Del Awards 2014

This year iO's annual award show was something special. Inclusive, funny, fast-paced, with just enough sentiment it was my favorite to-date. The Late 90's put the show together for the second year in a row and really out did themselves. From the presenters to the speeches, the Dance of the Fallen Teams to the In Memoriam video(montage of people who have left Chicago), the night fostered a feeling of community with no divisions between teams or how long people had been around. There were some pointed jokes but nothing mean or malicious, anyone singled out was in on the joke. It feels like the desire for straight up insult humor has passed, at least for the time being. The majority of the night was a highlight but to single some moments out. Scott hosting as Weird Scott Yankaprov doing iO inspired parody songs for his opening monologue. Scott and Annie as(channeling) Joan Rivers presenting the award for Best Host(pictured above).

Tisher and Knox as dueling Dice Clay's spouting filthy nursery rhymes for Most Blue(above). Meridian's sweet and elegant Dance of the Fallen Teams. All the Best Team videos. Clayton as Del dancing to the In Memoriam video. Presenters: The Golden Girls. Brunlieb and Blythe winning Most Supportive improvisers of the year. Abby's quip after her win for Best Line topping the line itself.

Heartfelt speeches from Colleen, Matt, and Sabine. Brunlieb presenting Best Show Poster and using the bit to plug his friends shows. Alex and Charna presenting Best Team in a bit both inspired and perfect. The image above is telling- Alex: likable and engaged, Charna: distracted and neglectful.

My favorite part of the evening was, selfishly, the part I was involved in. I had the honor of presenting Craig with Improviser of the Year. I wrote a relatively long and genuine speech, inspired in tone and format by Shotts speech for Colleen last year, and tried to get at what Craig means to me and what I imagine he means to a lot of people in the community. I spoke about how much he's done for me, how much I am inspired by him, and how much he means to me. He was very happy, he said to me after "If I was capable of it, I would have cried." You can watch his acceptance speech here.

The 90's did an incredible job putting the night together and it was wonderful. Funny and at times poignant, I don't know how it could be topped. The atmosphere was supportive, joyous, and harmonic. Now, if only it could be like that all year.

Note: Photos pirated from Instagram. Photo credits to IM, DM, and iO.