Mike Myers will play the role of Chicago improv guru Del Close in the upcoming movie Del. Myers, along with many other current comedy greats such as Bill Murray, Tina Fey, and Dan Aykroyd, was trained at Chicago's Second City, where Close worked and taught starting in the 1970's. He continued to teach in Chicago theaters such as Yes, And Productions and Improv Olympic, until his death in 1999.

The movie will be directed by Betty Thomas, who also trained in Chicago under Close. Close, who was notorious for pushing his students too far, takes a young comedian under his wing; while the relationship ends disastrously, both performers are changed by the experience.

There is not yet a firm release date set for Del.

We took a little time off this summer. Contributor Parker Hughes recently gave you 10 Types of Improvisers to think about, but other than that we took a moment to step back and catch our breath, clean up a little. Hopefully, if you're a regular reader, you had a chance to try some improv, or get together with your troupe for a game or two, or maybe just take some well-deserved time off.

This upcoming school year, we've got some things in the works. In the upcoming months starting school, we're going to post a couple series of articles to our Lessons and... page about the mechanics of running a high school improv troupe - how to handle rehearsals and troupe mechanics, casting and membership, and more. We'll also have some info on creating a high school improv curriculum - not as formal as classes, but rather some guidance for rehearsals. If you have a troupe and need some help, or want a troupe and need to know how to start, make sure you check in with us. Subscribe to our News or Games or Lessons feeds, or you can sign up for email updates - you should see the form pop up on any of our pages.

And if you do have a troupe, make sure you add it to our list of troupes! Help us show everyone how awesome high school improv can be.

Starting on Monday, September 28, the National Association for College Admission Counseling is hosting their National College Fair for Performing and Visual Arts around the country. This is a free college fair, with representatives from schools all across the country. Here's where you can find the fair in 2015:

• Mon, Sep. 28 - Portland, OR
• Tue, Sep. 29 - Seattle, WA
• Wed, Sep. 30 - San Diego, CA
• Sun, Oct. 4 - St. Louis, MO
• Mon, Oct. 5 - Atlanta, GA
• Tue, Oct. 6 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Sun, Oct. 11 - Interlachen, MI
• Tue, Oct. 13 - Minneapolis, MN
• Sun, Oct. 18 - Washington, DC
• Mon, Oct. 19 - Nashville, TN

To see exactly where each fair is being held, you can visit http://www.gotomypvafair.com to register, as well as to see what schools will be attending - as of this writing, it is up to just shy of 100.

While there are really no schools that provide degrees solely in improvisation (Columbia College Chicago is the only one that comes close), some schools have a major, minor, or focus in comedy. Most schools' course offerings will have courses in improv, and your college of interest may also have a thriving improv troupe. If you're interested in a possible career in the performing arts, try to get to the PVA fair closest to you.

NOTE: NACAC also hosts their National College Fairs (without the focus on the arts) - these also started this weekend. Visit this page on their website to see that schedule.

Two new books have come out from well-known improv names that are worth checking out.

If you're interested in checking out either of those books, we invite you to use the links in this article to help support Improv High!

We've been cleaning up Improv High a little bit. We tweaked our colors somewhat and our layout on a couple of pages, and we made things a little faster to load.

The big change is on the troupes and... page. Our troupe submission process was a little unwieldy due to how the form and the map talked to each other. We revised the code to make it much easier to use and manage. If you want to add your troupe, yourself, or your event to our currently meager list, we invite you to check it out.

Last Thursday, January 8, long-time improv Olympic teacher and performer Jason Chin passed away from what is suspected to be heart failure. iO founder Charna Halpern announced it on Facebook, and the news broke on media outlets shortly thereafter.

Jason was an improviser and a coach, but more than that, he had a wonderful but realistic vision for improv as an art and a business. He was Training Director for improv Olympic for eight years, and during his tenure revisited things like what skills are important to teach first to new improvisers. Many students and now professionals have come through the iO doors, and his impact will be felt on improv and entertainment for years.

UPDATE: On Monday, January 12, iO Chicago held an Armando Diaz tribute show for Jason. You can watch the entire three-hour event at https://gigity.tv/event/102226. At about 11 minutes in, they begin a tribute slideshow of images and video of Jason. At about 24:30, the show itself begins.

We're pleased to introduce a new author: Parker Hughes! As of 2015, Parker is a high school sophomore who is an active member of her school's improv troupe. She's already posted some lessons and a few games.

Be sure to check out her bio, and drop her a line if you're so inclined.

We've been working on adding new content to Improv High, including some new lessons and games. But we also want to find out just who's out there!

Be sure to visit our troupes and... page to see our high school improv directory. Find troupes, instructors or events on our Google Map, and add your own organization using the form below the map!

It's still in beta, so if you have any problems with it, be sure to let us know at improvhigh@gmail.com.

Director, writer, producer and entertainer Mike Nichols passed away suddenly on Wednesday. He was very well known for his cinematic directorial accomplishments, such as The Graduate, Silkwood, Postcards from The Edge, The Birdcage and most recently Closer, as well as some of his theatrical forays such as Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, and Spamalot. 

But what only true fans might know is that he got his start in improv. He got his start with the predecessors to Second City in Chicago, the Compass Players. He also had a collaboration with fellow Compass Player Elaine May as the duo Nichols and May. Unlike many comic duos from the time - who stuck to stereotypical straight-one-funny-one or smart-one-dumb-one routines - Nichols and May really played their act as improvisational scenes. Their comedy style has been cited as influential to comedians such as Steve Martin, Bill Murray and Lily Tomlin.

You will be missed, Mike.

Chicago Improv Productions hosts the Teen Comedy Festival every year. It's a great opportunity for high school improvisers to learn from practicing professionals in one of the most vibrant improv cities in the country.

High school improv troupes can register to attend and to perform; you will need to send in a performance video along with your registration.

You can visit http://www.teencomedyfest.com to get more information. Registration begins December 1 and remains open until February 28.