FOR MADMEN ONLY: THE STORIES OF DEL CLOSE

The story of Del Close, the legendary improv guru who trained an untold number of our most beloved comedians, from John Belushi to Tina Fey. Onstage, he helped revolutionize comedy by demanding that it confront life’s most brutal truths. Offstage, he blazed a gleeful path of self-destruction, blurring fact and fiction, comedy and tragedy.

Inspired by his semi-autobiographical DC Comics anthology Wasteland, FOR MADMEN ONLY uses a variety of storytelling techniques including re-enactments, 2D stop motion collage animation, archival footage, and interviews with some of today's most recognizable faces in comedy such as Tim Meadows, Adam McKay and Jason Sudeikis. Chronicling Del's life and career – including his Chicago years, relationship with Elaine May, and time at Second City in Toronto – the documentary paints a portrait of the fevered brain behind modern comedy; an icon in the improv world but never a household name. FOR MADMEN ONLY entangles the viewer in Del’s contradictions, and the guru brings us up as close as we can bear to the messy heart of comedy itself.