improv comedy

October 11, 2019

comedy show, experimental comedy, improv comedy, los angeles, loz feliz

The Murge, which already has been a highly experimental improv show that pretty much had no rules, is going to follow even less rules in their new form as Murge Zero without former Murge director John Gilkey.

So, a collection of LA’s favorite idiot performers, will fly as close to the sun as possible with fourth-wall-less improvised bits and scenes that are daring, sometimes dangerous, hysterical (sometimes literally), and almost unbelievable.

Murge Zero is
Sethward Allison
Ian Bratschie
Lucia Brizzi
Chad Damiani
Meera Kumbhani
Kevin Krieger
Joe Mitchell
John Norris
Claire Woolner
John Wyatt

Don’t miss Murge Zero at The Clubhouse this Sun. Admission is donation based FYI. Get more details here.

September 27, 2019

art installation, experimental comedy, funk shuffle, hollywood, immersive art, improv comedy, K3WLAZN420, wild

Enough with black walls, doors, and chairs. It’s time to see improv in an immersive art installation and have an experience that you’ve probably never had.

Bad Traffic in the Alchemy Tunnel, thanks to host Christiana Morgenroth and producer Max Lasser, will combine some really swell improv teams with UCB Cagematch champs WILD, K3WLAZN420 that does improv off your first experiences w/the Internet, and experimental darlings Funk Shuffle and an aforementioned art installation called the ALCHEMY TUNNEL by one Laurie Shapiro.

All of this will happen at Radiant Space at 1444 N. Sierra Bonita Ave. (right around where Meltdown used to be) on Fri. Oct. 11th at 9PM (doors 8:30PM).

Tickets are on sale right now $15 and you can (and very much should) go get them here.

Middleditch + Schwartz Are Shooting an Improv Comedy Special

September 13, 2019

ben schwartz, comedy special, improv comedy, middleditch and schwartz, thomas middleditch

Though long form improv has been an established discipline in the art form of comedy for decades now, the prospect of seeing it in the form of a comedy special has been incredibly rare. The last time we even remember seeing something like that was when Schwartz led off a night of improv with the cast members of House of Lies.

Now, Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz together as Middleditch + Schwartz, arguably one of the most successful long form improv teams in comedy history, will be blazing a new trail by making a special out of four tapings recorded at the NYU Skirball. The tapings are almost entirely sold out at this point, but the promise of what this might be is incredibly enticing.

Admittedly, putting long form improv as a special proves for an especially hard challenge as the nuance and ephemeral nature of improv comedy begs that you don’t cut anything from the entire performance. We’re not sure exactly what Ben and Thomas’ strategy for the final product will be, but it’ll undoubtedly set a new precedent in comedy.

September 9, 2019

cagematch, comedy tournament, improv comedy, improv tournament, long form improv, ucb, upright citizens brigade

The best of the best of the best of UCB’s improv teams (and, man, are they good) are duking it out in the annual The Cagematch 2019 Winners Tournament over the next month and a half.

The match-ups and schedules are as follows:

Wednesday, September 11th – 11pm @ UCB Franklin
#1 Lotta People Here Tonight (Shaun Diston & Devin Field) [26-0; Del Close Marathon 2019 Champions]
vs.
#8 k3wlAZN420 (Lizz Adams, Chuck Maa, Allyn Pintal, & Erich Tamola)[1-1; interim champs]

Wednesday, September 18th – 11pm @ UCB Franklin
#2 The House of Gains (Brennan Lee Mulligan & Lou Wilson) [7-1]
vs.
#7 Fruits & Nuts (Ava Palazzolo, Brenda Marie Davies, Jackie Young, Mya Dalton, Zoe Travis, & Mark Renaudin) [UCB Indie Tournament Champions]

