Rating: Varies
wildly from show to show, but ***½ for overall experience
There are two types of people in the world:
Those who find Jiffy Pop as much fun to make as it is to eat; and those
who prefer to skip the interim steps and buy their snacks pre-popped.
If you're in the former group, you'll
probably enjoy improvisational comedy—which
not only supplies laughs, but shows you the process performers take to
get to them.
Many of the best improv comics in the
country will be converging July 22-24, 2005 at the Upright Citizens Brigade
Theatre (307 West 26th Street) for a continuous 3-day festival. (And I
mean continuous—some
of the most popular acts come on around 3:00 am.) Admission for the entire
50+ hour extravaganza is only $20—though,
like a trendy nightclub, when the house is packed you must wait on line
for people to leave until there's room to let you in.
The marathon is an annual UCB ritual to
honor the memory of Del Close, who pioneered and championed improvisational
comedy for over 30 years, tutoring such comedic icons as John Belushi,
Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, John Candy, and
Mike Myers.
Close led a colorful life. For example,
according to his writing partner Kim Johnson, in the late 1950s the U.S.
government conducted experiments with the sleeping mind for which Close
was a paid participant. When he prematurely left the program, Close received
a letter from the government stating "You owe us two more dreams."
During the 1960s, Close roller-skated through the sewers of Chicago with
a flashlight strapped to his head, shooting rats. And in 1999, Closes
dying words were "I'm tired of being the funniest one in the room."
Hundreds of improv troupes apply each
year to participate in the Del Close marathon—and
the cream of the crop will be unleashed this weekend. (For a complete
schedule, visit www.delclosemarathon.com.)
By definition, there's no telling what
to expect from these impromptu performers. But to give you a taste, last
year's festival offered such pithy observations as "Michelle Kwan's
a really good skater, too bad she's Asian...;" gangs of celebrities,
including multiple versions of Burt Reynolds, partying and periodically
beating each other up; and some maniac pretending to be Tony Hawk slamming
his body repeatedly between the back wall and a column at the foot of
the stage, until it was impossible to not see the graceful arc of the
nonexistent skateboard beneath him.
If one performer epitomized last year's
marathon, however, it was the guy who abruptly stood on his head and then
declared "I'm wearing the world as my hat." With that simple
move and seven words, he transformed our entire planet—with
all its governments, cultures, and conflicts—into
his personal apparel. It was a demonstration that no matter how bad things
get, we can always use imagination to empower us. And that's the true
magic of improv.
The down side, of course, is that in between
those transcendent moments on stage, there can be long lags when nothing
genuinely interesting happens. In this way, improv comedy is much like
life itself.
For that matter, it can be argued the
purest form of improv is created not by professionals, but by everyday
people under structured conditions. This is unquestionably the most popular
and commercial form of improv—it's
called reality television.
Small wonder that safe and predictable
scripted TV fell victim to Richard Hatch dropping his shorts, Omarosa
railing against falling plaster, and William Hung providing a rendition
of "She Bangs" no one ever dreamed possible.
By the same token, if you've tired of
retread sitcoms and Adam Sandler vehicles, the Upright Citizens Brigade
Theatre awaits to give you the world—as
long as you're willing to stand on your head.
Rating: Varies
wildly from show to show, but ***½ for overall experience
From 4:30 pm on Friday July 28, 2006 till 12:30
am on Monday July 31st, the world-famous Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
played host to a gathering of the best improv comedy groups in the country
for around-the-clock performances of over 150 shows. A mere $20 bought
entrée to the festivities at any time However, during peak hours it was
necessary to wait on line until enough laughter-sated people left the
packed theatre and created the room for new audience members to come in.
Day #1 highlights included Horatio Sanz (SNL) performing a screamingly funny
impersonation of Dr. Phil expounding upon the details of celebrity private
parts; Matt Besser (UCB,
Crossballs)
delivering a hilarious caricature of MySpace co-creator Tom Anderson as
a screechy-voiced horror whose only hope of making friends is via the
Web; a mob of comics filling the stage with different oddball versions
of Andrew Dice Clay (although master comedienne Jackie
Clarke ended up topping them all as an outraged Nora Dunn); and UCB
co-founder Ian Roberts
giving one of the most brilliant anecdotal one-man shows I've ever seen...improvised
on the spot.
Day #2 featured a mock wake for wonderful
UCB co-founder Matt Walsh (currently starring in Comedy Central's Dog
Bites Man); shows from such stellar comedic talents as Paul
Scheer (Best
Week Ever, Blackballed:
The Bobby Dukes Story) and Jason Mantzoukas (We Used to Go Out);
and a version of Gene Rayburns'
old TV show Match Game '76 packed
with such pseudo guest stars as Charles Nelson Reilly, Bill Cosby, Mr.
Spock, John Wayne Gacy, and Flipper (and which turned into chaos when
Gacy tried to strangle Flipper...).
Day #3 concluded with such delights as
a MySpace show, in which Paul Scheer and his gang visited an audience
member's Web page and then performed improv skits about it; a bitter-sweet
monologue from the brilliant Michael Delaney
about his constantly-feuding grandparents and the upside of hate; and
(for an extra fee) three hours of improvisations by the male founding
members of the Upright Citizens Brigade—Matt
Walsh, Matt Besser, and Ian Roberts—on subjects
ranging from memories of Del Close to how to evade someone trying to hand
you a screenplay.
