Defunct Chicago troupe honored

A group of University of Chicago students paid tribute Tuesday to a long-defunct theater group called the Compass, performing the troupe’s debut show in its former rehearsal space on the 50th anniversary of its first public performance.

On that occasion, in a Chicago bar that is no longer open, a group of University of Chicago students and their friends premiered an unusual style of improvised theater that challenged mainstream thinking, connected actors with their audience and raised a few laughs.

Drawing from current events and audience suggestions, the Compass laid the groundwork for cabaret-styled improv, spawning similar troupes across the country and at home, such as Chicago’s trailblazing Second City.

The Compass “made it possible for people to go to a place where conventional values were challenged and the audience was not passive, they interacted,” said Compass co-founder David Shepherd, now 80. “It was groundbreaking.”