ucb

January 16, 2020

black belt test, comedy, comedy show, experimental comedy, kimia behpoornia, live comedy, martial arts, ucb

Kimia Behpoornia has been a go-to performer for UCB for many years now, whether it be improv or sketch or whatever other crazy thing they come up with.

While it’s worth catching her on Harold or Maude Night or Great Sketch!, the idea that she’s actually going to test for her black belt as a comedy show has our interest beyond peaked.

That’s right, Kimia will be doing a martial arts test at UCB Sunset at the end of the month and our minds are racing as to figure out what could possibly happen ((notice how she’s even credited as a Black Belt Candidate as opposed to cast, writer, etc.).

We’re sure there’s a whole other bevy of surprises for Kimia Tests for Her Blackbelt: LIVE (as many other go-to UCB performers are on the bill), but the testing for the black belt itself ought to be something special.

So, Kimia Tests for Her Blackbelt: LIVE is set for Wed. Jan. 29th at 10:30PM. Tickets are $7 and you can (and should) get them here.

December 24, 2019

boxing day, comedy show, ed roe, improv comedy, jim woods, los angeles, ucb, will hines

Basically, some of the best improvisers in town will not only be in town, but will be doing one of the daftest forms of improv ever conceived and we’re down for it.

Will Hines, who we love for intentionally doing bad guitar solos with a great backing band, indeed will be doing improv with boxing gloves and perhaps questionable British accents (and one legit one) as play off of the UK’s Boxing Day the day after Christmas and we’re sure this will be a wonderful offering of top shelf silliness.

For our money, Boxing Day Improv at UCB Franklin is the perfect follow-up for that post-Christmas haze. Get tickets here.

November 26, 2019

black friday, black metal, comedy shows, improv comedy, los angeles, ucb

Again, some of the coolest things at UCB these days often happen past your bedtime and this Black Metal themed improv show is just one of those things.

Taking a pun on the massive American shopping day known as “Black Friday”, some of UCB’s best improvisers will be let the darkness of black metal fuel what should be hysterical chaos wrought there on the UCB Franklin stage.

Also, we’re confident this will be much more fun than standing in line for deals on electronics at big box stores.

Black Metal Friday is set for this Friday Nov. 29th at 11:59PM at UCB Franklin and tickets are only $7. Go get ‘em here and get ready to delve into the black metal void (in a long form improv sense) this weekend.

November 18, 2019

comedy show, debates, experimental comedy, live comedy, los angeles, ucb

For us, Straw Men has time and again proven that some of the best* debates are ones where the debates are pushed to be as childish as possible.

They’re back once again for another round of beautifully petty-as-can-be presentations at UCB Sunset on Fri. Nov. 29th at 9PM at UCB Sunset.

Forget about Black Friday and spend your $12 going to one hell of a live comedy show featuring the intentionally ludicrous arguments of Dave Ross, Will Miles, Debra DiGiovanni, Nick Ciarelli, Brad Evans, Chris Charpentier, and Sarah Sherman as well as hosts/and very judgy debate judges Lindsay Adams, Danny Palumbo, and Sam Wiles.

*by “best”, we mean best in a comedy context where no real change is going to be enacted or threat of social change is imminent

Go get tickets here.

October 25, 2019

cagematch, championship, comedy show, finals, long form improv, los angeles, ucb

Well, after a hard fought month and a half of the top shelf long form improv from UCB’s Cagematch here in LA, the final championship showdown for the UCB LA Cagematch 2019 Winners Tournament will be this coming Wed., Oct. 30th at 11PM.

Lotta People Here Tonight (Shaun Diston and Devin Field) and The House of Gains (Brennan Lee Mulligan and Lou Wilson) will meet on the UCB Franklin stage to see who is the best of the best of the best and the Pasadena Plague (Ryan Hitchcock, Mark David Christenson, and Jane Kim) will be, of course, presiding over the final bout.

Tickets are $7 and you really ought to get them here before they sell out.

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.

August 22, 2019

comedy show, daniel van kirk, los angeles, stand up comedy, ucb, ucb franklin

Daniel Van Kirk has been headlining across the country on his The Together Tour for a bit now and this ought to be a special, very intimate night in UCB Franklin that you ought to not miss.

Van Kirk’s penchant for being genuine and also being a playful trickster is something we truly love and you’ll get an hour of that if you’re in attendance next week.

Tickets are $9. Go get ‘em here.

August 21, 2019

benefit show, comedy show, el paso, el paso strong, improv, ithamar enriquez, los angeles, spanish aqui presents, stand up, ucb, vanessa gonzalez

Not only is this El Paso Strong brought to you by Whataburger benefit show aiming to raise money for those in need from the recent and devastating El Paso mass shooting, but will be made even more personal as the performers have a personal connection here.

Also, it’s a great collection of LA’s best improv, sketch, and stand-up folks that just happen to be from Texas or are Latinx.

