• Events
    • Los Angeles Open Mics
    • Los Angeles Shows
    • New York Open Mics
    • New York Shows
  • Book A Tour
  • Venues
  • News
  • Podcast
  • About
    • About The Comedy Bureau
    • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Digital Wall of Trustees

groundlings

divider

Pick of the Day: 99 Seats Later: A virtual conversation with the women who helped found The Groundlings Theatre 3/29

March 9, 2021
News
Allison Dunbar, groundlings, laraine newman, Phyllis Katz, Suzanne Kent, Terry Bolo, Tracy Newman, Victoria Carroll Bell, women's history month

One of Los Angeles’ most storied and longest running comedy venues is none other than The Groundlings. Part of the reason that they’ve been around for so long comes from their gathering of pioneers of sketch and improv under its roof decades ago and keeping its demanding program/main company alive and well throughout all these years. From there, it hasn’t been surprising to see Groundlings alum make up a great deal of the SNL cast.

So, as part of Women’s History Month, it would be great to hear the stories from the female trailblazers that helped the ascent of The Groundlings Theatre to its historic and revered status that it has today. On Mon. Mar. 29th, Current Groundlings Main Company members’ Allison Dunbar and Annie Sertich will moderate an exclusive discussion with such women including Laraine Newman, Terry Bolo, Victoria Carroll Bell, Phyllis Katz, Suzanne Kent, Tracy Newman, and Lynne Marie Stewart.

The live-stream panel discussion will be called 99 Seats Later and is set to stream at 4PM PT on Mon. 3/29. Tickets are $10 and you can (and very much should) get them here.

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 47: Leonard Robinson & New (Inclusive) Frontiers

February 17, 2021
News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
cap city comedy club, comedy store, creek and the cave, groundlings, insecure, Leonard Robinson, mr and mrs smith

A member of the Groundlings Main Company, Comedy Store regular, and Taurean on Insecure, Leonard Robinson joins TCB’s Jake Kroeger  to talk on how the Groundlings have survived/thrived through both virtual improv/sketch shows almost kind of like they used to do in person (with a few clever changes for Zoom) and how they’re moving forward with diversity and inclusion measures (even beyond what they were already doing before last summer). Also, Robinson gives just a little insight on Insecure season 5 and “hot” takes on the Phoebe Waller-Bridge/Donald Glover reboot of Mr & Mrs. Smith and the reopening of Cap City and The Creek & The Cave down in Austin, TX.

Follow Leonard @iamleonardrobinson on IG.

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).
Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 15: Christina Catherine Martinez & Aesthetics

July 8, 2020
News, Slider, The Comedy Bureau Field Report
aesthetical relations, beavis and butt-head, christina catherine martinez, clone high, groundlings, john mulaney, live from the comedy traphouse, nore davis, search party

This week, TCB’s Jake Kroeger zooms with the beloved comedy and art world hybrid Christina Catherine Martinez. Even without a pandemic, Martinez has managed to imbue her comedy with her professional art critic sensibilities to create marvelously absurdist, subversive, high brow, yet incredibly silly bits, stand-up, and characters. Her and Jake discuss what her detailed plans for translating her conceptual comedy to live-streaming platforms like Zoom on IG Live, the extension of her Aesthetical Relations brand/universe (even revealing plans for a special), and an attempt at a quick rundown of Groundlings’ controversy, MTV animated series revivals, and Comedy Central’s order of two new John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch specials.

Also, here’s John Cage’s 4:33 to get that John Cage joke at the end.

Follow Christina at @xtina_catherine on Twitter and IG and visit christinacatherine.info to delve into all things Christina Catherine Martinez. Get the e-book version of Aesthetical Relations here.

Shout outs: I May Destroy You, Search Party, and Nore Davis’ Live From The Comedy Traphouse

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).
Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

October 17, 2019
Uncategorized
comedy show, groundlings, jennifer tilly, laraine newman, los angeles, rob reiner, will forte

The premise of an autobiography being acted out by someone else definitely has a spark for comedy. To have celebrities act each other’s autobiographies takes it to another level and that’s exactly what the internationally acclaimed live show Celebrity Autobiography from Eugene Pack (with Dayle Reyfel) aims to do. With this particular line-up that includes the likes of Will Forte, Jennifer Tilly, Rob Reiner, and Laraine Newman, this particular edition of Celebrity Autobiography ought to be a barnburner of a comedy show.

Tickets for this edition, set for The Groundlings next month, are going for $25 and you can (and should) get them here.

