#ucb comedy

[littletroubledgrrrl]

[gazebo-components]

Improv Is Cool Now: reflections on the past, present, and future of improv on the internet

DISCLAIMER: this is LONG -- not because it’s comprehensive or correct, but because I have a lot of thoughts. i am not an authority on improv, i just like it. these are some things i have noticed & been thinking about over the last couple years.

TLDR: the world of digital comedy is getting increasingly improv-ified. because of this, improv is forced to adapt to digital forms, which is sometimes awkward but (i think) generally very exciting! it's taking on a new life and reaching more people than ever before and it's maybe... even... cool now ? i investigate dropout’s and smosh’s recent improv ventures to find an answer and then i talk a little bit about saturday night live. also, there's color-coding.

IMPROV OVERVIEW

- Basically there are 3 big improv schools/theaters that are seen as launching-off points for comedy stardom: Second City, Groundlings, and Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB). SNL hires from them, a bunch of famous comedians have come from them, etc. Of course there are other schools and other ways to “make it” in sketch/improv, and many people have critiqued the school system for being gatekeepy/culty, but the big 3 schools are pretty much the center of the improv/sketch world. 

- The big 3 each have their own class tracks for sketch and improv that can eventually lead to auditions for house teams, which are SUPER competitive. At UCB you audition for Harold teams (improv) and Maude teams (sketch). At Groundlings you audition for Sunday Company and are then possibly invited to join the main company. I know the least about Second City but I think you audition for a touring company & are then possibly invited to join the main company? IDK.

- I cannot stress how competitive these auditions are, at all 3 schools. Over 1000 people audition for UCB Harold teams every year and less than 1% get a spot. Getting on a house team is a BIG FUCKIN DEAL. 

- There are (basically speaking) 2 kinds of improv: short-form (more structured: games, wacky characters) and long-form (less structured: scenes, plotlines). Short-form is often seen as "easier" and more palatable for a non-improv audience than long-form, which can be really esoteric and confusing and hard to watch. Groundlings and Second City focus on short-form & sketch, UCB Harold is long-form, UCB Maude is sketch.

RECORDED/TELEVISED IMPROV

- Improv on TV, especially long-form, has historically not been good or successful — UCB experiments with recording/televising longform shows in the 2000s, but nothing really goes mainstream. One exception is Whose Line Is It Anyway (a short-form show by Second City alums), which runs from 1998-2007 and is pretty popular. Whose Line comes back in 2013 but is on shaky shaky ground, might be over now? IDK.

- 2020: Recorded longform improv has its first big moment in Ben Schwartz and shitty guy Thomas Middleditch (both former UCB Harold performers), whose special Middleditch and Schwartz prompts Vulture to ask, “What if improv were good?" IMO, this is the point where Improv Starts Being Cool.

DROPOUT

- Early CollegeHumor team is full of improv comedians, mostly UCB. Many (Brennan, Siobhan, Trapp, Ally, Zac, Grant, etc…) have been on Harold/Maude teams.

- 2020-ish: Big dramatic CollegeHumor -> Dropout shift; one major takeaway is that unscripted content does much better than scripted content. Dropout pivots to focus on unscripted, eventually premiering Make Some Noise, a short-form show often compared to Whose Line. (Sam Reich says MSN has brought more people to Dropout than any other show.)

- 2022-2023: Dropout introduces multiple longform improv shows, including Play It By Ear and Very Important People (both hosted by UCB Harold performers). VIP performs exceptionally well and is even submitted for Emmy consideration.

- 2023: Wayne Brady from Whose Line appearing on MSN is a MAJOR passing-the-torch moment for improvisers. Wayne tells Sam that only two productions have ever gotten filmed improv right: Whose Line and Dropout.

- 2024: Dropout Presents, a set of original comedy specials, includes 2 longform improv shows: Bigger! With Brennan And Izzy and From Ally To Zacky -- a performance by Yeti, a graduated UCB Harold team made up mostly of Dropout regulars.

- TAKEAWAY: DROPOUT IS DOING MORE LONGFORM. I mean, they're doing more of a lot of stuff, including short-form. But VIP and the longform Dropout Presents specials indicate a willingness to try recorded longform à la Middleditch and Schwartz, which makes perfect sense given that so many of them were/are UCB Harold performers. Will it pay off?? We'll see!!

SMOSH

- 2016: Smosh’s first Try Not To Laugh, a version of the improv game Bus Stop/Park Bench. To my knowledge, the cast at this time has no one from the big 3 improv schools -- of course, this does not mean they aren’t good improvisers (because clearly they are!), just that Smosh isn’t connected to the traditional improv world at this point.

- 2020: Smosh hires its first professionally trained improvisers as cast members: Ify (UCB), who eventually leaves to do a bunch of Dropout stuff, Jacklyn (Second City), who eventually leaves to join Second City NY, and Amanda (Groundlings), who was on Sunday Company and gets on a UCB Maude team in 2022. In other words, they’re all excellent school-trained improvisers.

