"There Were Signs" By Liz Allen
Schedule
Sun, 13 Apr, 2025 at 06:30 pm
UTC-05:00Location
Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro | Chicago, IL
Please join us for this special, intimate performance at a pop-up speakeasy theater in one of the city's legendary Irish pubs.THERE WERE SIGNS BY LIZ ALLEN
Liz Allen, a well-known Chicago improv coach, chronicles her unexpected move in 2004 from Chicago to Las Vegas with her husband and then-toddler son. Liz shares about life off-Strip, with slot machines in the grocery stores, Elvis on the school board, and a surprising prevalence of Mormons. In this comedic loopback, Liz recounts her ups and downs of forging family life in the hot desert under neon signs in a city famous for debauchery.
For the past 31 years, LIZ ALLEN has performed, coached, and directed improv. Liz performed with iO Chicago’s house team Frank Booth, taking the first-ever long-form improv show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1995. She was iO Chicago’s Training Center Director for 3 years, and in 1999, 2000 & 2001, Liz won iO Chicago’s Coach of the Year Award, renamed Liz Allen Excellence in Teaching Award. She’s directed numerous improvised and scripted pieces, including The Two Horsemen (Jim Carlson & John Lutz), Big Guy Little Guy (Ryan Kiessling & Lloyd Ahlquist), Devolution (written by Sean Benjamin) at the Neofuturarium, Friends of Clark County Variety Show, and Eight for Eight Stories I-III in Las Vegas. In 2004, Liz directed a main stage revue for The Second City at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the first-ever fully improvised show on The Strip. In 2006, with Jimmy Carrane, Liz co-wrote the book Improvising Better (Heinemann). The Vegas Theater Hub awarded Liz as Guest Speaker of the Year and Best Workshop of the Year 2015. Liz was honored to coach The Commune, the improv ensemble in Mike Birbiglia’s 2016 feature film Don’t Think Twice. At the 2019 Rollins College Winter with the Writers Festival, Liz was selected to be a guest speaker and featured author. She directed the improvised long-form show A Family Affair, which performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2019.
- General admission seating. Doors at 6:00 PM.
- Show will run 60 minutes without intermission.
- Entire venue is fully accessible.
- Cash and Venmo/Zelle sales at the door if tickets available.
- Dining available downstairs before the performance.
- Drinks can be brought into theater.
- Free parking in nearby lots and on the street
(No meters on Sunday)
For more details, please visit www.solosunday.com
