About

Hey there, I’m Guy Wicke, founder of Wicke International. From 2007-2015, I had the pleasure of promoting the performing arts all over Chicagoland and across the country. An actor myself, I always had a passion for spreading the word about unique theater and helping it to thrive. For now, I’ve hung up the publicist hat, but feel free to poke around.

I developed my interest in media relations during my time at pH Productions (after doing too many shows for too few patrons) and began to assist with the company’s marketing. I soon assumed the position of Marketing Director and spent the next few years developing an exciting new skill set. In 2007, I founded Wicke International and began offering my freelance PR services to the theater community at large.

The name “Wicke International” is a nod to the humor of my father, the late James T. Wicke, who first used that grandiose name for his own small business. The letterhead, cards, and pens he created all looked like that of a global corporation. I loved it, and I wanted to bring the same playful irony to my humble PR business.

 

 

Client Testimonials

Guy handled the PR and Publicity for Mere Fluff. In addition to getting us reviewed by all the major Chicago comedy press, he also set up an interview with the Tribune. Everywhere I went in the Chicago comedy community, people said, “I can’t turn around without seeing something on your show. What’s going on?” to which I’d reply, “Oh, we’ve got a guy…” And you should too – Guy Wicke!
Kirk Hanley  –  Director, Mere Fluff 

Guy is a total professional and does a great job marketing for theaters and theatrical shows. He provided such exceptional visibility for the grand opening of my theater that I have recommended him to several other shows who have hired him to promote with great success.
Lillian Frances  –  Owner, Laugh Out Loud Theater

When working with Guy, excellent product, the utmost professionalism, and open and constant communication are a given. Where Mr. Wicke rises above the rest is his persistent passion and love for your show. Guy becomes part of the project on the whole and is an astoundingly valuable team member to have. I can not think of smarter money we spent than investing in Guy’s expertise. If you’re looking for a relentlessly promoting, business-minded, media savvy individual, who is as passionate about your art as you are and willing to go each and every extra mile, then Guy Wicke is the only game in town.
John Sviokla  –  Writer/Performer, Jablonski! 

Guy Wicke is so much more than a Media Relations Professional. He made advertising and spreading the word about my show the easiest its ever been. Reviewers came to see it. It was mentioned in a number of papers and websites. Everything from design to photography to just getting people in the seats was taken care of by Guy. I also had the chance to work with him on the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. I’m a producer of the festival and have been with it for 6 years now. A newcomer to the fest, Guy was professional, punctual and the hardest working marketing expert we’ve ever had. You can not do any better in finding someone to help market your show than Guy Wicke!
Tim Soszko  –  Writer/Performer, the tim&micah project 

We cannot recommend Guy Wicke enough. Through his efforts exclusively, both the Chicago Reader and Time Out Chicago magazine came out to review our first-time sketch comedy show. One reviewer even called our press kit the most professional he had seen! Additionally, Guy got our show info into multiple web outlets like TheaterMania.com and therefore in front of countless new contacts. Guy works quickly and efficiently, with a perfect blend of professionalism and enthusiasm for our project. We will definitely utilize Guy’s expertise for future shows. 
Corey Rittmaster and Monique Madrid  –  Writers/Performers, The Union

I had the pleasure of having Guy Wicke as a Marketing Director at pH Productions. His drive and commitment to success were a wonderful asset to our independent production company. Guy successfully promoted an open ended performance schedule, as well as several larger events for pH, utilizing contacts and strategies in all major media markets. I have no reservations at all in recommending Guy Wicke as a media relations professional.
Micah Philbrook  –  Co-Artistic Director, pH Productions 

 

 

Past Clients

The Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival
The world’s largest festival dedicated exclusively to the art of sketch comedy and a Chicago institution featuring the best sketch artists from across the U.S. and beyond.

 

The People’s Republic of Edward Snowden
In this satirical triumph by local activist W.C. Turck, Edward Snowden himself tells his story and takes an irreverent, poignant look at freedom and privacy in our time.

 

The Mary Kay Letourneau Players
Katie Rich & Kate Duffy present “a heady mix of clever jokes, uncomfortable moments, and a heady mix of clever jokes, uncomfortable moments, and zaniness for its own sake” (Flavorpill). “Hilarious… unpredictable… outrageous” (Gapers Block).

 

One Night Only
Veteran Chicago improvisers use audience suggestions to create a brand new musical each night, complete with singing, dancing, rhyming, reprises and free play. A 60-minute joyride that’s never been seen before and will never be seen again!

 

Michelle L’amour
Chicago’s own modern burlesque superstar, is a legendary performer, producer, and instructor whose Chicago Starlets were rated by Chicago Magazine as the #1 local burlesque company!

 

Commedia Beauregard
Translating the universal human experience to the stage: to expand our horizons and share knowledge of all cultures, translating between languages and between arts to create theater that is beautiful in expression.

 

GayCo Productions
Chicago’s LGBT-themed sketch comedy theater company specializing in hilarious, intelligent comedy where gay is the given, not the punch line. They killed in 2009 with the debut of The Audacity of Nope or How I Fell for a Pansy Scheme.

 

40 Whacks
Aggie Hewitt’s “kinda schlocky, kinda brilliant, totally fun” (Chicago Reader) musical about the infamous Lizzie Borden. Dark comedy at its finest, exploring the public’s fascination with death and violence…through song!

 

Hey You Millionaires

Comprised of a nationally-produced playwright, a published humor author, and a high school English teacher, this sketch comedy trio is “hugely talented…brainy and twisted” (Chicago Tribune).

 

 

Shoot Faster, Dear Brother, I’m Dying!

“A delightful exercise in deadpan absurdity…worthy of Mark Twain and other tall-tale tellers” (Chicago Theater Blog) which explores the post-Civil War lives of two brothers via their recently unearthed letters.

 

 

Arguing with a Quadriplegic

Jim Fath of Hey You Millionaires debuts his first solo show about being thankful for those shameful moments in life that end up strangely helping you later on.

 

 

Professor Whiskey’s Traveling Bizarre Bazaar

Jacksonville’s premier (and only) vaudeville and burlesque troupe combines music, mirth, mayhem, and a little bawdy merriment.

 

 

Come On! We’re All Adults!

A collection of solo pieces by Patrick Raynor, who was recently featured at the TBS Just For Laughs Festival in Alone: Chicago’s Best Solo Acts. Every hilarious scene is grounded, earnest, and rich in detail.

 

 

Barrel of Monkeys

BOM teaches creative writing workshops to underserved CPS students, then they adapt stories written by kids for their long-running hit, That’s Weird, Grandma, which Time Out Chicago calls “funnier than anything at Second City.”

 

Matt Young: Impotent

Improviser Matt Young opens up about his personal struggle with Erectile Dysfunction in this daring, honest sketch comedy revue exploring the figurative and literal implications of being ineffectual, unproductive and inadequate.

 

Matter Dance Company

Repeatedly voted “Best Dance Company in Chicago” in the Chicago Reader Best of Chicago awards, MDC performs accessible and surprising dance that appeals to the dance novice as well as the veteran.

 

Burlesque-inspired sketch comedy combining sharp writing with catchy songs for an all original musical revue. These sexy ladies slay the audience with their figures and their unbelievably foul-mouthed sense of humor.

 

Versatile improviser Lisa Linke gathered a load of talent together for her variety show, which she hosted each week a different teacher persona, introducing “the class” to an assortment of guest “instructors” there to entertain and educate

 

Twisted sketch comedy from the twisted wedded duo of Corey Rittmaster & Monique Madrid. The Union takes typical relationships and situations to a surprisingly dark and bizarre place. So wrong, but you’ll feel so alive.

The first play ever to be produced entirely in the Klingon language, Commedia Beauregard brought this phenomenon to Chicago in 2010. Scrooge has neither honor nor courage in this uproarious twist on the classic holiday tale.

 

Tim Soszko & Micah Philbrook test the boundaries of conventional sketch comedy. Centerstage Chicago calls their work “hilarious… unbridled comic genius” and Time Out Chicago calls their performances “oblique and exhilarating!”

 

Master illusionist Luis Carreon presents hip, modern magic and mentalism guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. An exercise in watching the impossible unfold before your eyes.

 

Two of Chicago’s sharpest comic minds, Dave Urlakis and Sean Cusick deliver “feisty, cerebral sketch comedy” (Chicago Reader) that is “seriously funny stuff, likably geeky and spot-on in its ridicule” (Time Out Chicago).

 

New ownership of Chicago Comedy Company, a remodeling, and a new crack team of Chicago improvisers brought Laugh Out Loud to life at its Grand Opening in 2008. Now it is THE place for hilarious improv comedy in Chicago’s Northwest suburbs!

 

Comedians Kaitlyn Grissom, Josh Johnson, Erin Lane and Grace Lusk produce this new alt comedy showcase where you can see things you won’t find elsewhere in Chicago.

 

Kate Duffy, one-fourth of “the best all-female improv group in Chicago” (Chicago Reader), pulled out all the stops in her first hilarious solo show, delving into a pile-up of out of control characters.

 

This razor sharp sketch foursome performed a horrific act of sociopolitical satire when they hosted of a stretch of the Playground’s Graffiti Sketch Comedy Showcase in 2011, and pointed out how ridiculous today’s America truly is.

 

Versatile comedian Kristen Studard’s sharp solo show exploring the joys of life’s Small Victories, and shedding a hilarious and often harsh light on the lies we tell ourselves to get through each day.

 

Chicago’s newest burlesque sensation features comedy, magic, juggling derring-do, and the beautiful Kiss Kiss Cabaret Coquettes, there each week to demonstrate an eye-popping display of the striptease arts!

 

Chicago improvisers and actual Catholics Vinnie Lacey and Natalie Sullivan offer up scenes, songs and secret confessions in this show bursting with the love of Christ!

 

The brave members of this critically-acclaimed improv troupe once again tested their wits, endurance, and sanity as the core group of “marathoners” going without rest while improvising for 30 straight hours in their 2nd Improv Marathon!

The funny foursome of Lisa Dellagiarino, Buck LePard, Trevor Martin & Conor Sullivan specialize in silly, story-driven sketches that take what you know about comedy and twist it, “infusing everything they touch with a uniquely silly acerbity” (A.V. Club).

 

John Sviokla and Sherra Lasley perform “two-person sketch comedy that defies expectation; highly physical, utterly absurd and ridiculously funny” (Time Out Chicago).

 

Five of Chicago’s ballsiest improvisers form up to become the Improv Comedy Super Team. No suggestions. No mercy. No apologies. Just shut up and pay attention. The New American All-Stars: Everybody else is not as good.

 

Kathleen Puls Andrade’s hilarious and moving one-woman show. Deftly applying humor to a serious subject, Kathleen takes the audience through her experiences dealing with infertility.

 

Chicago’s premiere musical sketch comedy group, performed the longest running revue in the history of the legendary iO Theater and is hailed as a “must see” by Time Out Chicago.

 

A wacky tale of one woman’s search for Mr. Right and her discovery of the delicious link between male personality types and jellybean flavor combinations!

 

Robyn Scott & Bill Larkin’s sketch comedy programme, featuring satire, impersonations, mime, performance art, puppetry and original musical numbers. The Chicago Tribune says, “Somewhere, George Burns & Gracie Allen are in stitches.”