Video: The Roast of Meg Favreau

Monday night during CHIP CHANTRY’S ONE MAN SHOW, the night was dedicated to roasting one of Philadelphia’s dearest darlings… MEG FAVREAU, who soon departs for Los Angeles.

For those who are kicking themselves for missing it, the PHILLY IMPROV THEATER was kind enough to get the whole thing on video for posterity.

Below is the start of the roast. You can check out the rest in 14 parts on PHIT’s YouTube channel

Tonight: Face Time w/ Chip Chantry at Helium

Showing himself to once again be a man befitting many a venue, Philly comedian CHIP CHANTRY debuts his newest monthly show FACE TIME tonight at HELIUM COMEDY CLUB.

In what he’s billed as a “slightly skewed late-night format comedy variety show,” Chantry will feature local and national comedians presenting standup, sketch, video, music and anything else that might delight audiences.

In the premier show tonight, Chantry and his co-host / house band AMIR GOLLAN will welcome local standup fave AARON HERTZOG, TV’s MIKE VECCHIONE and what may well threaten to be the final swan song of beloved sketch duo MEG & ROB.

Do yourself a favor and check out this show now, so you can say you were a fan before it was cool (ETA: tomorrow morning).

FACE TIME w/ CHIP CHANTRY
TUESDAY, MARCH 15 @ 8PM
HELIUM COMEDY CLUB | 2031 SANSOM ST
TICKETS: JUST $5

News in Brief

Keeping you up to date on what’s going on in comedy

• The resignation of editor Brian Howard isn’t the only change over at CityPaper… RYAN CAREY of Critical Mass has started a new weekly look at Philadelphia’s comedy scene, LOL With It. And in his inaugural post, he chats with none other than CHIP CHANTRY.

• Some exciting news from CHRIS COTTON and the gang at CENTER CITY COMEDY. LLC papers have been filed and they’ve made it official. Congratulations!

• How appropriate it’s FF. Because if you haven’t discovered them yet, be sure to check out IT’S ALWAYS FUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA. A new local comedy blog that’s already got some great content. Oh, and check ‘em out on Facebook too.

• Last weekend, PJI debuted A VERY SPECIAL LADIES & GENTLEMEN CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. And special it was. I was there for all three shows, and they were fantastic. Phillyist agrees, calling the show “fresh, funny & unexpected.” Just three more chances to catch it this weekend before it closes.

• The schedule for NCCAF (North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival) has been posted. Seven Philadelphia improv groups have been slated to perform – Jessica Tandy, Rintersplit, Adrift, The Ones, N Crowd, Cubed & Rookie Card… as well as four sketch groups – Camp Woods, Bare Hug, Emily & Micah McGraw and Meg & Rob (with 2 shows!) and also stand up Aaron Hertzog. My apologies if I missed any locals while scanning the list.

• And across the country on the same weekend, more Philly comedians will be tearing it up at SFIT (Seattle Festival of Improv Theater). Making their SFIT debuts will be the Amie & Kristen Show as well as MattAnd.

Be sure to keep up to date on Philly comedy happenings by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook.

December PHIT shows are upon us

Following their personal record-length run last month, the PHILLY IMPROV THEATER is set to kick off its December shows this week with some of your old favorites, a little reformatting of familiar formats and some great new comedy.

• Aaron Hertzog’s Hey Everybody! continues its newly minted weekly slot, surrounded by the fun usual suspects like Guilty Pleasures, The Bully Pulpit and Rant-O-Wheel… as well as new faces like TV Party! and Chip Chantry’s One Man Show, relocated from its former home at The Khyber.
• Fans can scout up and coming talent from area colleges in Comedy University, formerly known as Improv Comedy PhD, and now moved to Sundays.
• PHIT welcomes friends from afar, with Brick Penguin bringing a little DC our way and the Philly premier of Magnet’s newest house team Brick, featuring local improviser and PHIT director/instructor Amie Roe.
• Cagematch winners Six-Fisted Dynamo look to hold on to their newly claimed title against the comic stylings of Grimacchio.
• PHIT introduces Sketch Up or Shut Up’s improv step-sibling with its new instructor-hosted weekly improv jam.
• Those Hopper Brothers are back again this holiday season, this time with their Happy Magic Fun Time Show.
• And finally, house team Activity Book debuts “Metal Men” – a special run of shows featuring the alter-egos of superheroes from a failed comic book… exploring the comedy of not being so superly awesome.

The whole thing is topped off with shows from all of the house teams and sketch comedy from Camp Woods. It promises to be a jam-packed,  fun-filled couple of weeks.