Wednesday, September 25th – 11pm @ UCB Franklin
#3 WILD (Amanda Bonar, Molly Doan, Meg Joh, Cara Meyers, Allyson Phillips, & Jessica Svendsgaard) [6-2]
vs.
#6 Musical The Musical! (Matt Harbert, Angie Englebert, Kelly Lynne D’Angelo, Leah McCormick, Andrew Paulsen, Carlie Craig, Gabe Greenspan, Rachel Borders, Jessica Poter, & Alison Tafel) [1-1]

Wednesday, October 2nd – 11pm @ UCB Franklin
#4 Adumer, Tart, & Neal (Aman Adumer, Jacquis Neal, & Carl Tart) [6-0; current champs]
vs.
#5 Hottest Ppl On Earth (“Danny Beckman”, Tracey Kennedy, & “Kyle Thompson”) [UCB 3-on-3 Tournament Champions]

Then, semifinals will be hed October 9th & October 16th and 2019 Cagematch champion will be determined on Oct. 23rd all at 11PM at UCB Franklin, hosted by The Pasadena Plague (Ryan Hitchcock, Mark David Christenson, and Jane Kim).

Tickets for 9/11, 9/18, 9/26 are all on sale right now. Go get tickets quick before for $7 a pop before they sell out.

comedy festival, comedy shows, improv comedy, pack theater, sketch comedy, stand up comedy

If you’re not familiar with or been to or, more importantly, come to really dig what’s going at The Pack Theater over the last 4 years, you really ought to fix that.

A great way to do so is by going to PackCon, the annual celebration of the best of the best at The Pack Theater. Their favorite improv, sketch, stand-up, experimental comedy, and more will be on display for one giant day/night of comedy. That line-up will include Adam McKay, Kevin Dorff, Christina Gausas, Sean Conroy, Ryan Ridley, Stephnie Weir, Bob Dassie, James Adomian, Jackie Zebrowski, Henry Zebrowski, Tommy Blacha, Rob Haze, Annie Mebane, Nick Turner, Andres du Bouchet, Murderfist, Chopping Block, BioDome, Miles Stroth Celebrity All-Star Improv Set, Speedface, and more!

PackCon 4 will be taking place on Sat. Jul. 27th at The Pack Theater from 12PM-12AM???

There’s a good part of this PackCon4 that’s the nice price of Pay What You can, but there are specific shows that are $10. Get all the details for everything PackCon4 here.

“Other Show” Line-Ups for DCM 21

dcm 21, del close marathon, hollywood, improv comedy, los angeles, other shows

A big part of the Del Close Marathon, set for this weekend, is the shows that happen in the late, late night, the early, early morning, and the normal morning. Dubbed the “Other Shows”, it features some more of the experimental forms in long form improv or just comedic experiments in general.

Some that you should watch out for in DCM 21 include:

Matt Besser’s Hootenany Sing-A-Long Improv Comedy Experiment
Carl Tart on a Hoverboard
Stop Matt Apodaca From Doing Comedy
Pass That Blunt Attempts a 15 Minute High Harold
Three Princes Presents: The Wildest Nastiest Pretty Fucking Flower
Jacob Wysocki Sells His Shit
New Zealand’s #1 Improv Troupe
Bad Guitar Solos
Anything Can Be A Black Mirror Episode

The full “Other Shows” schedule are below. To get the full DCM 21 schedule, go here, and to get tickets/passes here. By the way, passes for “Other Shows” are only $12 for one day and $20 for the weekend.

Here’s the Del Close Marathon 21 Schedule

comedy festival, dcm21, del close marathon, improv comedy, long form improv, los angeles, ucb, upright citizens brigade

Del Close Marathon, the long running 55 hour long form improv marathon has its schedule up and running, though, as you can see, this seems to be just the sort-of primetime slots (DCM goes non-stop the entire weekend in case you didn’t know).

There are plenty of the mainstay and big time shows (ASSSSCAT, Hebecky Drysbell, UCBTNY All Stars) from here in LA and some from NYC (as well other teams from elsewhere in the country) and then something called “Other Show”, which, we’re assuming will be a whirlwind of dozens upon dozens of teams performing in the wee hours of the morning and the actual morning.

