Kidprov Chicago was founded by In The Parks.Org (NFP) and its improv partners, Dana and Edmund O'Brien in 2017. In The Parks.Org (NFP) is a non-profit that uses various programs and special events to enrich the community and raise funds for charitable causes. We believe improv to be an invaluable tool for empowerment, self-esteem, personal development, communication skills, and above all -- fun! Our instructors are veterans of the Chicago improv scene. Their passion for their craft is matched only by their extensive experience with youth outreach and child education.

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     Dana O'Brien began improvising 34 years ago at The University of Chicago. She teaches Lower & Intermediate School Drama at the Francis W. Parker School where she also directs and choreographs the Middle School Musical. For the previous 9 years she was the lead Senior Kindergarten Teacher at FWP. Since 1996, she has also taught grades 1st - 8th in Chicago and Los Angeles at The Baker Demonstration School, The Willows Community School, John Thomas Dye School, The Latin School, and St. Ambrose Elementary School. When not applying the rules of improv to her classrooms during the school year, she teaches summer improv camps at The Second City Training Center.


Edmund O'Brien began improvising 35 years ago at The University of Chicago. He has taught youth, teens and adults at The Second City in Chicago since 2008, and before that Edmund taught for a few years at ACME Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles. He is also a Teaching Artist with A.B.L.E., Changing Worlds, Lookingglass Theatre, Mudlark Theater, Pegasus Theater Chicago, Northlight Theatre, Special Gifts Theatre, and used to help boys in prison and parole turn their stories into musicals with Storycatchers Theatre. Off stage, Edmund coaches Middle School Boys Soccer, Middle School Girls Basketball, and Upper School Co-Ed Track and Field at The Francis W. Parker School.


Dana and Edmund began improvising together 33 years ago, and both can be seen on stage as a duo in Sheila's Sister. They are excited to continue bringing the world of improv to the community at Chase Park through Saturday Classes and Day-Off Camps, as well as the rest of Chicago through Workshops & School Residencies.