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Live Stand-Up Comedy in a real, cool, black box theater. A classic Chicago adults-only comedy showcase without the hassle of commuting to the city!
OCTOBER LINEUP:
HEADLINER: SARAH PERRY with other hilarious Chicago area comedians.
This show is BYOB so can enjoy your favorite hard or soft beverages throughout the show!
$25/person (A bargain at twice the price!)
ACADEMY AFTER HOURS is The Laughing Academy’s grown-ups-only late-night performance series, bringing the best of Chicago comedy right to YOU on the first Friday of each month!
NEW SHOW AT SPIRIT WATER TAPROOM!
Funnier By The Lake Comedy brings the long-standing comedy show from SW’s previous space, Small Town Brewery in Wauconda, to Spirit Water in Cary. Live stand-up comedy from professional comedians each month. FREE to attend (though tipping the comedians is encouraged). Come for amazing drinks and BIG laughs.
A different lineup of hilarious comedians each month!
CLICK HERE to visit the event page on Facebook.
Sorry! This is a Private Event and you’re not invited!
For Social and Non-Profits
Adding comedy to an event is always a good thing. We know this, because just about everybody attempts to bring humor to their speeches and presentations and programs. Just like anything else, in the wrong hands, this can at best garner polite chuckles and courtesy applause, and at worst completely blow up in the face of whomever organized the event.
Booking the hosting skills of one or more experienced writers and performers will pay off dramatically. For a social event like a birthday or anniversary party, it may be as simple as delivering the guests a hilarious night to remember. The benefits to a more structured and important event, such as a fundraiser, can be substantially more money raised. In both cases, a professionally hosted event adds value and the peace-of-mind that the programs will run smoothly and successfully.
Contact Funnier By The Lake Comedy today at 847.748.7490 to discuss how we can transform your upcoming events from ad-hoc, seat-of-the-pants efforts to amazing and fun experiences.
Corporate Events
Many businesses struggle with the creative side of marketing and communications. Website content. Marketing collateral. Public relations. These are all extremely valuable parts of every business. Getting stuck in the mud can not only be frustrating, it can be costly if not devastating.
Funnier By The Lake Comedy can bring humor and creativity to businesses, with sophistication, in a number of ways—from punching up content for communications and marketing, speeches and presentations, to hosting and performing at corporate events. Humor engages audiences, keeps their attention and gets a message across.
If a business wants to add humor and comedy to communications, marketing and events, hire a professional, experienced writer that understands comedy AND business. We work with each client to identify what makes your audience laugh—be they target clients, employees or other partners, and then we create original material that will inspire and motivate your audience. With roots in traditional branding and marketing, Funnier By The Lake Comedy brings that priceless combination of a sense of humor with a sense of business. In all cases, a professional comedy writer and/or performer adds value and the peace-of-mind that the efforts will be successful.
Some of the ways Funnier By The Lake Comedy can work with your business include:
- Writing and “punch up” of
- Pitches
- Presentations
- Speeches
- Press Releases
- Humorous content writing for
- Blogs
- Business Emails
- Websites
- Social Media
- Marketing materials (white papers, brochures)
- Stand-up comedy at your venue
- Restaurants
- Nightclubs
- Country Clubs, etc.
- Production of Comedy Nights for staff and clients
- Stand-up comedy for corporate events
- Emcee/comedian for corporate events
Contact Funnier By The Lake Comedy today at 847.748.7490 to discuss how we can transform your branding, marketing and upcoming events from ad-hoc, seat-of-the-pants efforts to amazing, fun and successful experiences and collateral that realize tangible ROI. Invite Funnier By The Lake Comedy to work with your teams—marketing, sales, PR—and see—and measure—the positive results.
A HILARIOUS, SPECIAL FUNNIER BY THE LAKE COMEDY EVENT FOR OCTOBER!
About the show
After opening at Second City’s Training Center to almost sold-out crowds in 2019 Carrane — a long-time improviser, actor and storyteller in Chicago – has also performed his show at The Elgin Fringe Festival and the Solo Sunday storytelling series.
In “World’s Greatest Dad(?)”, Jimmy talks about starting out in improv in the 1990s with many people who ended up becoming famous – Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Tim Meadows and Andy Dick. But despite improvising alongside so many future stars, Jimmy never becomes famous himself, and that feeling of being left behind turns into bitterness and self-loathing, which eventually lands him in therapy in his early 40s.
