Submissions for the first annual District Improv Festival, taking place in Washington D.C. from September 26-29 are now open. Cost to submit is $15 until April 15, and $20 until the deadline of May 1.
Next week’s Free Improv at Connie’s Ric Rac will still be free, but will be a fundraiser for improv group Safe Weird (Rob Gentile, Andrew Stanton, Kait Thompson) for a trip to London to perform and teach improv workshops across the pond.
Here’s a reminder that submissions for the F. Harold Comedy Festival are now open. This year’s festival will take place from June 11 through June 16 at Studio 5 at the Walnut St. Theatre and will feature improv, sketch, stand-up, and storytelling.
This Tuesday Comedy Bonfire is going down (that’s the only way to properly describe it) at The Fire (412 E. Girard Ave.). The night will begin at 8:00pm with a stand-up comedy showcase hosted by Alex Grubard and featuring Mary Radzinski, Ryan Shaner, and Dave Topor. Next, the Trailer Trash Live Podcast at 9:30pm hosted by Michael Baurer and Garrett Smith featuring guests Joey Dougherty and Tommy Touhill. Finally, at 11pm the night will be capped with an open mic hosted by Lou Misiano.
Improv group Beirdo will be holding a fundraiser show at The Arts Parlor this Friday to raise money for their trip to the Chicago Improv Festival. The show will feature performances from: Alex Pearlman, The Stonewall Players, Bad James, Cake Bear, Brendan Keegan, and the Beirdos themselves.
You can also catch Comedy Night at the Ballroom (Robinson’s Ballroom – 5749 N. Broad St.) this Friday for a night of comedy from: Denny Live, Jay West, Chitta Chatta, Ryan Phillips, Big Chuck, and Moses Sadler.
Matt Nelson and Maggy Keegan have announced the launch of Figment Theater with the mission to “to cultivate and nurture quality improvisational theater with artists and audiences through shared experiences rooted in fearless performance and nimble innovation.” Upcoming projects from Figment include The Vagabond Sessions, John Hughes High, Troika, The Summer Courtship Series, and Slasher.
Philly Improv Theater has announced the casts for three new house teams. One, directed by Ralph Andracchio will join the current list of PHIT’s Saturday house teams while the other two, directed by Alex Newman and Rob Gentile, will be PHIT’s first Harold Teams, set to perform on Tuesday nights at the theater.
Tonight, Meathook Comedy Presents: 318 with headliner Dan St. Germain at Connie’s Ric Rac. The show will also feature performances by: Alex Pearlman, Alex Pezzotta, Ryan Shaner, and Boston’s Pat Barrett, Shawn Carter, and Gary Petersen and will be hosted by Steve Slaughter.
Comedy Dreamz returns to The Barbary this Tuesday with a show featuring Body Dreamz, Aaron Nevins, JP Boudwin, Phyllis Voren, Nick Lucas, Christian Alsis, High Dramma, Ken BDC Jones, T.J. Hurly and more! Videos by Jesse Miller and Juiceboxxx! With DJs Emilio Airhorn and Wolfcity. Doors open at 9:00, the show starts at 10:00 and, as always, will be followed by a dance party.
Also this Wednesday, you can catch one of Philadelphia’s finest storytelling showcases with Tell Me a Story at Shot Tower Coffee. This month, Ryan Carey, Jen Curcio, Jim Grammond, T.J. Hurley, Aaron Nevins, Eric Smith, Valerie Temple, R. Eric Thomas, and Alison Zeidman will tell stories around the theme of “Road Trip”.
Comedian Amy Schumer will perform at The Keswick Theater this Friday. Schumer is known for her many television appearances, her album Cutting, and her Comedy Central special Mostly Sex Stuff. Schumer is the creator, star, and writer for Inside Amy, her Comedy Central sketch show that will debut later this year.
Also this Friday, Gorged! at The Bean Cafe will feature “humorous people doing and saying things to entertain just about everybody. Performers include: Alex Grubard, Sidney Gantt, Marc Kaye, and Jaime Nadell.
All Bets are Off! a stand-up comedy show with performances from Doogie Horner, Aaron Hertzog, Alex Pearlman, Alex Grubard, Dan Scully, and Sidney Gantt is this Saturday at World Cafe Live.
