In addition to live performance, the Upright Citizens Brigade expanded into teaching and training, as well as television, film, and digital media. Members of the original group created and starred in multiple television series and films, appeared regularly on late-night television, and developed improv formats that were adapted for broadcast. UCB also produced web series beginning in the late 2000s and entered into a first-look production deal.
Alumni of the UCB community have gone on to create and staff numerous television programs, contributing to the organization's broader influence on American comedy; Saturday Night Live, for example, has been known for seeking top talent from UCB's pool of students.[2] In addition, TV shows like The Chris Gethard Show, created by Chris Gethard; and Broad City, created by Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, started out as UCB experiments.
History
The Upright Citizens Brigade began performing improv and sketch comedy at Kill the Poet in Chicago in 1991. Their first show was called Virtual Reality. The group followed with shows titled UCBTV, Conference on the Future of Happiness, Thunderball, Bucket of Truth, Big Dirty Hands, The Real Real World, and Punch Your Friend in the Face.[3]
In 1996, prior to opening their own theater, the Upright Citizens Brigade relocated to New York City, where they performed their signature improv show, ASSSSCAT, first at KGB Bar and later at Solo Arts. Solo Arts became the first semi-permanent home to the Upright Citizens Brigade's "Harold Teams" and is considered by some to be the group's first theater.[5]
In March 2022, UCB was acquired by Mike McAvoy (former CEO/owner of The Onion) and Jimmy Miller (co-founder of Mosaic talent management), with financial backing from Elysian Park Ventures.[6]
Philosophy
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre Training Center teaches long-form improv, sketch, writing, parts of directing, and various other comedy skills.[7] The training center's philosophy of improv is based largely on the teachings of Del Close, with a strong emphasis on the "game" of the scene.[8] The primary improvisational form is "The Harold", and the theater in all its incarnations has had a group of "Harold Teams", house teams that perform regularly.[9]
In 2013, Besser, Roberts and Walsh co-authored a manual titled The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual.[10][11]
Theatres and locations
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on West 26th Street in Manhattan, a former location
Current UCB Theatre locations are at 242 E. 14th Street in New York City, and 5919 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood.
New York City
The popularity of the Upright Citizens Brigade's shows and classes at Manhattan's Solo Arts led to the opening of the first official Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre at 161 W. 22nd Street in Chelsea on February 4, 1999.[13] The 75-seat space, formerly the Harmony Burlesque Theater, closed on November 18, 2002, following fire code violations.
After temporary residencies at the Access Theater and Chelsea Playhouse, the company relocated again. On April 1, 2003, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre opened its second official New York location at 307 West 26th Street in the former Maverick Theater, a 150-seat venue with expanded facilities.[14][15]
In September 2011, UCB opened a second New York theater on the Lower East Side, at 153 E. 3rd Street, commonly referred to as "UCB East" or "the Beast".[16] The venue permanently closed on February 9, 2019.[17]
In October 2017, UCB announced that its Chelsea theater would close; it subsequently relocated to 555 West 42nd Street in Hell's Kitchen.[18]
The COVID-19 pandemic forced UCB to close both New York locations in April 2020.[19]
In June 2023, UCB announced its return to New York City at 242 E. 14th Street. The venue officially reopened in September 2024.[20]
Los Angeles
In 2005, the Los Angeles branch of the theater opened at 5919 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, offering nightly improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy performances.[21]
An LA expansion began in 2014 with the opening of UCB Theatre Sunset at 5419 Sunset Boulevard.[22] The Sunset location was sold in December 2020, leaving the Franklin Avenue theater as UCB's only owned venue in Los Angeles.[23] Under new UCB management,[6] the Los Angeles theater reopened in September 2022.[24]
In 2002 they created and starred in the film Martin & Orloff, and made another movie in 2007 titled Wild Girls Gone. Neither film was particularly successful or well received.
The group has participated in web series, including the ongoing series UCB Comedy Originals, created in 2008, which occasionally shows sketches; and I Hate Being Single, created in 2012.
Raftery, Brian (2013). High-Status Characters: How the Upright Citizens Brigade Stormed a City, Started a Scene, and Changed Comedy Forever. Brooklyn: Megawatt Press.
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