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live reading

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Pick of the Day: Some Fun Lines (in NYC) 3/24
March 1, 2024
News
caveat, chandler dean, charu sinha, freddie shanel, james folta, jen spyra, johnathan appel, josh gondelman, live reading, maeve dunigan, nyc comedy, rima parikh

If you’re on IG or TikTok, you definitely know where the comedians are these days, but where are the humorists and satirists? Thank goodness for NYC’s satire/humor mic, Some Fun Lines, that has comedy folks live read written satire out loud to a live crowd.

To celebrate one year of this mic going, hosts Johnathan Appel, Chandler Dean, and Maeve Dunigan are putting on a very special showcase with some of the sharpest pens in NYC comedy including:

James Folta (The New Yorker)
Josh Gondelman (Desus & Mero)
Rima Parikh (The Onion)
Freddie Shanel (Reductress)
Charu Sinha (Inside Job)
Jen Spyra (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

This very special one year anniversary of Some Fun Lines is set for Sun. Mar. 24th at 5PM at Caveat in LES/Manhattan. Tickets are $18.80 and you can (and should) go get ’em here.

Pick of the Day: Book Soup Presents Boom Chicago! (in LA) 6/29
May 25, 2023
News
book soup, boom chicago, ike barinholtz, live reading, los angeles comedy

If you’ve even had a cursory look into the history of live comedy, you’ve probably come across the name “Boom Chicago!” at least a couple of times. Acting as the Chicago improv pipeline to Amsterdam, numerous comedy stars made their bones at this renowned, sometimes infamous, institution. The likes of Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, Ike Barinholtz, Colton Dunn, Heather Anne Campbell, and more have taken the Boom Chicago! stage all before their ascension in comedy.

It should stand to reason that there should be a book chronicling all of this, right? That’s why the release of Boom Chicago Presents the 30 Most Important Years in Dutch History by Andrew Moskos, Pep Rosenfeld, & Saskia Maas (the founders of Boom Chicago) is imminent very soon. Ike Barinholtz will be hosting a special evening, presented by Book Soup, with the aforementioned authors/founders as well as stellar Boom Chicago alums that will be part panel, part improv, all at Gold Diggers in Hollywood.

On the bill thus far are:
Suzi Barrett (Drunk History, Kirby Buckets)
Jill Benjamin (History of the World, Part II, GirlBoss)
Liz Cackowski (SNL, Community)
Heather Anne Campbell (Rick and Morty, Twilight Zone)
Colton Dunn (Key & Peele, Superstore)
Josh Meyers (History of the World, Part II, Red Oaks)
Nicole Parker (Wicked, MadTV)
Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso)

Just a live reading of the book would be enough reason to go, but this is one of those stand-out, once a year type of shows that you absolutely don’t want to miss.

Book Soup Presents Boom Chicago! @ Gold Diggers is set for Thurs Jun. 29th at 8PM with tickets going for $38.58 (includes signed copy of Boom Chicago Presents the 30 Most Important Years in Dutch History). Go get tickets here, before they inevitably sell out (Gold Diggers isn’t that big, FYI).

Pick of the Day: The Golden Girlz (in LA) 1/27-2/5
January 25, 2023
News
alaska thunderfuck, golden girlz, jackie beat, live reading, los angeles comedy, lyric hyperion, sam pancake, sherry vine

The Golden Girlz, LA’s favorite reimagining of the revered sitcom, The Golden Girls, done by LA’s best drag performers, is returning once again (and they are still tickets available). The long running show has been one of Los Angeles’ quickest shows when it comes to selling out all available seats and it was probably for the best if you set up some sort of alert or reminder for the next one.

Fortunately for you, there are still tickets available for the latest run of The Golden Girlz, featuing your favorites Jackie Beat, Sherry Vine, and Sam Pancake as well as the one and only Alaska Thunderfuck as Rose Nylund. It’ll be running this weekend and next at the new new Lyric Hyperion, specifically, Fridays and Saturdays will have 8PM and 10PM shows and Sundays will go on at 4PM, 7PM, and 9PM.

Tickets are $40 a pop right now and you better not hesitate in getting tickets as they will absolutely sell out.

Pick of the Day: Dead Pilots Society Presents: Brooks Wheelan’s Dead Pilots (in LA) 1/12
December 19, 2022
News
brooks wheelan, dead pilots society, elysian, live reading, los angeles comedy

The network TV axe is so very bloody these days. Not only are shows getting cut after a season, but shows that were renewed are having their fate reversed and consequently canceled. So, you’d figure that means more produced pilots are even less likely to make it to series than they were even a year ago.