The full line-up includes:
Ithamar Enriquez
Vanessa Gonzalez
Spanish Aqui Presents all-stars

Hosted by Whataburger:
Jonny Svarzbein
Mark Jacob
Edgar Momplaisir
Patrick McDonald
Courtney Sevener
Mike McClendon
Jeremy Culhane
Emily Decker
PJ McCormick
Jeff Whitaker
Brittany Uecker
Jeremy Schmidt
Brittany Powell
Brian Bakos
Weikei Yu
Caitlin Linden
Logan Smith
Mike Christian

They’ll be taking donations for the El Paso Shooting Victims Fund at the show. Get more details here.

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.

free comedy, free show, hollywood, los angeles, musical comedy, ucb

While some folks spent way too much money to see and hear tech issues at Coachella, you can go see the best in musical comedy that UCB and Matt Apodaca has to offer (and do so for FREE).

The UCB Music Fest 2019 does have some truly great acts including:

The Sloppy Boys – Mike Hanford, Tim Kalpakis, Jeff Dutton
Doodie Mob – Carl Tart, Ronnie Adrian, Lamar Woods, Tim Neenan, Greg Smith, Joe Weber, Garrett Hanson
Will Hines’ Bad Guitar Solos – Will Hines, Mel Cowan, Joel Spence, Dana Wickens, Brett Morris, Jiavani Linayao
Age Against the Machine – Zach Olsen, Winston Carter, Alex Newman and Matt Apodaca
Hot Hot Fuss – Bryan Rainstein, Jeremy Olson, Cassi Jerkins, Tim Neumann

If anything, please don’t miss another chance to see Will Hines earnestly try to solo on the guitar while lacking the skill to do so.

Get more details here.

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.

ap bio, comedy show, hollywood, los angeles, mike o'brien, sketch comedy, ucb

The mind of Mike O’Brien (A.P. Bio, SNL) is one of the funnest things to dive into. His absurdity is such a joy to bounce around in as evidenced by his sketch album Tasty Radio.

So, Mike is doing 45 min. of solo sketches at UCB Franklin next week, Sat. Mar. 30th at 10PM and based off what we just said, you shouldn’t miss it. Get tickets for $12 here.

comedy show, los angeles, musical comedy, schadenfreude, ucb, will hines

Will Hines is a renowned and celebrated improviser and comedic performer and has had such a reputation for several years.

However, in all of that time all the way up into the current moment, Will Hines has not been noted for his virtuosity in playing guitar, especially guitar solos.

Thus, that is why his experimental show Bad Guitar Solos wherein one Will Hines attempts his best at a guitar solo behind an actually good backing band was one of our favorite comedy things of 2018.

Hines is diving in yet again into Bad Guitar Solos this weekend on Fri., Mar. 22nd at 8PM at UCB Sunset’s Inner Sanctum. Admission is free, but, in our opinion, should be mandatory. Get more details here.

January 10, 2019

earwolf, franklin village, hollywood, john levenstein, live podcast, ucb

Whether you’ve jump on board for the podcast John Levenstein’s Retirement Party over at Earwolf already or not (and perhaps you should if you want to hear great, insider stories from the Arrested Development/Kroll Show/Silicon Valley/Portlandia writer/actor/producer along with co-host Mary Kobayashi), they’ll be doing what seems to be a pretty grand live ep. at UCB Franklin near the end of the month featuring the likes of Jon Daly, Tim Heidecker, Sara Watkins, Lauren Lapkus, Jon Gabrus and former HBO President Sue Naegle as guests.

In fact, Gabrus and Lapkus will also be reading a scene from the 90s made-for-TV movie Bunk Bed Brothers.

This live edition of John Leveinstein’s Retirement Party is set for Thurs., Jan. 24th at 8PM. Get your tickets for $7 here.

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

December 13, 2018

comedy show, hollywood, los angeles, musical improv, shamilton, ucb

All star musical improv group Baby Wants Candy is doing their special Hamilton-esque show again where they improvise an entirely Hamilton-style musical of a different famous person than Alexander Hamilton.

It’s pretty damn amazing and, just like the actual Hamilton musical, a must-see experience. The next Shamilton will happen right in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve on Thurs., Dec. 27th at 8:30PM at UCB Sunset.

Tickets are still available for only $7 and you really ought to go 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.

December 12, 2018

hollywood, improv, japanese comedy, long form improv, nihongo dake, russian comedy, spanish comedy, ucb

Sometimes, being lost in translation can be a pretty damn great comedic device. Thus, Japanese improv group Nihongo Dake takes that notion to a whole other level by doing an entire improv show pretty much devoid of a single word of English aptly named No Subtitles.

This Saturday, December 15th at 7PM at UCB Sunset Inner Sanctum, you can get lost, in a fun way, in improv in Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and more! We’ve seen and heard it for ourselves without knowing how to speak most of those languages and it’s pretty swell.

Go get 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.

