The North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival was an annual comedy festival in Carrboro, North Carolina, United States. [1] [2]
The festival was started in 2001 by Zach Ward (of Dirty South Improv Comedy Theater, better known locally as DSI) as an improv showcase and series of improv seminars for aspiring comedians. The festival grew larger each year until 2017. In 2009, it added stand-up comedy. In 2010, it expanded to include sketch comedy and film as well as extending into a month-long festival in Chapel Hill and adjacent Carrboro, North Carolina. The annual festival, and DSI Comedy Theater, closed in 2017 after Zach Ward was accused of sexual harrassment, wage discrimination, and other discriminatory practices. [3]
Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census. The town, which is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill combined statistical area, was named after North Carolina industrialist Julian S. Carr.
Lewis Niles Black is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, and cultural trends.
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 Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, Horatio Sanz and Drew Franklin. Other early members included Neil Flynn, Armando Diaz, Ali Farahnakian and Rich Fulcher.
iO, or iO Chicago, is an improv theater and training center in central Chicago. The theater teaches and hosts performances of improvisational comedy. It was founded in 1981 by Del Close and Charna Halpern. The theater has many notable alumni, including Amy Poehler and Stephen Colbert.
Scotch'n'Soda is a student-run theatre organization that resides on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University. Its initial dedication was the creation and production of original musicals, but has now taken to performing both professionally published and student-written materials. Students are welcome to write, compose, design, direct, perform in, and otherwise become involved with every aspect of each production. The organization is open to all Carnegie Mellon students from all backgrounds who are interested, and all performances are public with varying ticket prices.
ImprovBoston is a nonprofit improvisational theater, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers shows and classes its theater in Central Square. Classes are offered in improvisation, stand-up comedy, musical improv, and sketch writing.
Southern Village is a 312-acre (1.3 km2) New Urbanism neighborhood located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Established in 1994, Southern Village includes 550 single-family homes, 375 townhomes and condominiums, 250 apartments, and 350,000 square feet (33,000 m2) of retail, office, and civic space. Southern Village was the top selling neighborhood in the Triangle market from 1999 to 2001. Nationally recognized as an example of smart growth, Southern Village has been featured in numerous publications including TIME, Better Homes & Gardens, and Builder magazines.
Weaver Street Market is a worker- and consumer-owned cooperative selling natural and organic food with a focus on local and fair trade products. The original market is situated in the heart of Carrboro, North Carolina in Carr Mill Mall and plays host to many community events. It occupies a central location in the town of Carrboro and serves as a "community gathering place."
Internationalist Books and Community Center, located in Carrboro, North Carolina, was a volunteer operated infoshop, non-profit collective, and community center for local activists. The store name was a reference to the political philosophy of internationalism. Often, the center was called "The Internationalist" or merely "Eye Books" by its volunteers, members, and supporters.
Franklin Street is a prominent thoroughfare in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Historic Franklin Street is considered the center of social life for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as the town of Chapel Hill.
Theatre Strike Force is the University of Florida's premier improv and sketch comedy troupe. The group also goes by TSF. The style of improv performed by Theatre Strike Force is a combination long form and short form. They both teach and perform improvisational comedy. They have six house teams which include both forms of improv as well as a sketch team. There are four long form house teams which are cast every semester and usually have six to eight members. The TSF Short Form Team is cast every semester as well and usually has fifteen to nineteen members. TSF Sketch is the final house team and usually has twelve to sixteen members, cast each semester.
The N Crowd is a short-form improv comedy troupe that has performed weekly since April 2005 in Philadelphia. The troupe has received positive reviews in Philadelphia Weekly, Philly Style Magazine, and The City Paper. Interviews with N Crowd members have appeared in The Philly Metro and Phillyst.com.
Jet City Improv is an Improvisational theatre troupe from Seattle, Washington, United States. The troupe was founded in 1992 and is operated by Wing-It Productions, a 501(c)(3) non-profit company, from their theater located at 55th Avenue and University Way NE in Seattle's U-District.
iO West was the Los Angeles branch of the iO in Chicago. The theater was located at 6366 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California. In addition to presenting nightly improv and sketch comedy shows, iO West also had training classes and was the home to the Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival. On February 24, 2018, iO West permanently ceased operations.
Philly Improv Theater, or PHIT, is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania comedy theater which formerly presented shows at The Adrienne Theatre in Center City Philadelphia. The theater currently operates a training center with programs in improv comedy, sketch comedy and stand-up comedy. PHIT's most notable alumnus is stand-up comedian Kent Haines, who was the 2008 winner of the Philly's Phunniest contest at Helium Comedy Club and has appeared on public radio show The Sound of Young America and Season 4 of Comedy Central's program Live at Gotham. In addition to Haines, other comedians from Philadelphia who appeared on stage at PHIT have gone on to perform at major comedy venues in cities like New York and Los Angeles, founded their own theatre companies, and appeared in touring productions for The Second City.
Chapel Hill Museum was a local cultural and historical museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The museum was founded in 1996 by leaders of the Town of Chapel Hill's Bicentennial Committee and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006. In the decade since its founding, Chapel Hill Museum averaged over 20,000 visitors a year and provided education programs to over 3,500 local students a year. The museum closed on July 11, 2010.
The Peoples Improv Theater (PIT), also known as the PIT, is a comedy theater and training center in New York City, founded by comedian Ali Farahnakian in 2002. Shows combine improvisational comedy, sketch comedy, stand-up, theater, and variety. Each show is hosted by a combination of "house teams" of comedians hired by PIT and by outside comedians.
Ali Reza Farahnakian is an American actor, writer, and improvisational comedian. He is the founder of The Peoples Improv Theater in NYC and co-starred in the Adult Swim comedy series Delocated. He has been married to Beth Saunders since September 2004.
The Comedy Arts Theater of Charlotte, often abbreviated as CATCh, is an improv theater located in the Lower Southend (LoSo) neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The theater teaches and hosts performances of improvisational theatre. It was founded in 2016 by Abigail Head and Kevin Shimko. CATCh focuses primarily on longform improv, and teaches a patient, character-driven, and theatrical style of scene work.
Washington Improv Theater (WIT) is an improvisational comedy theater company in Washington, D.C., specializing in long-form improv. It was founded in 1986 by Carole Douglis. Its shows are based at Studio Theatre on the 14th Street corridor, although its teams also use several other venues. Roughly 20,000 people attend WIT shows annually.
36°04′41″N79°47′29″W / 36.0780°N 79.7913°W