The festival was also a showcase for scores
of improv groups from New York, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington
D.C., etc. I was able to catch only a fraction of these, but among either
my favorites or audience favorites were The Swarm, The Stepfathers, Wicked
F*ckin' Queeyah, Scheer-McBrayer,
Bassprov, Baby Wants Candy, No Posers, Mother: The Soundtrack, Bro'in
Out, Code Duello: Hamilton & Burr, I Eat Pandas, and Emanciprov!
As comic Owen Burke put it, "This
marathon is like Christmas in July." For those who love comedy, it
was a magical weekend.
If you missed it, the next one isn't until
July 2007. However, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre hosts terrific
comedy shows—at
a cost of just $5 or $8 per ticket—virtually
every night throughout the year. The theatre is located at 307 West 26th
Street (off 8th Avenue). For a schedule of its upcoming shows, please
click here.
To read my preview of last year's Del
Close extravaganza, please click here.
Comedy in the Moment: 9th Annual Del Close Improv Marathon
One of the most magical events in NYC,
the annualDel
Close Improv Marathon ran continuously from Friday July 27th,
2007 at 4:30 pm until after midnight on Sunday, July 29th. Groups from all
around the US and Canada—New
York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC, Chapel Hill, Raleigh,
Phoenix, Austin, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Ontario, Toronto—performed
more than 150 shows, typically in 30 minute blocks, for over 50 hours.
As in past years, tickets were a mere $20
for the entire weekend—an
incredible bargain. Paul Scheer remarked
last year the appropriate charge would be around $600, and he mostly wasn't
kidding.
As usual, the down side was way more patrons
than available space, causing long waits to get into the Upright Citizens
Brigade Theatre at 307 West 26th Street, which seats about 150. However,
the congestion was somewhat eased by the rental of the two additional
venues just a couple of blocks from UCBT: The
Hudson Guild Theatre at 441 West 26th Street (between 9th and 10th
Avenues), which seats 99; and the Fashion
Institute of Technology Kate Murphy Amphitheatre at corner West 27th
Street & 7th Avenue, which seats 280.
Friday was a fabulous opening night, with
dynamic and hilarious shows from brilliant improv troupes. Some highlights:
Death by Roo Roo
and The Stepfathers
Death by Roo Roo
interviewed an audience member whose mom died in a car accident while
his dad was driving, and who described the personality of his dad's new
girlfriend as "Jewish." The group then used this grimness to
craft bold and incredibly funny scenes that had the audience alternately
gasping in shock and laughing uncontrollably.
The Stepfathers
played a breathtaking range of scenes that included teens who refused
to dance with the "very ugly girl," played by Bobby
Moynihan, driving her to a memorable suicide attempt...and then an
even more memorable makeout
scene with Billy Merritt.
Wicked F*ckin'
Queeyah consists of some of UCBT's best as pseudo-Bostonians who hate
gays and the New York Yankees and whose every other word is f*ckin'...and who create a parody of an improv group with enough manic energy to
power a city. The heart of Friday's bits was a broken relationship between
characters played with genius by Jackie Clarke
and Jason Mantzoukas, involving numerous
sprays of beer thrown in the face and knock-down, drag-out fights—and which
Jason proclaimed at the end "my favorite show ever."
Code Duello:
Hamilton & Burr is a duo portraying "two of Americas angriest
founders: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr" and the events leading
up to their historic duel. Wearing wigs and waistcoats, Neil Reynolds and Matt
Tucker evoked colonial times while crafting deliciously silly scenes.
For example, Burr proposed a law declaring US land as "international
waters" so he'd have more freedom to sleep with married women. When Hamilton thwarted him, the villain seceded and declared his body his own country, "the United State of Burr."
A close runner-up
for the Silliness Award was CosbyProv,
a group of over a dozen performers impersonating Bill Cosby simultaneously.
Topics ranged from Cosby's patronizing preachiness to the tragic death
of his son to—naturally—Jell-0 Pudding.
Flat-out odd
was Uniprov, which consisted of four
guys attempting to perform scenes while balancing on unicycles. None of
them was able to stay on his cycle for more than a few seconds, though,
causing numerous loud and painful-looking falls. This didn't result in
particularly layered acting; but it did create a metaphor for the high-wire
act undertaken by all improvisors, and how easy it is to lose one's balance
and crash.
Working Girls are Susannah
Becket,
Marcy Jarreau, Pam
Murphy, Silvija
Ozols,
Amber Petty, and Jamie
Skinner pretending to be New Jersey secretaries who just recently
learned "the art of improvisation." Friday night's show ended
up focusing on one of the characters pregnant with a child she doesn't
want. These shrewd artists seamlessly turned the darkness into comedy—while creating
a gentle and hysterically funny parody of an improv troupe.
Jackie Clarke, Jason Mantzoukas, Billy Merritt, and Michael
Delaney
There were also frequent appearances from
such comedy celebs as UCB's Matt Besser
(playing both shrill-voiced MySpace Tom and affable Jimmy Stewart to perfection);
UCB's Ian Roberts (as an unforgettable
cunning retarded person), UCB's Matt Walsh
(acting as an easy-going pedophile), SNL'sHoratio Sanz (portraying a brother of
Dr. Phil with a robotic beard), Human
Giant'sPaul Scheer (as a prosecutor
of evil), and The Daily Show'sRob Riggle (carrying a baseball bat
with a top that pops off to display a disturbing sexual device).
Saturday featured a few improv stars at
their very best, and others who were deliciously absurd. Some highlights:
Paul Scheer and Jack McBrayer
Paul Scheer (Human
Giant, Best Week Ever) and
Jack McBrayer (30
Rock, Talladega Nights) are genius improvisors, with a keen understanding
of people and astounding memory for detail. On top of that, Scheer's New
York aggressiveness and McBrayer's Georgia cool make for wondrous chemistry;
and for a sold-out show at FIT, the duo delivered virtuoso performances.
