Nifty Places on the Net
Improvisation Links
The ImprovOlympic - a theater where myself and a few hundred other improvisors perform. Who the hell am I kidding? If you're reading my page, you know damn well what the IO is.
Second City - This theater grew out of The Compass over forty years ago. They've hired and fired alot of funny people.
Annoyance Producions - The once and future theater run by Mark Sutton, Joe Bill, Susan Messing, Mick Napier and a bunch of other talented, dedicated, nice folks who will all end up in hell.
Boom Chicago - A lovely theater out in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (aka Holland, but we call the people Dutch, though they themselves tend to go by "Nederlander"). I used to work there. It was splendid.
The Playground - Another improv theater. The nations only improv co-op. Also, they are about a one minute walk from my house.
Freudian Slip - My college improv troupe. If you find yourself in the middle of Texas with nothing to do, go check them out.
Pavlov's Dogs - A Dallas longform troupe comprised of some friends of mine.
Improv Across America - Are you looking for an improv show anywhere in America? Find it here. Maintained by a dear college friend, Jeff Gilmore.
Noah's Ark - Noah Gregoropo...Noah Gregeropul....Noah Gregiro.....Noah's Site. Odds are it hasn't been updated in a blue moon. Check it out anyway, it's got a great deal of historical info on the Chicago Improv Scene. I also highly recommend his Californiad in the Bad Writer's Club.
Master of 10,000 Things - Rich Prouty's Internet Endeavour. He has some serious television fixations. But he's a swell guy and a former Lindbergh Baby.
IRC Message Board - A resource for Chicago Improvisers to plug shows, do wacky online bits, and antagonize one another by posting anonymously.
Random Links
Snopes - Wow, Old Navy is giving away free pants! A common shampoo ingredient is poisonous! Congress is going to levy a 5 cent tax on email?!?! No. Snopes does a great job of debunking thousands of urban legends and e-folklore. It's humbling to comb through the archives and find some debunked, apochryphal tale that you'd always accepted as true.
The Straight Dope - Cecil Adams, the Chicago Reader's resident know-it-all, dishes the skinny on everything. Be sure to browse the archives....it's cheaper than buying the books.
Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency - A delightful site with fresh, humorous prose delivered to your monitor daily. Unlike many "comedy" sites, it occasionally provokes awe in the reader. Other times it sucks.
Modern Humorist - A moderately humorous site. Included here because they accept submissions and PAY if they use them.
News of the Weird - Chuck Sheperd's "truth is stranger than fiction" weekly column. It's a few weeks behind the print version.
Media Nugget of the Day - A splendid little site that picks something interesting out of our cultural stream of consciousness.