Upcoming Events

The Forest Park Library is taking over BABS for a FREE Pride-themed Book Buzz!  We’ll hear from our Forest Park neighbors, leaders, and librarians about their favorite book featuring LGBTQ themes or with an LGBTQ creator or sensibility.  All are welcome! Pre-registration is required at least 2 hours prior to the event. You can also register through the library website's event calendar. 

Looking for midweek laughs and good vibes? Swing by BABS Comedy Club every Wednesday night for our FREE Open Improv Jam – a fun, no-pressure night of comedy where everyone’s welcome on stage (or just to kick back and enjoy the show)!

Each week, one of our hilarious BABS Babes (our house team performers) leads the group through a mix of short-form games, longform scenes, and quick one-liner challenges. Whether you're a total newbie or a seasoned improviser, you'll feel right at home.

🎤 Come to play, or just watch the magic happen
🍻 Bar’s open – beers, wines, pre-mixed canned cocktails, sodas, NA options
🚫 No drink minimum
🎟️ Free entry, always
👶 Ages 18+

*This is a FREE, UNTICKETED EVENT. No need to register online or reserve a spot-- just walk in when you get here!*

🎤 STANDUP OPEN MIC – RAW. REAL. UNCENSORED. 🎤

This isn't Netflix. This isn’t a polished special.
This is where comedy is born screaming.

Come watch stand-up comics take real risks onstage.
New jokes. Wild ideas. Total bombs. Surprise genius.
All of it, unfiltered, unpolished, and alive.

This is your backstage pass to the creative chaos—
A room full of comics throwing darts in the dark,
and when they hit? It’s magic.

No rules. No limits. No safe words.
Just a mic, a crowd, and the fearless pursuit of funny.

Support the hustle. Witness the mess. Catch lightning.

* FREE Admission!

* No drink minimum for guests or comics

* Bring Your Own Food! 

* 3-3.5 minute standup sets depending on list length

* Online signups begin every Thursday at noon. Go to our Open Mic Signups page!

* Doors Open at 7:30pm

*This is a FREE, UNTICKETED EVENT. No need to register online or reserve a spot-- just walk in when you get here!*

Every week, catch a different lineup of your favorite comedians from all over Chicago, Chicagoland, and beyond! Enjoy a night of laughter while you watch the most iconic rising stars of comedy right in your neighborhood! 

KID-PROV!! Improv Comedy for the Kiddos!

Kid-Prov! is a live improv comedy show performed by our professional comedians, the BABS Babes. Kids participate by shouting out fun suggestions from their seats, and sometimes we even invite some little volunteers onstage to briefly help our comedians with a game! The result? A fast-paced, genuinely funny show designed for kids — and enjoyable for parents, too! Highly recommended for ages 4–12, and parents can enjoy drinks from our bar during the show! 

Show run time is approximately 75 minutes, which includes a 5 minute intermission.

A PARENT OR GUARDIAN (age 18+) MUST BE PRESENT WITH THEIR CHILDREN FOR THIS SHOW.

*Got a kiddo who wants to be the one onstage? BABS Comedy Club also offers improv workshops for kids or teens, plus a Standup & Sketch Writing intensive for teens — all taught by professional comedians in a supportive, confidence-building environment. Each week-long program ends with a live student showcase on the BABS stage where they get to shine! Check out our workshop listings on our website to reserve your spot now!

**BIRTHDAY ADD-ON AVAILABLE!**

Would your kiddo like to celebrate their birthday at a Kid-Prov show?! Select the “Birthday Bash” add-on at check-out for only $50 more and you’ll get:

-Early entry to select/reserve your favorite spots in the theatre. Birthday Bash purchase allows 2:15pm entry; Doors open to the public at 2:30.

-A table set up just for your kiddo’s gifts and cake/outside food (That’s right: all of our shows have the option to Bring-Your-Own-Food!)

-The Kid-Prov! Cast will lead the whole audience in singing Happy Birthday to your little one​ at the end of Act 1 so everyone can enjoy cake during our intermission. 

-The Kid-Prov!​ Cast will make your little one a comedy star for the day by bringing them ON STAGE during the show to participate in one of our hilarious improv games!

-In order to protect your child and our business, we require at least 1 adult in attendance per every 5 children in each show. 

🎭 BABS Babes Improv @8 Every laugh is made up on the spot!

Get ready for a wild night of fast-paced, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"-style short form improv from Chicago's funniest comedians! The BABS Babes bring the heat every weekend at the cozy, speakeasy-style BABS Comedy Club. And each show now features News Of The World, our own take on SNL's Weekend Update! We read the news (and make fun of it) so you don't have to.

Show run time is approximately 90 minutes, including a 5 minute intermission. Guests below 18 years of age must be accompanied by a guardian.

No drink minimum.

BYO snacks.

Just non-stop laughs in your cozy neighborhood comedy destination.

📍 BABS Comedy Club – Hidden gem, big laughs

🎟️ Don’t wait—seats disappear faster than our punchlines!

*BIRTHDAY BASH ADD-ON*

Wanna celebrate somebody's special day during one of our regular shows? Select the “Birthday Bash” add-on at check-out for only $50 more and you’ll get:

-A table set up just for your gifts and cake/outside food and early entry (7:15pm) to set up. (That’s right: all of our shows have the option to Bring-Your-Own-Food!)

-The BABS Babes will make your guest of honor a comedy star for the day by bringing them ON STAGE during the show to participate in one of our hilarious improv games! 