Kicking off with an audience suggestion about canines, Scheer-McBrayer
performed a long scene between a man walking his dog in the park and another
whose dog had run away; and that ended with the latter convincing the
first man to be his new dog in return for free rent. This hilarious improvised
one-act play turned out to be just a warm-up, though; the guys then launched
into a scene at a photo store, and another at a women's book club, that
had them playing dozens of different eccentric characters with breathtaking
speed and smoothness. By the end of the hour, the show had virtually become
a class-by-example on how to create gracefully artful improv...and nabbed
a standing ovation.
Ian Roberts performed two 30-minute monologues titled
Lazy Man, because he claims to
be too lazy to plan and script a one-man show. Instead, Roberts did something
astonishingly courageous: he dug deep to connect with his fears and hopes,
and shared them with the audience unplanned and in the moment.
Roberts' first show revolved around how entering his 40s has led to giving up many of his youthful dreams
of glory: "I thought I'd be a multimillion dollar actor. Now I'm
not sure I'll even be a $16,000 actor." On the up side, it's also
given him a more relaxed perspective: "I've been exhausted for a
long time about nothing; things that really don't matter. Now I look at
the sky and the clouds, and realize how small I am; which makes all my
troubles tiny and insignificant." The father of young children, part
of him feels harassed by the responsibilities; but then he'll pick up
his baby with love and say, "It wasn't your idea to be here."
Still, Roberts can't help worrying about his kids: "They don't know
they'll get kicked in the teeth when they go out into the world and people
tell them their f*cking drawings don't look anything like what they think
they do." Roberts lamented that there's no way to win with child-rearing:
"It's like you're told to move some precious Steuben Glass piece
across the country. And so you wrap it up in styrofoam
and heavy wood and do everything you can to protect it. And then when
it finally arrives safely, it screams at you, 'You ruined me! You suffocated
me in styrofoam!
You imprisoned me in wood! No one got to see me, or play with me!! And
I've never learned how not to break!!!'" Roberts said he's lucky
in that his main task is to make money; his wife handles the truly difficult
job, and the one that matters, which is raising the kids. Which isn't
to say Roberts doesn't pitch in; for example, he makes up little rituals
to help put his daughter to bed. Problem was, his daughter used to insist
on keeping each ritual she enjoyed, and Roberts couldn't stop himself
from creating new ones to entertain her, so the "getting to bed"
experience grew longer and longer until it was taking more than an hour
each night. Roberts finally convinced his daughter to put some rituals
in rotation "to be revived periodically, like a repertory theatre."
Finally, with age comes wisdom such as this: "I now realize we're
all f*cked up. And there's a certain comfort in that."
Roberts' second show focused on a series of awful experiences he's
had as an actor. These included a commercial shoot that required having
meat taped to his pants so a dog would snap at his leg; an audition for
a part consisting entirely of the words, "Too bad," and the
casting director asking "Can you put a little more into that?";
and an audition with a big-name actor who apparently felt the appropriate
"in the moment" action was to kick Roberts in the ass. Regarding
the latter, Roberts said he should've grabbed the star by the shoulders
and thrown him against the wall; but Roberts simply thanked everyone for
the opportunity and left...without even getting the part.
The acting tales shed light on one of Roberts' favorite characters,
a retarded guy who's surprisingly cunning. To navigate the Hollywood system,
Roberts has undoubtedly often played dumb—because
it would dent egos to let on he was by far the smartest guy in the room.
Roberts concluded, "May you be braver than I." I'd say that
misses the mark, though, because his recounting of the incidents—and the other
ways in which Roberts made himself emotionally vulnerable and open, while
never for a second neglecting to entertain—was
jaw-droppingly brave, even for a master improvisor.
Flipper, C, C + C Improv Factory, and Brett Gelman
On the other
end of the comedy spectrum, the best "concept" show Saturday
night was a marathon perennial, Match
Game '76. In a scene of dream-like chaos, over a dozen performers
arrived as 1970s celebrities, including Leonard Nimoy, Elliott Gould,
Mark Spitz, G. Gordon Liddy, Paul Lynde, O. J. Simpson, Bea Arthur (represented
by a particularly gruesome monster mask) and—always
my favorite—Flipper.
In past years, two audience members were selected as contestants, and
the celebs soon erupted into violence against each other. On Saturday,
however, Jack McBrayer (see above) was
drafted to play the male contestant; and soon all the celebs focused on
horribly berating him while Bea Arthur periodically doused him with beer.
About mid-way through, Jack turned to the host—needless
to say, Paul Scheer—and
said, "You know, I've seen the show before, but I don't recall anything
like this happening." McBrayer, you are correct; and you were a fabulous
sport. The show concluded with Matt Walsh tackling Jack to the ground
and pretending to mercilessly pummel him. It just doesn't get any better...
Also deliciously
absurd was troupe C,
C + C Improv Factory, consisting of Chuck
Dauble (Chuck D. & Jawnee Show),
Charlie Sanders (Conan O'Brien,
Reuben Williams), and Charlie
Todd (Improv Everywhere, Reuben
Williams), who expertly demonstrated how to keep raising the stakes
throughout a long-form improvisation by playing three guys revealing all
the lies they've been suppressing while they've hung out together—e.g., one
of them admits that despite his frequent television references, he actually
never watches TV; then that he's Amish; and finally that he's blind. The
exploration of the logical ramifications of each revelation led the audience
into hysterical laughter.
