Joke at the Oak Comedy Showcase to Benefit Ignite

Join us for a night of stand up comedy as we raise money for Ignite!Ignite helps unstably housed youth, ages 14 to 26, get their youth back and take the first step toward their journey to stable home and future with promise. Their commitment is to spark opportunity for youth experiencing homelessness, and build a stronger future for themselves, and in turn, a stronger future for Chicago. Ignite offers educational, recreational, and mental health programs in addition to housing, and aims to interrupt the cycle of homelessness and cycle of poverty.  Joke at the Oak was started December 12, 2018 as an open mic to give rising comedians a chance to compete for featured and headlining sets every Wednesday, and to participate in our charity showcases.Our Host Pat Treuer: Pat, Colorado raised, started doing stand up when he was a young man at 23. After his first show he knew that comedy and making lives better one laugh at a time was his true dream. As a young comedian there was one show that didn’t go quite as well and left him feeling discouraged and doubting himself. At that point he chose to walk down the path of corporate life. After 13 years of working for money instead of happiness he realized something was missing. It was time to get back on the horse, and back to doing what he loves. Pat decided to quit his job and put everything he has into his dream, being a comedian.Knowing the struggle for up and comers, he was inspired to start his own weekly show at his favorite bar in Chicago, The Irish Oak. He has since then encouraged and inspired many new comedians to not be afraid to follow their dreams. Not only is Pat genuine and kind, he is pretty hilarious. Every week Joke at the Oak gets better and better, and every week another funny human with a dream gets the confidence to do what they love.