According to the founder of South of Chi Productions, Kate Wiersema, the Homewood-Flossmoor area was surrounded by balloon animals on Saturday night.
For good reasons, several high school students seemed skeptical about the claim.
“Maybe we should pop them,” one of the teens suggested.
In front, Jaxson DeBoer. (Chris Weber/H-F Chronicle)
This was part of a sketch comedy game from South of Chi Productions, a local improv comedy company Wiersema and her husband Eric started in 2022. After weeks of improv classes, the local high schoolers nailed their first performance. The show’s structure was comparable to an episode of the improv television show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
With over a decade of experience in the Chicagoland improv scene, Wiersema envisioned a space where laughter could thrive under her guidance. Since its inaugural show in the summer of 2022, South of Chi has been expanding steadily. Wiersema incorporated teen improv classes into the repertoire during the fall of 2023.
“I just want to bring improv and comedy to the South Suburbs,” said Wiersema, a Homewood resident. “Chicago is the home of improv. We live so close, and many people have never seen it properly done. I’ve done a lot of classes in the city, and they’re wonderful, but they’re also very pricey. I want to bring it close to home and also keep it accessible to people to see shows and take classes.”
South of Chi Productions consists of a team of adults who perform together several times a year.
Wiersema teaches the improv classes. She also teaches elementary school in Alsip.
“The first show that we did with our kids classes, we had a sold-out audience,” said Wiersema. “That was cool because a lot of the kids’ families came. It was really fun. We also had a high school league open our Christmas show last year. One of our other players coached that team. It is cool to see those worlds collide.”
Wiersema said that her improv dreams grew from an early adoration of shows like “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and “Saturday Night Live.”
“When I went to college, I joined a sketch comedy group and fell in love with it,” said Wiersema. “I took classes at Comedy Sports in Chicago because I got a Groupon for it. Then, I did Second City. Eleven years later, I now perform with Comedy Sports downtown. It’s just a thing that I love, and I want to make more opportunities to do it.”
Wiersema hopes South of Chi will continue growing and credits its success to partnerships within the community.
“We work with Spotlight Performance Academy,” said Wiersema. “We kind of team up to do classes, and they are located at the Homewood Science Center. Currently, we do our shows there. But we’re also trying to branch out and find other places.”
South of Chi has plans to do a family performance in partnership with the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District in February. In the past, they have done workshops at local libraries and a brewery.
Find out more about South of Chi Production on their Facebook page. Their next improv class is scheduled for February.