And even sillier
was Cracked Out (Jon
Daly & Brett Gelman), a parody
of a hip-hop group that's just released a bona-fide album: Fleetwood Cracked. The duo refrained
from singing from their repertoire "because it would violate the
spirit of Del Close;" but they made up a half-dozen songs based on
audience suggestions, with topics ranging from the Easter Bunny to Anna
Nicole Smith to Mad Magazine's
Mort Drucker. A typical lyric: "What's beyond reality? That's what
we think about. F*ck corporations!"
And my favorite line: "No booing while we're on stage!"
Sunday at UCBT featured an unbroken block
of stellar talent for the last eight hours of the marathon...climaxing
in three spectacular ASSSSCAT 3000s. Specifically:
Baby Wants Candy, and a young Respecto Montalban
Paul Scheer, Owen Burke and Chad
Carter (all members of the beloved former UCBT troupe Respecto Montalban) improvised a 30-minute
movie based on the audience suggestion "I Am Batman." Paul was
a delightfully evil villain; Owen was dead-on as his obsequious follower;
and Chad created a memorable battle scene in which he flayed Owen alive
(but Owen quickly recovered as they were merely flesh wounds...).
Baby Wants Candy,
which had been performing in NYC all week for $10 a ticket, delivered
a superb free show based on the audience suggestion Giants
Among Us. The almost instantaneous creation of a solid story about
humans trying to prevent giants from stomping out their town, and the
seamless mix of improvised music (by a highly intuitive drummer and pianist)
and lovely singing of on-target improvised lyrics, resulted in a magical
hour.
Rob Huebel of Human
Giant and Rob Riggle of The Daily Show (both also former members
of Respecto Montalban) created a raucous
set of scenes about being a man's man. Most memorable bit: a reality show
for HBO titled Pussy Talk based
around hidden cameras in women's bathrooms.
Paul Scheer
& Jack McBrayer (see above) performed
a second fine show together. Scenes revolved around using improv as therapy
for children; an office worker creating jewelry from paper clips; and
running for school office on an anti-locker platform. Interestingly, this
time the duo stuck to small areas for their scenes (two office desks,
two school podiums) corresponding to the intimate space of UCBT. It made
me wonder if the guys created dozens of characters at FIT because they
felt an impulse to fill the large, expansive stage—even
though all their casts and sets were imaginary.
Half of the
Upright Citizens Brigade, Ian Roberts
and Matt Walsh, pretended to film a
cooking show while brutalizing their hapless producer...played perfectly
by Owen Burke. The easy camaraderie between Walsh and Roberts was sheer
joy to experience; and the contrast between their making nurturing comfort
food for the viewing audience while verbally abusing Burke behind the
scenes was continually fun. Nothing in particular seemed to happen during
the show aside from the creation of some flavored popcorn; but somehow
one left feeling happy and satisfied.
Per tradition,
the marathon concluded with three back-to-back ASSSSCAT
3000s. This year was extra special, though, as all four members of
the Upright Citizens Brigade were on stage: Matt
Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, and movie & Saturday
Night Live star Amy Poehler.
Each of the four is an extraordinary improvisor, actor, and human being;
but it was an exceptional treat to see Poehler, because (as far as I know)
she doesn't normally participate in the marathon.
Adding to the enjoyment is that these four comedy titans had appeared
on stage for an hour on Saturday to take audience questions; and they
play-acted that Poehler was a shy, submissive gal riding the guys' coattails.
For example, when Poehler was asked a question, Roberts or Walsh would
pretend to push Poehler's head down while answering the question for her.
Once ASSSSCAT began, however, Poehler showed a fire, imagination, and
sharpness that rivaled any of her formidable partners. For example, early
on in the first show Poehler interviewed Roberts for a job, and he mentioned
that as long as he was treated with understanding he'd be fine and the
small incident wouldn't recur. "Incident?" asked Poehler. "I
don't like to talk about it," replied Roberts. Then towards the close,
Roberts brutally massacred everyone in the room. Without missing a beat,
Poehler grabbed two chairs, sat herself and Roberts down to their previous
interview positions within about a second, and asked without batting an
eye, "So, was that the incident?" It was the perfect ending
for the show.
But my favorite moment of all three shows was Poehler in the role of
a mom telling one of the guest improvisors playing her son to sit on her
lap. A large man, the guy virtually froze at the thought of placing himself
on the petite 5'2" star. He was clearly trying to think of some way
out when Poehler barked, "Hey, sit on my lap! You have five seconds.
Five. Four. Three. Two..." He scurried over and sat. And it's a memory
I'll treasure for years...
There are actually many lovely moments
than hundreds of people will cherish from this marathon.
I should mention that I focused on covering
the events at UCBT. There were superb shows at the Hudson Guild Theatre
that I simply never had a chance to catch.
I also missed most of the shows at FIT,
which played host to some of the biggest stars of the festival:
The Swarm, Horatio Sanz, Rob Riggle, and Joe Bill of Bassprov
Baby Wants Candy,
the previously-mentioned Chicago-based group universally admired for their
skill at creating a completely improvised hour-long musical (for samples,
please click here).
The
Daily Show/Colbert Report Improv Jam, featuring writers and performers
from these two Comedy Central iconic hits such as Dan Bakkedahl, Peter
Grosz, Peter Gwinn, Ed Helms, Laura Krafft, and Rob Riggle.
