Shows + Tickets

Tickets for MessFest 2024 are now on sale! 

Get 'em while they're fresh!

All Shows $5 (get your ticket now)

Day Pass $12 (fast pass access to 3 shows)

Festival Pass $35 (fast pass access to 8 shows)


BIG THEATRE

Fac-Off

6pm, Big Theater

 the annual improv show where Theatre School faculty and students work together to find the true meaning of  "yes, and". Featured players include Dean Corrin, Janie Killips, Josh Maniglia, Michelle Lopez-Rios, Dexter Zollicoffer, Reza Mirsajadi, and more! 

Help! Let Me Out RN

8pm, Big Theater

Get out of your heads and into your minds as we tap into the Gen Z consciousness with this year’s Anchor Show ‘Help, Let Me Out RN.’ Is it a sketch show? Maybe… But what is a sketch show? How is a sketch show? Why is a sketch show? And does any of it matter? HLORN is here to explore these questions and more in an energetic, emotional, explosive experience that will surely save the planet. So set your alarm clocks and join this ensemble as they anchor Mess Fest with their self-described “sexy art.”

Eat Shit

10pm, Big Theater

Eat Shit is for the children of Elizabeth Warren stans, people who can drink on Prozac and not be a pussy about it, and me, Sydney Breedlove. 

Opening for Punch Up.

Punch Up

10pm, Big Theater

Do you like comedy? No? Too bad! Watch two remarkable teams undertake a gauntlet of improv, stand-up, sketch and more! It’s "Who’s Line is it Anyway" from hell, hosted by Cooper Lyke! 

We Huff The Glue We Work With

11:59pm, Big Theater

We Huff the Glue We Work With is a late night puppet extravaganza featuring the works of comedians sticking their hands into stuff and making them move. Join us for a fuzzy, foamy, freaky variety show!  

SMALL THEATRE

Big Joe's Stand-Up Showcase

6:30pm, Small Theater

If you have a longing in your heart for the good old days of classic comedy, then step back in time and into The Anklebiter Club, where you can watch comedians you won't see anywhere else (on account of them being banned from most other comedy clubs). Come in from the cold an enjoy a laugh at Big Joe's Standup Showcase

The Sabrina Show

8pm, Small Theater

An exciting one-woman standup slideshow performance done by Sabrina Kalmans, a sophomore comedy arts student who is super cool. 

Opening for Crust.

Crust

8pm, Small Theater

The people’s variety show, a face-melting wild ride driven by repulsion and an assault on the senses from start to finish. We welcome the gross, the crass, the absurd, and the conceptual. 

Boy Village

9:30pm, Small Theater

The play where four boys start a village and it goes really well!

Lucas and Molly Buss It Down For 7 Minutes

11pm, Small Theater

Opening for Jules Astaire's Variety Show.

Jules Astaire's Variety Show

11pm, Small Theater

Jules Astaire's Variety Hour is a show that uplifts drag in it's many wonderful and weird forms, hosted by Jules Astaire. Bring your singles and buckle up!

BIG THEATRE

Inappropriately Timed

6pm, Big Theater

"Wow, up and coming Chicago comedian Trey Allwood and rising star opening act Ollie Grishaber were really brave to get on stage and talk about all those funny anecdotes in the standup comedy format. They're the real heroes." -Person who just saw  Inappropriately Timed 

Look At Me Now

6pm, Big Theater

A live, filmed stand up special from Ava Cairl. Ava's second special, following Late Bloomer.

Help! Let Me Out RN

8pm, Big Theater

Get out of your heads and into your minds as we tap into the Gen Z consciousness with this year’s Anchor Show ‘Help, Let Me Out RN.’ Is it a sketch show? Maybe… But what is a sketch show? How is a sketch show? Why is a sketch show? And does any of it matter? HLORN is here to explore these questions and more in an energetic, emotional, explosive experience that will surely save the planet. So set your alarm clocks and join this ensemble as they anchor Mess Fest with their self-described “sexy art.”

Passover Murder Mystery

10pm, Big Theater

Passover dinner takes a turn.

