The Definitive Guide to Comedy
In the mid-1990s, as a handful of Del Close’s disciples moved to New York City to pursue their own show-business dreams as the Upright Citizens Brigade, another Close loyalist and student had gone Hollywood. Paul Vaillancourt saw he wasn’t the only improvOlympic alum in Los Angeles, and he asked Close …
Heather Anne Campbell is one of America’s great improvisers. She has studied under the legendary Del Close in Chicago, performed overseas with Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, appeared on MADtv, written for Saturday Night Live, and helped jumpstart FOX’s ADHD Animation Domination High-Definition. In Los Angeles, you’ve seen her or taken …
In case you missed it, the past couple of weeks have borne witness to some significant strides forward toward shining a light on the plight of women in comedy. Particularly when it comes to harassment and sexual abuse. First and foremost, Charna Halpern confirmed that she had fired an artistic director …
When Viola Davis accepted her Emmy Award last night for Outstanding Lead Actress in a TV drama series, she said: “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You can’t win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.” Powerful, moving words. Even more …
Comedian, actor, writer and director Jay Leggett died suddenly over the weekend, collapsing after a hunting trip with family in his native Wisconsin. Leggett was 50. Leggett, born Aug. 9, 1963, grew up in Tomahawk, Wisc. (where he died), and graduated from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He was a product of Chicago’s legendary …
When Robin Williams visited Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday night, Kimmel was impressed not only just to have Williams on as a guest — it made him feel like he’s actually hosting a TV talk show — but also because he’d heard that Williams performed improvisational comedy with “the kids” …
