Logan Square Improv

Founding (2018)

Alex Prichodko and Andrew Lemna, improvisers originally from Indianapolis who met at Purdue University, moved to Chicago and ran 'The Thursday Show' at Finley Dunne's Tavern in Lakeview for six months: a weekly programme combining improv, sketch, and stand-up that demonstrated their ability to build a consistent audience. Logan Square Improv opened in November 2018 in Logan Square. Within five months of opening the theatre had outgrown its initial space, and the company relocated to its current home at 2825 W. Diversey Avenue.

Recognition and Growth (2019–present)

In 2019, the Chicago Reader named Logan Square Improv Best New Theater Company. The theatre developed a programme of shows running Wednesday through Sunday, most priced at five dollars or free, alongside an eight-week improv course at $175 (among Chicago's lowest rates) and diversity scholarships. Programming expanded to include Spanish-language shows such as Carlos Angeles: Viernes en Logan. No formal audition process was introduced: indie ensembles applied monthly and were booked on merit and availability.

LSI's defining institutional commitment is accessibility for performers and audiences alike. In place of the house team audition hierarchy common to established Chicago improv venues, LSI books rotating independent ensembles each month, allowing performers at all experience levels to perform without institutional affiliation. Admission is set at or near zero for most shows, and the training programme offers Chicago's lowest class fees, with diversity scholarships reducing that further. This model positions LSI as a neighbourhood venue rather than a training pipeline, in deliberate contrast to the North Side institutional mainstream.