Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Werstler.
Greg, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
CSz Chicago has been producing ComedySportz in Chicago for 30 years. We’ve performed all over the north side of the city, but for the last 10 years, we’ve been performing in the CSz Theater Chicago in the Lakeview neighborhood. We built this space especially for our show, so it’s a great place to see ComedySportz. We’re about 1/2 mile south of Wrigley Field and we’re just 53 steps from the Belmont stop on the CTA red line.
I moved to Chicago in 1992 with nothing but my tap shoes and a dream. I soon realized that acting might not really be the career for me, so I started working on the administrative side of the theater. I’ve worked for a variety of non-profit and for-profit theaters over the years. I worked for The Harris Music and Dance Theater when they just broke ground in Millennium Park. I was the Theater Manager at Briar Street Theater when Blue Man Group first came to town, and 14 years ago, I was hired at CSz.
I started as the Managing Director but shifted to my current role of Creative Sales Director about 6 years ago. It’s been an incredible journey. It’s so fulfilling to provide improv solutions for events whether it’s our show or an improv-based workshop, or talent for a trade show or video. The variety of clients I get to help from a corporate planner to a bar mitzvah mom mean that there is never a dull moment!
I am also currently enrolled in the Master’s of Science in Management and Organizational Behavior at Benedictine University. I’m very interested in the relationship between improv and how groups of people in organizations behave and react to change.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are struggles in any business, and the improv business is certainly no exception. We opened this theater right before the recession, so the first year was a real struggle. But we’ve held our own and now have seen the comedy scene explode in Chicago.
Please tell us about CSz Chicago (ComedySportz Chicago).
CSz Chicago produces an all-ages appropriate improv show, ComedySportz. ComedySportz is an improv-competition where two teams of improvisers compete for laughs and the audience gets to decide who wins the match! ComedySportz is everyone’s comedy!
We bring this same accessible, approachable aesthetic to our work with corporate or social clients. We’ve performed our show everywhere from Schaumburg to Singapore. We’ve used improv as a tool to help sales team, executive teams, or teams of girl scouts to improve their communication and teamwork. We’ve toured the US creating spontaneous moments of fun for Rediwhip, and we’ve portrayed the father of occupational medicine, Bernardino Ramazzini at a trade show (google him).
What sets us apart is we are always appropriate. Lots of other companies will clean up their act when they’re working for a corporate client, but they’re changing what they do. We’re not. This is what we’ve done for the last 30 years.
Another thing that distinguishes us is we actually listen. All of our solutions are customized to meet the client’s need. It’s not our event, it’s our client’s event. Not our solution, it’s our client’s solution.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Not from childhood, but a fun story about ComedySportz…
Opening weekend for CSz Theater Chicago was an amazing, fun time. At one show, I noticed four teenagers (2 girls, 2 guys) standing in the corner of the lobby. I went over and introduced myself and asked if they had ever been at a ComedySportz show before. One of the guys answered that they hadn’t seen a show, but his parents came to ComedySportz when they were dating. The parents had dropped off the kids who were out on a double date! It made me feel so great to meet a second generation fan of the show!
Pricing:
- Tickets for ComedySportz are $25. Discounts available for groups of 15 or more.
Contact Info:
- Address: 929 W. Belmont Chicago, IL 60657
- Website: www.cszchicago.com
- Phone: 773-549-8080
- Email: info@cszchicago.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comedysportzchi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comedysportzchi
- Twitter: @ComedySportzChi
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/csz-theater-chicago-chicago
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