Off-Off Campus

Off-Off Campus is the oldest improvisational and sketch comedy group at the University of Chicago.[1] It was founded in 1986 by The Second City co-founder Bernie Sahlins, who is also an alumnus of the University of Chicago.[2][3]

Off-Off Campus
GenreImprovisation
Sketch Comedy
Date of premiere1986
LocationChicago, Illinois, United States
Creative team
FounderBernie Sahlins
Artistic DirectorHarper Learmonth
Production ManagerLondon Mahaley
Official website

Off-Off Campus stems from a tradition of improv comedy at the University of Chicago. In the early 1950s, improv as it is known today was invented on the University of Chicago campus at the Woodlawn Tap. In 1959, the group, called the Compass Players, went on to form The Second City.[4]

In 1986, Bernie Sahlins returned to the U of C in order to re-establish improv and sketch comedy on the south side of Chicago.[1] The first generation of Off-Off Campus was trained by Sahlins, and the group continues to build on the foundation he created.[5][6]

Pulitzer prize winner David Auburn was a member of Off-Off's second generation.[7][8] Sarah Koenig, host and executive producer of the acclaimed podcast Serial, was a member of the same generation as Auburn.[9] In addition, Tony Award-winner Greg Kotis was one of Off-Off's original members.[2]

Off-Off Campus operates in accordance with the University of Chicago's quarter system. Auditions are held during the first week of each fall quarter.[10] New members train significantly (roughly 20 hours a week)[11] during fall and winter quarters before becoming responsible for mainstage revues in the spring and the following fall.

Generation Thirty-Six rehearsing for a sketch show during the Winter 2022 revue

References
  1. "Off-Off-Campus provides creative outlet, comic relief". The Chicago Chronicle. February 3, 1994. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  2. "Laugh Lessons: College-based troupes make improvisation academic". Time Out (Chicago). Aug 15, 2006. Retrieved Sep 23, 2009.
  3. "Off-Off Campus hosts a revolutionary 40th revue". The University of Chicago Magazine. April 2000. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  4. "Off-Off Campus celebrating first decade with two shows". The Chicago Chronicle. May 23, 1996. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  5. "Critic to campus jokesters: Stop this world, I want to get Off-Off". The Chicago Maroon. Nov 9, 2004. Retrieved Sep 23, 2009.
  6. "The next generation of Off-Off proves its worth with stellar sketch and improv". The Chicago Maroon. May 15, 2006. Retrieved Sep 23, 2009.
  7. "Some students walk into a bar..." The University of Chicago Magazine. October 2005. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  8. Gussow, Mel (May 29, 2000). "With Math, a Playwright Explores a Family in Stress". The New York Times. Retrieved Sep 24, 2009.
  9. "Uncommon Interview: Serial's Sarah Koenig (A.B. '90)". The Chicago Maroon. Mar 2, 2015. Retrieved Mar 5, 2015.
  10. Univ. of Chicago, University Theatre
  11. "Nostalgia, Sleepovers, and Al Gore: The next generation of Off-Off Campus takes the stage". Chicago Weekly. Apr 26, 2007. Retrieved Sep 23, 2009.
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