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.

PHIT storms the Shubin with biggest lineup yet

Last night the PHILLY IMPROV THEATER launched their monthly run at the Shubin with a staged reading of When I Was, a new one-act play penned by house team member Michael Schwartz. The theater goes dark again tonight, right before PHIT starts ramping up into it’s largest run at the Shubin to date!

They’ll be tackling nearly thirty shows over the next two weeks, including performances by guests from NYC and Chicago, a workshop from former Philadelphian and PHIF founder Mike McFarland, as well as a special screening of the new TJ & Dave documentary. And it all resumes tomorrow night…

Wednesday, January 27th
8:00pm: The Bully Pulpit (w/ guest host Greg Maughan) – $5

Thursday, January 28th
8:00pm: Drexel Football Team + Rookie Card – $5
9:30pm: CAGEMATCH: The Ones Your Mothers Warned You About vs The Kristen & Amie Show – $5

Friday, January 29th
8:00pm: Activity Book + Everything Must Go – $10

Fletcher

9:30pm: Fletcher + The Imposters (NYC) – $10
11:00pm: Flying Leap! (An Improv Open Jam) – FREE

Saturday, January 30th
8:00pm: Activity Book + Dynasty (NYC) – $10
9:30pm: Fletcher + Everything Must Go – $10
11:00pm: Sketch Up or Shut Up (The Sketch Comedy Open Mic) – FREE

Sunday, January 31st

Mike McFarland

2:00pm: WORKSHOP – The Passion of the Mike taught by Mike McFarland (NYC) – $50
8:00pm: Screening: Trust Us This Is All Made Up (The TJ & Dave Documentary) – $5

Monday, February 1st
8:00pm: Hey Everybody! hosted by Aaron Hertzog – $5

Wednesday, February 3rd
8:00pm: Guilty Pleasures; One Year Anniversary Show – $5

Thursday, February 4th
8:00pm: High Dramma + Mr. Lizard – $10
9:30pm: We’re Nice People; A Night of Doucheless Comedy (NYC) – $10

Friday, February 5th
8:00pm: Tin Sandwich (Chicago) + B.W.P. – $10
9:30pm: King Friday – $10

Saturday, February 6th
8:00pm: King Friday – $10
9:30pm: Tin Sandwich (Chicago) + The Carousel of Progress – $10

Tickets and additional information

Tonight: Everything Must Go joins the N Crowd

Joining the N Crowd tonight in their weekly show at the Actor’s Center will be Everything Must Go. EMG is a resident house team of the Philly Improv Theater, under the artistic direction of PHIT executive director Greg Maughan.

EVERYTHING MUST GO... FRONT: AJ HORAN & JEFFERSON HAYNES; REAR: ROB CUTLER, MEG FAVREAU & KATIE HORAHAN; NP: NICK GILLETTE, SHANE JENKINS & BOB SWENSON

THE N CROWD W/ EVERYTHING MUST GO
FRIDAY, MARCH 20TH @ 8PM
THE ACTORS CENTER | 257 N THIRD ST
TICKETS – $10

PHIT Presents Shubin Week!

Tonight marks the start of another week of hilarity served up courtesy of the Philly Improv Theater. All shows will take place at the Shubin Theater, 407 Bainbridge St.

Tickets and additional information can be found at phillyimprovtheater.com

Monday, October 6
8:00pm
The Comic vs. Audience Comedy Show – $5
with Tim Ryan, Luke Giordano, Doogie Horner, and Chip Chantry

Wednesday, October 8
8:00pm
Bedtime Stories: Nerd Hobbies – $10

10:00pm
Kent Haines: Why am I Not Famous? – $5

Thursday, October 9
8:00pm
The Dave Hill Explosion – $10

10:00pm
CAGEMATCH: Cubed vs Illegal Refill – $5

Friday, October 10
8:00pm
House Team Premiere! – $10
Featuring teams directed by Scott Sheppard & Executive Director Greg Maughan