Juul: The MusicJuul

11:59pm, Big Theater

These actors started off normal like you. Then bam: Juuls. Face the music of how the juul I mean my flashdrive took over the world in this fifteen minute mini musical.

Opening for Measure Up

Measure Up

11:59pm, Big Theater

A fully improvised theatrical musical accompanied by a live on-stage band and all based entirely on audience suggestions. Come along with us for a late-night musical comedy show that’s sure to have you singing along!

SMALL THEATRE

Perspective

5pm, Small Theater

Perspective is whatever you want it to be. It is entirely unique to you and two people’s perspectives on things may differ entirely. Your perspective may even differ from mine! But I’m the one on stage so who really even cares about your perspective, huh? 

Opening for (Not) Baby's First Harold.

(Not) Baby's First Harold

5pm, Small Theater

Watch your favorite group of improvisers put on the long-form set they have been perfecting! They have been working tirelessly as a group for the last few months and they are so excited to bring a never before seen, perfect, improvised story! What could go wrong? 

Lapse in Judgement

6:30pm, Small Theater

Join us for jury duty as our cast takes on the roles of defense and prosecution in a fully improvised court case. In the end, it’s up to the audience to decide whether the accused is guilty or not! 

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

8pm, Small Theater

thnks fr th mmrs is a Harold-inspired improv show that centers emo-tional storytelling.

Opening for Too Big for The City

Too Big For The City

8pm, Small Theater

A short and a tall. A skinny and a fat. What more could a person want? The hilarious two person sketch show is back and bigger than ever.

WattpadProv

9:30pm, Small Theater

Soulmate bonds, alternate universes, male pregnancies. What are two places these things could happen? Fan fiction and improv. This is what happens when you put those two things together. 

Opening for Smut 'Til You Nut

Smut Til You Nut

9:30pm, Small Theater

Smut  Smut Til You Nut is a night of the dirtiest, smuttiest, get-you-feeling-goodiest fan fiction readings in Chicago. So, please grab your finest digs, because you are cordially invited to Smut with us! 

Minprov

11pm, Small Theater

An innovation. A revolution. A once-in-a-lifetime experience that begs the question: What would you do for a banana? 

ANNOYANCE LOBBY

Successfest Screening

9:30pm, Annoyance Lobby

A totally real behind-the-scenes look at the Mess Fest process, the trials and tribulations of which are eerily similar to those of HBO’s Succession. See the underdogs of the Mess Fest team fight the comedy bureaucracy to get on top. 

BIG THEATRE

This Blows!

6pm, Big Theater

 A showcase of stand up and sketch presented by the comedy arts BFA1  coke-hort. 

Help! Let Me Out RN

8pm, Big Theater

Get out of your heads and into your minds as we tap into the Gen Z consciousness with this year’s Anchor Show ‘Help, Let Me Out RN.’ Is it a sketch show? Maybe… But what is a sketch show? How is a sketch show? Why is a sketch show? And does any of it matter? HLORN is here to explore these questions and more in an energetic, emotional, explosive experience that will surely save the planet. So set your alarm clocks and join this ensemble as they anchor Mess Fest with their self-described “sexy art.”

Jules Astaire's Variety Show - ENCORE

10pm, Big Theater

Jules Astaire's Variety Hour is a show that uplifts drag in it's many wonderful and weird forms, hosted by Jules Astaire. Bring your singles and buckle up!

WE ARE ALL DWIZZLE D

11:59pm, Big Theater

 An eccentric, multi-sensory concert experience. Together we find salvation in the music of our sleaze Queer revolution. Freaks encouraged, normies banned. Staring Dwizzle D, That Titt, Twink Mother, and Hey Thickness. With a special performance by Immanuel Kunt (1/19 Only). an 18+ experience. 

SMALL THEATRE

Hanlon-Smith Loves Cox

5pm, Small Theater

Sit back and enjoy as Hanlon-Smith and Cox warm you up for an amazing sketch show. Trust them with your stories of love (and maybe even heartbreak) so they can spin you an improvised rom com of the ages! 

Opening for Cookie and Bradley

Cookie and Bradley: Try Again

5pm, Small Theater

Two sketchy cops, one big city. A sketch show that dares to poke (fun at) the bear (or pig, in this case).

