Westside Improv brings the laughs to the western suburbs

When Jeff Ash moved to the western suburbs from southern California, he quickly grew tired of commuting to Chicago to take classes and perform at Second City. So, he decided to open his own theatre closer to his home.

Ash opened Westside Improv in December of 2014, and just over ten years later, the downtown Wheaton theatre continues to thrive, bringing quality improv classes and performances at affordable prices to suburban audiences.

“I’d always wanted to open a theatre, to have my own space, do my own thing,” said Ash, who had been taking classes and performing at Second City Hollywood while living on the west coast. “I started to teach improv and lead organizational trainings, and saw a different side of improv. Yeah, it’s funny, but what I was seeing was a study of humanity and human interaction. I liked that aspect of it, and when I moved to the suburbs, I met more people who liked it and didn’t have anywhere to do it.”

Ash began with seven performers and no students. Now, he has about 200 active students from all over the area, 70 regular performers and 25 teachers. The 80-seat theatre hosts multiple classes every night, which include beginner to advanced improv, and specialty classes like character building and different improv forms.

In addition to the classes, Westside Improv hosts shows Friday through Sunday that feature the theatre’s many teams. Those teams are all “homegrown,” according to Ash, which means the performers began taking improv classes at the beginner level and worked their way up to a performance team. He said most weekend shows are now sell-outs.

“We have four teams perform on one night. There’s some skill difference [between the teams], and different styles,” Ash explained. “We have some musical teams, where they improvise songs, we have all-women’s teams, two-person teams, and just a variety of teams that do different things. The shows are different every time.”

Ash attributes the explosive growth of his theatre, including the classes, in part to the way he approaches improv, which is about making people feel welcome while there.

“I’m good at building community, and that’s helped encourage people to try something new,” he said. “People feel empowered and supported, and these are things people don’t often feel in the real world, and are looking for in life, especially post-pandemic. We’re not on our phones, we’re not checking emails. We get to have a block of time to just laugh and have fun. That’s really important.”

Westside Improv doesn’t serve food, but does have beer, wine and cocktails available for purchase. However, there is no drink minimum. Ash said it’s very important to him to make quality improv accessible and affordable to everyone.

“We really have great improv. Everything is made up on the spot, so maybe it doesn’t speak to everyone, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad show,“ he said. ”I want a no-frills theatre, where people don’t come for anything but the improv. [Westside] is perfect for date night or girls night out.”

Tickets for Friday and Saturday shows are $12 and Sunday shows are $10.

Westside Improv is located at 125 Front St., Wheaton.

For more information about classes and performances, or to purchase tickets, visit westsideimprov.com.