The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Matt Besser has made his mark on a generation of comedians as one of the co-founders of the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe and comedy theaters (now four of them, two each in New York City and Los Angeles). Over the years, you’ve also seen him performing on screens big and …
This should be required viewing by everyone, and shown in orientation for every TV news reporter and camera crew. Why do people feel the need to wave or make fools of themselves in the background of a live TV news report? Who are they? In this UCB1 report from UCB …
Everything is connected by pizza. Or karma. Mostly karma. No matter what you believe in the nature of coincidences, karma and pizza, believe this: Matt Walsh brought his new improvised comedy film, A Better You, to Indiegogo and not Kickstarter or anywhere else for help crowd-sourcing his post-production finances because his role …
Broad City, the Comedy Central series that began as a webseries by Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, has its TV debut on Jan. 22, 2014. But the premiere episode already hit the Internets over the weekend for you to enjoy now or at your leisure over the next few weeks. …
After several years in the planning, talking and writing, the co-founding leaders of the Upright Citizens Brigade finally accomplished the publishing stage of their effort to write their own book on improv comedy. Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh, alongside “UCB Four” co-founder Amy Poehler, unveiled “The Upright Citizens …
The Upright Citizens Brigade’s 15th annual Del Close Marathon, which wrapped up another weekend of around-the-clock improvised comedy, attracts thousands of comedians and comedy fans from around the world and offers surprises of all sorts. Performers you wouldn’t expect to see on a show but do — Michael Cera acted …
Just in time for the 15th annual Del Close Marathon, here’s an inside behind-the-scenes look at the Upright Citizens Brigade’s signature long-form improv show and form, “ASSSSCAT.” The long-running UCB ASSSSCAT show, which helps close out DCM and packs the theaters in New York City (and now Los Angeles, too) …
Who would you include in an exhaustive list of the most iconic stand-up comics and performances? Surely greats like Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and Bill Hicks would be included. And such a list could not be told without performances like Lenny Bruce’s Carnegie Hall concert. If you are going to …
When the Upright Citizens Brigade’s East Village theater celebrated its grand opening in November 2011, major print and broadcast media outlets showed up to interview the UCB’s Amy Poehler and Matt Walsh, and Fugazi’s Ian MacKaye showed up, too, to recognize the comedy collective’s tribute to his post-hardcore punk band’s …
Thrash Lab has released a new 11-minute documentary on improvisation in comedy — specifically set in the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Hollywood, and speaking with Matt Walsh, Jason Mantzoukas, Paul Scheer, Ellie Kemper, Kay Cannon and others about “The Harold” form of improv. It’s a good, quick overview of …