Shows that
starred Horatio Sanz of Saturday
Night Live (and a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade);
Mark Sutton and Joe Bill of Bassprov (acclaimed Chicago-based improv
show based around two guys fishing); and Paul Scheer & Jack McBrayer
(described above).
The truth is, this marathon was so crammed
with talent and imagination and wonderful people that you could've skipped
all the shows I saw and still enjoyed a rich and exhilarating experience.
Huge kudos go to Matt Besser, Amy Poehler,
Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, UCBT-NY Artistic Director Anthony King, UCBT-LA
Artistic Director Seth Morris, and everyone else who helped create this
wonderful cultural event.
This year's marathon is over; but the Upright
Citizens Brigade Theatre continues to play host to superb shows—improv, sketch,
stand-up, and more—virtually
every night. You can read the schedule for UCBT-NY by clicking here. And please visit HyReviews.com
daily to check out my picks of the best comedy in NYC...which you can
jump to right now by clicking here.
Comedy
in the Moment: 12th Annual
Del Close Improv Marathon
One of the most
magical events in NYC, the annual Del
Close Improv Marathon ran continuously from 4:30 pm on Friday July 30th
until 9:30ish pm on Sunday August 2nd. Groups from all around the
US and Canada—New
York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Austin,
Philadelphia, Atlanta, Montreal, and more—performd
over 150 shows, typically in 30 minute blocks, for 55+ hours.
Tickets were a mere $25 for the entire weekend—an incredible
bargain. Paul Scheer said several years ago the appropriate
charge would be around $600, and he mostly wasn't kidding.
As in past years, the
only down side was way more patrons than available space, causing long
waits to get into the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre at 307 West 26th Street,
which seats about 150. However, the congestion was somewhat eased by
three additional venues just a couple of blocks from UCBT: The Hudson Guild Theatre
at 441 West 26th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), which seats 99; Urban
Stages at 259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues), which seats 74;
and the Fashion Institute of Technology Kate Murphy Amphitheatre at corner West
27th Street & 7th
Avenue, which seats 280.
I had to skip the 10th and 11th editions of the Marathon because
they conflicted with FringeNYC. That wasn't the case this year, for which I
was grateful; this is one of the finest comedy events
in the country, and not to be missed.
Highlights from the 12 hours I spent at the festival on Friday
included:
The Improvised Shakespeare Company taking the suggestion "hope"
to craft a play about royal serial killing, unending senseless war, and the
highest body count of the Marathon...for which the audience rewarded the troupe
with a standing ovation.
ISC's founder Blaine Swen demonstrating he can do anything by
performing a one-man improvised musical with an inventiveness, skillfulness,
and depth that was breathtaking...and garnered the only other standing ovation
of the Marathon.
The wonderful Bobby Moynihan (cast member of Saturday
Night Live) tap-dancing on a talk show hosted by the also wonderful Horatio
Sanz.
Many of the finest improvisors at UCBT—led
by rising star John Gemberling—wearing nothing but diapers to perform as whiny
babies.
Another group of top NYC improvisors pretending to be Bostonians
who continually cursed the Yankees, drank beer, and sprayed copious amounts
of beer on the audience.
Several shows that didn't pan out but tickled us with their
concepts, including Jane Austen-era improvisors, hillbilly improvisors,
and a small army of Jay Leno impersonator improvisors.
The guys of the Upright Citizens Brigade—Matt Besser, Ian
Roberts, and Matt Walsh—announcing that they and Artistic Director Anthony
King will be opening a new NYC theatre in January 2011 named UCB-EAST—on
3rd Street off Avenue A (where the Two Boots indie film theater
used to be)—and that its focus will be on stand-up to complement the
Chelsea theatre's focus on improv.
Jon Daly epitomizing the playfully surreal nature of Saturday's
DCM
as his character Sappity Tappity, the drunken green tree
Highlights from the 12 hours I spent at the festival on Saturday
included:
The legendary guys of the Upright Citizens Brigade—Matt Besser,
Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh—challenging their young
audience to test the trio's knowledge of hip modern terms...and culminating
in their persuading a young woman to make a bet with them she
was bound to lose and then forcing her to "lip synch" to a song via
her belly button.
The Improvised Shakespeare Company turning a rather innocent suggestion
about "horse flies in the river" into a tale of multiple drowned babies, filicide,
and dual regicide...and as on Friday, garnering an impassioned standing
ovation.
Death by Roo Roo making a strong argument for being the finest
improv troupe based in NYC, as its genius members showed us what it might be
like to work for a haunted house—complete with recruiting zombies, ghouls,
ravens, and guys with Atkinson's Disease.
Paul Scheer dazzling audiences with his brilliance and charm, first
in an improv about a dad with uncanny powers, and then as host of a raucous
1970s game show.
The aforementioned Match Game '76, which featured a small
army of celebrities including Chris Gethard as an inbred deviant from Deliverance,
Matt Besser as the Indian crying over littering, Eugene Cordero as a very gay
George Takei, John Gemberling as Larry Flynt tossing his colostomy
bag at people to express displeasure, Michael Delaney neatly evoking Truman
Capote, and Ben Rodgers perfect as Lt. Columbo...culminating in them all repeatedly
raping the male contestant.
Matt Besser hosting a "panel of experts" including Rob
Lathan as an unrepentant Mel Gibson, Kate McKinnon as an emotionally disconnected
hooker, and Jon Daly as a drunken green tree named Sappity Tappity.
Comedy dynamo Shannon O'Neill as a serial killer/baby eater interviewing
audience members and then drawing deeply disturbing profiles of them (e.g.,
"Here, this is you shitting in your own mouth").
