The Improvised Shakespeare Company

Based on a single suggestion from the audience, a title of a show that has never existed, The Improvised Shakespeare Company creates a complete, fully realized Shakespearean masterpiece on the spot, in real time, right in front of you. The dialogue is new. The characters are invented as you watch. The plot? Nobody in the room, including the performers, has any idea where it’s going. You’ve never seen the Bard like this before.

• Twenty Years of Doing the Impossible Nightly: Founded in Chicago in 2005, the ISC has built a devoted following that has spread across the country and around the world. They perform regularly at The Largo in Los Angeles, Theatre 80 St. Marks and the 92nd Street Y in New York, and recently completed a run at the Soho Theatre in London, presented by Sir Patrick Stewart.
• Stages That Know a Good Thing: The Kennedy Center, Bonnaroo, the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, San Francisco Sketchfest, and Outside Lands are among the venues and festivals that have welcomed the ISC. They have been named best improv group in Chicago by both the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Examiner, and have collected top honors in Los Angeles and New York as well.
• One Suggestion, Infinite Possibilities: Every single show is completely different. The title you and your fellow audience members inspire has never been performed before and will never be performed again. That is not a marketing claim. It is simply how the show works, and it is what makes every ISC performance feel like a genuine event.

If you’ve ever wondered what Shakespeare might have done with a little less time to prepare, this show is your answer!