Comedy in the Moment:

There are two types of people in the world: Those who find Jiffy Pop as much fun to make as it is to eat; and those who prefer to skip the interim steps and buy their snacks pre-popped.

If you're in the former group, you'll probably enjoy improvisational comedy—which not only supplies laughs, but shows you the process performers take to get to them.

Many of the best improv comics in the country will be converging July 22-24, 2005 at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (307 West 26th Street) for a continuous 3-day festival. (And I mean continuous—some of the most popular acts come on around 3:00 am.) Admission for the entire 50+ hour extravaganza is only $20—though, like a trendy nightclub, when the house is packed you must wait on line for people to leave until there's room to let you in.

The marathon is an annual UCB ritual to honor the memory of Del Close, who pioneered and championed improvisational comedy for over 30 years, tutoring such comedic icons as John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, John Candy, and Mike Myers.

Close led a colorful life. For example, according to his writing partner Kim Johnson, in the late 1950s the U.S. government conducted experiments with the sleeping mind for which Close was a paid participant. When he prematurely left the program, Close received a letter from the government stating "You owe us two more dreams." During the 1960s, Close roller-skated through the sewers of Chicago with a flashlight strapped to his head, shooting rats. And in 1999, Closes dying words were "I'm tired of being the funniest one in the room."

Hundreds of improv troupes apply each year to participate in the Del Close marathon—and the cream of the crop will be unleashed this weekend. (For a complete schedule, visit www.delclosemarathon.com.)

By definition, there's no telling what to expect from these impromptu performers. But to give you a taste, last year's festival offered such pithy observations as "Michelle Kwan's a really good skater, too bad she's Asian...;" gangs of celebrities, including multiple versions of Burt Reynolds, partying and periodically beating each other up; and some maniac pretending to be Tony Hawk slamming his body repeatedly between the back wall and a column at the foot of the stage, until it was impossible to not see the graceful arc of the nonexistent skateboard beneath him.

If one performer epitomized last year's marathon, however, it was the guy who abruptly stood on his head and then declared "I'm wearing the world as my hat." With that simple move and seven words, he transformed our entire planet—with all its governments, cultures, and conflicts—into his personal apparel. It was a demonstration that no matter how bad things get, we can always use imagination to empower us. And that's the true magic of improv.

The down side, of course, is that in between those transcendent moments on stage, there can be long lags when nothing genuinely interesting happens. In this way, improv comedy is much like life itself.

For that matter, it can be argued the purest form of improv is created not by professionals, but by everyday people under structured conditions. This is unquestionably the most popular and commercial form of improv—it's called reality television.

Small wonder that safe and predictable scripted TV fell victim to Richard Hatch dropping his shorts, Omarosa railing against falling plaster, and William Hung providing a rendition of "She Bangs" no one ever dreamed possible.

By the same token, if you've tired of retread sitcoms and Adam Sandler vehicles, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre awaits to give you the world—as long as you're willing to stand on your head.

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8th Annual Del Close Improv Marathon

www.delclosemarathon.com

www.ucbtheatre.com

Rating: Varies wildly from show to show, but ***½ for overall experience

From 4:30 pm on Friday, July 28 till 12:30 am on Monday, July 31st, the world-famous Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre played host to a gathering of the best improv comedy groups in the country for around-the-clock performances of over 150 shows. A mere $20 bought entrée to the festivities at any time However, during peak hours it was necessary to wait on line until enough laughter-sated people left the packed theatre and created the room for new audience members to come in.

Day #1 highlights included Horatio Sanz (SNL) performing a screamingly funny impersonation of Dr. Phil expounding upon the details of celebrity private parts; Matt Besser (UCB, Crossballs) delivering a hilarious caricature of MySpace co-creator Tom Anderson as a screechy-voiced horror whose only hope of making friends is via the Web; a mob of comics filling the stage with different oddball versions of Andrew Dice Clay (although master comedienne Jackie Clarke ended up topping them all as an outraged Nora Dunn); and UCB co-founder Ian Roberts giving one of the most brilliant anecdotal one-man shows I've ever seen...improvised on the spot.

Day #2 featured a mock wake for wonderful UCB co-founder Matt Walsh (currently starring in Comedy Central's Dog Bites Man); shows from such stellar comedic talents as Paul Scheer (Best Week Ever, Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story) and Jason Mantzoukas (We Used to Go Out); and a version of Gene Rayburns' old TV show Match Game '76 packed with such pseudo guest stars as Charles Nelson Reilly, Bill Cosby, Mr. Spock, John Wayne Gacy, and Flipper (and which turned into chaos when Gacy tried to strangle Flipper...).