Comedian Alex Grubard recently won the LOL at The Grand competition in Wilmington, DE. Grubard took home a cash prize for his win, but don’t hold that against him the next time he tells you that he doesn’t have any money.
A new humor blog, Kitty Kat Booty is being run by Philadelphia-area comedians and La Salle students Kyle Harris and Brian McCarthy. The blog aims to post original humor pieces as well as interviews with comedians. The site recently interviewed comedian Steve Hofstetter.
Shows
Monday Evening Raw makes its debut tonight at Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar (1200 E. Passyunk Ave.) The stand-up showcase will feature sets from: Ryan Crawford, M. Jacob Alvarez, Dan Vetrano, Jay West, and TJ Hurley and will be hosted by Mike Logan.
Free Improv at Connie’s Ric Rac returns this week with another improv showcase featuring 15-minute sets from eight groups. This month’s show will feature: Deleted Scenes, Those Two Nice Ladies, Cake Bear, Bad James, DupliCate, No Wait, Dennis, Frank, Caitlin, Stills & Nash, Kait and Andrew+
This Wednesday Accidents Will Happen will be taken over by The Panic Hour. The show will be hosted by Steve Miller-Miller, NA Poe, and David Piccolomini and will feature comedy from: Alex Pearlman, Blythe Randolph, Tim Unkenholz, Kevin Hebbeler, Robert X, Jay West,and Alison Zeidman. As always, the show will be followed by an open mic.
JP Boudwin’s sketch comedy showcase Now Time! will have its second show at L’etage (624 S. 6th St.) this week with a show featuring The Feeko Brothers, Daring Daulton, and American Breakfast.
Kevin Hart’s Plastic Cup Boyz tour comes to Tower Theatre (Ludlow St. and S 69th St. Upper Darby) this Saturday with a show full of home-grown comedy from: Na’im Lynn, Will “Spank” Horton, Joey Wells and LaVar Walker.
Philly Improv Theater sketch house team The Flat Earth will be performing a brand new sketch comedy revue at PHIT beginning tonight with four dates between now and Friday, March 8. Their first sketch revue premiered at last year’s Fringe Festival to much success, earning it encore performances at PHIT as well as a nominations from their peers for “Best Sketch Group” and “Best Short-Run or One-Time Show” at the 2013 WitOut Awards for Philadelphia Comedy. We asked the actors and writers of The Flat Earth to tease their favorite moments from their upcoming show to help whet potential audience members’ appetites. As you’ll see, they (and you) have a lot to be excited about.
Brent Knobloch “The opening sketch of the show features Molly Silverman and Jacqueline Baker doing some of the most brilliantly subtle yet insanely funny acting I’ve seen in a long time. The ease with which they pull every possible laugh out of the script is incredible.”
Jess Ross “Really happy with the strong female roles in this show. A lot of sketch you see is all dudes, sometimes one chick. And if there is a chick she’s a naggy girlfriend/mom/boss. Our girls have some of the funniest moments in the show and I’m really proud of them and to the writers for giving them such fun parts to play.”
Jim Grammond
“My favorite part of the upcoming show is I get to eat during two sketches.”
Rich Lee “One of my favorite new additions for this show is the sketch Garrote. It’s got a smart yet silly vibe, with some good old fashioned slap-stick moments. It will definitely get laughs with Brent Knobloch and Luke Field dancing around on stage. The next prop would have to be for Molly Silverman in our opening sketch. I don’t want to say the title as it would give away some jokes, but she plays a mother consoling her daughter on her wedding day. Molly has some hilarious deliveries and we can all thank Sean Landis for writing one of the silliest yet hard to say lines in sketch… close parenthesis.”
Luke Field “The opening sketch of the show makes me laugh every time. Molly’s delivery of the lines is perfect as a very specific retro mom. And I appreciate all references to the halcyon days of my tweenage years.”
Vincent DiCostanzo “Aggressive.”
