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Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script.
The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, Horatio Sanz and Drew Franklin. Other early members included Neil Flynn, Armando Diaz, Ali Farahnakian and Rich Fulcher.
Del Close was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was one of the influences on modern improvisational theater. Close is co-founder of the ImprovOlympic (iO).
Second Nature is a long-form improvisational theatre troupe based in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California.
Matthew Gregory Besser is an American actor, comedian, director, producer, and writer, best known as one of the four founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, who had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2000. He currently hosts the improvisation-based podcast Improv4humans on the Earwolf podcasting network.
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is an American improvisational theatre company and training center founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh.
Matthew Paul Walsh is an American comedian and actor, best known for his role as Mike McLintock in Veep for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He is a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, with which he co-starred in the original television series and the 2015 reboot. He also previously starred in short-lived comedy programs such as Dog Bites Man and Players, and was a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He has also appeared in films such as Road Trip (2000), Bad Santa (2003), School for Scoundrels (2006), Role Models (2008), The Hangover (2009) and The Do-Over (2016).
Ian Michael Roberts is an American actor, comedian, writer, and a founding member of the famed Upright Citizens Brigade improv and sketch comedy troupe.
Danielle Caroline Schneider is an American actress, writer, and improvisational comedian from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She co-created and starred in the Hulu reality TV parody series The Hotwives and currently co-hosts the Earwolf podcast Bitch Sesh.
Respecto Montalban was an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe associated with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City from 1998 until September 2005.
Martin & Orloff is a 2002 feature film written by and starring Matt Walsh and Ian Roberts, best known as half of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe, along with Ian's wife Katie Roberts. The film was produced and directed by Lawrence Blume and features an ensemble cast of alternative comedians including H. Jon Benjamin, David Cross, Andy Richter, Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Janeane Garofalo, and Rachel Dratch, as well as actress Kim Raver as Orloff's girlfriend.
Besser is the surname of:
The Fracas! Improv Festival is a three-day annual improvisational theatre festival held at The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. The festival is hosted by Second Nature Improv, one of USC's improv troupes. In addition to performances, the festival hosts discussion panels with professional improvisers currently working in television, film, and/or theatre, as well as improv workshops. While the performances and panels are open to the public, workshops are available only to registered festival participants.
The New Variety is an American cabaret created and produced by Thomas Goodman and Richard O'Donnell. It was a fast-paced, ever-changing volley of acts that included jugglers, fire-eaters, stand-up comics, singers, musicians, and sketch comedy troupes. It was hailed by June Sawyer of the Chicago Tribune as a cabaret for the '90s.
Players is an American comedy series which premiered on the Spike network on March 2, 2010. The series is a partially scripted/mostly improvised comedy about two brothers who run a sports bar together. After airing 3 episodes, Players was removed from the Spike schedule and put on hiatus. The remaining seven episodes from season one were pushed back to air beginning July 21, 2010. Spike aired the final four episodes back-to-back on August 14, 2010.
Brian Huskey is an American character actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy programs such as People of Earth, Childrens Hospital, Veep, and Another Period. He also provides the voice of Regular Sized Rudy on the animated comedy Bob's Burgers.
Freak Dance is an American comedy film written and directed by Matt Besser of the Upright Citizens Brigade and co-directed by Neil Mahoney. It premiered at the Austin Film Festival on October 21, 2011. The film had a limited theatrical release in May 2012 and made available on video on demand services. The film was released on DVD on July 10, 2012. The film is based on a stage show created by Besser, which originally ran at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles for several years.
Betsy Sodaro is an American actress. She is a regular performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. Sodaro is best known for her appearances on comedy programs such as Another Period, Duncanville, Clipped, Animal Practice, Nailed It and Big Time in Hollywood, FL.
Upright Citizens Brigade is an American sketch comedy television series. It premiered on August 19, 1998 on Comedy Central, with three seasons of ten episodes each. It features four members of Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational sketch comedy group. The cast includes Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. The cast later reunited for another series called The UCB Show, of a similar format that premiered in 2016 on Seeso.
The UCB Show is an American sketch comedy series that premiered on December 3, 2015 via the Seeso comedy subscription streaming service. The series features members of Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational sketch comedy group. The cast includes Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh, the same actors that appeared on Upright Citizens Brigade, the previous show that aired on Comedy Central in the 1990s. The variety series features various sketches, characters and stand-up shows from the Upright Citizens Brigade theatres in Los Angeles and New York. The show is hosted by the original actors of the theatre and filmed in front of a live studio audience. The UCB Show was renewed for a second season, which premiered January 12, 2017.
References
- 1 2 3 "Improv's Babel: Defining the Game of the Scene". Splitsider. 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
- ↑ Besser, Matt (2013). The Upright Citizens Brigade comedy improvisation manual. Roberts, Ian,Walsh, Matt,Wengert, Joe, Kantrowitz, David, Upright Citizens Brigade (Comedy troupe) (First ed.). New York, NY: Comedy Council of Nicea LLC. pp. 61–68. ISBN 978-0989387804. OCLC 859530405.
- 1 2 3 Besser, Matt (2013). The Upright Citizens Brigade comedy improvisation manual. Roberts, Ian, Walsh, Matt, Wengert, Joe, Kantrowitz, David, Upright Citizens Brigade (Comedy troupe) (First ed.). New York, NY: Comedy Council of Nicea LLC. pp. 112–154. ISBN 978-0989387804. OCLC 859530405.
- ↑ Halpern, Charna (1994). Truth in comedy : the manual of improvisation . Close, Del, Johnson, Kim (1st ed.). Colorado Springs, Colo.: Meriwether Pub. pp. 36. ISBN 1566080037. OCLC 29478701.
- 1 2 Besser, Matt (2013). The Upright Citizens Brigade comedy improvisation manual. Roberts, Ian, Walsh, Matt, Wengert, Joe, Kantrowitz, David, Upright Citizens Brigade (Comedy troupe) (First ed.). New York, NY: Comedy Council of Nicea LLC. p. 81. ISBN 978-0989387804. OCLC 859530405.
- 1 2 "How I Lost Interest In Game Of The Scene And Found Something Way More Fun". People and Chairs. 2012-11-21. Retrieved 2018-03-09.