June 10, 2019
Uncategorized
groundlings, julia sweeney, largo, older and wiser, solo show

We got to catch a bit of Julia Sweeney at UnCabaret last night telling a story about dealing with her elderly mother and it was hilariously enthralling. From it, we can clearly see that her powers of observation, detail, and delivery are still at their peak (maybe even better?) and that she maintained a great balance between being incredibly personal and hysterical. If you loved her on SNL, you definitely need to see this round of Julia performing live as soon as you can.

So, with that in mind, we urge you to catch her solo show Older & Wider whenever you can. It’ll be playing at Largo next week on June 17th (tickets are $45) and Groundlings on July 1st (tickets are $20).

RIP Gary Austin, 1941-2017

April 2, 2017
Uncategorized
gary austin, groundlings, rip

The one and only Gary Austin, the founder of The Groundlings, passed away yesterday at the age of 75. 

Austin and his company literally built The Groundlings from the ground up with their own hands and made into a world famous comedy institution that provided SNL with some of its most celebrated cast members. You can get a timeline of how the company, theatre, and school came to be here.

Austin’s legacy in comedy, as you probably already knew, is forever secured.

truInside Shows How Many Comedy Greats Taught Other Comedy Greats at The Groundlings

May 3, 2016
Uncategorized
cheri oteri, groundlings, kathy griffin, lisa kudrow, phil hartman, truinside, trutv

It might not surprise you that your favorite alums from the legendary comedy institution known as The Groundlings was probably taught by another Groundlings alum who you also love.

However, seeing how their alumni tree exactly branches out between Cheri Oteri, Phil Hartman, Lisa Kudrow, etc. is kind of amazing as you can see in this clip.

TruTV’s truInside delves even deeper into the long, long storied of The Groundlings tonight at 10PM.

February 16, 2016
Uncategorized
groundlings, jim rash

Tickets are $10.

Full listings for LA comedy shows and open mics and maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com

TV Land Orders Script for Single Camera Comedy From Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone

July 27, 2015
Uncategorized
ben falcone, groundlings, melissa mccarthy, tv land

(via Deadline)

TV Land’s rebranding seems to be going alright.

The Jim Gaffigan Show and Younger have been bright spots for the new TV Land. 

Now, they’re on to expand their comedy offerings and stand out in an ever-increasing number of non-broadcast comedy networks with a new project from the comedy duo of Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone.

Friends with Melissa will contrast the varying careers of Groundlings alums ranging from her fame and fortune to being stuck writing for children’s TV.

If done right, this could be kind of like Curb Your Enthusiasm from a different angle with the lovable McCarthy at the forefront.

Vanity Fair Collects An Oral History of the Groundlings for 40 Year Anniversary

June 6, 2014
Uncategorized
groundlings, oral history, vanity fair

Vanity Fair Collects An Oral History of the Groundlings for 40 Year Anniversary

Many of you very well know the alumni of Groundlings. From Laraine Newman to Kristen Wiig to Paul Reubens to Lisa Kudrow to Will Forte to Jim Rash to so many more. Vanity Fair’s curated a nice collection of their stories from their time there spanning a good deal of The Groundlings history.

Kaitlin Olson Talks The Future of “It’s Always Sunny”, Groundlings, and Edgy Comedy with Paul F. Tompkins

November 27, 2013
Uncategorized
groundlings, it's always sunny in philadelphia, kaitlin olson, paul f tompkins

In a nice, long interview on Speakeasy with Paul F. Tompkins, Kaitlin Olson of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia gets into her time at Groundlings, being a mom on an edgy comedy, the idea of edgy comedy, what will happen possibly to It’s Always Sunny, and more.

Watch the whole interview here.

March 24, 2011
Uncategorized
behind the scenes, chloe sevigny, comedy, dave holmes, drew droege, drugs, groundlings, improv, interview, stories

adrinkwithdave:

Drew Droege Part 2 (fin)
A Drink With Dave Previews

Dave, Drew, Chloe Sevigny, Tanya Roberts, LMFAO and Drugs!

(Source: https://player.vimeo.com/)

Recent News

divider

  • The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 258: Victoria Male & Revisiting the 90s the Good Way - A lot of what has been dug up from the 90s, mostly by Gen Z,… Read More
  • The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 257: Sam Walt Jones & Manifesting the Theatrical in Live Comedy - The undertaking of putting on a live comedy show can be a lot, but putting… Read More
  • Pick of the Day 5/7/25: Club Video (in NYC) 5/17 - The cool kids at Club Video are back at it again. That's to say they… Read More

Sign up For The Newsletter

Copyright © 2020 The Comedy Bureau
All rights reserved