Philly Improv Theater recently announced its new artistic team set to take over day-to-day booking and talent management. The team will be led by Ralph Andracchio as Artistic Director and will include: Emily Davis as Improv Producer, Brian Kelly as Sketch Producer, Jessica Ross as Variety Producer and Kristen Schier as Season Producer.
The Not Just Comedy Show debuts this Tuesday at The Grape Room (105 Grape St. Manayunk). The show will be hosted by Jess Carpenter and feature stand-up from Shannon Dapper, Geoff Jackson, Chip Chantry, N.a. Poe, and LaTice; improv from Bed Savage; and music from Tim Raymus.
East Coast Power Nap also makes its debut this week at the Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) on Wednesday. The show is presented by TJ Hurley and Alejandro Morales and will feature performances by Doogie Horner, Carolyn Busa, Sidney Gantt, the Necrosexual, Joe Bell and Dan King, with a “surprise appearance” by Lou Misiano.
Call on Mister Blue, a new play directed by Harry Watermeier and performed by Tara Demmy, Luke Field, Bryan Kerr, Brent Knobloch and Craig Lamm will show Thursday, January 31 and Saturday, February 2 at The Arts Parlor (1170 South Broad St.) The show will cost $5 at the door and will feature the comedic ukelele songs of Lizzie Spellman as an opening act.
This Saturday there are multiple shows for comedy fans to choose from including the Live, Love, Laugh Comedy Show (East Eden Catering – 5600 Germantown Ave) hosted by Kendrick Jones and Shanell Renee and featuring headliner Timmy Hall and feature act Jonas.
Also this Saturday is The 1st Annual Veggie Wing Bowl Comedy Spectacular (The Adobe Cafe – 1919 E. Passyunk Ave). Hosted by Hillary Rea and Larry Napolitano. The show will feature stand-up from Carolyn Busa, John Nunn, TJ Hurley and Jim Ginty as well as a seitan buffalo wing eating competition and special guests throughout the evening.
Get Real – Comedy of Skeptic Proportions is this Saturday at Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) and will feature The Evolution of Comedy Tour w/ Ian Harris & Jason Resler from LA, plus local support from the sketch sensation ManiPedi, stand-up from Doogie Horner and Steve Gerben, and hosted by Dave Terruso. Tickets can be purchased online.
Comedian Jim Jeffries will visit Philadelphia this Saturday to perform at the Trocadero Theater (1003 Arch St.) The comedian, known for his appearances at the Just for Laughs and Edinburgh Fringe festivals as well as his HBO specials will perform two shows (7:30PM, 10:00PM). Tickets are available online.
Comedian and writer Jo Pincushionsent us this video of herself and comedian Jackie Chipotle giving some tips for any Philadelphia bloggers looking to name their sites.
Attention comedians! Submissions for the 2013 Bridgetown Comedy Festival (held April 18-21 in Portland, Oregon) will close on Thursday, January 31. Be sure to get your applications in before the deadline.
If you have any Philly comedy news worth mentioning – send it our way with an email to contact@witout.net
This is a love letter to Philadelphia, and by extension, to the comedy scene that you have all created here and welcomed me into.
Philadelphia is where I actively chose to live after considering a wide array of options. Performing as a vistor in PHIFs, a Troika, some N Crowd shows, and several one-off shows exposed me to what Philadelphia has to offer. Inexpensive rehearsal and performance spaces mean that anyone with an idea and the drive can start a production. In addition to the established companies, numerous successfully produced shows in bars, empty store fronts, galleries, and the like, make Philadelphia’s scene reminiscent of the theatre scene in Chicago in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Discussions with Mary Carpenter, Greg Maughan, Matt Nelson, Alexis Simpson, Alli Soowal, Kristen Schier, and Jason Stockdale spurred me to move to Philadelphia 16 months ahead of schedule, and I’m glad I did.
The creative spark here is very strong. Across numerous companies and troupes, hundreds of people perform regularly. Groups of like-minded friends can form troupes (like Iron Lung, Malone, and Nielsen did) and what’s more important, they can get gigs. The structural framework of PHIT, ComedySportz, the N Crowd, and other existing companies in combination with the opportunities provided by the producers of Polygon, Comedian Deconstruction, Sideshow, and the Grape Room, to name just a few, means anyone with an idea or drive can get stage time. There aren’t that many cities that allow for this kind of opportunity—space is just too expensive in most cities—and people who take advantage of everything there is to offer have helped create a comedy calendar where something is happening almost every day of the month.
As the year winds down, WitOut collects lists from comedy performers and fans of their favorite moments, comedians, groups, shows, etc. from the last year in Philly comedy. Top 5 of 2012 lists will run throughout December–if you’d like to write one, pitch us your list at contact@witout.net!
