Chicago’s iO Theater was founded in 1981 by Charna Halpern and David Shepherd. Following Shepherd’s departure, improv specialist Del Close came aboard and helped turn iO into one of the country’s premier comedy theaters and a launching pad for some of America’s most promising comedic talents. Following the theater’s pandemic-related closure in 2020, Halpern sold iO the following year. Now in the care of new owners and a new management team, the restored theater is once again as the epicenter of long-form improvisation.