Category: News

What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo then to see Hugs and Pullups at the Playground (3209 N. Halsted, Chicago)! It’s BYOB, so bring a Corona, enjoy some amazing improv, and laugh till you’re belly hurts…

Monday is the last night see Hugs and Pullups, FDR and special guest Honors Student Breakfast during this run at Studio BE (3110 N. Sheffield Ave.)! Five Bucks get you a ticket to laughter and a oh so good beer! What isn’t to love about Monday at Studio BE…

Come see Hugs and Pullups perform with FDR and Bidnez Ladies tonight at Studio BE (3110 N. Sheffield Ave.)!  It’s only $5, and you get a free beer!  What more could you want from a Monday night!

Hey all you Hugs and Pull-ups fans.  Thanks to everyone who came out to see us do our thing last night at Studio BE.  We saw some fantastic improv with four great teams.  We started the night with Jack and the Wolf followed by Boom Boom Washington, we came on third and closing this week’s show was FDR.

Remember, if you didn’t see us this week, you have 3 more chances to get out there.  HnP and FDR will be there throughout March, Mondays at 10 pm.  Only $5.00 to get in and hey, you get a free beer.

Just to sweeten the pot a little more, here are the other groups you can expect to see performing with us this month.

March 15th – Bidnez Ladies

March 22nd – Sons and Co

March 29th – (Hugs and Pull-ups 1 year anniversary) – Honor Student Breakfast

We look forward to seeing you for some awesome improv!

H&P. 10 PM. BYOB. $5. W and M. Playground Theater (3209 N. Halsted) TONIGHT. I’ve run out of initialisms. CFAFAN (Come For A Friggin Awesome Night)… fine, I made that last one up.

We made it to the Improv Gladiators Finale! (Arsenio Hall bark/fistpump!) Come support us THIS SATURDAY, February 20 @ 8PM! Tickets are only $10, BYOB, and you get to cheer crazy loud for h&p! Tickets are almost sold out, so pedal to the medal and call Cornservatory (4210 N. Lincoln Ave) at 312-409-6435, or head to http://www.cornservatory.org/ to buy tickets! This is the big kahuna Finale, so we need the audience support and would love to see your gorgeous faces, encouraging laughter, and hot bods there!

We are performing tonight at The Spot (4437 Broadway) @ 7pm with FDR and Maximum Brain Squad! No more snow = no more frowns = come to our show!

Hugs and Pullups will be playing at the Cornservatory (4210 N. Lincoln Ave | Chicago, IL 60618 ) tonight as part of the Improv Gladiators 9!  It’s a blast and BYOB so why wouldn’t you come support your favorite improv team!

Hugs and Pullups: The Yeeaahh! Magazine Interview

(The following interview appeared in a 2009 issue of Yeeaahh! Magazine, a fictitious publication devoted to debating, debunking, and deflowering the wide world of performance in the greater Chicago area.)

If you were an Oriental rug, what would you eat for breakfast? If you play the theme song to “Happy Days” backwards, is there a hidden message from Fonzie’s grandpa? These are just a few of the mysteries Hugs and Pullups, a Chicago-based improvised comedy troupe, is determined to solve. The team, taught by improv coach/rodeo enthusiast Lindsay Williams, has been presenting its unique brand of improv comedy since 2009, when an aligning of Saturn’s fifth and seventh rings caused a disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field to bring the talented improvisers together. After weeks of extensive bribery, Yeeaahh! Magazine convinced the members of Hugs and Pullups to sit down for a rare interview.

Y!M – First off, thanks so much for being here.

H&P – (Produces chewy granola bar from pocket, opens it, takes an hearty bite.)

Y!M – So, I guess the first thing your fans want to know is: What’s with your name? Where did that come from?

H&P – (Through a mouthful of granola) Diapers. Mostly.

Y!M – (Laughing, clearly charmed and delighted) How delightful! But really…

H&P – (Opening a bottle of Mountain Dew with an ironic air of smugness) To be honest, Jane, we just really enjoy hugging each other. The “pullups” part is due to the fact that there’s a pull-up bar mounted in our rehearsal space. Put the two together and what have you got?

Y!M – Comedy genius.

H&P – (Draws a long pull of Dew, holds it for a moment, then swallows.)

Y!M – Where did you all meet each other?

H&P – We met during an improv class at iO in Chicago. It was Susan Messing’s Level 2 class on Sundays. One particularly rainy afternoon, we were sitting in the front row of the Del Close Theatre watching the ceiling leak. The dripping mesmerized us. It was steady, like a metronome. Each tiny bead of rainwater hung from the black paint just long enough to let the previous drop hit the tile floor below. The resulting puddle shone the reflections of our eager young faces, and we felt that it was, in fact, our destiny staring back at us. “These faces,” the puddle subtly proclaimed, “are meant for great things.” So Courtney Fontaine heeded the call, sent out an email, and thus was born the comedy powerhouse you see before you today.

Y!M – You make it sound so easy! Surely you guys have faced some difficulties along the way, right?

H&P – (Tearing open a bag of Andy Capp’s Hot Fries) You’d be surprised, Rachel. (Grabbing a few of the crispy treats, using them to gesture while talking) I mean, we’ve had some personnel changes along the way, but the process has actually been more fun than anything else. (Stuffs fries in mouth, continues to mumble through a mouthful of food) Most of the people in this community are super friendly, so when you are a group of close friends working towards the common goal of having fun, it’s just a matter of finding a stage to play on at that point.

Y!M – (Avoiding flying crumbs) Do you have a favorite place to play in Chicago?

H&P – (Now sweating quite violently from the Hot Fries) Um…wow. There are just so many places to play in this city. Like, tons of places. We play pretty regularly at The Playground Theater, and…uh…our shows at The Spot always seem to go well…(Produces a spotted handkerchief, dabs forehead). Anywhere we can, really…

You can contact Hugs and Pullups via e-mail at:  HandPComedy@gmail.com