One M Show

6:30pm, Small Theater

Opening for This Cult Sucks!

This Cult Sucks!

6:30pm, Small Theater

While some call it a quasi-sketch show, we see it as a found community. Come forth, my child, and welcome Father in his entirety. 

Conversations With My Mom

8pm, Small Theater

 Conversations with my mom is a sketch show based all around how much we love our moms and how silly they are! Moms are the best and in order to honour all the silliness they get up to, we wrote this just for them!

All The Lives I Could Live If I Was Already Dead

9:30pm, Small Theater

Are you a little delusional? Aren't we all? In All the Lives I Could Live if I Was Already Dead, an heiress who has just faked her own death romanticizes the many lives she hopes to live now that her ties to society are cut.

Opening for A Night of Ally

A Night Of Ally

9:30pm, Small Theater

In this modern world with nights full of fret fright and dreary, you are cordially invited to a night of Ally. When so many nights do not feature Ally, why not choose one that does? 

Kill Isha-Prov

11pm, Small Theater

Isha will be eliminated in the arena of improvisation. 

Opening for We Don't Fucking Like You.

We Don't Fucking Like You

11pm, Small Theater

This show is as close as we can get to misandry without killing Ron DeSantis. 

BIG THEATRE

City Wide Improv TWO

6pm, Big Theater

City Wide Improv is back! An improv show and tell, showcasing the work of several college improv teams around Chicago. 

Help! Let Me Out RN

8pm, Big Theater

Get out of your heads and into your minds as we tap into the Gen Z consciousness with this year’s Anchor Show ‘Help, Let Me Out RN.’ Is it a sketch show? Maybe… But what is a sketch show? How is a sketch show? Why is a sketch show? And does any of it matter? HLORN is here to explore these questions and more in an energetic, emotional, explosive experience that will surely save the planet. So set your alarm clocks and join this ensemble as they anchor Mess Fest with their self-described “sexy art.”

It's Great To Be Transgender

9:30pm, Big Theater

 A variety show dedicated to trans joy! 

One Of Them Ones

11pm, Big Theater

Special Encore Performance of
WE ARE ALL DWIZZLE D

12:30am, Big Theater

 An eccentric, multi-sensory concert experience. Together we find salvation in the music of our sleaze Queer revolution. Freaks encouraged, normies banned. Staring Dwizzle D, That Titt, Twink Mother, and Hey Thickness. an 18+ experience. 

Flashing lights, harsh language, and sensitive topics to be expected. 

SMALL THEATRE

The Funny Talking Laughing Everybody Friends Show LIVE!

5pm, Small Theater

 The hit radio show is now LIVE in PHYSICAL SPACE! Join us for a slew of guests, desk games, and chaos. Your head is going to explode! Seriously. Go to a doctor. 

A Story About My Grandfather('s Facebook)

6:30pm, Small Theater

Join fellow Facebook user Connor Snow and other storytellers as learn a little bit more about their loved ones through the only way they know how: social media. 

Improvised Star Wars

8pm, Small Theater

Opening for Fate's Gambit

FATE'S GAMBIT: A SUPER REAL DND SHOW

8pm, Small Theater

 Magic, Mayhem, and your favorite band of Murder Hobos. Dare to change the fate of our adventurers in an ongoing campaign influenced by previous audiences.  

Absurdity

9:30pm, Small Theater

 Experience the hilariously unpredictable minds of our BFA1 Comedy Artists as they showcase different absurdism pieces. Each performance will be thought-provoking, unlike anything you’ve ever seen, so you cannot miss ‘Absurdity’.

Opening for Sans Titre

Sans Titre

9:30pm, Small Theater

In the third iteration of form shattering shows by Melina Arevalo and Luke Herman, this production is sure to leave audiences eyes, ears, and mouths wide open.

Alpha and Omega The Musical

11pm, Small Theater

ANNOYANCE LOBBY

MESSFEST: A Documentary Screening

9:30pm, Annoyance Lobby

Chronicling the process of MessFest with all of its trials and tribulations, the MessFest documentary highlights the incredible talent of DePaul Comedy Arts, despite the tragic loss of their fearless leader.