When Charna Met Del Close - A story of the creation of long from improvisation

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CHARNA HALPERN

Charna Halpern (born June 1, 1952) is founded the ImprovOlympic, now known as iO. Upon iO's founding, in 1983, with partner Del Close, she began teaching Harold to many students in the Chicago theater community. Many prominent comedians performed at iO, from Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, 

She and Close co-authored the book Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation with editor Kim "Howard" Johnson in 1994.She published Group Improvisation in 2003 and Art by Committee in 2006.

The remaining theater in Chicago, originally located in the Wrigleyville neighborhood was forced to relocate due to neighborhood development. In 2017, the theater reopened in the Clyborn North Area. In 2020 during a forced shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic Charna decided to close theater and sell it. iO was then purchased and as of 2022 has reopened with new management. 

DEL CLOSE

Del Close, an actor, improviser, and coach who taught John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray and elevated improvisation to an art form.

Close pioneered the concept of “long form” improvisation. 

“Long form is one suggestion and then you improvise for 25 minutes, and in short form you are constantly coming to the audience for suggestions throughout the evening and treating each improv game as its own little three- or four-minute piece,”

While many comedy groups use improvisation as a tool to develop characters and sketches, Close believed that improvisation was the show. He often said there was really only one role for a director: “Light fuse and run!”

His ideas, although hotly debated in the comedy world, have influenced nearly every improvisation group in America, from Chicago’s legendary Second City to San Francisco’s the Committee. “He was the singular most powerful force in improvisation in the world,” said Kelly Leonard, the producer of Second City, where Close acted and directed before opening his own theater. iO with Charna Halpern

The resident guru at “Saturday Night Live” during the show’s early years, Close trained several generations of comics, from Belushi and Murray to Mike Myers and the late Chris Farley. Close came up with the idea for the popular early 1980s television show “SCTV,” which stood for Second City Television and was widely credited as the intellectual and spiritual force behind a recent renaissance in Chicago’s hotbed of improvisation.

Although groups such as Second City use improvisation as a rehearsal tool to develop characters and sketches, Close believed in improvisation as an end in itself. In collaboration with Halpern, he was constantly tinkering with the form, turning the Harold into a more elaborate tapestry of scenes with a cinematic flavor. The ImprovOlympic became the cutting-edge training ground, sending many of its graduates, such as Farley, to better-known venues like Second City and television and movie careers.

STORYTELLER

• Charna Halpern

BAND

• (Piano) Dave Asher
• (Guitar) Ross Plunkett
• (Drums) Mike Amandes 
• (Saxophone) Eli V Wilson
• (Trumpet, Vocals) Ivan Pyzow 
• (Bass) Gordon

VOCALISTS 

• Matt Griffo
• Drake Shrader
• Amber Linde
• Lisa Burton 
• Joe Bill

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