Thankfully, the podcast Dead Pilots Society has returned for the first live LA show to make sure that some of these things actually see the light of day and are enjoyed by an actual audience. This edition of Dead Pilots Society will live read the first three episodes of a Brooks Wheelan pilot that were commissioned by Fox, but, as you can guess, never went beyond that.

There’s an amazing cast they’ve lined up for this live reading that will include:

  • Brooks Wheelan (SNL)
  • Tim Heidecker (Tim and Eric)
  • Bobby Moynihan (SNL)
  • Alyssa Limperis (Flatbush Misdemeanors)
  • Kerri Kenney Silver (Reno 911)
  • Jermaine Fowler (Tuca and Birdie)
  • Mike O’Brien (AP Bio)
  • Jessica Lowe (Minx), and more.

Go get tickets ($20) to enjoy this live and in person at The Elysian come Thurs. Jan. 12th at 7:30PM. Do so here.

Pick of the Day: December: Berkshires Country: A Real Housewives Reading (in NYC) 12/18
December 13, 2022
News
brooklyn, colorado healing fund, live reading, nyc comedy, real housewives

Part of the fun of Real Housewives is re-contextualizing how ridiculous all the iconic moments in the “soft-scripted” TV franchise are to other Real Housewives fans. Arguably, that could be more fun than the show itself?

So, why not just do a whole live reading of the Real Housewives as a live show? Well, luckily that’s very much a thing that’s happening at Brooklyn’s C’mon Everybody this coming Sun. Dec. 18th. It’ll be very special holiday live read that will also benefit the Colorado Healing Fund that is currently supporting victims of the Club Q shooting.

December: Berkshires Country: A Real Housewives Reading is set for 8PM this Sun. Dec. 18th and tickets are only $12.36. Go get them here.

Pick of the Day: Book Soup Presents Sona Movsesian: The World’s Worst Assistant (in LA) 7/20
July 6, 2022
News
book soup, conan o'brien, live reading, sona movsesian, world's worst assistant

If we can imagine a Conan O’Brien’s Cinematic Universe, one of the biggest and best and most favored characters from said universe would be none other than his playfully reluctant assistant, Sona Movsesian. Shown in many a remote segment doing anything but her job, she is one of the closest people to Conan and is an indelible part of whatever he’s doing (Conan, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, etc.).

Thus, Sona wrote a book about her life and time being Conan O’Brien’s right hand, but also binging all of Friends the series while at work at the same time. Entitled The World’s Worst Assistant, Sona is currently on a book tour that will show how indispensable she is as foil to O’Brien’s signature tomfoolery.

Sona will be specifically doing a live event, thanks to Book Soup, at The Regent in DTLA on Wed. Jul. 20th at 6PM PT. Tickets are $40 from which you’ll receive a copy of The World’s Worst Assistant. Do not miss out and go get your tickets here.

Pick of the Day: Amy Solomon’s Notes from the Bathroom Line Virtual Book Release Tour
March 8, 2021
News
amy solomon, book soup, live reading, live stream, notes from the bathroom line

For this year, there might not be a better compilation of “humor pieces–essays, satire, short stories, poetry, cartoons, artwork, and more,” from some of the funniest women (that are very much some of the funniest people on the planet, end of discussion) than Notes From the Bathroom Line: Humor, Art, and Low-Panic from 150 of the Funniest Women in Comedy by Amy Solomon.

There are contributions from the likes of:

Lolly Adefope • Maria Bamford • Aisling Bea • Lake Bell • Rachel Bloom • Rhea Butcher • Nicole Byer • D’Arcy Carden • Aya Cash • Karen Chee • Margaret Cho • Mary H.K. Choi • Amanda Crew • Rachel Dratch • Beanie Feldstein • Jo Firestone • Briga Heelan • Samantha Irby • Emily V. Gordon • Patti Harrison • Mary Holland • Jen Kirkman • Lauren Lapkus • Riki Lindhome • Kate Micucci • Natalie Morales • Aparna Nancherla • Yvonne Orji • Lennon Parham • Chelsea Peretti • Alexandra Petri • Natasha Rothwell • Amber Ruffin • Andrea Savage • Kristen Schaal • Megan Stalter • Beth Stelling • Cecily Strong • Sunita Mani • Geraldine Viswanathan • Michaela Watkins • Mo Welch • Sasheer Zamata • 

Solomon is putting on a virtual book tour for Notes From the Bathroom Line. The live-stream will not only have Solomon in conversation, but a grand portion of the book’s contributors. Access for the live-stream is FREE to tune into, but it’s a great opportunity to pick up the book at the local bookstore that’s streaming the event.