Ten years into therapy, Jimmy is still depressed about his career, so his therapist suggests that Jimmy and his wife have a baby to bring more joy into their life – which launches him on a journey of fertility treatments in a quest to become a dad at age 52.
He also talks about his complicated relationship with his own dad, who was a workaholic lawyer and real estate developer who was convicted of embezzlement and spent 33 months in federal prison. As Jimmy puts it, “This did nothing to improve the father/son relationship.”
After his father dies, Jimmy has a dramatic confrontation with his family at his father’s funeral that results in the Winnetka police being called to the church.
Through it all, Jimmy takes us on a funny and poignant roller coaster of life and death and shares his discovery that you don’t have to be the “greatest” to be a good dad.
The Chicago Reader called Jimmy “bracingly honest” and said his new show goes from “making us laugh out loud… with a witty quip, and then moving us again with another of life’s bitter truths.”
Carrane is no stranger to putting his life experiences up on stage. His first one-person show, “I’m 27, I Still Live at Home, and I Sell Office Supplies,” was a runaway hit, opening at the Annoyance Theater in 1991 and running for more than a year-and-a-half. Since then, Carrane has written other one-person shows including “Since We Last Talked,” “Dog Tales,” and “Living in a Dwarf’s House,” which was one of the Chicago Tribune’s Top 10 Shows of the year in 2001
About Jimmy Carrane

Jimmy Carrane
Raised on the North Shore in Kenilworth, IL, Jimmy Carrane learned at a young age that fat kids in big families are required to be funny.
After studying at Second City in his late teens, he went on to perform with some of the biggest names in comedy, including Mike Myers, David Koechner, Tim Meadows, Andy Richter and more. An original member of The Annoyance Theater and Armando at The IO-Chicago, Jimmy wrote and starred in several acclaimed one-man shows including “I’m 27, I Still Live at Home and I Sell Office Supplies” and “Living in a Dwarf’s House,” and also performed in groundbreaking shows such as “Godshow” and “Naked” with MadTV’s Stephanie Weir.
Today, Jimmy lives in Evanston, IL, with his wife and daughter and is a renowned and respected improv teacher, having taught at The Second City, IO-Chicago, The Annoyance, Victory Gardens and other locations for more than 25 years. He is the co-author of the book Improvising Better: A Guide to the Working Improviser and author of Improv Therapy.
He may be best known to some Chicago audiences from his seven years as host of Studio 312 on Chicago Public Radio, a show-within-a-show on WBEZ’s 848, where he interviewed celebrities including Conan O’Brien, Cindy Crawford and Jeff Garlin.
His film and TV credits include “The Playboy Club,” “Public Enemies” with Johnny Depp, “ER,” “Natural Born Killers,” “Early Edition,” “The Untouchables,” “Stash” and “Tapioca.”
Later, Carrane gained notoriety as the host of the popular podcast Improv Nerd, where he has interviewed some of the biggest names in comedy, including Key & Peele, Broad City, Bob Odenkirk, Adam McKay, Jon Favreau, Rachel Dratch, Tim Meadows, Cecily Strong, Mike Birbiglia, and more. http://jimmycarrane.com/improv-nerd-podcast/
About Madame Zuzu’s
Madame Zuzu’s is a local plant-based teashop in Highland Park, Illinois, owned and operated by musician Billy Corgan, founder of the grammy-winning Smashing Pumpkins, and fashion designer Chloe Mendel. Madame Zuzu’s combines insanely delicious plant-based foods, rare teas of the world, and an open source venue for the arts.
Live Stand-Up Comedy in a real, cool, black box theater. A classic Chicago adults-only comedy showcase without the hassle of commuting to the city!
OCTOBER LINEUP:
HEADLINER: ANTHONY BONAZZO with other hilarious Chicago area comedians.
This show is BYOB so can enjoy your favorite hard or soft beverages throughout the show!
$25/person (A bargain at twice the price!)
ACADEMY AFTER HOURS is The Laughing Academy’s grown-ups-only late-night performance series, bringing the best of Chicago comedy right to YOU on the first Friday of each month!
Click to follow and share event on Facebook!
- LINEUP: TBD
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-funeral-home-comedy-show-christmas-eve-20181224-story.html