The iO Theater formerly had a branch inLos Angeles callediO West (1997-2018), and inRaleigh, North Carolina callediO South. The Chicago center closed briefly in 2020,[4] but reopened on November 3, 2022.
The ImprovOlympic was created in 1981 as the brainchild ofDavid Shepherd who originally created the format in 1972 in New York with Howard Jerome. David Shepherd used theTheater Games, created earlier byViola Spolin, as a way for teams of improvisational comic actors to compete. The first ImprovOlympic classes and shows took place atThe Players Workshop inChicago, whereCharna Halpern was an improv student. Charna Halpern became David Shepherd's assistant, and eventually the producer of the competitions. There were also competitions at a network of local bars and clubs.
An additional theater, iO West, was opened by Paul Vaillancourt in Los Angeles, California in 1997. The theater originally took up residence at The Stella Adler Theater (6773Hollywood Boulevard), then The Complex Theater (6470Santa Monica Boulevard), before finally moving into a new purpose-built space in thePalmer Building (6366 Hollywood Blvd) in 2000.[1][7] The theater was home to theLos Angeles Improv Comedy Festival. It was managed by Colleen Doyle and Zach Huddleston, before closing on February 24, 2018.[1][7][8]
In 2001, theInternational Olympic Committee legally threatened the theater over its use of the name "ImprovOlympic" and the name was subsequently changed to "iO." On September 2, 2005, iO held its 25th anniversary show at theChicago Theatre in downtown Chicago.[9] The wireless microphones went dead shortly into the show, so the improvisers played using wired mics for the rest of the performance. Celebrity veterans of the iO program who returned to play includedMike Myers,Tim Meadows,Amy Poehler, andIke Barinholtz. The opening to theHarold piece performed was conducted by the most veteran iO house team,The Reckoning.[10] A DVD ofThe Reckoning is included in the book Art By Committee[11] a sequel to Truth in Comedy.
In August 2014, after almost 20 years in Chicago's Wrigleyville neighborhood, Charna Halpern bought a building in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and moved the iO Theater to its new home at 1501 N. Kingsbury St.
On June 18, 2020, it was announced that iO would be closing permanently. Controversy ensued regarding whether the closure was due to financial difficulties or allegations of racism that had emerged in the form of an online petition that began circulating only a few days before.[12] Halpern stressed that the reasons were strictly financial, highlighting the property taxes bills of nearly $100,000 that "would have had to come out of her personal savings" as the theater was not making any income as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic and acknowledging that, if not for the pandemic, she would not be closing.[13] "I'm 68 years old," she said. "It's scary for me. We're in a pandemic right now and there's no end in sight. Even if we were able to open at half capacity it was not going to work."[14]
In July 2021 the theater was bought by Scott Gendell and Larry Weiner of Chicago. The duo stated their intention to resume shows and classes at the theater, which was due to reopen on November 3, 2022.[15][16]