One of the quickest & funniest comics alive, Doug Benson, hosting
his stand-up/improv show The Benson Interruption with guests Todd Barry,
Paul Scheer, and Morgan Murphy...and consistently killing. Look for Doug's
show in the Fall on Comedy Central (six episodes, hopefully with many more
to come).
Eugene Cordero hilariously narrating a show by calling out every
improv device as it occurred: "Aw shit, we got the location set up!"
"Delivered the premise in one line, goddamn!" "Oh, there it is homies,
we know the game!" "Good object work, that looked like a real dick!"
"Swinging door, that's Level 2 shit!" "Sweep edit! Next scene, motherfuckers!!"
There were other comedy events happening that weekend, but they
paled in comparison.
Comedy
in the Moment: 13th Annual
Del Close Improv Marathon
One of the most
magical events in NYC, the annual Del
Close Improv Marathon will run continuously from 4:30 pm on Friday
August 12th until 9:30ish pm on Sunday August 14th. Improv troupes from
all around the US and Canada—New
York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC, Philadelphia,
Austin, Miami, Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit, Phoenix, Raleigh, Toronto, Vancouver,
and more—will perform over 150 shows, typically in 30 minute blocks, for 55+
hours.
Tickets will be $25 for the entire weekend—an incredible
bargain. Paul Scheer said several years ago the appropriate
charge would be around $600, and he mostly wasn't kidding.
As in past years, the
only down side is way more patrons than available space, which will cause long
waits to get into the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre at 307 West 26th Street,
which seats about 150. However, the congestion will be somewhat eased by
three additional venues just a couple of blocks from UCBT: The Hudson Guild Theatre
at 441 West 26th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), which seats 99; Urban
Stages at 259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues), which seats 74;
and the Fashion Institute of Technology Kate Murphy Amphitheatre at corner West
27th Street & 7th
Avenue, which seats 280.
I had to skip the 10th and 11th editions of the Marathon because
they conflicted with FringeNYC; and I'll have to skip it this year for
the same reason. Do I think it makes sense for UCB to ignore the largest theatre
festival in America—and the fifth largest annual cultural event of any
kind in NYC—by scheduling DCM on FringeNYC's opening weekend? No, I do
not. But if you don't care about the Fringe—or you do, but care about
improv more—DCM is one of the finest comedy events in the country, and
absolutely worth experiencing.
Please note that there'll be a flurry of special shows at
UCBT in the week preceding the Marathon, including performances by renowned
Upright Citizens Brigade founders Matt
Besser, Ian
Roberts, and Matt
Walsh. I will be attending those shows, and recommend you do too.
Click the links in this paragraph to make your reservations ASAP, though;
all these events are sure to sell out.
Comedy
in the Moment: 14th Annual
Del Close Improv Marathon
The
14th Annual Del
Close Improv Marathon ran continuously from 4:30 pm on Friday
June 29, 2012 (with a press conference in UCB Chelsea given by Matt Besser,
Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts) until 10:00 pm on Sunday July 2, 2012 (with
an ASSSCAT
3000 performed in front of over 700 audience members by Amy
Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, and Matt Besser). Improv troupes from all
around the US and internationally—New
York, Albany, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Cambridge,
Washington DC, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Fairfield, Austin, Miami,
Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit, Denver, Phoenix, Raleigh, Carrboro, Toronto,
Vancouver, London, Helsinki, and more—performed over 150 shows, typically in
30 minute blocks, for nearly 60 hours.
Tickets were $30 for the entire weekend—an incredible
bargain. Paul Scheer said several years ago the appropriate
charge would be around $600, and he mostly wasn't kidding.
As in past years,
the only down side was way more patrons than available space, which caused
very long waits to get into the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre at 307 West
26th Street, which seats about 150. However, the congestion was somewhat eased
by five additional venues just a few blocks from UCB Chelsea: The Hudson Guild
Theatre at 441 West 26th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), which seats
99; Urban Stages at 259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues), which
seats 74; the School of Visual Arts Auditoriums A and B at 333 West 23rd Street
(between 8th and 9th Avenues); and the Fashion Institute of Technology Haft
Auditorium at corner West 27th Street & 7th
Avenue, which seats 700. In addition, there were shows at the new UCB East theatre
at 153 3rd Street (between Avenues A and B), which seats 99. To view shows
organized by venue, please click here.
To view shows organized by time, please click here.
For an easy-to-read schedule, please click here.
The DCM shows at the
SVA and FIT auditoriums were an additional $15.90 to see—unless
they didn't sell out, in which case those with marathon passes
received a remaining seat or standing room free of charge on a first come,
first serve basis.
I'm dead certain there were amazing things happening in each of
the venues. Because the top talent tended to be booked for UCB Chelsea,
though, I went with the odds and mostly stuck to the main showcase.
That said, what follows are some of the most memorable moments and shows I
personally encountered during this epic improv festival.
Friday Highlights
At the DCM press conference, Ian Roberts started
announcing a major UCB project...only to have Matt Besser and Matt Walsh
interrupt with, "Um, that's still a secret." Ian spent a few minutes
in denial with "Gee,
are you sure we haven't said anything publicly about it?" When assured
that was the case, Ian rebounded with, "Well, when we do you'll all
be very impressed." I
actually have a reasonable guess what it is...and yes, we all really will be.
Also at the press conference, Matt Besser swore that
an improv manual they've been working on for nearly 10 years "will, we
guarantee, be done before next year's marathon." Ian then added, "Absolutely!