Day #3 concluded with such delights as a MySpace show, in which Paul Scheer and his gang visited an audience member's Web page and then performed improv skits about it; a bitter-sweet monologue from the brilliant Michael Delaney about his constantly-feuding grandparents and the upside of hate; and (for an extra fee) three hours of improvisations by the male founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade—Matt Walsh, Matt Besser, and Ian Roberts—on subjects ranging from memories of Del Close to how to evade someone trying to hand you a screenplay.

The festival was also a showcase for scores of improv groups from New York, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington D.C., etc. I was able to catch only a fraction of these, but among either my favorites or audience favorites were The Swarm, The Stepfathers, Wicked F*ckin' Queeyah, Scheer-McBrayer, Bassprov, Baby Wants Candy, No Posers, Mother: The Soundtrack, Bro'in Out, Code Duello: Hamilton & Burr, I Eat Pandas, and Emanciprov!

As comic Owen Burke put it, "This marathon is like Christmas in July." For those who love comedy, it was a magical weekend.

If you missed it, the next one isn't until July 2007. However, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre hosts terrific comedy shows—at a cost of just $5 or $8 per ticket—virtually every night throughout the year. The theatre is located at 307 West 26th Street (off 8th Avenue). For a schedule of its upcoming shows, please click here.

To read my preview of last year's Del Close extravaganza, please click here.

For more info on the 2006 marathon, please visit www.delclosemarathon.com.

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Comedy in the Moment: 9th Annual Del Close Improv Marathon

One of the most magical events in NYC, the annual Del Close Improv Marathon ran continuously from Friday, July 27th at 4:30 pm until after midnight on Sunday, July 29th. Groups from all around the US and Canada—New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Phoenix, Austin, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Ontario, Toronto—performed more than 150 shows, typically in 30 minute blocks, for over 50 hours.

As in past years, tickets were a mere $20 for the entire weekend—an incredible bargain. Paul Scheer remarked last year the appropriate charge would be around $600, and he mostly wasn't kidding.

As usual, the down side was way more patrons than available space, causing long waits to get into the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre at 307 West 26th Street, which seats about 150. However, the congestion was somewhat eased by the rental of the two additional venues just a couple of blocks from UCBT: The Hudson Guild Theatre at 441 West 26th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), which seats 99; and the Fashion Institute of Technology Kate Murphy Amphitheatre at corner West 27th Street & 7th Avenue, which seats 280.

Friday was a fabulous opening night, with dynamic and hilarious shows from brilliant improv troupes. Some highlights:

Death by Roo Roo and The Stepfathers

Death by Roo Roo interviewed an audience member whose mom died in a car accident while his dad was driving, and who described the personality of his dad's new girlfriend as "Jewish." The group then used this grimness to craft bold and incredibly funny scenes that had the audience alternately gasping in shock and laughing uncontrollably.
The Stepfathers played a breathtaking range of scenes that included teens who refused to dance with the "very ugly girl," played by Bobby Moynihan, driving her to a memorable suicide attempt...and then an even more memorable makeout scene with Billy Merritt.
Wicked F*ckin' Queeyah consists of some of UCBT's best as pseudo-Bostonians who hate gays and the New York Yankees and whose every other word is f*ckin'...and who create a parody of an improv group with enough manic energy to power a city. The heart of Friday's bits was a broken relationship between characters played with genius by Jackie Clarke and Jason Mantzoukas, involving numerous sprays of beer thrown in the face and knock-down, drag-out fights—and which Jason proclaimed at the end "my favorite show ever."
Code Duello: Hamilton & Burr is a duo portraying "two of Americas angriest founders: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr" and the events leading up to their historic duel. Wearing wigs and waistcoats, Neil Reynolds and Matt Tucker evoked colonial times while crafting deliciously silly scenes. For example, Burr proposed a law declaring US land as "international waters" so he'd have more freedom to sleep with married women. When Hamilton thwarted him, the villain seceded and declared his body his own country, "the United State of Burr."
A close runner-up for the Silliness Award was CosbyProv, a group of over a dozen performers impersonating Bill Cosby simultaneously. Topics ranged from Cosby's patronizing preachiness to the tragic death of his son to—naturally—Jell-0 Pudding.
Flat-out odd was Uniprov, which consisted of four guys attempting to perform scenes while balancing on unicycles. None of them was able to stay on his cycle for more than a few seconds, though, causing numerous loud and painful-looking falls. This didn't result in particularly layered acting; but it did create a metaphor for the high-wire act undertaken by all improvisors, and how easy it is to lose one's balance and crash.
Working Girls are Susannah Becket, Marcy Jarreau, Pam Murphy, Silvija Ozols, Amber Petty, and Jamie Skinner pretending to be New Jersey secretaries who just recently learned "the art of improvisation." Friday night's show ended up focusing on one of the characters pregnant with a child she doesn't want. These shrewd artists seamlessly turned the darkness into comedy—while creating a gentle and hysterically funny parody of an improv troupe.

