Get your game on at a fundraising event with the emphasis on fun. Tonight, the Neo-Futurists (Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind) partner with Video Game Art Gallery and Bit Bash to create the Neocade, a night of gaming art and local indie games with food and drinks from Arcade Brewery, CH Distillery and Dimo's Pizza. Support the Neo’s while nailing Thursday night fun. (Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N Ashland Ave, 7pm. $40)
2. Be social
One of the hands down funniest improv ensembles to grace Chicago returns to where it all began this weekend, giving us four chances to see four of the five original members of the Cook County Social Club. Greg Hess, Bill Cochran, Brendan Jennings and Mark Raterman return to iO (they performed at the Wrigleyville location for seven years), to celebrate the big one-oh and trust us, you’ll want to be right there with them. (iO’s Mission Theater, 1501 N Kingsbury St, 8pm & 10:30pm. $15)
Nothing will make you more thankful to see your own family this holiday season than Pilgrim’s Progress, Brett Neveu’s dysfunctional family play that takes a darkly comic turn. Starring Michael Shannon, back at his theatrical home base in a role he fills with a weirdo intensity, this four-person drama is engrossing, odd and funny. (A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N Wells St, 8pm. $30)