Here’s the full run down…

Wednesday, December 1st
8:00PM Guilty Pleasures hosted by Brendan Kennedy – $10
9:30PM TV Party! hosted by Rob Baniewicz & Paul Triggiani – $10

Thursday, December 2nd
8:00PM Hey Everybody! hosted by Aaron Hertzog – $10
9:30PM CAGEMATCH – Six-Fisted Dynamo vs. Grimacchio – $10

Friday, December 3rd
8:00PM Activity Book Presents “Metal Men” + Asteroid! – $10
9:30PM King Friday + The Amie & Kristen Show – $10
11:00PM Sketch Up or Shut Up – FREE!

Saturday, December 4th
8:00PM Activity Book Presents “Metal Men” + Asteroid! – $10
9:30PM Camp Woods + Brick Penguin (DC) – $10
11:00PM Improv Jam hosted by Mike Marbach & Kristen Schier – FREE!

Sunday, December 5th
8:00PM COMEDY UNIVERSITY: Women With Class + Special College Guests – $10

Monday, December 6th
8:00PM Chip Chantry’s One-Man Show (With Special Guests) – $10

Wednesday, December 8th
8:00PM The Bully Pulpit hosted by Luke Giordano – $10
9:30PM Rant-O-Wheel hosted by Jaime Fountaine – $10

Thursday, December 9th
8:00PM Hey Everybody! hosted by Aaron Hertzog – $10
9:30PM CAGEMATCH – 12/2 Winner vs. Good Cop, Bad Doctor – $10

Friday, December 10th
8:00PM Activity Book Presents “Metal Men” + Mayor Karen – $10
9:30PM Fletcher + Brick (NYC) – $10
11:00PM The Hopper Brothers’ Happy Magic Fun-Time Show – $10

Saturday, December 11th
8:00PM Activity Book Presents “Metal Men” + Mayor Karen – $10
9:30PM Camp Woods + Brick Penguin (DC) – $10
11:00PM Improv Jam hosted by Amie Roe & Greg Maughan – FREE!

Sunday, December 12th
8:00PM COMEDY UNIVERSITY: Cookiepuss (NYC) + The Rubber Chickens (University of Delaware) – $10

Tickets and additional information can be found on PHIT’s website.

Last One-Man Show for Chip Chantry at the Khyber

For the last few weeks, rumors have abound that the close of July could bring with it the end of live entertainment at the Khyber. It’s still up in the air whether the venue will be changing hands soon, or is simply looking to make a change in bookings. According to a recent chat Philebrity had with owner Stephen Simons, at the very least, the stage will be dark for the month of August.

So with the future unclear, comedian Chip Chantry looks to make this month’s One-Man Show something to remember. For what could be the final installment at the beloved venue, they’re going entirely character-based for the theme. Everyone appearing onstage will be in disguise.

Some fantastic alter-egos and characters abound in our little world of comedy, and tonight should be something pretty damn special… while potentially bidding farewell to a venue held so dear to many comedians, we might conversely see the birth of other hilarious personas the likes of Bing Supernova or Fastball Pitcher Bob Gutierrez.

Chip has a cavalcade of comics slated to take the stage tonight, including: Johnny Goodtimes, Doogie Horner, Brendan Kennedy, Meg Favreau, John Kensil, The Feeko Brothers, Andy Nolan, Luke Giordano, Roger Weaver and more! With a lineup like that, this show already should make your must-see list. Add to that it potentially being the last installment at the place that gave birth to shows like this and Die Actor Die, and it really is the only place you should be tonight.

CHIP CHANTRY’S LAST ONE-MAN SHOW AT THE KHYBER?!?!
MONDAY, JULY 19TH @ 8:30PM
THE KHYBER | 56 S 2ND ST
$5 COVER | DRINK SPECIALS

Philadelphia Comedy Allstars Show tonight at Helium

Tonight Helium presents a stellar lineup of local standups. Hosted by AARON HERTZOG, Philadelphia’s Comedy Allstars Show will feature STEVE GERBEN (Phillys Phunniest Winner 2007), ANTON SHUFORD (Phillys Phunniest Winner 2009) and CHIP CHANTRY (Phillys Phunniest Finalist).

If you were quick enough (like I was), Helium held a contest on Facebook this past Monday for free tickets. If not, $10 is but a paltry fee to take in some of Philly’s best and brightest.

PHILADELPHIA’S COMEDY ALLSTARS SHOW
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9TH @ 8PM
HELIUM COMEDY CLUB | 2031 SANSOM ST
TICKETS: $10-$15 + 2 DRINK MINIMUM

Tonight: Anniversary of Chip Chantrys One-Man Show

Tonight marks the first anniversary of CHIP CHANTRY’S ONE-MAN SHOW.

In celebration, Chip welcomes comics Amir Gollan, James Hesky, Darryl Charles and Mykal Carter-Jackson and sketch group Secret Pants. The evening will also feature the Minuteman Challenge… where anyone in the room can win a $25 gift certificate for making everyone laugh in sixty seconds.