Jackie Clarke, Jason Mantzoukas, Billy Merritt, and Michael Delaney

As for individuals, Jackie Clarke, Jason Mantzoukas, Billy Merritt, Michael Delaney, Chris Gethard, Bobby Moynihan, John Gemberling, Lennon Parham, Neil Reynolds, Matt Tucker, and Brett Gelman (playing "Andrew Dice Hitler") were among the stars who shined especially brightly; but there were dozens of wonderful performers.

The guys of the Upright Citizens Brigade: Matt Walsh, Matt Besser, and Ian Roberts

There were also frequent appearances from such comedy celebs as UCB's Matt Besser (playing both shrill-voiced MySpace Tom and affable Jimmy Stewart to perfection); UCB's Ian Roberts (as an unforgettable cunning retarded person), UCB's Matt Walsh (acting as an easy-going pedophile), SNL's Horatio Sanz (portraying a brother of Dr. Phil with a robotic beard), Human Giant's Paul Scheer (as a prosecutor of evil), and The Daily Show's Rob Riggle (carrying a baseball bat with a top that pops off to display a disturbing sexual device).

Saturday featured a few improv stars at their very best, and others who were deliciously absurd. Some highlights:

Paul Scheer and Jack McBrayer

Paul Scheer (Human Giant, Best Week Ever) and Jack McBrayer (30 Rock, Talladega Nights) are genius improvisors, with a keen understanding of people and astounding memory for detail. On top of that, Scheer's New York aggressiveness and McBrayer's Georgia cool make for wondrous chemistry; and for a sold-out show at FIT, the duo delivered virtuoso performances. Kicking off with an audience suggestion about canines, Scheer-McBrayer performed a long scene between a man walking his dog in the park and another whose dog had run away; and that ended with the latter convincing the first man to be his new dog in return for free rent. This hilarious improvised one-act play turned out to be just a warm-up, though; the guys then launched into a scene at a photo store, and another at a women's book club, that had them playing dozens of different eccentric characters with breathtaking speed and smoothness. By the end of the hour, the show had virtually become a class-by-example on how to create gracefully artful improv...and nabbed a standing ovation.

Ian Roberts performed two 30-minute monologues titled Lazy Man, because he claims to be too lazy to plan and script a one-man show. Instead, Roberts did something astonishingly courageous: he dug deep to connect with his fears and hopes, and shared them with the audience unplanned and in the moment.

Roberts' first show revolved around how entering his 40s has led to giving up many of his youthful dreams of glory: "I thought I'd be a multimillion dollar actor. Now I'm not sure I'll even be a $16,000 actor." On the up side, it's also given him a more relaxed perspective: "I've been exhausted for a long time about nothing; things that really don't matter. Now I look at the sky and the clouds, and realize how small I am; which makes all my troubles tiny and insignificant." The father of young children, part of him feels harassed by the responsibilities; but then he'll pick up his baby with love and say, "It wasn't your idea to be here." Still, Roberts can't help worrying about his kids: "They don't know they'll get kicked in the teeth when they go out into the world and people tell them their f*cking drawings don't look anything like what they think they do." Roberts lamented that there's no way to win with child-rearing: "It's like you're told to move some precious Steuben Glass piece across the country. And so you wrap it up in styrofoam and heavy wood and do everything you can to protect it. And then when it finally arrives safely, it screams at you, 'You ruined me! You suffocated me in styrofoam! You imprisoned me in wood! No one got to see me, or play with me!! And I've never learned how not to break!!!'" Roberts said he's lucky in that his main task is to make money; his wife handles the truly difficult job, and the one that matters, which is raising the kids. Which isn't to say Roberts doesn't pitch in; for example, he makes up little rituals to help put his daughter to bed. Problem was, his daughter used to insist on keeping each ritual she enjoyed, and Roberts couldn't stop himself from creating new ones to entertain her, so the "getting to bed" experience grew longer and longer until it was taking more than an hour each night. Roberts finally convinced his daughter to put some rituals in rotation "to be revived periodically, like a repertory theatre." Finally, with age comes wisdom such as this: "I now realize we're all f*cked up. And there's a certain comfort in that."