3/14 4:30PM PT/7:30PM ET: Princeton
3/16 4:30PM PT/7:30PM ET: Greenlight Books
3/18 7PM PT/10PM ET: Book Soup

Get more details/buy Notes From the Bathroom Line here.

Pick of the Day: Bechdel Cast Presents The Santa Clause Livestream 12/13
December 4, 2020
News
benefit show, caitlin durante, jamie loftus, live reading, reclaim and rebuild our community, the santa clause

It’s very likely that a seminal holiday movie, whether you liked or not, was The Santa Clause starring Tim Allen. You could have seen it at a formative time in your childhood or maybe screenings were sold out your local theater for several weeks and your parents just shrugged the shoulders and apologized.

No matter what your memory of it was, you might be perusing the holiday movie catalog and The Santa Clause might be coming to mind, which is a perfect time for Jamie Loftus and Caitlin Durante of The Bechdel Cast to do their own live-read of the movie (effectively giving it the reimagining it needs for 2020). They’ll be doing this live-read as a fundraiser for a great org, RROC (Reclaim & Rebuild Our Community), making it for a pretty perfect thing to watch during these new holiday lockdown measures.

The Bechdel Cast Presents Live Reading of The Santa Clause is set for Sun. Dec. 13th at 6PM PT/9PM ET. Live-stream access is available for $10 donation, but it’ll be available after the event.

Pick of the Day: SALEM 10/28
October 20, 2020
News
aparna nancherla, Ben Wasserman, carmen christopher, Drew Anderson, drew droege, halloween comedy, julia shiplett, Karolena Theresa, langston kerman, larry owens, live reading, Marty Miller, mary beth barone, Molly Kearney, Rachel Sennott, robby hoffman, salem, Sydnee Washington

To keep in the Halloween spirit (and do a show safely while the pandemic still rages on), Drew Anderson and Julia Shiplett are putting together a very special, very exclusive live reading of their comedy pilot, SALEM.

You may not get to do trick-or-treating or endless party-hopping, but you can tune in what might be the perfect comedy thing for this Halloween season. They describe it as:

Mere days before Salem’s 10th Annual Harvest Festival, something strange happens that derails the big day and makes everyone start to question if there could be a witch among them. If you’ve ever wondered what THE CRUCIBLE meets THE OFFICE but very gay would be like, SALEM is your answer.

Supported by many of the very best comedy folks from all over the country including: Mary Beth Barone, Carmen Christopher, Drew Droege, Robby Hoffman, Molly Kearney, Langston Kerman, Marty Miller, Aparna Nancherla, Larry Owens, Rachel Sennott, Karolena Theresa, Sydnee Washington, and Ben Wasserman

SALEM is set to go live on Wed. Oct. 28th at 5:30PM PT/8:30PM ET. RSVP for Zoom link w/a suggested donation of $5-$10 here.
August 19, 2019
Uncategorized
bobcat goldthwait, dana gould, janet varney, laraine newman, largo, live reading, matt braunger, paul f tompkins, plan 9 from outer space, steven webber

Every once in awhile, Dana Gould assembles quite the cast to do a live reading of legendary best/worst movie Plan 9 From Outer Space. 

This indeed is happening once more, this time on Oct. 29th at Largo with the talents of Janet Varney, Bobcat Goldthwait, Paul F. Tompkins, Matt Braunger, Steven Webber, and Laraine Newman, featuring live music by Eban Schletter. 

When it comes to comedy around Halloween, this is always a pretty grand event. Get tickets ($35) here quick as they’ll probably sell out. 
April 5, 2019
Uncategorized
book release, dave foley, graphic novel, josh frank, live reading, marx brothers, salvador dali, sklar brothers, surrealism, tim heidecker

Did you know that famed surrealist Salvador Dali and legendary comedy team The Marx Brothers wrote a screenplay together? That really did happen and it was called Giraffes and Horseback Salad, but didn’t get made.

Well, that is, until now (sort of). 

Tim Heidecker and pop-historian Josh Frank have adapted the screenplay into a graphic novel “A Night at the Surrealists” Starring Salvador Dali and The Marx Brothers : The Lost Movie.

Fore the release of the book, they’ll be doing a special night to mark the occasion at Dynasty Typewriter next week that will feature a staged live reading (feat. some very special guests The Sklar Brothers and Dave Foley), sing-alongs, and visuals to really bring you into the Salvador Dali x Marx Brothers universe.

Who knows, maybe this will lead to an actual movie (or more likely a series on streaming service) being made? 