And the white buffalo will once again walk the plains..." (As an expert
with 20 books under my belt—including five Dummies books—I've
been offering to help with this for six years running. Ian, Matt, and Matt,
at this point I'll do it for a sentence in the Acknowledgements. Reach out
to me...) Among
the benefits of the UCB book will
be clarifying terms and concepts that often confuse improvisors. For
example, as Ian explained, "Beginners think Agreement means
going along with whatever someone brings up. But if your
partner suggests 'Let's jump out the window,' and you say 'Sure!',
then that's the end of the scene...because at that point you're both dead.
What
Agreement really means is saying yes to the reality of whatever
scenario your partner suggests—but then responding in a genuine way that
reflects how you—or your character—would really behave in
that situation." The book is another project from UCB very much
worth looking look forward to.
Also at the press conference, the guys discussed
how much work is involved in becoming good at improv. Ian said
a lot of people who are funny think, "Improv is walking and talking. I
do that every day. I'm ready to go on stage as an improvisor!" Ian continued,
"That's like my looking at a piano and saying,
'I like music. I have fingers. I'm ready to give a piano concert!'"
Ian also defended rules, explaining, "The fact that I can
stand here is defying gravity. It's a learned skill I've done so often
it's become instinctual. We all learn from habit and repetition." Matt
Besser added that taking a class is great, but not by itself: "You should
have your own practice team. And every session you should rehearse with
each other for three hours—not one hour, not two hours, three hours is
the standard—and at least three times a week."
Keisha Zollar, Sasheer Zamata, and Nicole Byer overflow
with energy and innovation as Doppelganger
Stellar NYC trio Doppelganger (Sasheer Zamata, Nicole Byer, and Keisha
Zollar) were in top form, with running gags including a man (played
by Nicole) who keeps proposing marriage at the most inappropriate moments—such
as when his girlfriend is caring from her grandma who's just moments away from
death: "We'll
inherit the old bag's house, car, and savings. Honey, be mine!" Another
shining moment was when Sasheer brings an orphan (played by Keisha) into her
house, outlining a space four feet by four feet and saying, "That's how
much room you have. Don't leave that square, you're dirty."
Keisha looks around rapturously and says, "At least it's a home." It
was an apt metaphor for any young performer starting out; but chances are
each of these fearless and razor-sharp gals will go on to lustrous careers.
The Stepfathers: Chris Gethard, Shannon
O'Neill, Silvija Ozols (front row); Will Hines, Zach Woods,
Michael
Delaney (back row), plus Bobby Moynihan (now mostly at SNL); and Connor
Ratliff (not pictured)
When comedy geniuses Chris Gethard and Shannon O'Neill
of The
Stepfathers appeared at
9:00 pm, the crowd cheered wildly. Shannon growled, "We're on this stage
every Friday! And at this exact same time!" Then Shannon relented
with,
"But thank you for your drunken enthusiasm." What followed was
one of the most brilliant 30 minutes of improv I've ever seen—from
Chris, Shannon, Silvija Ozols, Zach Woods, Will Hines, Michael Delaney, and
Connor Ratliff working as a perfectly oiled machine, with all of them understanding
each other's strengths and playing them perfectly. That would've been enough;
but then Chris said, "And now...let's
rewind." The troupe responded with pure magic by reenacting
every scene it had made up on the spot—backwards! As these stars got
to the point of backing out the curtains from where they'd entered,
the audience jumped to its feet to provide a rousing standing ovation. The
set wasn't quite over, though, so Shannon returned to growl, "Sit back down!
We're not done yet! Geez, we're here every Friday!" The troupe proceeded
to deconstruct what they'd done, with such comments as, "I thought that tag
was a little premature" and "This scene came out of something that happened
backstage no one else has any idea about." When the lights finally
came down, the audience jumped up to provide an even louder and more enthusiastic
standing ovation.
Improv giants Mark Sutton and Joe Bill in Bassprov
Also noteworthy were such out-of-town troupes as
Sentimental Lady from LA and Telenovela from Washington DC;
a fun Bassprov with the form's creators, improv legends Joe Bill and
Mark Sutton, plus guest improv legend Matt Walsh; improv star
Fran Gillespie doing an impressive job as a mirror in Paranormal
Encounters; and another of the finest improvisors alive, Paul Scheer, in Bruckheimer.
Saturday Highlights
Trying to satisfy DCM audiences in every way possible
Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts did something
only comedy masters can pull off: They created a gripping
and laugh-filled 30 minutes from simply playing with the audience.
Starting with the premise that there are
both guys and gals at DCM eager to hook up, but with no easy way
to find each other, the UCB founders determined to fix things by becoming improv
pimps. After a hilarious maze of ideas, they ended up getting five female and
five male volunteers on stage. (There was actually a sixth guy, but—in
an especially delicious moment—an audience member outed him as having
a girlfriend, and in fact wearing her DCM bracelet to get into the theatre
that day. The guy was unanimously booed off...) The volunteers were assigned
numbers, from 1 to 10, and then told to close their eyes and use their fingers
to indicate the number of the person they'd like to be with. Sadly, no digits
corresponded across genders. At the last minute,
to Matt Besser's delight, an audience member shouted, "Second choice!" They
gave that a try as well; but most of the women raised empty fists... While
the wild experiment failed at making a match, it succeeded at becoming one
of the best shows of the marathon.