Jacqueline Baker “Our latest sketch revue has a lot in common with the Pesto Shrimp & Avocado Crostini appetizer from Romano’s Macaroni Grill: textured pesto bits, frou-frou shrimpy accents, a crunchy crostini restaurant battle, and a colorful and gooey avocado finish. The old Macaroni Grill slogan “Run By Chefs. That Explains Our Food” is our comedic ethos and a godawful slogan. Seriously, who coined that garbage? Not one of our writers, that’s who. ”
Sean Landis “My favorite moment is the way Molly Silverman performs the final line in our password sketch. The line itself is already a well-written final joke to the sketch. But the first time I heard Molly perform the line, I was so surprised by her choice that I laughed for, like, a minute straight.”
Adam Siry “I love the costumes in our opening sketch, and Luke Field’s drumming skills send my heart aflutter.”
Molly Silverman
“Its tough to play favorites, but I will say there is one sketch in particular that has tested my ability to keep a straight-face on stage. Jacqueline Baker’s kooky monologue cracks me up each time. I laugh every time, without fail.”
Matthew Schmid
“My favorite part of the show is a sketch that Sean Landis wrote which stars Molly Silverman and Jacquie Baker. There’s so many great lines in it and Jacquie and Molly really hit each one out of the park. I’ve seen the sketch about 40 times during rehearsal, it still cracks me up each time.”
Steve Swan “My favorite thing about the show is the variety of styles in it, and how receptive everyone is (writers, actors, and our director Paul Triggiani) to each other’s inputs. That really takes the sketches to the next level.”
The Flat Earth’s Second Sketch Revue is February 28 – March 1, and March 7 – 8 at 8:30pm at Philly Improv Theater at The Shubin Theater (407 Bainbridge St.) Tickets can be purchased online.
In case you haven’t seen it – the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly.com wrote this article on Philadelphia’s “burgeoning comedy scene.” Check it out for quotes from Todd Glass, Doogie Horner, BJ Ellis, and WitOut’s own Alison Zeidman.
Performer submissions are open now through Sunday, March 3 for the annual Troika tournament. Interested performers should email their name, contact information and list of current and past performance groups to troika@figmenttheater.org. Performers will be placed in groups of three and will have one month to come up with their group’s name and performance style. The tournament will be held at The Sideshow with preliminary rounds taking place on April 13, 19, and 26 with the championship round on Saturday, April 27.
Submissions are now open for High Note Humor’s South Jersey Stand-up Championship - which will be held at The Taproom Grill (427 W Crystal Lake Drive Haddonfield, NJ). Three comics from each preliminary round (April 4, 11, 18) will advance to the finals on April 26 for a chance to win cash prizes, future paid work, and a championship belt! Interested comedians can sign up by sending their name, comedy experience, and availability for the preliminary rounds to HighNoteHumor@gmail.com by the deadline of March 12.
Luke Giordano wrote this piece on the importance of failure for his site Everything You Like is Stupid. Luke has recently switched the format of the site from a humor page to one where he writes essays on his ideas, process, and other thoughts behind writing and comedy. As someone who also likes to think a lot about the process or writing and creating comedy I can say that it is worth checking out.
Due to a fire in the Valley Forge Beef and Ale, all shows at Chuckles Comedy Club have been put on hold. We will update you on any news about the venue as soon as more information is available.
Shows:
Philly Improv Theater will host the first of a two-week-run of shows at The Shubin Theater (407 Bainbridge St.) this week. You can see their full schedule online to check out all the improv, sketch, panel, and variety shows PHIT has to offer.
The Not Just Comedy Show returns to the Grape Room (105 Grape St. Manayunk) this Tuesday with a show featuring stand-up from Dan King, Tommy Highland, Darryl Charles, Danelle Lamar, Dan Mahon, Pat Kelly, and Dr. Tony; improv from Bed Savage; and music from Borrowed Instrument. Doors open at 7:30 and the show beings at 8:00.
Philly’s own Todd Glass will be headlining at Helium Comedy Club (2031 Sansom St.) this week with shows from Wednesday to Saturday. Also performing on the show will be comedians Chip Chantry and Blake Wexler.
This Wednesday Tight Six presents: Not Jazz 3 at Chris’ Jazz Cafe (1421 Sansom St.) This month’s show will feature comedy from John McKeever, Alex Pearlman, Omar Scruggs, Jon DelCollo, Caitlyn Feeney, Chris O’Conner, and promisses to have a secret special guest.
