!) and an intimate but not crowded setting. Involved the audience throughout. Loved every minute of it!
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Full disclosure: I’m a performer here.
Under the Gun has a unique philosophy. Nearly all the shows are improvised by a rotating ensemble of about 40 performers. In most other Chicago theaters, there are multiple teams, with hundreds of different players taking the stage.
As a performer, this means more stage time at Under the Gun, which means the shows will get stronger as time goes on.
The theater seats fewer patrons than some other comedy venues in Chicago (capacity is about 90), but that’s a good thing. When the theaters get too big, you lose the intimacy of live performance.
There’s also a bar to provide adult refreshment.
The show calendar rotates frequently, but I perform in multiple shows here…
«Porn Minus Porn» involves actors reading real porn movie scripts live on stage with no preparation. You can learn more on Twitter @MinusPorn.
«Based on a True Story» involves a host interviewing a local celebrity about his/​her life and the ensemble extrapolates scenes based on the interview.
The theater also offers classes from Kevin Mullaney, who helped develop the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater style of «game-​based» scenes. It’s a really fun way to improvise, and one you don’t see as often elsewhere in Chicago.
If you’re looking to take in some comedy in Wrigleyville, check out Under the Gun. It’s a welcome addition to Chicago’s improv scene.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Great new comedy theater in Wrigleyville! It’s a beautiful space on the second floor (no elevator). It seats about 100. Great for groups.