Roberts' second show focused on a series of awful experiences he's had as an actor. These included a commercial shoot that required having meat taped to his pants so a dog would snap at his leg; an audition for a part consisting entirely of the words, "Too bad," and the casting director asking "Can you put a little more into that?"; and an audition with a big-name actor who apparently felt the appropriate "in the moment" action was to kick Roberts in the ass. Regarding the latter, Roberts said he should've grabbed the star by the shoulders and thrown him against the wall; but Roberts simply thanked everyone for the opportunity and left...without even getting the part.

The acting tales shed light on one of Roberts' favorite characters, a retarded guy who's surprisingly cunning. To navigate the Hollywood system, Roberts has undoubtedly often played dumb—because it would dent egos to let on he was by far the smartest guy in the room.

Roberts concluded, "May you be braver than I." I'd say that misses the mark, though, because his recounting of the incidents—and the other ways in which Roberts made himself emotionally vulnerable and open, while never for a second neglecting to entertain—was jaw-droppingly brave, even for a master improvisor.

Flipper, C, C + C Improv Factory, and Brett Gelman

On the other end of the comedy spectrum, the best "concept" show Saturday night was a marathon perennial, Match Game '76. In a scene of dream-like chaos, over a dozen performers arrived as 1970s celebrities, including Leonard Nimoy, Elliott Gould, Mark Spitz, G. Gordon Liddy, Paul Lynde, O. J. Simpson, Bea Arthur (represented by a particularly gruesome monster mask) and—always my favorite—Flipper. In past years, two audience members were selected as contestants, and the celebs soon erupted into violence against each other. On Saturday, however, Jack McBrayer (see above) was drafted to play the male contestant; and soon all the celebs focused on horribly berating him while Bea Arthur periodically doused him with beer. About mid-way through, Jack turned to the host—needless to say, Paul Scheer—and said, "You know, I've seen the show before, but I don't recall anything like this happening." McBrayer, you are correct; and you were a fabulous sport. The show concluded with Matt Walsh tackling Jack to the ground and pretending to mercilessly pummel him. It just doesn't get any better...

Also deliciously absurd was troupe C, C + C Improv Factory, consisting of Chuck Dauble (Chuck D. & Jawnee Show), Charlie Sanders (Conan O'Brien, Reuben Williams), and Charlie Todd (Improv Everywhere, Reuben Williams), who expertly demonstrated how to keep raising the stakes throughout a long-form improvisation by playing three guys revealing all the lies they've been suppressing while they've hung out together—e.g., one of them admits that despite his frequent television references, he actually never watches TV; then that he's Amish; and finally that he's blind. The exploration of the logical ramifications of each revelation led the audience into hysterical laughter.
And even sillier was Cracked Out (Jon Daly & Brett Gelman), a parody of a hip-hop group that's just released a bona-fide album: Fleetwood Cracked. The duo refrained from singing from their repertoire "because it would violate the spirit of Del Close;" but they made up a half-dozen songs based on audience suggestions, with topics ranging from the Easter Bunny to Anna Nicole Smith to Mad Magazine's Mort Drucker. A typical lyric: "What's beyond reality? That's what we think about. F*ck corporations!" And my favorite line: "No booing while we're on stage!"

Sunday at UCBT featured an unbroken block of stellar talent for the last eight hours of the marathon...climaxing in three spectacular ASSSSCAT 3000s. Specifically:

Baby Wants Candy, and a young Respecto Montalban

Paul Scheer, Owen Burke and Chad Carter (all members of the beloved former UCBT troupe Respecto Montalban) improvised a 30-minute movie based on the audience suggestion "I Am Batman." Paul was a delightfully evil villain; Owen was dead-on as his obsequious follower; and Chad created a memorable battle scene in which he flayed Owen alive (but Owen quickly recovered as they were merely flesh wounds...).
Baby Wants Candy, which had been performing in NYC all week for $10 a ticket, delivered a superb free show based on the audience suggestion Giants Among Us. The almost instantaneous creation of a solid story about humans trying to prevent giants from stomping out their town, and the seamless mix of improvised music (by a highly intuitive drummer and pianist) and lovely singing of on-target improvised lyrics, resulted in a magical hour.
Rob Huebel of Human Giant and Rob Riggle of The Daily Show (both also former members of Respecto Montalban) created a raucous set of scenes about being a man's man. Most memorable bit: a reality show for HBO titled Pussy Talk based around hidden cameras in women's bathrooms.
Paul Scheer & Jack McBrayer (see above) performed a second fine show together. Scenes revolved around using improv as therapy for children; an office worker creating jewelry from paper clips; and running for school office on an anti-locker platform. Interestingly, this time the duo stuck to small areas for their scenes (two office desks, two school podiums) corresponding to the intimate space of UCBT. It made me wonder if the guys created dozens of characters at FIT because they felt an impulse to fill the large, expansive stage—even though all their casts and sets were imaginary.
Half of the Upright Citizens Brigade, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh, pretended to film a cooking show while brutalizing their hapless producer...played perfectly by Owen Burke. The easy camaraderie between Walsh and Roberts was sheer joy to experience; and the contrast between their making nurturing comfort food for the viewing audience while verbally abusing Burke behind the scenes was continually fun. Nothing in particular seemed to happen during the show aside from the creation of some flavored popcorn; but somehow one left feeling happy and satisfied.