The Taproom Sports Bar & Grill (15 S Morton Ave Morton, PA) will host their second Totally Free Comedy Night this Thursday with a show featuring performances from James Hesky, Tommy Pope, Darryl Charles, Chris Dolan, Jake Mattera, and Michael Brooks.
You can see The Flat Earth perform their second sketch comedy revue featuring brand new material at Philly Improv Theater March 1-2 and 8-9. Tickets can be purchased in advance online.
If you are a Philadelphia comedy performer that produces a podcast, web series, sketch video, humor column, or any other online content let us know by emailing us at contact@witout.net so we can share it!
A Bunch of Improv at The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) will celebrate their one-year anniversary at the Manayunk venue this Tuesday with a show featuring improv from Deleted Scenes, Rosen & Milkshake, Bed Savage, and Cock Hat. The show will be hosted by Ryan Carey and will also feature a new installment of Web Cereal, their monthly sketch comedy video.
This Thursday Comedian Deconstruction returns to L’etage (624 South 6th St.) for their “Couples Therapy” show featuring stand-up from Chip Chantry, Chris Rich, Alison Zeidman, and Joe Bell with improv from Bed Savage and Cake Bear.
This Friday Grammy-award-winning comedian Lewis Black will bring his Running on Empty tour to the Academy of Music for a one-night-only performance. The comedian is known for his “unfiltered and frank rants about the absurdity of politics and the world around us”. Tickets can be purchased online.
We Can All Change, a new monthly show from hosts Dan Scully, Mike Logan, Setoiyo, and David Piccolomini at O’Neals Pub (611 S. 3rd St.) will debut this Friday with a show featuring performances from Jared Rosado, Elise Thompson-Hohl, Lou Misiano, and Pat Barker.
The Tough Stuff Comedy Show will also debut this Friday at Headhouse (122 Lombard St.) The show will feature stand-up performances from Alex Grubard, Mary Radzinski, John Nunn, and H. Foley. After their sets, the comedians will sit down with hosts Sidney Gantt and Kevin Ryan, where they will share “their most embarrassing and crazy stories.” Tickets are available online.
ComedySportz Philadelphia presents: BeatBox Philly this Friday at The Playground at the Adrienne Theater (2030 Sansom St.) The show will feature some of your favorite members of the ComedySportz Philadelphia team performing a mix of improvised scenes and freestyle raps. Tickets can be purchased online.
This Friday at The Arts Parlor (1170 S. Broad St.) The Sideshow presents: The 2013 Oscars Improv Jam. For the third straight year comedians from around Philadelphia will get dressed up and enjoy a night of improv, parody videos, food, and BYOB drinking. Following the jam there will also be a showing of film sensation The Room.
The Captain Action Comedy Show is this Saturday at the Conshohocken Cafe (521 Fayette St. Conshohocken). This month’s show will feature performances by Anton Shuford, Michael Donovan, and Elise Thompson-Hohl with a Captain Action Comedy Quiz Show and more from co-hosts Sidney Gantt and Dave Terruso.
Comedy Corner at Broad Axe Tavern (901 W. Butler Pike, Ambler, PA) will feature stand-up from Andy Nolan, Jim Ginty, and Alex Pearlman with guest sets from Chris Dolan, Caitlyn Feeney, and Dave Topor. Tickets can be purchased online.
Submissions for the 15th Annual Del Close Marathon are now open. The improv festival will take place June 28-30 on multiple stages throughout New York City. The marathon is known for bringing improvisers from around the country together for a few days of performances ranging from traditional improv institutions to crazy, late-night shows. The deadline to submit is April 2.
The early application deadline for this year’s Duofest, to be held right here in Philadelphia from June 6-9, is this Friday, February 22. Interested improv duos will have until then to take advantage of the lower application fee of $22. The final deadline to submit is March 2 (at a price of $32). More information can be found online.