Tickets are $15 now and $20 on the day of. Go get ‘em right here right now.
September 22, 2018
Uncategorized
addiction, amy dresner, echo park, jerry stahl, live reading, my fair junkie

Last year, Amy Dresner’s as-honest-you-can-get, but still very, darkly funny memoir, My Fair Junkie was released. Amy’s story and voice are enthralling and, consequently, we told you to go get the book.

It is even easier to get now as My Fair Junkie is out on paperback. To commemorate the occasion, Amy will be doing a live reading with another celebrated author on addiction, Jerry Stahl at Stories Books & Cafe in Echo Park on Fri, Sept. 28th at 8PM. As far as live readings go, this is one that you’re not going to want to miss. 

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
September 17, 2018
Uncategorized
benefit show, britanny snow, frankie quinones, gina rodriguez, goonies, haley joel osment, hollywood, joe lo truglio, joel kim booster, live reading, los angeles, montalban, nicole byer, noel wells

A live reading of the film classic Goonies with that very, very stacked cast and it all being done as a benefit for RAICES? Get. outta. town.

Well, actually, stay in town and go get tickets that are going from $35-$75 here. The Montalban is a pretty sizable venue, but you might want to get in on this before it sells out.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
August 24, 2018
Uncategorized
beverly grove, beverly hills, dana gould, ed warrior, el segundo, largo, live reading, plan 9 from outer space, screening, weho

One of the most legendary “best/worst” movies of all time is Plan 9 From Outer Space.

So, don’t miss a chance to watch the movie in it’s original form at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo on Saturday, Sept. 8th at 8:15PM. 

Then, a month later, you can (and should) watch Dana Gould do a live reading of the film at Largo with a cast he’s lovingly assembled of some of your favorite comedy folks. That includes: Bobcat Goldthwait, David Koechner, Janet Varney, Laraine Newman, Kevin MacDonald, Matt Braunger, Rob Zabrecky, Ron Lynch, Nate Mooney, Deborah Baker, Jr., Ken Daly, G Charles Wright, and Eban Schletter! This live reading of Plan 9 from Outer Space will be on Thurs., Oct. 11th at 8PM.

Tickets for the screening will be $10 and available at the box office at Old Town Music Hall.

Tickets for the live reading are $35 and can be bought right here right now.

If you can swing it, try and pull off seeing both as an alignment of such events might be as rare as Plan 9 from Outer Space itself.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
July 9, 2018
Uncategorized
blair socci, comedy show, emily heller, guy branum, live reading, los angeles, matt rogers, mo welch, open letters, solomon georgio, virgil

Another edition of Blair Socci’s Dear Owen Wilson, the live reading show that has comedians write and share letters they wrote to celebrities. It’s an amazing show and has another doozy of a line-up as you can see above.

Tickets are $5 in advance and $8 at the door. Please go get them in advance here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
October 21, 2017
Uncategorized
bob baker marionette theater, comedy show, downtown la, dtla, jennifer tilly, john ennis, johnny pemberton, josh fadem, lauren lapkus, live reading, roger corman

Not only is this the season for a live reading of The Little Shop of Horrors, but the cast is really stacked. 

Do not miss out on this. Get tickets here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
July 6, 2017
Uncategorized
gritty reboot, hollywood, live reading, los angeles, pack theater, parody, yogi bear

Esteemed members of The Pack Theater pondered what it would be like if the beloved cartoon franchise Yogi Bear got the grim live action treatment.

They pondered so much that they came up with an actual screenplay called Jellystone and staged a live reading of their Yogi Bear movie that got so dark it became silly again.

They’re doing another live reading this Friday, July 7th at 9PM at The Pack Theater and you really ought to catch it before, perhaps, it actually gets made into a movie (or a faux trailer for a movie).

Admission is pay what you can and you can get more details here.

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

Thanks to One, Sara Benincasa, Neil Gaiman Will Perform a Live Reading of The Cheesecake Factory Menu If $500K Is Raised for the United Nations Refugee Agency
May 29, 2017
Uncategorized
charity, cheesecake factory, cheesecake factory menu, crowdrise, live reading, neil gaiman, refugee, sara benincasa, un, unhcr, united nations

Thanks to One, Sara Benincasa, Neil Gaiman Will Perform a Live Reading of The Cheesecake Factory Menu If $500K Is Raised for the United Nations Refugee Agency

1) This is real.
2) The idea for this did come from author/actress/comedian Sara Benincasa experiences of watching an episode of American Gods and going to Cheesecake Factory blending in her subconscious (via Eater)
3) They’ve already raised $68,707
4) Here’s Neil Gaiman performing a commencement speech in case you forgot how lovely his voice sounds.
5) Here’s the Cheesecake Factory menu in case you forgot how massive and indulgent it is.
6) They’re trying to reach the goal of $500,000 by June 20th, World Refugee Day.
7) Again, this is real.
8) Donate to this delightfully silly and great thing here on CrowdRise.