Per tradition, the marathon concluded with three back-to-back ASSSSCAT 3000s. This year was extra special, though, as all four members of the Upright Citizens Brigade were on stage: Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, and movie & Saturday Night Live star Amy Poehler. Each of the four is an extraordinary improvisor, actor, and human being; but it was an exceptional treat to see Poehler, because (as far as I know) she doesn't normally participate in the marathon.

Adding to the enjoyment is that these four comedy titans had appeared on stage for an hour on Saturday to take audience questions; and they play-acted that Poehler was a shy, submissive gal riding the guys' coattails. For example, when Poehler was asked a question, Roberts or Walsh would pretend to push Poehler's head down while answering the question for her.

Once ASSSSCAT began, however, Poehler showed a fire, imagination, and sharpness that rivaled any of her formidable partners. For example, early on in the first show Poehler interviewed Roberts for a job, and he mentioned that as long as he was treated with understanding he'd be fine and the small incident wouldn't recur. "Incident?" asked Poehler. "I don't like to talk about it," replied Roberts. Then towards the close, Roberts brutally massacred everyone in the room. Without missing a beat, Poehler grabbed two chairs, sat herself and Roberts down to their previous interview positions within about a second, and asked without batting an eye, "So, was that the incident?" It was the perfect ending for the show.

But my favorite moment of all three shows was Poehler in the role of a mom telling one of the guest improvisors playing her son to sit on her lap. A large man, the guy virtually froze at the thought of placing himself on the petite 5'2" star. He was clearly trying to think of some way out when Poehler barked, "Hey, sit on my lap! You have five seconds. Five. Four. Three. Two..." He scurried over and sat. And it's a memory I'll treasure for years...

There are actually many lovely moments than hundreds of people will cherish from this marathon.

I should mention that I focused on covering the events at UCBT. There were superb shows at the Hudson Guild Theatre that I simply never had a chance to catch.

I also missed most of the shows at FIT, which played host to some of the biggest stars of the festival:

The Swarm, Horatio Sanz, Rob Riggle, and Joe Bill of Bassprov

A reunion of legendary and brilliant improv troupe The Swarm: Sean Conroy, Michael Delaney, Billy Merritt, Katie Roberts, and Andy Secunda.
A reunion of UCBT's beloved improv group Respecto Montalban: Paul Scheer & Rob Huebel of Human Giant, Rob Riggle of Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show, Jackie Clarke (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Showgirls: The Best Movie Ever Made Ever!, Julie & Jackie), Owen Burke (30 Rock, Human Giant, Best Week Ever), and Chad Carter (TV writer of such shows as CBS' Creature Comforts and ABC's My Kind of Town).
Baby Wants Candy, the previously-mentioned Chicago-based group universally admired for their skill at creating a completely improvised hour-long musical (for samples, please click here).
The Daily Show/Colbert Report Improv Jam, featuring writers and performers from these two Comedy Central iconic hits such as Dan Bakkedahl, Peter Grosz, Peter Gwinn, Ed Helms, Laura Krafft, and Rob Riggle.
Shows that starred Horatio Sanz of Saturday Night Live (and a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade); Mark Sutton and Joe Bill of Bassprov (acclaimed Chicago-based improv show based around two guys fishing); and Paul Scheer & Jack McBrayer (described above).

The truth is, this marathon was so crammed with talent and imagination and wonderful people that you could've skipped all the shows I saw and still enjoyed a rich and exhilarating experience.

Huge kudos go to Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, UCBT-NY Artistic Director Anthony King, UCBT-LA Artistic Director Seth Morris, and everyone else who helped create this wonderful cultural event.

This year's marathon is over; but the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre continues to play host to superb shows—improv, sketch, stand-up, and more—virtually every night. You can read the schedule for UCBT-NY by clicking here. And please visit HyReviews.com daily to check out my picks of the best comedy in NYC...which you can jump to right now by clicking here.

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7th Annual Del Close Improv Marathon

8th Annual Del Close Improv Marathon

9th Annual Del Close Improv Marathon

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