- 2022: Smosh hires two UCB sketch/improv performers, Angela and Chanse, who were on a Maude team together with Smosh writer Patrick McDonald and editor Josh Fleury.

- 2023: Anthony comes back and they start doing old-school sketches that incorporate the rest of the cast. They do ok, but unscripted content like TNTL continues to be more popular (echoing Dropout’s experience)

- 2024: Angela and Chanse are announced to host the variety/sketch/improv show Bit City. The first episode contains 2 sketches, a 10-minute character improv piece from Amanda, and a 10-minute reunion (semi-improvised). The cast are clearly very excited about being involved in "traditional" sketch/improv (as opposed to just being in pit/games stuff).

- TAKEAWAY: SMOSH IS GETTING MORE INTO TRADITIONAL IMPROV. Try Not To Laugh continues to be one of their most popular series, Bit City is being extremely hyped up, and the cast has gone to multiple Groundlings workshops together. My guess is that Smosh will stick to short-form, because their audience is less comedy-nerd-y than Dropout's and none of the Smosh cast are UCB Harold alums (remember, Angela and Chanse were on a Maude [sketch] team, and Amanda did Groundlings, which is short-form and sketch). Again, this doesn't mean they can't do long-form (they definitely can), but I do think their skills/interests lie mainly in sketch and character/short-form improv.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

- SNL is decidedly not an improv show, because improv is much scarier to do on live broadcast television than sketch is, but it is still a live show and historically many of its performers have been improvisers. Again, SNL hires improvisers almost exclusively from the big 3 theaters.

- SNL undergoes an identity crisis around 2020-2022 as many well-loved cast members (many of whom are improvisers) leave, hiring mainly standup comedians, not improvisers, to replace them

- Current SNL cast improvisers: Bowen Yang (UCB), Chloe Fineman (Groundlings), Ego Nwodim (UCB), Mikey Day (Groundlings), Heidi Gardner (Groundlings), Chloe Troast (indie, to my knowledge!). The rest are stand-ups, or are named Colin or Kenan.

- TAKEAWAY: SNL IS SAME OLD SAME OLD, BUT... Lorne Michaels is speculated to leave after this season (50), discussions of a “new era” and major shifts for the show. Possible replacements include Tina Fey and Seth Meyers (both are career improvisers, unlike Lorne) — could SNL incorporate improv in the future? Again, historically difficult because of broadcast television rules, but idk, it's an interesting thought

CONCLUSION

- improv is cool now! more and more digital comedy productions are turning towards improv, maybe a reflection of greater desire for authenticity/humanness on the internet? idk.

- the big 3 theaters continue to be a driving force of the improv world, despite some people's desires to move away from that kind of institutional importance. UCB in particular is being showcased a lot because of dropout, though idk if that translates to anything in the real world.

- dropout is doing more longform (yay!!) and is making their real-life improv connections/teams/relationships more explicit with filmed live improv shows and bringing in established groups of improvisers like Improvised Shakespeare.

- the current smosh cast contains three classically trained improvisers, and the channel seems to be making moves towards traditional improv in the style of the big 3 schools, but will probably stick to shortform. (also, no, the smosh-dropout merger is not happening anytime soon.)

- young people think SNL is cringe now (imo it's just as cringe as it ever was... live sketch is HARD). the show will have to make some major changes if it wants to stay relevant, and they'll be looking to the success of digital comedy as inspiration and competition. my prediction: after season 50 they'll do a big overhaul, get a new young host, might even poach a couple Dropout stars.

- there’s A LOT OF stuff I didn't get into: the evolution of standup/crowdwork/recorded standup specials, SNL hiring trends over the years, the pandemic + comedy (particularly TikTok sketch), the Smosh Sitcom Live, what the hell a Harold even is and why it matters. this is already very long and i am, frankly, very tired.

FURTHER READING:

UCB Harold/Maude rosters -- command-f your favorite dropout people to see who they were on a team with

Improv Nation -- the ultimate improv history book; i read it my sophomore year of high school and i was obsessed

this guy’s blog post about wayne brady on MSN

this breakdown of SNL cast member origins up to 2013, which ends with a series of wildly incorrect predictions (fewer standups, no internet performers)

thanks for reading!

[newwavesylviaplath]

pov: i invited u over and u think ur about to get laid but instead i just wanna show you my signed edition of comedy bang! bang! the podcast: the book

[nakedcomedy]

#LosAngeles & #Livestream fam, it's time to talk Democracy! But make it funny & hot!

We got a sweet lil’ show hosted by Cameron Esposito featuring some amazing stand up comedians coming together to raise some $$ for Kamala the night before the DNC.

