Monkey Business Institute

We were in Madison looking for something fun and a bit different to do. Found this show looking at Trip Advisor and Unilocal reviews and decided to try it. Improv is not my husband’s thing, but he was a trooper and went along with it for me. He said this show did not change his opinion of the genre. I thought it had it’s merits. The emcee of the night (Jan 30^th), was great. She was warm and engaging with us members of the audience, and was energetic and great at keeping the improvisors on their toes. The group on stage that night was impressive at taking the random ideas thrown their way, displaying verve and wit, and even if the end result wasn’t hilarious, it was entertaining. Our biggest beef of the night was with the venue. It should be noted that this venue has no concern for the comfort of their paying guests. We arrived at 7:30 for the 8:00pm show and were escorted to our seats. The «seats» were bar stools, no backs. For an hour and a half show. I asked if there were chairs available with back rests, and was told no. The online ticketing process did not indicate reserved seating, and when we arrived there were still two tables available with chairs with backs, but for some reason the only alternative the guy at the door would offer us were seats at the bar where «you can lean against the bar, that’s the best I can do.» I’m not looking for pampering or big cushy seats, but they were clearly only concerned with squeezing in as many people as possible without any regard to the barest minimum of comfort, not to mention being inflexible and unconcerned when told someone has a physical concern. And we were packed in; kudos to the servers who had to squeeze in between the patrons (they did an outstanding job, BTW, great service.)
Soon after posting this review, I was contacted by the owner of this business who was extremely kind and sincerely apologetic over our less than stellar experience here. He was refreshingly candid over what he thought went wrong with our night here and shared what was being improved. He told me that they had added more seats in an attempt to turn less customers away, but realized that this was not an ideal situation and were reverting to a more spacious seating plan. He then went on to offer us a future comped show AND dinner, which I would have probably taken him up on if we lived in the area. I certainly did not expect to receive a refund for the show we attended, but that is what he did! A class act, for sure! Based on the other reviews here, and the packed house the night of the show we attended, I have a feeling this business was doing okay, and my review could have been dismissed as «you can’t please everyone,» but clearly he is proud of his business and serious about his customers’ satisfaction.

Hubby and I were looking for something different to do while in town this weekend and he came up with this.
The Improv show at 8p was very funny. It seemed to start out a little slow at first, but quickly picked up speed.
Very inexpensive for what you get. Great fun and includes audience participation.
You don’t need to eat earlier at the Glass Nickle, but you can order downstairs as soon as you sit for the show.

This is one of the best comedy shows we have been to in Wisconsin! Since its improv you get a different show every time, and the cast is absolutely hilarious! Audience participation is expected and accepted overall pretty well… we had one MC who was great and one who was kind of rude at suggestions he considered to not be what he was looking for, but nothing terrible. You can’t beat the price of the show and make sure to get tickets by Wednesday for Saturday shows because they sell out fast, and it’s well worth it! Food and drink are available before, during, and after from glass nickel.

Hilarious! The Monkey Business group has quite a lot of talent and Madison is lucky to have them. Fair warning: book early, if you hope to get a seat.
I would also highly recommend their classes. I did it for fun and had an absolute blast. The professional performers are also the instructors, and they do an amazing job teaching and demonstrating the basics.
For the first few levels, they prepare you to put on a private show for friends and family. They’re really good at unlocking potential and helping students to open up. If you’re like me, you might even walk away thinking improv is as much a life philosophy as a comic genre.
I don’t typically write reviews, but felt compelled, since I found this to be an exceptionally strong business model that’s providing a really unique service to the community.

A few of my friends decided to go to the late improv show on Saturday night at Glass Nickel on Atwood. One of my favorite shows is «Whose Line is it Anyway», some of the Improv games were ones that are done on that show. The show was pretty entertaining, I like that they use audience suggestions and just go with it. The host of the show was a little annoying to me (not sure if it’s always the same host) I felt that he was trying too hard to be funny. We also had someone from the band VO5 play the keyboard, so there was a lot of imprvo songs which was cool. As someone else commented, some of the acts do get a little drawn out. I would go back to another show, something fun to do on a Saturday night that is reasonably priced (especially during winter!).

Rain in the summer with a visiting kid in town… what to do… what to do… AH HA! This was a fun, affordable, Saturday night activity that was kid appropriate. Win!
In the basement of Glass Nickel Pizza every Saturday night there are two comedy shows: an hour long (family friendly) show at 5:30pm or an hour-​and-​a-​half adult show at 8pm. I bought tickets to the family show ($ 6/​person) the night before and I’m glad I did. People were getting turned away at the door because they were sold out.
The performers were lively and engaging, drawing kids up on stage to participate in the scenes. Almost everyone there had a kid with them so if you’re going out for «date-​night» perhaps the later show is going to be more your scene.
Seating is at restaurant tables, a host will seat you (we got there about 15 min early and were one of the last groups to arrive). You can order Glass Nickel pizza /​drinks and eat during the show or proceed upstairs to eat afterwards (which is what we did with no wait, no problem).
All in all, it was a hit with the visiting 12 year old kid and the resident 30-​something Mister which made it a success all around.

This was an entertaining show! A couple of the later scenes drug on a little, but overall it was a good show.
The cast was great and did some amazing things.
You definitely want to make a reservation as the venue is tiny.

