On your mark, get set, go...to ComedySportz, yet another one of Chicago's big improv establishments. This one is housed almost directly next to the Belmont El Station and differentiates itself from other comedy houses by making the improv games a competition between two rival teams of players all vying for a trophy and the title of winners (for that evening!) ComedySportz has a no swearing, no dirty topics rule for both the actors and its audience. If anyone gets naughty, a brown paper bag is placed on their head by a referee who is the emcee for the event and keeps the performers and audience in line. The audience is included in all the night's proceedings from determining which team wins each game with clapping measured by an applause meter to offering suggestions for almost every game played. The great part about ComedySportz is that you'll rarely see the same people play on the same teams with the same games twice. Every single show is new and different and depends as much on the audience as it does on the chemistry of the team players.

Thursdays at 8 pm; Fridays at 8 & 10 pm; Saturdays at 6, 8 & 10pm

Photo:  Lisa Siciliano

The recently re-opened Comedy Sportz theater, next to the Belmont red/brown/purple line, is in arguably the best location of any improv company in the city. The new improv kid on the block of an already over-crowded North side territory (I.O., The Playground, and The Annoyance can all be considered neighbors), Comedy Sportz's new theater has all the makings of a hit. Deriving most of their interior design from granddad Second City, Comedy Sportz utilizes clean, game-themed improv to attract an inordinate amount of suburbanites in town for the evening. Fortunately, what Comedy Sportz does they do very well, and their shows frequently sell out, a claim many competing theaters, improv and otherwise, cannot make. As for those who prefer their improv doody and peepee-related, Comedy Sportz's late night show, "The Hot Karl" guarantees to satisfy the less-sophisticated improv connoisseur. So if you're in the neighborhood (which you probably are or will be), and you hate cursing, Comedy Sportz is worth at least one night of your time.

Photo:  Max Minor