Phone +1 212-366-9176 | ||
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Address 307 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001, USA Founders Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Ian Roberts Profiles | ||
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (shorter UCB Theatre) is an American improvisational theatre and training center, founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members, including Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. It has locations in the New York neighborhoods of Chelsea and the East Village as well as the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard.
Contents
The troupe was originally trained by Del Close at Chicago's ImprovOlympic, invented the ASSSSCAT show the success of which led to the troupe getting their own sketch show on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2000, and eventually founded their own theatre. In 2013, they co-authored a manual The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual.
Philosophy
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre Training Center teaches longform improv, sketch, writing, parts of directing and various other comedy skills. 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. 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.
New York
Prior to opening their own theatre, the Upright Citizens Brigade performed their signature improv show, ASSSSCAT, first at KGB Bar, and then later at Solo Arts. Solo Arts was the first semi-permanent home to the Upright Citizens Brigade's Harold Teams and is considered by some to be the group's first theatre. The troupe's first permanent space was at 161 West 22nd Street, a 75-seat auditorium that used to be the Harmony Burlesque Theater, an all-nude lap-dancing club—essentially a storefront. The original theatre was closed on November 18, 2002, after a building inspector ordered the theater to be shut down due to fire code violations. In the months that followed, the theater found a temporary home at the Access Theater on lower Broadway, then moved to the Chelsea Playhouse for a short time before finding a permanent space.
On April 1, 2003, the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre opened its second official, current space in Chelsea - a 150-seat theater at 307 West 26th Street in NYC in the former Maverick Theater. This new space had several advantages over its previous theater at 161, such as double capacity, a more professional tech booth, larger green room with a greater separation from the stage area, two dressing rooms, storage rooms, twice the number of bathrooms, and a "chill out room".
In September 2011, UCB opened a second theater on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, at 153 E 3rd St. This theater features 124 seats, two lobbies, and a full bar known as the "Hot Chicks Room" in reference to an episode of the Upright Citizens Brigade TV show. Often referred to as "Beast", the theater was initially opened in hopes of showcasing more stand-up comedy. However, today it primarily features improv and sketch shows.
UCB LA
In 2005, with Daisy Rosario as general manager, the Los Angeles branch of the theater opened at 5919 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, offering up improv, sketch and stand-up comedy shows nightly. Soon after, Comedy Bang! Bang! (formerly Comedy Death-Ray), a Los Angeles alternative comedy show moved from its former home at the M Bar to join the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, appearing on Tuesday nights.
In October 2014, UCB announced the opening of UCB Theatre Sunset located at 5419 Sunset Boulevard for November 1. The new venue plays home to Upright Citizens Brigade's training center, an 85-seat theatre, cafe/performance space called Inner Sanctum, video production offices, and even retail stores on street level.
New York (current)
Based partially on the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre website:
Los Angeles (current)
Based partially on the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre web site: