Comedy club · Forest Park, Illinois

BABS Comedy Club, Forest Park, IL: Shows, Open Mic and Booking

7316 Madison St, Forest Park, IL 60130

The short answer

BABS Comedy Club is a comedy club in Forest Park, Illinois, at 7316 Madison St. Shows run Fridays for the Local Laughs stand-up showcase at 8:00 PM, with open mics on Thursdays and Saturdays and improv on Wednesdays and Saturdays; tickets $12–$17.74, 18+ recommended, no minimum. For comics, it runs an open mic (Thursdays, 8:00 PM) and publishes how to get booked.

On stage soon

No dated show here on D.O.C.'s Comedy Calendar yet — the club's own calendar has what is on: its listings ↗

Lineups belong to the club and the comedians, and can change; the listing has the last word. More shows in Illinois on the Comedy Calendar →

For comics

Open micThursdays, 8:00 PM — Standup Open Mic; also Micrófono Abierto de Comedia, stand-up in Spanish and Spanglish, on Saturdays at 6:00 PM — Sign up online from noon every Thursday, through the link on the open mic's ticket page; the list caps at 35 comics, with 7 spots kept for walk-ins; three to four minutes each source ↗
Getting bookedApply for the Friday Local Laughs Showcase through the form on its Comedian Submissions page only — no clips by email or social media source ↗
ShowsFridays for the Local Laughs stand-up showcase at 8:00 PM, with open mics on Thursdays and Saturdays and improv on Wednesdays and Saturdays source ↗

Per the club's own site, read 29 September 2026.

What the room asks of comics
The tape it wants
  • Do not send the same clip or material twice; a new clip with new material is welcome. source ↗
Hearing back
  • No reply does not necessarily mean no: it often means not yet, or that the booker is booked out for the next couple of months. source ↗
On stage
  • Open-mic sets are three to four minutes, depending on the length of the list. source ↗
Open mic and new talent
  • Open mic sign-up opens online every Thursday at noon through the link on the listing; first-timers should register on the site beforehand. source ↗
  • The open-mic list caps at 35 comics, with 7 spots kept for walk-ins. source ↗
House rules
  • The best way to be considered is a set at the weekly Thursday open mic, which the booker hosts. source ↗

From the club's own pages, read 29 September 2026 — hover a rule for its exact words, or open its source. Where two of its pages disagree, both are here.

More stage time: Stage Time has open mics by night, and the Gig Board has calls for comics posted by the rooms themselves.

For fans

TicketsGeneral admission $12 to $17.74, plus Illinois tax and a small service fee, on the shows it listed for late October 2026; some shows free source ↗
AgeRecommended for 18 and over; under 18 with a parent or guardian source ↗
MinimumNo drink minimum; a bar with cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks source ↗
ParkingMetered parking on Madison Street, $1 an hour, free after 8 pm and on Sundays; free two-hour parking on nearby residential streets such as Circle Avenue; municipal lots a few blocks away (check signs) source ↗

As the club's own pages give them, read 30 September 2026 — tap or hover a source for its exact words. Not published there: the phone rule.

Club Etiquette: how to be the table the room loves →

Plan the night

The night planner builds an evening around BABS Comedy Club: where to eat before, the trip there and home, and what the night costs.

Plan a night here → The club's site ↗

Open, according to its own website on 29 September 2026. Listed then: Local Laughs Standup Showcase, Friday 23 October 2026, 8:00 PM.

Near BABS Comedy Club

Comedy clubs in Illinois → · The Club Directory, coast to coast →

The Club Directory is also in the back of the D.O.C. book, Stand-Up Comedy: From Writing to Touring — $29, over 1,000 pages.

Updated 2 October 2026 · the club's facts from its own site, read 29 September 2026; its rules for comics read 29 September 2026; fans' facts read 30 September 2026