iO West (formerly known as the "ImprovOlympic West") was the Los Angeles branch of the iO in Chicago. The theater was located at 6366 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California. In addition to presenting nightly improv and sketch comedy shows, iO West also had training classes and was the home to the Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival. On February 24, 2018, iO West permanently ceased operations.
The iO was founded by Del Close and Charna Halpern in Chicago in 1981.[1] The iO approaches improvisation as an art form in and of itself; this differs from the Second City approach, where improv is used as a tool in creating sketch comedy.
See main article: IO Theater. In 1997, Paul Vaillancourt opened a companion theater to the iO Chicago, then "ImprovOlympic West," now iO West, in Los Angeles, California. The theater originally took up residence at The Stella Adler Theater 6773 Hollywood Boulevard, but soon moved to The Complex Theater, 6470 Santa Monica Boulevard before finally moving to the new purpose-built space in the Palmer Building, 6366 Hollywood Blvd, in 2000.[1] [2]
iO West’s three theater spaces, the two-level 99-seat Main Stage, the 70-seat Del Close Experimental Black Box, and the 40-seat Loft Space Black Box, featured stand-up, sketch, and improv shows nightly. iO West's training center offered long-form improv classes year-round, and iO West was also involved in the annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival.
iO West's Artistic Directors were Colleen Doyle and Zach Huddleston, and their Musical Director was Eric Schackne. Former Musical Directors include Andrew Melton and George Caleodis.
iO West closed permanently on February 24, 2018.[1] [2] As of 2024, the venue space remains vacant.