December 6, 2018

britanick, franklin village, hollywood, sketch comedy, stand up, ucb

It has been quite some time since we’ve got a chance to see Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher AKA renowned comedy duo BriTANick (if you’re not familiar, enjoy going down a YouTube rabbit hole here) together on stage to enjoy their absurdist antics, and now, maybe some stand-up comedy (Nick has become quite the stand-up over the last few years).

Thankfully, that latest chance is just around the corner, specifically next Saturday, December 15th at 10PM at UCB Franklin.

Tickets are $12 and you can (and 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.

October 29, 2018

comedy, halloween, haunted house, los angeles, ucb

On Halloween this Wednesday, there will any and all sorts of haunted houses that you can imagine all throughout LA.

For those looking for something a little funnier (and maybe a little less scary), but staying in the spirit of the night, you can check UCB’s version of a haunted house that they’re calling “Yanny or Laurel Present Internet Expl-Horror”.

Many of the UCB faithful will take over and utilized several of the rooms, spaces, common areas, closets at UCB Sunset to make for this immersive comedy experience.

They have four different times that you can enter this Wed., 7PM, 8PM, 9PM, and 10PM. Tickets are only $7 and you can and 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.

September 16, 2018

demi adejuyigbe, hollywood, miel bredouw, podcast taping, punch up the jam, ucb

A favorite podcast of ours, Punch Up The Jam, is doing another live edition, this time at UCB Sunset.

Hosts Demi and Miel will be taking pop songs and “making them better” in person on Sunday, September 30th at 9PM and, unsurprisingly, advance tickets are sold out. However, watch as the date gets closer to see if tickets are released and, as always with UCB, there will be a stand-by line on the night of the show.

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

comedy show, comic con, hollywood, immersive, los angeles, parody, performance art, ucb

Every so often…

…there comes a time…

…when UCB here in LA wants to do a very ambitious immersive comedy show…

…and use all the rooms at their disposal (specifically at UCB Sunset)…

…to give you one hell of a comedy experience!

That time is… this Saturday, July 21st when Cheap Ass Comic-Con presented by the Unfinished Target at Sunset and Western.

UCB has done a few of these over the years and they’ve always been otherworldly and so damn funny. So, don’t miss this latest one where they do a send-up of Comic-Con (also, it might be a great way to get an approximation of the Comic-Con experience without spending a whole lot of money and going to San Diego).

They’ve got three times that you can go this Saturday, 7PM, 8:30PM, and 10PM all at $12 a pop.

We highly recommend to get your tickets to catch this (probably) one time only Cheap Ass Comic-Con.

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

conner o'malley, hollywood, interview, los angeles, ucb

When it comes to pushing the envelope in comedy (and doing so successfully), the name Conner O’Malley is one of the names that should immediately come to mind (just check his YouTube channel if you need proof).

UCB’s interview series about comedians and their craft, So, you do comedy? with Chris Witaske, has Conner as its next guest and you just might learn what’s cooking up in that head of his.

The show will be at UCB Sunset on Thurs., July 26th at 8:30PM. Tickets are $7 and you should go grab them here.

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

midnight show, ucb

Over the course of a decade, The Midnight Show has built themselves into a venerable institution in and throughout LA comedy. The dark, devil-may-care, fast paced style of their sketches made us into ardent fans after the first time we saw them.

That status is thanks to the brilliance of the cast/writers, directors, and producers who include/have included some of the funniest people around, period. You’ve probably seen and enjoyed the work of TMS’ Heather Anne Campbell, Hal Rudnick, James Adomian, Stephanie Allynne and Eric Moneypenny more than a few times around as well as the work of Peter Atencio (who used to direct all the videos, then became house director for Key & Peele).

With all of that being said, The Midnight Show will be having its final performance on Saturday, August 4th at, of course, midnight at UCB Franklin. It’s not to be missed. Currently, advanced tickets are sold out (it sold out in minutes), but there will be a waitlist and the possibility of more tickets being released closer to the night of. Get more details and check up on if there are indeed tickets to buy 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, dance, hollywood, kathryn burns, los angeles, rachel bloom, riki lindhome, ucb

Undoubtedly, Kathryn Burns is often the intersection of dance and comedy as she has won an Emmy for her work as the choreographer on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (in addition to creating dance numbers for the likes of Key & Peele, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, and more).

So, to mark her reaching working on a 100 episodes of TV, Kat is putting on a comedy dance extravaganza at UCB Sunset that you need to attend.

Oh yeah, we should mention that Rachel Bloom, Garfunkel & Oates, and Matthew Patrick Davis will be there.

Tickets are $5 and are going fast. Buy them quick here.

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

butt comedy, chris stephens, comedy show, hollywood, joe mcadam, little armenia, los angeles, sketch comedy, thai town, ucb

Simply put, Joe McAdam and Chris Stephens AKA Butt are some of the funniest sketch comedy folks around these days.

They’re doing a half hour at UCB Franklin this Thursday, June 21st at 8PM and you really ought to not miss it. Tickets are $7 and you really ought to 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.