Philly Improv Theater is currently holding sign-ups for auditions to add three new improv teams to their roster. One team, directed by Ralph Andracchio, will be cast as a PHIT House Team and will perform on Saturday nights at the theater. The other two teams, directed by Rob Gentile and Alex Newman will be PHIT’s first Harold Teams, and will perform on Tuesday nights. Auditions will be held March 9-10 and to secure an audition you can email your name, phone number, a preferred audition time, and details of your past improv training (if you have not completed PHIT’s Improv 201) to contact@phillyimprovtheater.com.
Philly Improv Theater is looking for their next monthly variety show, with new artistic direction team member Jess Ross leading the process. “PHIT already has some of the best variety shows around hosted by some Philly’s top comedians, including The Monthly Hour with James Hesky, Fibber hosted by Hillary Rea, Guilty Pleasures with Roger C. Snair and new host Joe Moore, Reasonable Discourse with Jerks hosted by Jim Grammond, and TV Party hosted by Paul Triggiani and Rob Baniewicz,” says Jess. “Now PHIT is looking for its next big variety show! Much like sweeps week on television, PHIT needs you to pitch your fresh, new, funny ideas and we will choose one to add to our already amazing variety show line-up!”
Here’s the full info on submitting:
Ever wanted to host your own show at PHIT? Have an original idea you’ve never seen at the theater before? Well we are looking for PHIT’s next big Variety Show and need your ideas!
May is going to host the first ever Sweeps Weeks at PHIT. If you have an original idea for a show you’d like to host on a monthly basis at the theater, let us know! What counts as a variety show? It can be anything you want: game show, talk show, something musical, something dancing, puppets, dressing up like baby penguins… anything you can think of (as long as it’s not strictly improv or sketch, cause we have a lot of that already)!
If you are interested in submitting, please send an email to jross@phillyimprovtheater.comwith your name and email address and “Sweeps Weeks” in the subject line. You will then be sent a brief survey to answer some questions about your show idea. Make sure to be as detailed as possible in your description of the show – the more we know about your idea, the better! The deadline to submit is MARCH 10TH. All submissions will receive a reply by March 14th. We are accepting shows on a rolling basis, so the sooner you get your idea in the better!
Selected shows will perform a 30-minute “pilot” paired with another sweeps week show on one of the following dates: May 1st, 8th, 15th, or 22nd, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. and the audience will then rate the shows to determine which will go on to a semi-final round. The four semi-finalists will perform again on May 29th and two finalists will perform June 5th. The winning show will be decided by a panel of judges then receive a run at PHIT. Runners up may also be offered other chances to perform. If your show is not picked, you will have still have had the chance to workshop a show idea you could produce elsewhere and receive feedback to help improve it!
Hey Rube will perform for the final time as a House Team this Saturday night at Philly Improv Theater. The group made their debut in August 2011 and have since performed at venues all over the area and festivals including the New York Improv Festival, Del Close Marathon, and the Philadelphia Improv Festival. They were crowned Best New Group at the 2012 WitOut Awards for Philadelphia Comedy, and were nominated for Best Improv Group at the 2013 WitOut Awards. The members of Hey Rube and their director Matt Holmes took some time to reflect, and say some nice things about each other.
Aaron Hertzog on Dennis Trafny:
“Dennis blows me away every time I see him perform. The only thing I know for sure when Dennis enters a scene is that at some point he is going to totally surprise me. He can take a seemingly everyday boring offer and come back with something that is (incredibly) completely off-the-wall but also somehow makes it easy for his scene partner to react to and build with. I don’t know if it’s a natural skill or something he’s had to work tirelessly on (or a little bit of Column A and a little bit of Column B) but either way I am completely impressed. He can also bring great intensity to a character (seriously, look into those eyes), and inject some much-needed energy in a show at a moment’s notice. Of course, this also makes for extra special moments when he decides to tone it down and show us his tender, soft side.”