Jeffrey Tambor Discusses His Book “Are You Anybody?” at Skylight Books 5/24
May 19, 2017
Uncategorized
are you anybody, jeffrey tambor, live reading, los angeles, los feliz, memoir, silverlake, skylight books

Jeffrey Tambor has a brand new book that details his long, storied, and illustrious career called “Are You Anybody?”

Here’s a lovely promo video for the book featuring his kids. 

He’s doing a live event next week at Skylight Books in Los Feliz on Wednesday, May 24th and you can attend with the purchase of the book from Skylight.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
April 2, 2017
Uncategorized
bassem youssef, documentary, Larry wilmore, live comedy, live reading, los angeles, revolution for dummies, screening, tickling giants

This week, you can get a double dose of Dr. Bassem Youssef, often referred to as the Jon Stewart of Egypt, here in LA.

On Wednesday, April 5th 7:30PM at The Vista, Cinefamily will be presenting an off-site screening of the documentary Tickling Giants by Sara Taksler that follows Youssef’s time as a popular satirist in a turbulent Egypt. Taksler, Youssef, and Larry Wilmore will be in person doing a Q&A following the screening.

On Thursday, April 6th at 8PM at the Freud Playhouse will be having an Evening with Bassem Youssef, brought to you by Book Soup, that will discuss his book Revolution For Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring. 

Tickets for the screening of Tickling Giants are $14 and $15-$38 for the ‘Evening with’ and you can (and really should) get them here and here respectively.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
March 30, 2017
Uncategorized
bojack horseman, comedy show, hollywood, live comedy, live reading, los angeles, netflix, raphael bob-waksberg, ucb, ucb sunset

As part of working on an upcoming book, BoJack Horseman, creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg will be putting up an exclusive live reading of excerpts of the book (well before it’s release) performed by some of his favorite folks. 

“Raphael Bob-Waksberg Works Through Some Sh*t (With Friends!)” is happening next weekend and we’re guessing tickets are going to go fast. So, buy them up as soon as you can here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
March 27, 2017
Uncategorized
beverly grove, beverly hills, dana gould, ed wood, largo at the coronet theatre, live reading, plan 9 from outer space, weho

We don’t really think we need to do much convincing here. 

After all, it is a live reading of cult classic Plan 9 From Outer Space presented by Dana Gould that features David Koechner, Jonah Ray, Paul F. Tompkins, Bobcat Goldthwait, Janet Varney, puppets by the talented Pam Severns, and so much more at Largo. 

You’ve probably read all of that on the flyer, but, in case you needed it, we wanted the repetition to sink in the notion how awesome this night will be.

Tickets are still available at $30 a pop here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
December 16, 2016
Uncategorized
bryan cook, championships, comedy show, competitive erotic fan fiction, eliza skinner, hollywood, live reading, los angeles, los feliz, silverlake, storytelling, the virgil, virgil village, zach sherwin

The best of the best comedian slash fiction writers in LA, including Eliza Skinner, Zach Sherwin, Alison Leiby, Phoebe Bottoms, and Keith Carey, will assemble to see who will be the Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction champ.

Join in with host/CEFF ringleader Bryan Cook and see who emerges as the best lurid pop culture parodist this Sunday, December 18th at The Virgil with doors opening at 7:30PM. The show itself is free leaving little excuse to not catch it if you’re in town.

More details here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, and maps can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.
October 10, 2016
Uncategorized
beverly grove, beverly hills, comedy show, coronet theatre, kenya barris, largo, literary death match, live reading, los angeles, nicole byer, rob huebel, weho

More details and tickets available here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events as well as open mics and maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.
September 10, 2016
Uncategorized
adrian todd zuniga, amelia gray, antonio sacre, armen weitzman, comedy show, hammer museum, jon klassen, kumail nanjiani, literary death match, live reading, los angeles, marguerite moreau, nadja spiegelman, ryka aoki, west la, westwood

Authors going head-to-head, comedians and respected literary figures both judging, and an overall good time is what you can expect from Literary Death Match. 

Best of all, this next one is free to attend. More details available here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows/events as well as open mics/maps are embedded at www.thecomedybureau.com.

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