Featuring: Aparna Nancherla, Dylan Adler, Ify Nwadiwe, Danielle Perez & MK Paulsen!

SUNDAY 8/18 7pm PT Live at UCB in LA and Livestreaming on Youtube! Get tickets now and save $5 on tix!

—

This is an 18+ show.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the show

Livestream ticket buyers will receive an email with the livestream link at the time of purchase and again one hour before the show. Livestream link will be available for 12 hours after the show.

All sales are final. The show starts at the time listed. If you are not at the theater more than 5 minutes before the start of the show, we may release your tickets to the waitlist.

Lineup is subject to change.

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre 5919 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

[dinkywinks]

unfortunately if i was around in the IWTV universe i would be such a huge fan of the théâtre des vampires. i'd watch it like wrestling. i'd be trying to explain the concept of kayfabe to all my little french friends like "okay so they're playing characters who are playing characters. humans playing vampires playing humans. it's like watching two shows at once!" i'd be tracking the ongoing relationships between the "vampire characters" in the "ongoing storyline" completely oblivious that i'm just watching genuine unscripted vampire polycule drama

truly i would be sitting there at claudia's execution like "well i'm sad they're retiring this character, but the actress is probably getting too old for the part, and they're giving her an incredible sendoff. i never knew she had such range, she looks really upset! i wonder if she's retiring for good or if they'll bring her back as a new adult vampire character. wow gosh the effects are better than usual tonight! :)"

[lodane]

tumblr

thank you @dropoutdottv for being over here

this is literally how i found out y'all launched @gastronauts, and i say that as someone that subs on youtube.

idk who twisted your arm to get you on the best hellsite but give them a special pair of shoelaces for the effort

[willfrominternet]

New Yorkers of Tumblr: You must not sleep on this one-night-only event. The Chris Gethard Show was basically my lifeblood for several years and I didn't ever shut up about it on The Old Tumblr. While I only attended TCGS tapings back when it was on public access TV and then cable TV, I have heard stories of the UCB-era shows. Sheer chaos. Immaculate vibes. There is no better way for the UCB to return to New York than with Gethard and friends doing their weird, wonderful thing.

I do not live in New York anymore, and I have no means of getting to the Big Apple on Friday, September 13th. But you, you stalwart New Yorkers of Tumblr, you have access! Attend this event and spend what might just be the best hour of your life! Do it for me! Do it for Geoff!

(An explanation: The Chris Gethard Show is a one-hour-long comedy show hosted by Chris Gethard and his friends. Every show is different and usually involves hijinks, strangers, and at times physical and mental gymnastics. It was a live comedy show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City, then a public access TV show on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and finally a cable TV show on Fusion and then TruTV. It included a character named the Human Fish. Please do your own research to learn more. Thank you.)

[nezoid]

May 2024 Recap:

(I’m way behind and was too busy/kept forgetting to post 🫠)

- The LAST Improv Show at Netflix is a joke fest

- Seth Rogen at The Last improv Show at Netflix is a joke fest

- Brendan Hines at Hotel Cafe

- Search History UCB at UCB Theatre

- Spanish Aqui Presents at UCB Theatre

- WEER x3

- lots of Tallula and Wednesday (Emma, Winston, and Hanzo) 🐶💁🏻‍♀️🐶

- Eevee / dinner at Lynda and Sam’s

- Dinner with Meli at Hermosillo

- Aerosol by Felix Dyotte was released and it’s soo good!

- Wednesday (the series) released a Season 2 cast photo Wenclair 💗🖤

- I won Orphan Black props worn by Tatiana Maslany and Evelyne Brochu from some of my fave Cophine moments

#©diozenoasin #thelastimprovshow #brendanhines #sethrogen #netflixisajoke #wednesday #akita #americanakita #miniaturepinscher #miniaturepoodle #dog #shibainu #friends #family #like #love #throwback #orphanblack #cosimaniehaus #delphinecormier #live #show #comedy #may #Brendanhines #searchhistoryucb #ucbtheatre #weer #felixdyotte #tatianamaslany #evelynebrochu #fbf #flashbackfriday

[dynamoe]

I’m doing improv at the “New” iO. Anything you miss about your UCB days?

Youth? Sense of infinite possibility on a distant horizon? Status and power over naïve comedy students I could get drunk and convince to return to my bed?

Vaguest answer: being a part of a community with a shared purpose (making comedy) and being able to experiment with ideas because the stakes were so low. No one was watching.

For the uninitiated, "UCB" is the Upright Citizens Brigade (Theatre), a comedy theater specializing in improv and sketch in New York and "iO" is Improv Olympic, a comedy theater in Chicago that trained the 3 of the 4 founders of the UCB. (Walshie was an Annoyance guy.)

Thank you for your question, my first from a non-anonymous in ages.

