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Microphone
“Honestly, there’s just a different vibe to telling jokes in the basement of a church on a Sunday.”
The feeling of waxing humorous in the lower level of an ecclesiastical space, Calvary Presbyterian in this instance, on its busiest day may really only be incidental to the reasons Interchange Theater Co-Op is switching their Open Jam from Thursday evenings to 6 p.m. Sunday nights starting January 11. But Interchange’s general manager Erik Koconis offers more practical reasons for the change in day when local stand-up and improv comedians can hone their skills on a night when little else is offered for amateurs and professionals alike to get funny.
Little opportunity is a clue as to the move.
“When we first started the Open Jam/Open Mic, there weren’t many other options for performers on Thursday nights. Part of supporting Milwaukee’s comedy community is giving people the chance to hit as many stages as possible in a week. At the time, Thursday was a wide‑open night, so hosting the jam then made sense," Koconis notes of the event’s 2021 origin.
“Since then,” he continues, “the comedy landscape has shifted. Now there are multiple Thursday‑night options in town. Instead of making improvisers choose between us and another community space, moving the jam to Sundays allows people to participate in both. It supports the scene rather than pulling people in competing directions.”
Creative, Not Cynical
Additionally, rescheduling Interchange's night of open stand-up and improv allows the co-op to schedule other laughter-inducing programming on nights when there are already other options for funny folk to sharpen their skills.
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Koconis elaborates. “Freeing up Thursdays gives us room to nurture the next wave of local producers and creators. Milwaukee’s comedy scene has a lot of room to grow, and we want to make space for new shows, new formats, and new voices. Opening up Thursdays lets us offer more shows to the public, which means more opportunities for our performers and a place for emerging producers to take risks, build audiences, and learn the craft of running a room.”
And he wasn't kidding about the jam being in Calvary's basement either.
“Even though we’re not affiliated with the church, the space carries a certain presence. People tend to show up a little more open, a little more grounded. That shift in tone is part of why Sundays make sense for what we’re trying to cultivate; it nudges the comedic choices toward creativity instead of cynicism.”
Unique to Milwaukee
Whatever the day it lands, Interchange's open evenings dedicated to both improv and stand-up are unique to Milwaukee and rare in so far as other cities comedy scenes.
“Open jams, especially ones that blend stand‑up and improv, are actually pretty rare,” Koconis explains. “Most cities have plenty of open mics for stand‑up and plenty of improv jams inside individual theaters, but it’s uncommon to find a space where both forms share the same room, the same night, and the same community.
“Our jam brings those communities together intentionally, not accidentally. That’s part of what makes the Sunday Open Jam distinct. It’s not just another mic or another improv jam—it’s a hybrid space where performers can cross‑train, experiment, and learn from each other in a way you don’t see very often. It’s something we’ve shaped intentionally to fit the way the comedy landscape works in Milwaukee."
If the two comedic disciplines seem at odds with each other in in one 90 minute-to-two-hour timeframe, Koconis clarifies. “We keep the structure flexible. People sign up when they arrive, and we rotate through stand‑up sets and improv groups in a way that keeps the energy balanced.”
Whether one comes to the Interchange Open Jam to make the audience chuckle or be a potential chuckler, what will be going on Sunday nights is but a fragment of the co-op's commitment to nurturing funny artistry in Milwaukee.
“The Open Jam,” Koconis emphasizes, “is part of our larger mission as a cooperative to build a comedy culture rooted in community, craft, and continuity. It’s not just a place to perform; it’s a place to grow, connect, and stay in conversation with the wider scene.”