We currently don’t have the details and line-ups for those time slots, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do. You can count on those 1AM-1PM slots being a fast, furious blur of improv from teams big, small, weird, weirder, and otherwise.

Get more details, tickets/passes, and more about DCM 21, tickets/passes here.

The Del Close Marathon Is Finally Arriving in LA Jun. 28th-30th

dcm, del close marathon, improv comedy, improvisational comedy, long form improv, ucb, upright citizens brigade

The renowned all-day, all-night, and all-weekend long improv festival known as Del Close Marathon or DCM is landing in Los Angeles after its long, celebrated run in NYC.

From Friday, June 28th to Sunday, June 30th, the best improv teams around will gather to play through all hours of this weekend. The schedule and line-up are TBD, but all shows will happen at UCB’s 3 venues (UCB Franklin, UCB Sunset, and UCB Inner Sanctum).

Get more details and watch for announcement here.

avengers, comedy show, endgame, hollywood, improv comedy, joey clift, los angeles, mark david christenson, parody

The end of this generation’s Marvel Cinematic Universe saga is coming soon as the release of Avengers: Endgame is set for the end of this month. It should stand to reason that a massive movie franchise bookend deserves a massive themed-improv comedy show to accompany it, no?

Well, that’s what’s going to happen come next Friday as they will have 77 major Marvel characters that would be featured in Endgame all in one show, doing an improvised monoscene. They did this last year with Infinity War and 76 of the Marvel characters (Captain Marvel had not be introduced yet) and it should be a rollicking, mad, hysterical midnight good time (probably even if you don’t know or care about Marvel).

So go get your tickets here before they sell out.

By the way, this is their line-up right now:
Hosted by Walt Disney (Joey Clift) and Kevin Feige (Mark David Christenson)
Featuring:
Joan Ford
Haley Mancini
Leroy Patterson
Lesley Tsina
Daniel Weiss
Ryan Hitchcock
Annabel Seymour
Joey Clift
Marian Yesufu
Samantha Jane
Eileen Mary O’Connell
Miles Roberts
Trevor Reece
Katelyn Hempstead
Eve Esquire
Eric Chad Ho
Gabe Fabricant
Rob Gentile
Royce Shockley
Katy Dolle
Casey Lawrence
Max Singer
Lawrence Marshalian
July Diaz
Bobby Ramos
Matt Harbert
Matt Mazany
Frankie Griffen
Mark David Christenson
Erik Wargo
Sara Clarke-Chan
Ezra Parter
Robert Vestal
Sheldon Price
Patrick Fisackerly
Tyler Davidson
Leigh Lahav
J. Elijah Cho
Satya Vanii
Coop Foster
Mike Hughes
Seth Finkelstein
Adam Winney
Rachael Doverspike
Tim McGorry
Sonny Dominguez
Jessica Rogers
Emily Champlin
Benny Wayne Sully
Barton A. Lewis
Ryan Cohen
Jesse Arlen Klein
Raina Deerwater
Elizabeth Mcirvin
Robin Lynn
Scott Anderson
Erin Smith
Alex Blomme
Eric Laney
Benjamin Crutcher
Maggie Clancy
Zach Olsen
Ben Kaplan
Ali Kinkade
Jeanne Lau
Jennifer Dezell
Ian Zandi
Brian Rubinow
Catherine Durickas
Blake Wilding
Matt Manser
Elisa N. Ellis
Charlie Fay
Winston Carter
Alexa Wise
Keith Saltojanes
Joseph Porter
Ashleigh Shapiro
Travis Reaves
Sean Smith
Joseph Sette
Nick Gligor
Lauren Scharf
Rosa Pasquarella
Jules Forde
Brian Palatucci
Danny Amaral
Nicholas Coluzzi

chris meloni, comedy show, improv comedy, law and order, los angeles, parody, some kinda monster, svu, tribute, ucb

This show normally features a very, very well-executed improvised episode of Law & Order by the excellent improv team Some Kinda Monster and this week, it’ll feature a very, very special guest in the actual Law & Order: SVU star Chris Meloni.