I was in the first generation of performers (more or less) with the UCB in New York City. The UCB-4 moved to NY from Chicago in 1996; I started going to shows/taking classes in 1998.

I miss having all your collaborators living a subway ride away and you'd see them every week... or multiple times a week. If you had an idea for a show, you could throw it on stage in under a month. You didn't make any money, but you didn't lay out any money either. You probably had no audience, too.

That's probably the influence of improv— your ideas were disposable so you didn't hold onto anything and get precious about it. The downside is there's no record of our output. The few photographs look terrible and there's no video. Nothing was written down.

I learned to design at UCB on the job, too. Someone always needed a flyer and I was the only person who knew/had Photoshop. There were no standards and no oversight so I could do whatever I wanted on a flyer. The quality of promotions before I started was so bad that anything I came up with was a step up. So, the only physical memento of the early UCB is 200ish flyers I designed.

I've been waffling on doing an interview-based history podcast covering those first years, before we had a physical theater of our own when the "community" was maybe two dozen people. I bought the equipment a year ago, but still haven't come up with a decent enough title to COMMIT to it.

(I also have so many regrets from that time, I'm trying hard not to add caveats to all of these points.)

[haveyouheardofthisshow]

[rapidkirby3000]

Whenever I see that clip from Animal Planet, and I highly do remember watching that episode it from many years ago, I'm suddenly reminded of another show:

🎉 "And they're off!"

my dastardly bastard of a son Speedfast Turboquick making a mockery of olympic track and field athletes

[radiofreemultiverse]

The Chris Gethard Show Trivia 2 | Grand Trivia 149

This week we’ve got trivia all about the most bizarre and often saddest talk show in New York City. THE CHRIS GETHARD SHOW IS BACK FOR ONE NIGHT!

Grand Trivia is a weekly show hosted by Fluval (Grand Triviamaster of The Grand Aquarium Empire) and his sycophantic intern Intern Kristie. Each week they do offbeat trivia around a specific theme and lowly third-dimensional beings compete to prove they know their stuff.

Produced by Radio Free Multiverse.

Radio Free Multiverse brings you art, comedy, and trivia from outside of time and space. Join us LIVE every Wednesday at 8 pm PT / 11 pm ET at live.radiofreemultiverse.com

Support Radio Free Multiverse on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RadioFreeMultiverse

Not only does your support helps keep the show loud, live, and independent, but you also get exclusive rewards.

Learn more about the show and our myriad other projects at radiofreemultiverse.com

The Grand Aquarium Anthem is by Isaiah Thomas. Check out his YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@IndecisionTelevision

Fluval’s theme is by Riley Soloner. You can follow him at https://instagram.com/rileysoloner.

“rfm100” was remixed by thingsfromthevoid

“HeyListen” was remixed by daydream_vagabond

Fluval’s theme was remixed by thingsfromthevoid. Watch him live on Saturday at 7pm PT / 10 pm ET at https://www.twitch.tv/sensitiveartisttypes

Social Media: Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/RadioFreeMultiverse Instagram ► http://instagram.com/radiofreemultiverse YouTube ► https://youtube.com/@RadioFreeMultiverse

[neworkimprov]

PBS: Inventing Improv

Where did we all come from? Do you need to know all this to perform improv? Do you need to know the full Stanislavski life history to act? NO! But I feel like knowing where we came from connects us to a deeper meaning. By understanding how the trailblazers discovered our future gives us context. Also, understand multiple iterations of technique helps us find what works best for us. 1000s of…

[newwavesylviaplath]

every time someone brings up die antwoord i am instantly reminded of when kroll show's recurring sketch "show us your songs canada" was changed to "show us your songs commonwealth" and the south african auditions consisted of bo burnham with a british accent followed by kristen schaal and kurt braunohler doing what i can only describe as the best and also most disturbing parody of die antwoord out there

[nakedcomedy]

I love doing my weird one offs, clown shows, live animated comedy, etc. But for those unfamiliar with my early work, this is what a "normal" showcase show looks like from me, simply 1hr of quality entertainment. I am so honored that Mr. Horsepower reached out to me to help out booking some special guests for their show! MY first show is this Friday and I would love for you to attend and enjoy these fine performers!!

Get tix now and help us secure a permanent spots in the calendar at UCB!

[musicshelfwithmustard]

A Sensational Interview with Goodbye Charlemagne

Mustard had the pleasure of speaking with Goodbye Charlemagne. Together we discussed their failures, their influences, releasing 4 albums this year, their upcoming "The Sensational Debut", and so much more!

Mustard had the pleasure of speaking with Goodbye Charlemagne. Together we discussed their failures, their influences, releasing 4 albums this year, their upcoming “The Sensational Debut”, and so much more! 1. Mustard is grateful to have you join them at Music Shelf. How are you doing today? I’m doing well, thank you for asking.  2. You are a self-described failed comedian and failing…