Study Hall-oween: Comedy Inspired By Spooky Lectures

Study Hall-oween is back at the IF Theatre this weekend, with two shows: Friday, October 16 at 8:30 PM and Saturday, October 17 at 7 PM. It's a comedy show that mixes real lectures on the creepy, the crawly, the mysterious, horror and the macabre with improv comedy. The cast builds scenes live on stage that are never seen before and never to be seen again, so what happens on Friday won't be the same as what happens on Saturday.

The format started as part of the Philadelphia Science Festival, when public health professor Michael Yudell gave short lectures and Mike Marbach's improv troupe Asteroid! created scenes inspired by them. It played in 2011, 2012 and 2013 before settling into a regular run at Philadelphia's Adrienne Theater in 2014, where it's played almost monthly ever since, save for a pandemic pause and an online 'Distance Learning Edition' from April 2020 to April 2021. It made its Chicago debut at The Second City in September 2024 and its Indianapolis debut at the IF Theater's Basile Stage in August 2025 as part of the Indy Fringe Festival. The show has also played museums and colleges including The Franklin Institute, Drexel University and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

This run is directed by Mike Marbach, with a cast of ten: George Azar, Ezri Braid-Grizzell, Eliza Brown, Timothy Duff, Kelsey Griffin, Mai Khuu, Holly Brooke Loper, Will Pfaffenberger, Brandon Wilson and Chad Woodward. The IF Theatre is at 719 E. St. Clair St. in Indianapolis.