Needless to say, you need to see this “very special episode” of Dramedy this Thursday. Get your tickets here quick.

comedy show, free screening, fx, hollywood, improv comedy, los angeles, preview, sneak preview, ucb sunset, what we do in the shadows

In addition to getting a sneak peek at the highly anticipated What We Do In The Shadows adaptation coming to FX on March 27th, there will be a special improv show also happening at this exclusive event.

Yes, all the free tickets have been snagged, but there will be a waitlist/stand by line come this Thursday (and we’re betting that some people won’t show and it might be worth showing up early to UCB Sunset’s Inner Sanctum).

Get more details here and start making plans.

benefit show, comedy show, d'arcy carden, eugene corder, improv comedy, jason mantzoukas, long form improv, los angeles, marc evan jackson, maribeth monro, the good place, the improv project

Surely, you’re not going to miss out on watching the cast of The Good Place to do an improv show that benefits the creative youth of Detroit at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel in DTLA in May, are you?

Well, best set a reminder for Friday 10AM PST to snag tickets and we have no doubt that this will sell out fast. You’ll be able to buy them tomorrow right here.

comedy show, experimental comedy, hollywood, improv comedy, izzy roland, long form improv, los angeles

We got to see this show Mom Prov Presents Family Therapy where Izzy Roland along with her mother and grandmother do long form improv together on stage and was simply blown away. It was almost half-improv, half-actual-reality-TV as their real life relationships inevitably blend into their performance, making for something uniquely hysterical.

With that said, you shouldn’t miss their next show at UCB Sunset on Tues., Mar. 26th at 8:30PM. Tickets are $7 and you can (and should) get them here.

November 28, 2018

comedy show, improv comedy, k town, los angeles, macarthur park, superego, westlake, wild horses

Well, two of the best improv teams around anywhere, Wild Horses and Super Ego are meeting up for what very well could be one of the best nights of improvised comedy you’ve ever seen at Dynasty Typewriter on Sunday, Dec. 9th at 7PM.

Stephanie Allynne, Mary Holland, Lauren Lapkus, Erin Whitehead, Paul F. Tompkins, Matt Gourley, Jeremy Carter, and Mark McConville all together will be improvising their way through a “upper middle-class white people drama”.

It’s called Mixed Company and tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at door, though we have no doubt that this will sell out. Go snag your tickets right now right here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

August 30, 2018

boss jr, comedy show, free show, improv comedy, los angeles, los feliz

Given the penchant for reboots, revivals, etc. these days, we’re cautious to announce any sort of “swan song”.

That being said, one of our favorite improv teams, Boss Jr. (Matt Rath, Naomi Villa, and Jake Dunnington) will be having their final show at The Clubhouse in Los Feliz next Wednesday, September 5th around 8:15PM.

Truly, we’ve enjoyed the trio get weird, go deep, and still keep an air of silliness abound and the teams that they’ve booked over the years on their nice and tight improv showcase.

So, join them for what will be (at least for the time being) one last go.

Get more details here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

August 12, 2018

comedy festival, improv comedy, indie improv, los angeles, los feliz, silverlake

For years, the LA Indie Improv Festival has highlighted the diamonds in the rough that comprise indie improv within LA’s massive comedy scene.

This upcoming weekend (Saturday, Aug. 18th & Sunday Aug. 19th), the 7th (and final) LA Indie Improv Festival will commence at The Clubhouse in Los Feliz and Lyr featuring the likes of such improv luminaries as Heather Anne Campbell, Monika Smith, Rococo, Sassy Bluff, Drew DiFonzo Marks, Private Street, South Asian AF Superteam, and oh so much more.

