So you’ve probably chowed down on a gooey, stuffed pizza at Giordano’s. And you’ve probably tried the Chicago-style hot dog with pickles, tomato wedges and relish. Most Northwestern students, however, seem much less inclined to embrace another delight that calls Chicago its home: improvisational comedy.

Modern theatrical improvisation began in Chicago in the 1920s with the development of the art form by theater director Viola Spolin. Nearly 20 years later, Spolin’s son joined several other performers to form The Compass Players, an improv troupe that spawned The Second City.

The Second City has not only been credited as the birthplace of the modern comedy movement but continues to produce and hone the talents of performers who go on to achieve fame in the entertainment industry: Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Mike Meyers, Chris Farley and John Belushi to name a few.

With the popularity of The Second City and the premiere of Saturday Night Live in 1975, improv theater caught on and multiple studios and theaters formed nationwide, providing diverse improv styles, sketch comedy and stand-up.

Even with improv popular all over the country now, many comedians and producers say that Chicago remains the center for learning and appreciating comedy.

“Chicago is the hub because this is the place where [improvisers] get to really work out so they get good,” said Charna Halpern, who founded ImprovOlympic with Del Close in 1981. “All the casting directors come here to look for talent because all the famous [people] were here already.”

The city attracts droves of students looking to learn comedy, which presents a great opportunity to see unique talent as it is being developed.

“There’s so much to do every night of the week,” said Steve Heisler, comedy editor for Time Out Chicago magazine. “There are multiple shows going on at all sorts of different venues all across the city.”

With a great history of harboring raw comedic talent and a currently booming improv scene, Chicago comedy is not something to miss. So be the cultured Northwestern student you pretend to be, have a few laughs and experience Chicago comedy.

Here’s some information to get you started with a little help from Heisler, who has taken improv classes at The Second City and Improv Olympic.

The Second City

As one of the more widely known comedy theaters around the world, The Second City is a great bet. They offer primarily sketch comedy with a political bent. In March, they opened their spring mainstage, “Between Barack and a Hard Place.” Tickets are $19 on Tuesdays through Thursdays and Sundays, and $24 other days.

Heisler says: “Second City is always considered the pinnacle because it has the name. Probably, the most important thing to developing the legendary status of Second City is that they have such a vaunted history.”

Improv Olympic

Offering more than twenty shows, Improv Olympic is a great place to check out improv in a variety of different formats. “The Harold,” a long-form improv based on an audience suggestion, is the signature piece of the theater, as it was developed by the IO founders and is now used worldwide. On Wednesdays at 8 p.m., the theater offers a free showing of “The Harold.” Heisler suggested some other great shows to see at Improv Olympic, including The Improvised Shakespeare Company and “Felt.”

Heisler says: “It’s easy to go to IO and just see ‘The Harold,’ because that’s the main draw that they have, but I saw The Improvised Shakespeare Company recently again and its one of the funniest, smartest shows I’ve seen in a long time. It’s these guys that dress up like they are from Shakespeare’s time, that wear tunics and brown pants, and they perform a complete Shakespeare play based off an audience suggestion.”

Heisler also says: “On Wednesdays at IO they have a show called ‘Felt’ where the puppets improvise. I think that’s pretty funny not only because the improvers are really strong but because its really funny to watch improvisers who aren’t puppeteers try to move the puppets around and talk to each other and struggle.”

The Playground Theater

The Playground is a completely non-profit co-op theater run by improvisers to provide opportunites for other improvisers. They offer performers a lot of creative flexibility, and although their base programming is improv, they also perform sketch comedy. Shows generally run between $5 and $10.

Heisler says: “There are some shows at the Playground that are pretty fun for people who don’t know a lot about comedy or want to get involved in the scene. There is this company called Blewt! and they put on a show called ‘Don’t Spit The Water’ on Saturday night. You go in and audience members are chosen and they go on stage and they put water in their mouths and comedians come out and try to get them to laugh and spit out the water.”

Annoyance Theatre

The Annoyance Theatre mostly offers musical sketch comedy but also features several improv shows. They are well known for performing shock comedy and raunchy, ridiculous late-night shows. Check out the Friday and Saturday midnights shows for cheap, gross humor.

Heisler says: “I feel like they have a sort of ‘Annoyance voice.’ It’s very irreverent, it’s very satirical and they do a good job with their shows of all maintaining a similar voice. That’s a great place to go to see some Chicago comedy at its most Chicago-comedy-est.”

Chicago Improv Festival

If these venues aren’t enough to get you started, check out the Chicago Improv Festival, which closes this weekend. The mainstage shows will include Saturday Night Live and MadTV cast members, as well as improv troupes from all over the nation. It’s a great opportunity to check out different styles, improv formats and performers from all over the country.