Tonight at 8pm Philly Improv Theater will host The Roast of Brendan Kennedy. Kennedy has been a stand-up comedian, member of sketch group Camp Woods, improviser with Hate Speech Committee, and host of PHIT show Guilty Pleasures in Philadelphia for the past few years and is preparing to move to Los Angeles early in 2013. The roast tonight will be hosted by Benny Michaels and will feature sets from John McKeever, Rob Baniewicz, Jess Ross, Christian Alsis, Jim Grammond, Brian Craig, Mike Rainey, Shannon Brown, Doogie Horner, Roger Snair, Alex Pearlman, Greg Maughan, Joey Dougherty. One member of the dais couldn’t wait for tonight and wanted to dedicate a Top Five list to Brendan. We now present Rob Baniewicz’s Top Five Shows Sabotaged by Brendan Kennedy.
1. Bedtime Stories: Revenge!
2. Guilty Pleasures feat. Fastball Bob
3. Chicago Sketchfest 2012 Sketch Open Mic
4. Kings of Leon v. Soiree
5. Bing Supernova Cavalcade of Fools
Anyone in attendance at any of these shows is sure to know why Rob included them on his list. Do you have a favorite Brendan Kennedy moment? Share it in our comment section or feel free to explain to those who may not know why these are some of Rob’s.
This Wednesday will mark the Final Guilty Pleasures with host Brendan Kennedy. The show will feature performers Chip Chantry and (most of) Hate Speech Committee along with co-host Roger C. Snair. Brendan will also be revealing his successor as host. This Sunday, we continue our goodbyes with The Roast of Brendan Kennedy.
This Thursday L’etage (624 S. 6th St.) will host The Final Camp Woods Plus. The monthly show produced by the sketch group has been a showcase of brand new sketches every month and will culminate with a show featuring New York’s We’re Matt Weir and Philadelphia groups American Breakfast and Daring Daulton.
This Tuesday No. 2(#2)(Number 2) will debut at St. Stephen’s Green (1701 Green St.) The open mic will be hosted by Robert X and Chris O’Conner. Signups begin at 7:30 and the show starts at 8.
Watch as quizzo master/comedian Johnny Goodtimes talks to The Legendary WID about a few of the bands and comedians he opened for in the past. The clip also showcases some highlights from one of WID’s sets at Philly Improv Theater.
In case you missed it, sketch group ManiPedi was featured as the cover story for last week’s Philadelphia Weekly. Pick up a copy while they are still in newsstands around the city and read the article online.
A new open mic will begin this Thursday night at Roosevelt’s Pub (2220 Walnut St. Philadelphia). The new open mic promises that it takes place in a private room at Roosevelt’s with a real stage, no loud TVs and drink specials every week! Sign ups begin at 7:30 with the mic starting at 8.
The next Camp Woods Plus at L’etage (624 S. 6th St.) will be next Thursday, December 6th and will feature sketch comedy from New York group We’re Matt Weir as well as Philly groups Daring Daulton and American Breakfast. As always, the show will be headlined with a set of brand new sketches by Camp Woods.
You can read reviews of night three and five of last week’s Philly Sketchfest from Philadelphia Weekly online.
Philadelphia’s own Dom Irrera will be headlining at Helium Comedy Club this week. The home-grown comedian is known for his many stand-up specials, television and film work, and is a fixture at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.
The Laff House’s Thanksgiving Weekend line-up will feature headliner Alex Thomas, known for his appearances in films such as Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Just Married, and Don’t be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. The show will feature 2011 Philly’s Phunniest Person Contest winner Tommy Pope and will be hosted by TuRae.
The final Hey Everybody! at PHIT will take place one week from today at 10pm at The Philly Improv Theater at The Shubin Theater (407 Bainbridge St. Philadelphia). Host of the show Aaron Hertzog is moving to Los Angeles and will be sending his show off in style with performaces by: Chip Chantry, Brendan Kennedy, Joe Dougherty, Mary Radzinski, Jim Grammond, Christian Alsis, Alison Zeidman, and Rob Baniewicz.
Today is election day, and before you head off to the polls, Philly Improv Theater sketch revue team The Flat Earth would like to make sure you are properly prepared to make your decision. Enjoy.
Congratulations to Chris Oberlin, winner of the October WitOut Caption Contest! Here’s Chris’s caption:
Uh, dude… I’m already *riding* you, so you can stop winking at me.
Chris, look for an email from WitOut with information to claim your prize (two tickets to a Philly Improv Theater show of your choice)! If we don’t hear from you within a week, we’ll be awarding the prize to our runner-up.
And speaking of our runner-up, congratulations also to Matt Nelson! Here’s Matt’s second place caption: “Brian was beginning to doubt Jess and her vast array of obscure colloquialisms, such as ‘Save a horse, ride a Ratcliffe.’”
To the rest of you: Thanks for participating, and best of luck next time! We’ll launch the next WitOut Caption Contest on November 15th.
Even though The Monthly Hour with James Hesky (as well as all shows, rehearsals, classes and workshops at PHIT) has been cancelled for tonight we still wanted to bring you this promo video made for the monthly variety show. Watch as Tim from Port Richmond and Jim from Fishtown prepare for the second round of their debate for a coveted seat in the State House of Representatives.
