Blue Dress is a gay mashup play that reimagines Alice from Wonderland and Dorothy from Oz as lesbians. After stumbling through a looking glass, the two team up to find their way home. But as they encounter familiar characters and shifting realities, they discover that belonging means knowing who they are and dismantling the roles they’ve been assigned. Blending camp, comedy, and emotional honesty, Blue Dress explores identity, queer friendship, and the courage it takes to tell your own story.

Brand new sketch comedy every week from one of Chicago’s premiere sketch teams.

Hail and well met, traveler! Grab a drink, put up your cloak, and I’ll tell you a tale. Escapades is a completely improvised choose-your-own adventure. Sprinkled throughout each story are opportunities for the audience to vote on what happens next. Whether we’re riding jetpacks on Mars or a unicorn through a gumdrop forest, you’re guaranteed a night of gasps, laughs, twists, turns, and daring rescues. Excelsior!

A Chicago based improv comedy show and drinking game based on the works of Alfred Hitchcock.

See a collage of character studies, scenes, songs and maybe even some audience interaction, all written in a week by some of Chicago’s most accomplished comedians. The “Holy Fuck Comedy Hour” is a curated hour of eclectic, comedic material written in a week with no rehearsals. Featuring a powerful collective representing a wide cross-section of the Chicago comedy community, the material varies every week.

Mentalism meets improv comedy in the entirely unique form created by Annoyance founder Mick Napier. There is truly nothing else like it.

Al’s a new gay in Chicago looking for love in the big city when he bumps into the most beautiful man he’s ever seen on the streets of Northalsted one night. Desperate to make his acquaintance, Al follows him into the legendary bathhouse Steamworks. As he makes his way through the maze of jacuzzis, slings, gloryholes, and fuck benches, Al makes a wild group of friends who help him discover what love might really mean when everyone’s covered in cum.

A bunch of grown-ass adults get high and play make believe.

 Annoyance 2026 Summer Intensives 

5 day course – 6 hours per day

PART 1:

The Annoyance Training Center teaches students how to develop and maintain a strong individual voice in their improvisation. These intensives will address the initiation of a scene; developing and maintaining strong characters; learning to hold on to your initial choices while at the same time, expanding on (heightening) the choices you have made; and learning to become deft at creating and weaving unexpected, character-based choices into your work.

Annoyance classes challenge the conventional wisdom of the rules of improvisation, examining what’s behind them and how they came to be in the first place. Simply put, we make you the best improviser YOU can be. All of our intensive teachers are ensemble members who have learned and performed with The Annoyance, and thus have first hand experience with the way we approach improvisation.

PART 2: 

Took the Intensive Part 1 and want more? Want to go further with your exploration of our philosophy? This is for you! With this intensive sequel, we go deeper into the teachings of The Annoyance, tackling things like context, group scene work, ensemble and much more.

Prerequisite for Part 2:  Students must have previously completed an Annoyance Part 1 Intensive or have completed AP5 within The Annoyance Training Center

SCHEDULE:

Classes: Mon – Fri 10am-5pm with a 1 hour break for lunch (1-2pm)

Optional Workshops: Mon – Thu 5-7pm

Optional Showcase: Fri 6pm

Registration is Non-Refundable:

Please be sure about your schedule before you register for class. Here’s why….

Your enrollment HOLDS A SPACE in a class that we are no longer able to offer someone else.

Class payments are NON-REFUNDABLE, NON-TRANSFERABLE, and can be applied only to the current term’s class for which you have signed up. This applies if you get cast in a show, get a new job, or other situation, or have other changes to your schedule. So please be sure about your schedule before you register.

Back in 1989, Kelly didn’t get cast as Rizzo in the Deltona High production of “Grease.” Even worse, she didn’t even make the ensemble. Decades later, she still can’t sing… and she still hasn’t gotten over it. Now, years later, Kelly’s daughter Kallista decides to right this ancient wrong. She creates a fake production of Grease at a senior center, designed solely so her mom can finally take the stage and live out her long-denied dream. Part heartfelt comedy, part loving prank, this play explores disappointment, devotion, aging, and the absurd lengths we go to for the people we love.

Is there any greater joy than dancing your face off with your best friends? Absolutely not. Join Caroline, Tom, and Maryrose this summer to do exactly that. They’re back for their fourth sketch show at The Annoyance. Don’t miss it, come party with Cafe Lounge Underwater!

Inspired by the classic movie and hit FX show “Fargo”, Duluth takes audiences into the world of true crime in the Midwest. The cast will improvise a story of murder, malfeasance, and general mayhem, all set against the backdrop of an audience member’s hometown. Complete with cops, criminals, and the everyday townsfolk who get caught in between, this show contrasts horrible crime with “Minnesota nice”.

New forms. New Players. Big Laughs. Every week.

Fool’s Gold is a hybrid comedy show with the structure of a stand-up showcase. The first half features 3-5 minutes from the host, a 5 minute guest spot of a solo-sketch/character comedian (if one is available—if not, this time is given to the feature), a 10 minute feature act and then a 30 minute headliner. Immediately following the headliner is a 10-slot open-mic. Sign-ups follow the same format as Open Stage sign-ups (starting 15+ mins before curtains) except the list is posted on the host’s socials and displayed in-person outside of the room right after the host introduces the first booked performer. Each open-micer (stand-up, clown, character, etc.) can perform 3 minutes maximum: the only requirement is it must be a solo comedy act with no tech requirements. Open-micers will be played off at 3 minutes, their voice being drowned-out by music for toddlers.

To What End? returns with three ALL NEW comedy variety hours at The Annoyance! Join us for a night of laughs, gags, & bits from some of Chicago’s finest comedians. New line-up every show!

Kit culture, FIFA (corrupt?), gooooaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllls, and the MF WORLD CUP – this is the only Soccer show you’ll need for the summer. This will be a soccer-centric variety show for the ages featuring sketch, improv, and a lot more lead by Ian Mullen supported by a team of soccer stars including Max Kantor, Annie Scott, and Mitch Winkler. And finally, a special Chicago soccer guest every week!