Tara Demmy on Mark Leopold: “Before Hey Rube, I didn’t know Mark Leopold. He was just one of those guys with a really great name. Now I know him as one of the most talented performers I’ve ever worked with. His character work is the best (Dr. Dandelion) and he is a super intelligent and creative player, knowing when to give a set that necessary plot twist. When I’m in scenes with Mark I have trouble not just hanging out and watching him work, laughing along with the audience. One of my favorite moments was when Hey Rube was doing one of our usual group scene orgies and Mark came on and just sensually untied Jen’s shoelace. The best. Catch up with Mark playing “5 Things” at ComedySportz or doing a “props made out of only cardboard” sketch show with The Hold Up or even doing a show in the Philly Fringe (his 2012 Fringe show Archdiocese of Laughter was one of the best comedy shows I’ve ever seen—he made a rap out of my favorite hymn: Gift of Finest Wheat! Genius). See you there—I’ll be the girl in the first row wearing my ‘I heart Mark Leopold’ T-shirt.”
Lizzie Spellman on Alex Gross:
“The first time I really hung out with Alex, he took me to a gay club with a hot Asian chick. I’ve come to learn he is one crazy cat (and I’m not just saying that ’cause he owns way too many cat shirts). Alex is so fun to play with on stage. When he makes a choice he always fully commits to it. He can go super weird with a character, but it’s always grounded in truth. I think if Hey Rube were a rock band, Alex would be the guy smashing his guitar on an amp and flipping off the crowd. I tell him all the time and I really mean it, he’s become like a little brother to me. That’s why I forgive him for drunkenly walking in on me in the bathroom and proceeding to pee in the shower. But that’s another story…”
Mark Leopold on Aaron Hertzog: “I first saw Aaron something like six years ago. I went to an open mic and did some terrible set where I impersonated Forrest Gump at one point, and I saw this big man with a big personality just own the crowd and receive their adoration with composure and charm. It was amazing. I then retreated to the suburbs for three years. When I got cast on Hey Rube, the only person I actually recognized was Aaron and I was immediately intimidated by the prospect of playing with him. My fears proved to be completely unfounded of course. Aaron is one of the sweetest, most open, gentle and loving people I’ve met. His ever-present playfulness is infectious and when you have the good fortune to be in a scene with him, it’s such a familiar feeling of silly frolicking that you can’t help but have fun. Fun. That’s really the best way to describe what Aaron is like. He’s just like someone who it’s always fun to be around and with. He has a gift for vulnerability. He is just so brave and so foot-forward, always ready to give himself to the show or scene. Whether it’s dark or emotional, serious or silly, Aaron commits totally and performing with him is so easy and simple because you know he is going to completely receive what you give and build with it. Some of the most satisfying moments of collaboration in my life have been with him. Aaron is wonderful and any city, town, or village that doesn’t leap at the chance to welcome him is just tragically stupid.”
Rob Cutler on Lizzie Spellman: “Lizzie is commitment personified. She’s an incredibly gifted performer, but the original characters she creates and maintains are nothing short of brilliant. Whether she exhibits the child-like innocence of a three-year-old, or the decrepit bitter wisdom of a wicked crone, Lizzie will up the intensity with every passing moment. She’s a multitalented performer, whose musical prowess is displayed often with her ukulele, singing some of the most irreverent, funny, and original songs I’ve personally ever heard. She has a gift for character and her future on stage is limitless. On the personal end, I’ve yet to meet a more patient and engaging personality. She has kind words for everyone I’ve seen her interact with (even if they were complete assholes). In short Lizzie is funny as hell, sweet as sugar, with talent oozing out of every pore. We should all be so lucky as to have someone like Lizzie in our lives. I’ll miss you Rubes!”
Jen Curcio on Tara Demmy: “I will never forget the first time I met Tara. It was at Hey Rube’s first practice. I was really jealous of her because she was prettier, cooler and funnier than me. Then I got over it. Tara is a total improv pirate and for those of you who are not familiar with the term that means she attacks the scene. She is fearless in her choices, yet fully commits to and supports her scene partners’ choices. Tara is able to play characters that have a sharp contrast in stage presence. She will support anything and add value to it. I feel so lucky to have been on a team with her, I learned a lot from watching her be an awesome improviser!”
Alex Gross on Jen Curcio: “Oh, geez. Jen is the worst. I’m just kidding! I know that really freaked you out Jen but seriously, I’m just kidding. I swear! Jen is one of the kindest and weirdest people I know. She is always thinking of others before herself and she’s given me countless car rides home. Her paranoia and craziness are right on par with mine, which makes me feel like she’s my improv twin. I’ve done some of my favorite scenes with her and she is always a joy to work with, no matter how many times she initiates scenes with hints of a gangbang starting. Jen is an improv powerhouse who isn’t to be fucked with and I’ve had a blast working with her. Rubes for life.”