Oh yeah, they’ll even have improv on a party bus going between venues.

One last thing: admission to all of those is FREE, by the way.

Get a full look at the schedule here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

Second City Hollywood’s LA Diversity in Comedy Festival Is Now Taking Submissions

comedy festival, improv comedy, los angeles, open call, second city, sketch comedy, stand up, submissions

Second City Hollywood’s LA Diversity in Comedy Festival Is Now Taking Submissions

The world famous Second City will be having their latest LA Diversity in Comedy Festival from October 11th-14th. They will be featuring diverse sketch, improv, and stand-up and, as such, are accepting submissions up until Saturday, September 1st.

That gives you a month (i.e. plenty of time) to get your submissions in.

Get more details and submit here.

The 2018 Pittsburgh Comedy Festival Is Taking Submissions for Stand Up and Improv

comedy festival, improv comedy, long form improv, pennsylvania, pittsburgh, stand up

If you’re scouring for a new comedy festival to submit to around the country, The Pittsburgh Comedy Festival is only asking for a $20 submission fee for stand-ups or improv teams along when applying. If you’re looking to perform outside of LA (or closer to the East Coast/Pittsburgh depending on where you are when reading this), this might be a good chance for you to get an experience in that regard.

You have until Sun. May 27th to submit and the festival itself is set for Aug. 22nd-26th.

Get more details here.

comedy festival, comedy show, fullerton, improv comedy, long form improv, oc, orange county

Some of LA’s best improv troupes are headed down south this week to the OC for The Orange County Improv Fest. That includes the likes of Jetzo, Cobranauts, Dr. God, King Ten.

So, if you were down in the OC and weren’t able to make it out to see some of the stellar, innovative long form improv offered up all in and around LA, don’t miss your chance to catch it at Fullerton’s STAGEStheatre from Apr. 4th-Apr. 7th.

Tickets are $25 for one night, and $40 for a festival pass. Get them and more details here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

comedy show, dtla, dynasty typewriter, improv comedy, k town, los angeles, macarthur park, theme park improv, westlake

One of the more renowned and stacked teams in improv comedy is Theme Park with Ian Brennan (co-creator of “Glee”), John Michael Higgins (“Pitch Perfect”), Jessica Makinson (“South Park”), Oscar Nunez (“The Office”), Vanessa Ragland (“Pop My Culture” Podcast), Cole Stratton (“Pop My Culture” Podcast), Janet Varney (“The Legend of Korra”).

Only so every often does the team assemble for a show, which means you shouldn’t miss out when that happens. Their latest show just happens to be next week, Wednesday, April 4th at 8PM at Dynasty Typewriter at Hayworth Theater. Alison Rosen (“Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend” Podcast) will be joining them as a guest monologist too.

Tickets are $15 and you can (and really should) get them here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

The Ruby LA Will Be LA’s Newest Comedy Venue (and Taking Over the Nerdist School)

comedy classes, comedy theatre, hollywood, improv comedy, intersectional feminism, lgbtq, los angeles, nerdist school, ruby theater, sketch comedy, sunset blvd

While Meltdown Comics and the Nerdmelt Showroom are indeed closing, the space that was known as Nerdist School at 7518 W. Sunset Blvd. (right next door to Meltdown Comics) will be reopened as The Ruby LA, a comedy venue focused on inclusivity, specifically intersectional feminism. They’ll be “…bringing in women, people of color, and queer voices to round out leadership and faculty positions, while also creating and producing shows by underrepresented voices,” as stated in their press release this morning.

Led by Nerdist School’s heads Jen Curran, Lindsay Barrow, and Randy Thompson, The Ruby LA will have a launch event that will go from noon to midnight on April 7th with comedians of all sorts from all over LA.

The dust has been settling from all the LA comedy closures, but we can now thankfully chalk one point on the side of comedy venues opening.

