Comedy Club In Northwest Suburbs Withstanding Pandemic With Creativity Classes, Online Improv

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Everyone could use a little laugh after a year no one will ever forget, right?

CBS 2 Morning Insider Lauren Victory takes us inside a comedy club that is still cracking up customers in Chicago's northwest suburbs.

Mary Kate Miller didn't play the cello until a few weeks ago. She also never wallpapered or journaled.

"I have stopped telling myself negative stories about me," she said.

Miller participates in a virtual creativity class run by a Schaumburg based comedy club.

"This class has given me a completely seismic shift in the way that I see the world," she said.

It's a world that has been flipped on its head.

Lillie Frances had no one in the seats of her comedy club for six months. Now it looks vastly different.

"We had to reconfigure the theater," she said.

Socially distanced live shows with fewer performers and limited crowds returned to Laugh Out Loud Theater in September.

"We were doing these shows to raise morale," Frances said. "Morale in our audiences and in our cast and crew."

Six weeks later, the second surge turned the lights off again. Business is down 500% over last year. And yet, online improv lessons may be keeping this funny business alive.

"I feel so hopeful," Frances aid.

It turns out the vitality goes both ways.

"I think it's given me a chance to actually have some fun," student Stan Osowiecki said of participating in comedy class during the pandemic.

Osowiecki needs it after losing his father this fall.

"It's kind of a collective support group for me," he said.

"People are taking these classes," Frances said. "They need this. The arts can't go away."

A pent-up demand for comedy and a theater already practiced and ready to deliver laughs when it's safe.

"We're going to stick it out," said Frances.

Laugh Out Loud Theater is hosting a special holiday comedy show Friday night over zoom starting at 8 p.m.

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