Gil Ozeri and John Gemberling
John Gemberling's final official Death
by Roo Roo show
was last month, after which he moved to LA; so one of the special treats
of this DCM was having John back one more time. The same goes
for another former Roo
Roo member now based in LA, Gil Ozeri. Gil's down-to-earth
brilliance was in top form as a guy who kills animals
and small children and then explains it all away with, "I'm
slow..." Roo
Roo turned this unsettling scenario into a surreal ride of talking ravens,
mountain spirits, and dreams within dreams within dreams. Still one of the
finest troupes in improv history, Roo Roo keeps going via comedy
giants Anthony Atamanuik, Neil Casey, Gavin Speiller, John Murray, and Dan
Black every Saturday at 9:00 pm.
Paul Scheer hosting a previous edition of Match Game
'76
An eternal high point of DCM is Match
Game '76, which features a small
army of 1970s celebrities doing incredibly stupid and disturbing stuff. Among
the most memorable last night were Rob
Lathan as a Chevy Chase who kept falling head over heels and knocking everything
down, Adam Pally as a John Belushi obsessed with his long-term career plans,
Bobby Moynihan as a Jim Henson whose personality was indistinguishable from
Kermit the Frog, Michael Delaney as an eerily dead-on and effete 15-year-old
Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Shannon O'Neill as "Sharon's Tate's dead
unborn baby." As always, Paul Scheer was pitch-perfect as the unflappable
host; and this year's contestant/victim was Chris Gethard, who was continually
pelted by the celebrity guests. Chris was good-natured about it at first,
but as the abuse continued got his wild "fighter" look in his
eyes and began throwing objects back at the stars. This somewhat tense stand-off
was resolved just a minute before the show's end when a celebrity's random
throw managed to get past Chris' defensive posture and score right into his
balls. When Paul asked if he was all right, Chris gracefully replied, "I'm
fine aside from the fact I was belted in the testicles with a hard-boiled
egg." Beginning improvisors, please note that these are words to live
by.
Joe Wengert is the most hilarious Dark Knight ever
The most delightful surprise of the marathon was
a 15-minute show starting at 3:00 am Saturday night titled Batman-Prov.
Picture Joe Wengert's big-ass glasses (above left) placed over the mask on
the right—coupled
with a perfectly rendered deep, gravelly voice that would make even Clint Eastwood
nervous—and
then imagine this mini-Dark Knight raising his hand in a grade-school classroom
to say, "I'd
like to go to the principal's office. I'm sad because my parents were killed"—and
you'll have a vision of what garnered the single biggest laugh at DCM, lasting
over half a minute. Joe Wengert did genius work focusing on the aspects
of Batman that define the character—eternally brooding on an old wound, and
focused to the point of psychosis. At one point Joe goes to his fellow performers—who,
while talented, are in this bit essentially props—and complains, "When
we did the improv workshop with Will Hines, he said we could be anything we
can think of. But I'm the same thing in every scene." His
comrades agree and begin anew. "I'm a train," says one. "I'm
a plane," says another. "I'm BATMAN,"says Joe...to
another thunderous round of laughs. Nate Dern, if you're reading this, please
consider making Joe's invention a regular show on the UCBT schedule. Dunno
if it should be improv, sketch, or hybrid; but whatever the form, this deserves
to be seen by way more people. (And Joe, if you haven't pitched this to the
New York Comic Con yet, do.)
Sunday Highlights
Upright Citizens Brigade founders Matt Walsh, Matt Besser...
...Ian Roberts, and Amy Poehler concluded their epic marathon with
audience work and therapy
I actually missed most of Sunday to sleep and then
work on this site. I arrived at UCB Chelsea at around 6:00
pm to catch
Baby Wants Candy earn a standing ovation (quite rare for improv,
and the only troupe I've seen scoring one besides The Stepfathers at
this DCM). The rest of the evening was taken over by the Upright Citizens
Brigade founders: Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts.
First they made a surprise appearance at UCB Chelsea for a show titled We
Can Fix You. As the title implies, audience members were asked to come
on stage and reveal emotional or psychological problems, which the
comics would then try to repair on the spot. If this sounds like a tricky thing
to pull off for a comedy show...it was. But you have to admire their guts for
even trying. Amy's
presence was essential, as she's the beating heart of the group; and
her radiant warmth, sensitivity, and genius added
a great deal to the comedic therapy.
The marathon then concluded with a special 8:00 pm edition of ASSSCAT
3000 at the Fashion Institute
of Technology Haft Auditorium (West 27th Street and Seventh Avenue), which
seats 700...and was nonetheless overflowing with audience members, even in
the Standing Room Only sections. Continuing the theme of playing with the audience,
Amy, Matt, Matt, and Ian treated the enormous theatre like their living room,
maintaining a casual and playful approach as they chatted with dozens of enthusiastic
attendees. After devoting about 20 minutes to fun chatter, they spent
the rest of the evening taking anecdotes from various audience members and
spinning them into improv scenes—aided by Chris Gethard and Owen Burke
for the first half, and Jason Mantzoukas and Chad Carter for the second half,
concluding at 10:00 pm.
As they left the stage, Matt Besser gave the final wave, shouting
enthusiasm for next year's 15th annual extravaganza.
This 14th DCM created enough memories to last until then. It was an
epic achievement, and everyone involved in making it
happen—the
UCB founders, the dedicated performers, Artistic Director Nate Dern and the
other staffers, the volunteers, and the audience members who patiently
waited on line for hours to get into a top venue—all deserve a big round
of applause.
If anyone ever asks why you live in New York, you can point to this event—and
the UCB Chelsea and UCB East theatres year-round—as
among the best of reasons.