Dennis Trafny on Rob Cutler: “Rob is the ‘Phil Hartman’ of Hey Rube: really solid in every scene and he reigns in the crazy. He never gets scared on stage and is always cooler than the other side of the pillow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him hesitate. Not once. Never. Not even for a second. No ‘uhhhh’s or ‘ummmm’s. Nothing. He’s a beast. He also plays characters smartly, and on many occasions, very cleverly ties all the preceding scenes together. He is no one-trick pony either. He has a gift with puppetry and is awesome in Friends of Alcatraz . (If you haven’t seen it, you should!) Good luck with your future projects Rob!”
Matt Holmes on Hey Rube: “It’s sad to see Hey Rube end, but things that burn brightest snuff soonest.
I got more out of directing Hey Rube than I ever thought I would. First, I learned to get past your perfect idea for how things should go. It’s better to be flexible and make it work. It took us a few months to all get in the same room together at the same time, but that didn’t matter much.
Then, I learned all kinds of insights about improvising, telling a story in a visual medium, teaching people, using people’s strengths and working together on their weaknesses, building something together in small steps, and creating a show (style, format, framework) that is a signature.”
Hey Rube’s final show will be Saturday, February 9 at 10pm at The Philly Improv Theater at The Shubin Theater (407 Bainbridge St.) Tickets can be purchased online.
A new open mic at Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) hosted by Dan Vetrano and Joe Murdock begins tonight. The stage is open to all comedy performers and the hosts also encourage bringing a video to show on the Ric Rac’s screen. Sign ups begin at 8:30 and the mic starts at 9:00.
Philly Improv Theater is now accepting applications to their Improv Conservatory class to take place this spring. The conservatory class will accept eight students to work with director Steve Kleinedler to develop a new “style of play”. At the end of the eight-week class, the ensemble will perform a one-month run of shows at PHIT. Applications are being accepted until February 28.
This Wednesday touring show Comedians at Law will visit Helium Comedy Club (2031 Sansom St. Philadelphia). The show will feature performances from lawyers-turned-stand-up-comedians Alex Barnett, J-L Cauvin, Kevin Israel, Matt Ritter. Tickets can be purchased online.
Also this Wednesday Accidents Will Happen returns to The Adobe Cafe (947 E. Passyunk Ave.) This month’s show will feature performances from: Rachel Fogletto, Dave Terruso, Dan Scully, Matt Monroe, Malwina, Bino Brown, and Tommie Turner as well as a Dating Game and the “1st annual WitAccidents Open Mic Awards!” The show begins at 9:00pm and is immediately followed by an open mic.
This Thursday Bird Text brings their comedy show back to Helium Comedy Club for a night featuring stand-up from Mike Lawrence, Doogie Horner, Mary Radzinski, and Tommy Pope plus brand new Bird Text sketches. Tickets can be purchased online.
Chase N’ Laughs Comedy/Karaoke/Fish Fry is this Saturday at Treasures Banquet Hall (5549 Germantown Ave). Doors open at 5:00pm with free martinis being served until 6:00 and comedy beginning at 8:00. Tickets can be purchased by calling 267-405-2025.
Joe Conklin’s 3rd Annual Comedy Showcase is also taking place this Saturday at Glen Mills Thornbury Rotary at Penn Oaks Country Club (150 Penn Oaks Dr. West Chester, PA). The night will feature a DJ, cocktail hour, dinner, and comedy from the “man of a thousand voices.”
This Sunday Propoganda!, a monthly comedy show from Denver, CO., will come to L’etage (624 South 6th St.) for a free show featuring comedy from: Alex Grubard, Alex Pearlman, Doogie Horner, Scott Sharp, Brett Hiker, and Ray DeVito.
Philly Improv Theater will also have shows all this week at The Shubin Theater (407 Bainbridge Street). Some of their regular shows have changed days and times so make sure you check out their full schedule online.
If you have any Philly comedy news worth mentioning – send it our way with an email to contact@witout.net