This was a painful evening. When actor/​comedians are expecting to riff off of an idea it certainly helps that they have a smattering of knowledge about things. For example, it’s awfully tough to make a subject like alchemy funny when you clearly don’t know what alchemy is. Out of the 4 performers, I couldn’t see a single member with any talent for improvisation at all. The chuckling and occasional guffaw that came from the audience has to have been attributable to public drunkenness, either that or the troupe had relatives in the audience. I was shocked to see that Monkey Business actually conducts classes on improv. I think that maybe they should consider taking some classes from say Second City who actually can do this kind of of comedy. If they have in fact taken some classes and the performance I saw last night is what resulted, it’s best they don’t quit their day jobs.
10÷23÷13 As an addendum, I was contacted by a principal of the troupe following my review and given a full refund for both mine and my wife’s tickets. I was impressed by his deep humility at the performance as given and was assured it was an «off night’ for he and his troupe. These things do happen so I had to apologize for not being able to see for myself a subsequent show explaining I am not from the Madison area and only make a yearly visit. So, don’t let my one time experience influence you overtly. When people believe in what they’re doing they generally can deliver and can be forgiven for having off days as we all occasionally do.

I encountered Monkey Business first through a friend who took their classes. I went to watch her and saw a sign for the shows. I was so excited to find improv shows in Madison! I have been attending shows every several months since. It’s always a good time with lots of laughs and tasty food (Glass Nickel).

saw a show at the glass nickel as part of a super cool Unilocal event (i’m told there are many). i was a virgin to all three. cherry (tomato) (sauce) popped hours later, i’m driving home in the afterglow.
if u have a chance to catch their saturday night show DO IT! and if u have a chance to volunteer to act out a scene with them, DOUBLE DOG DARE DO IT!
i laughed so hard and loved it so much, i’m hooked and MBI is my pimp.

I’ve gone to the shows, I’ve taken the classes and I’ve gotten used to the feel of a solid belly laugh. If you’re looking to switch things up on a Saturday night, head on down to the Glass Nickel on Atwood and catch yourself some improv. The MBI troupe is a mish-​mash of top notch talent offering both family friendly and late night shows. The downstairs setting at Glass Nickel for the shows is intimate and prime for getting you slightly out of your comfort zone. The beer you can down during it also helps with that too.
And when you’re done watching one of the shows, get on stage yourself as you consider dabbling in the variety of classes they offer. The classes are a bit pricey but they’re more than willing to accommodate with multiple payment options. Both Brad and Jason are fabulous teachers, devoted to taking the intimidation out of improv comedy one awkward audience recommendation at a time. I’m now in the process of completing level 4 (they have 5 core level classes) and am considering signing up for the music special topics class this summer. I didn’t think I could get any more hilarious than I was but surprise, surprise.*
*Classes do not teach humility.

The Monkey Business folks reached out to me, and I had another opportunity to see a show.
We had a great time — the players were great (some were former players at ComedySportz), the show was spirited and fast-​moving, and the pizza was delish.
Thanks to MBI for offering this entertainment to the community!

This was our first time at Monkey Business. We were entertaining some friends from out of town and were looking for a true Madison experience. This show did not disappoint! The actors were clever and very entertaining. The food was delicious. The drinks were mixed a little strong but still yummy. The only disappointment was that there were drink specials before the show but not during. We were unaware of this until the bill came. Overall, it was a great night out and we will be returning very soon!

This place was pretty cool, went to the ten o’clock show and was pretty packed. We go seats by the bar, which was cool cause i could get a drink easly and not have to wait for a watress. The performs were pretty good, good improvising, about a two hour show with a break in the middle. Good place to take a date or group of friends the get the crowd involved by asking them questions in which they will improvise on which is what going to an improv is. the crowd when i went seemed pretty into it and enjoyed answering the questions. oh ya and got a pie to go. that glass nickle is the boom.

Our family attended our first Monkey Business show on Saturday night, but it definitely won’t be our last! What a fun time! My fiancé and I took his daughter along to see the 6pm family show. We were laughing so hard our stomachs hurt from the moment the show started. The performers do a wonderful job of getting the audience involved; asking for topic suggestions and audience volunteers. My fiancé had the opportunity to join the performers for a skit, and he had a blast! Also, it was very cute watching the child volunteers. When the show was over, my 11-​year-​old step-​daughter was singing «That was A-​W-​E-​S-​O-​M-​E, awesome!» on the way to the car, and asking when we can see the next show. This is a very affordable, amazingly fun option if you are looking for something to do as a family on a Saturday night. You can even order Glass Nickel food and eat it during the show! I definitely recommend this event. Seating opens 45 minutes before the show begins, try to arrive early to get a good seat!

I took my family to the family night improv show at glass nickle and we had a wonderful time. It was so much fun, for adults and kids. The venue for the show felt weird at first but, as more people came in the show started, it was all good times! My only complaint is about the patrons. Some other families came and hid out in the back — they clearly did not understand how improv comedy worked. Props to the Monkey Biz folks for getting those people to liven up, participate, and actually enjoy themselves. By the end of the show, even the grumpy anti-​social nagging mother (who literally pushed her kindergardener to the stage while she herself, wouldn’t volunteer) was laughing and smiling! We’re definitely going again!