CHIP CHANTRY’S ONE MAN SHOW
MONDAY, JAN. 18TH @ 8:30PM
THE KHYBER | 56 S SECOND STREET

PJIs Cecily and Gwendolyn run begins tonight

Over the past few months, the PHILADELPHIA JOKE INITIATIVE has presented a number of single night showcases, including the Mike Connor Travelogues and a fundraiser featuring music from the Hopper Brothers. Beginning tonight, this small production company launches its largest endeavor to date, and plans to do so with a little Victorian class.

CECILY & GWENDOLYN’S FANTASTICAL BALLOON RIDE opens tonight and runs through January 31st at the Latvian Society in Northern Liberties.

The show, featuring KELLY JENNINGS and KAREN GETZ in the eponymous roles of Cecily and Gwendolyn, is a fully improvised imagining of two slightly mad Victorian ladies who fancy themselves anthropologists. When all is said and done and chronometers have been synced, each evening explores the notion that these time traveling ladies find themselves 175 years through space and time via their hot air balloon in present day Philadelphia – where each night’s audience will serve as lab rats of sorts… from whom they’ll extract their conclusions about the “modern” society in which we live.

I was fortunate enough to attend a private performance this past weekend, and can honestly say that I’ve never been quite so excited to see how audiences will react to a show. Karen and Kelly (as pictured L to R above) have taken the idea of audience participation, and replaced it with complete audience immersion. The entire show is an evening that we’re all invited to take part in. Everything from the set to the seating, the costumes to the conversation, all welcome the audience member in, begging to be engaged, hoping to engross. Sitting there with only a handful of people, I’ve never felt so unconscious of my contribution. Getz and Jennings do a remarkable job of captivating with ease. Something that while I know from talking to them has taken years to develop, comes across as simple and organic.

As you can tell, I’m really excited about how it all drew me in and am excited to hear how audiences respond to this level of participatory immersion.

If you’re interested in reading  more about the show, more can be found in this recent writeup in the CityPaper. You can also get to know these ladies by watching their YouTube videos or by joining them on Facebook.

During its three week run (Thursdays through Sundays, excepting tonight’s opening) the show will play host to a myriad of comedy guests, including local talent the likes of Chip Chantry, Cubed, Rare Bird Show, BWP, Leo Callahan, the N Crowd, Real Housewives of Philadelphia and ComedySportz Improvised Shakespeare as well as Hello Laser from the Magnet Theater in NYC.

CECILY & GWENDOLYN’S FANTASTICAL BALLOON RIDE
THE LATVIAN SOCIETY | 531 N 7TH ST
JANUARY 13-31, 2010 | 7PM
PRESENTED BY PJI WITH SUPPORT FROM FREEFALL PRODUCTIONS

Tonight: Laff Away Thursday

Tonight the LAFF HOUSE features Laff Away Thursday… a night of standup hosted by Danny Ozark and Damon D, featuring the comic stylings of James Hesky, Darryl Charles, Chip Chantry, Esther Ku and Marlon Randolph

LAFF AWAY THURSDAY
THURSDAY, DEC 10TH @ 8PM
THE LAFF HOUSE | 221 SOUTH STREET

Sketch comedy dominates Philly with Sketchfest this weekend

The fellas of ANIMOSITY PIERRE are back this week with a bigger and more ambitious PHILLY SKETCHFEST. Originally launched in June of 2008 by BEN MAHER, MATT LALLY and DAVE TERRUSO, the festival is back this week with two additional producers, JESSICA CIARAMELLA and CATHLEEN COLLINS and an outstanding lineup of local sketch comedians.

The three day event runs this Thursday through Saturday at Plays & Players, with shows at 8PM & 10PM. Each night is hosted by a local comic and promises to not disappoint. Here’s a quick rundown:

THURSDAY 12/3 – hosted by CHIP CHANTRY
8PM: BAD CREATIONS, DEPENDABLE FELONS, BOY MEETS TRACTOR & GENTLEMEN’S ROTARY AUXILIARY
10PM: THE FEEKO BROTHERS, BING SUPERNOVA, THE SIXTH BOROUGH

FRIDAY 12/4 - hosted by STEVE GERBEN
8PM: THIS THING OF OURS, ANIMOSITY PIERRE
10PM: CHRIS & PAUL SHOW, SECRET PANTS

SATURDAY 12/5 – hosted by AARON HERTZOG
8PM: BETTER THAN THE MACHINE, THE WAITSTAFF
10PM: BETTER THAN THE MACHINE, BING SUPERNOVA, MEG & ROB

Additional details and tickets are available on their website

2009 PHILLY SKETCHFEST
PLAYS & PLAYERS THEATER | 1714 DELANCEY
DEC 3-5, 8PM & 10PM