-The BABS Babes will close out the show by leading the whole audience in singing "Happy Birthday"

Calling all DADS and the people who love them! This Father’s Day, skip the beard-trimmer gift set and celebrate Dad the RIGHT way—with laughs, brunch, and a killer lineup of Chicago’s funniest comedians. Our Father’s Day Brunch & Laughs show is built to honor the dads, stepdads, grandpas, and father figures who deserve a good belly laugh (and a good roast).

Your ticket includes a full brunch buffet from Rhythm & Blues Cafe to enjoy while you sit back and laugh your way through an unforgettable afternoon. Whether you're celebrating your own dad or just love a good excuse for brunch and comedy, this is the move.

This show sells out FAST, so grab your tickets before they’re gone!

Doors open at 11:30am, show at Noon
Run time is approximately 90 minutes

Ticket includes the comedy show and brunch buffet
Drinks (including bottomless custom mimosas!) sold separately

This show is recommended for audiences ages 18+

We’re building something big… and bringing the laughs to YOU in the meantime 💥

BABS Comedy Club will be closed June 22 – August 26 as we construct our brand new full bar—built entirely by our team, from the ground up. When we reopen this fall, it’ll be a whole new experience.

But we’re not slowing down for the summer—we’re taking the show on the road:

🎤 Book the BABS Babes for your next private party, corporate event, or special celebration
🎭 Bring our signature improv workshops to your group—perfect for team-building, staff development, or just a seriously fun shared experience
✨ Catch us at pop-up shows around town all summer long

If you’ve ever thought about booking live comedy or hosting a workshop with us, this is the time—our full team is available and ready to make your event unforgettable.

We’ll be back in our home space this fall—bigger, better, and fully stocked 🍸
Until then, let’s bring BABS to you.

Contact Emily at (773)916-5565 or email babscomedyclub@gmail.com for inquiries! 

**THESE SHOWS WILL BE HELD AT LINCOLN LODGE: 2040 N MILWAUKEE AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60647. FOR TICKETS, PLEASE CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/t...**

Since BABS Comedy Club is closed while we build our brand new bar in Forest park, LINCOLN LODGE GETS OUR CRAZY COMICS FOR NOW! Watch the most talented short form improvisers show Lincoln Lodge how it’s done all while making yall Zip till you can’t Zap Zop no more. 

The world is going to end!!! Or at least you have been told via a mysterious invitation. This LARP (live action role play) will have you as a creature of myth and legend or a powerless human just trying to survive. Will you convince the fae faction to save the world? Will you try to escape to a different realm? Will you meet the end times with a drink in your hand and a smile on your face? Only you can decide when you enter the last bar at the end of the world. 

Our improv workshop series is taught professional improv comedians who also have decades of experience in both performance and education! We lead our classes in both short-form and long-form improv exercises to help you build skills such as confidence, active listening, strengthening your collaborative spirit, creativity, physicality, and comedy performance– all in a fun, supportive, and silly environment! After 9 weeks of classes, the series culminates in a student showcase right on the BABS stage! Drop-ins are also welcome for the comedy-curious.

WeeklyBreakdown:

• Week 1 (9/23): Improv Basics
• Week 2 (9/30): Finding the Game of the Scene
• Week 3 (10/7): Building Characters
• Week 4 (10/14): Relationship Scenes
• Week 5 (10/21): Physical Movement, Object Work & Scene Building
• Week 6 (10/28): Genres & Emotional Exploration
• Week 7 (11/4): Short Form Games, One-Liners & the X-Factor
• Week 8 (11/11): Musical Improv
• Week 9 (11/18): Showcase Rehearsal*
• Week 10 (11/22 @ 6PM): Live Showcase at Babs

*Weeks 9 & 10 are included only with full 8-class package purchase

Wanna learn how to make people laugh? BABS Comedy Club offers a unique way to learn comedy writing, with every week focusing on different elements, forms, and structures. You can even stay after class and try your new material out in front of an audience at our FREE standup open mic, Thursdays @8. Best of all, the entire series culminates in a student showcase where your best writing is performed on the BABS stage! Take the whole program OR simply drop in to any single class for only $25!

Weekly Breakdown:

• Week 1: Generating Material & Brainstorming (9/24)
• Week 2: Joke Writing Basics (10/1)
• Week 3: Standup Writing & Performance (10/8)
• Week 4: Sketch Writing & Improvising (10/15)
• Week 5: Sketch Formats Part 1 (10/22)
• Week 6: Sketch Formats Part 2 (10/29)
• Week 7: TV Desk Pieces & Monologues (11/5)
• Week 8: Comedy Songwriting (11/12)
• Week 9: Showcase Rehearsal (11/19) *only included with 8 class package purchase

Student Showcase: 11/22 @ 6PM on the BABS Stage!

🎭 STUDENT SHOWCASE @ BABS COMEDY CLUB 🎭

Ever wondered what goes down in our Improv and Comedy Writing Workshops? Now’s your chance to find out — and have a blast doing it!

Join us for a special night of laughs as students from both workshops hit the stage to show off what they've learned. From quick-witted improv to original jokes and sketches, it’s a full-spectrum comedy showcase you won't want to miss.

💸 Cost: FREE!
🍹 Bar: OPEN!

Whether you're thinking of signing up for a class or just want a fun (and free!) night out, come support these rising stars and see what BABS is all about.

Interested in learning improv or comedy writing? Subscribe to our mailing list to get alerts for upcoming workshop session!