The Crowd Theater opened in a Lakeview storefront in November 2015, jokingly branding itself as “Chicago’s only improv comedy theater.” Of course, that’s not true, but the owners have tried to be creative in order to get recognized in an oversaturated community. In October 2016, just before the theater’s one-year anniversary, Crowd adopted a new financial model: monthly subscriptions. Through the crowd-funding platform Patreon guests can pay one monthly fee for access to every performance on that month’s schedule, giving those who frequent the theater a good deal while providing the Crowd with a guaranteed monthly income to fulfill its mission of “diversity, inclusivity, and affordability.”
“What we wanted to do was emphasize people performing,” Britt says, “and offer people a comparatively cheaper version of classes that allows people to test out stuff in front of actual audience members.”
3935 N. Broadwaythecrowdtheater.com