Follow The Ruby LA on Twitter @the_ruby_la.

audible, cole stratton, comedy in the dark, gary anthony williams, improv comedy, live podcast, long form improv, los angeles, santa monica, stephanie courtney, the bat

The Bat has some of the best improvisers around doing an entire show for you shrouded in darkness. It’s a live taping for Audible, but you can be a part of the show and have your suggestions not only dictate the scene, but sound effects as well.

This episode of the show will happen Wednesday, August 2nd at the Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica will feature special guests Stephanie Courtney, Gary Anthony Williams, Tawny Newsome, and Phil Lamarr.

Tickets are $5 and you can (and should) get them here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com

We’ve Got 9 Ticket Giveaways Going Right Now in Case You Wanted to Free Tickets to Some of LA Comedy’s Best Shows

burbank, comedy shows, free tickets, hollywood, improv comedy, los angeles, nerdmelt, sketch comedy, storytelling, ticket giveaway, ucb

We’ve Got 9 Ticket Giveaways Going Right Now in Case You Wanted to Free Tickets to Some of LA Comedy’s Best Shows

Through DoLA, we’ve got ticket giveaways for:

Harmontown podcast taping (both 7/9 & 7/16)
The Super Serious Show 7 Year Anniversary (which is sold out by the way)
Cook County Social Club/Hebecky Drysbell (one of the best nights of improv anywhere)
Risk! LA (part of the Risk! storytelling podcast series)
Atlantic City @ UCB Franklin
Hard Times Comedy Hour (from satirical punk news outlet The Hard Times)
Andy Kindler’s Particular Show

If you want to win, enter to win any of them here.

Via Airbnb, You Can Ride Along with The Comedy Bureau for an Evening

airbnb, experimental comedy, improv comedy, indie comedy, local tours, los angeles, podcast taping, sketch comedy, stand up, tourism, tours, underground comedy, what to do, what to see

UCB’s Cool Sh*t/Weird Sh*t taking the show into a convenience store, Hollywood

Airbnb has officially launched an exciting new “experiences” program where local experts can show visitors places and happenings that usually only denizens of that city could know and love.

Our founder, Jake Kroeger, is indeed hosting one of those experiences, a “Comedy Bureau Ride Along”.

Basically, we here at The Comedy Bureau see the best comedy in LA seven nights a week to keep tabs on what’s going on and what’s worth telling our readers about.

Good Heroin at Stories in Echo Park, Photo by Kelly Dwyer

So, if you want to see what we see and hang with us as we make the rounds around the LA comedy scene, you can book us for a night here.

Moses Storm literally connecting to his audience with a specially made sweater at UCB Franklin

For your money, we’ll cover all admission to shows we go to, let you grab a ride with us from spot to spot, and hang with us after with comedians wherever that may be. Think of it like a police ride-along, but it’s for comedy and it’s with one of the most highly regarded authorities in LA comedy.

As you can see above and below, we really go wherever we have to for a hearty laugh. There are limited spots for our ‘ride along’, two per night in fact, and we’ve already got people reserving their spots. So, you might want to act on this fast.

Again, get more details and reserve your spot for the experience right now right here.

Alex {Hanpeter] and Jude [Tedmori] having a bit of innocent, “harmless” fun at their “What A Time to Be Alive” show, Photo by Joel Mandelkorn

charity, cheap comedy, devin field, heather anne campbell, improv comedy, improv record, long form improv, los feliz, rebecca drysdale, record breaking, scout durwood, splc, suzi barrett, the clubhouse

One Jason Van Glass will be attempting to do 10+ hours of improv at The Clubhouse this coming Wednesday.

That might be breaking some kind of record. Even if it’s not, it’s an impressive feat to take on and he’s doing it for a great cause (collecting donations for the Southern Poverty Law Center) AND will have a great line-up of fellow improvisers joining him throughout throughout the whole run.

Get more details here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.