In early 2005 Chicago Underground Comedy was created as a way for Chicago’s best performers to showcase their talent in a professional atmosphere. Now a few years have passed and the bar has been set very high in the city. Each week, Chicago Underground Comedy features 5 hip, hilarious comedians for your enjoyment. Each week's line-up features only the absolute best that Chicago has to offer.

Our comedy draws its strength from stand-ups who are smart, witty, creative and also not afraid to have very strong political voices. You are NOT going to see hack comedy performances detailing tired premises such as “the difference between men and women”. We strive to bring a cross section of diverse comedians to our stage who have experience performing at nationally recognized comedy clubs across the country as well as on national television.

We believe it's time the "Comedy Club" had a radical makeover. Chicago is a perfect place to break ground. We also believe comedy competitions are stupid. What we do is an art and should be viewed as such and the mentality of competitions only serves to cheapen what we do. Our comedians love comedy; they believe in themselves and their material, and are willing to push the envelope of the traditional conventions of stand-up.

So, what is alternative comedy? You need labels for everything, don't you?

"Don't call it alt-comedy - it's just smarter and more inventive than its mainstream counterpart." - flavorpill.com 2006

We believe stand-up comedy to be anything and everything that is intelligent, original, and out of the ordinary. It tends to be quirky, non-conformist and sometimes bizarre comedy that turns stand-up on it's ear. The easier way to describe it would be to tell you what it is not. It is not a performer going up on stage wearing a blazer with the sleeves rolled up, with jeans and sneakers saying, "Hey, what's the deal with...?". If there is one thing to say about the alt-comedy scene, it would be that not only is every one is very unique, but everyone challenges the audience to go beneath the surface for something even better.

So let this serve as your warning: If you come here expecting the same old thing, you will be most disappointed. If you come with an open mind and a willingness to go places and experience the unexpected, we definitely have a table waiting for you.

Thanks and enjoy the show.

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