10:00pm
House Team Premiere & RAGNARÖCK (UCB) – $10
Featuring a troupe directed by Rick Horner and, from the UCBT, RAGNARÖCK

Saturday, October 11
8:00pm
House Team Premiere & RAGNARÖCK (UCB) – $10
Featuring a troupe directed by Rick Horner and, from the UCBT, RAGNARÖCK

10:00pm
House Team Premiere! – $10
Featuring teams directed by Scott Sheppard & Executive Director Greg Maughan

PHIT Announces First Ever House Teams

The Philadelphia Improv Theater has officially announced the rosters of their brand spankin’ new house teams, and we’re super excited about both the veteran talent and the up-and-comers on these lists.

HOUSE TEAM I

directed by Rick Horner

Mike Schwartz, John Nolan, Jana Savini, Kim Breslin, Jason Stockdale, Alan Williams, Kelly Jo Little, Diana DePasquale & Sarah Goldrath

HOUSE TEAM II

directed by Scott Sheppard

Dan Rich, Rob Baniewicz, John Buseman, Kristen Schier, Gillienne Nadeau, Jay Brenner & Sam George

HOUSE TEAM III

directed by Greg Maughan

Nick Gillette, Bob Swenson, Jefferson Haynes, Meg Favreau, AJ Horan, Katie Horahan, Rob Cutler & Shane Jenkins.

In their recent newsletter, PHIT gaves us a little taste of what we can expect:

“Over the next few months you are going to come to know and love all these people… if you don’t already – and see them become a great addition to the scene. So is the rest of the country: after premiering in the Fall, our house teams will start traveling, first to the People’s Improv Theater in NYC, then to festivals all over the country!”

Congrats to all the teams, we look forward to see you take the stage!

Click This: Comic Vs. Audience Interviews Greg Maughan

Here’s a recent interview from Comic Vs. Audience with PHIT Executive Director, Greg Maughan.

[Photo credit Kevin Thom]

They discuss improv in Philadelphia, growth at the Shubin, upcoming house team auditions and a preview of The Hoppers Hit the Road, a new musical premiering at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

PHIT House Team Auditions Next Week!

Next week the Philly Improv Theater will be holding auditions to cast its first-ever house teams. This is big news and an exciting step for the growth of improv in the city. PHIT has some ambitious plans for the teams it will be putting together. Each team will be assigned a dedicated director, receive free weekly rehearsal space, have the opportunity to perform at venues across the city like the Shubin and Fergies, as well as represent PHIT at festivals. Directors involved in this venture include PHIT Executive Director Greg Maughan, Improv Incubator Founder / PHIF Producer Rick Horner and the Arden Theatre Company’s Scott Sheppard.

Next Monday, PHIT will be auditioning folks in groups of 8 at the Arden Theatre – but if you want in, you’ll have to schedule an audition appointment by emailing PHIT with your interest no later than 5pm on Friday.

More details can be found here…

But What About The Ty In Tybrus?

Sure we got Jon Gabrus’ take on Philly, but what about Justin Tyler? Oh, we’ve got that too:

By my count this is your sixth run of shows in Philly. What’s your favorite thing about the city?

JG: You guys keep inviting us back, and that is more than enough. We love the city, it is a 20 dollar Chinatown bus ride away and always a good time. (Greg) Maughan puts us up and puts up with us, and being able to do that is enough to make that guy a saint in the Tybrus bible.

JT: Our favorite thing about Philly? Besides official Tybrus mascot Brandon Libby? That’s tough. Something about Philly brings out the best in Tybrus, maybe it’s the crowd, maybe it’s how accommodating you guys are to us, or maybe it’s the whiskey that keeps sliding into our hands down here.

You’ve done a lot of different divergent comedy with Tybrus – in addition to your sketch show, You’re Out Too Far, we’ve seen everything from monoscenes to complete freeform improv. What can audiences expect on this run?

JG: Great question, and probably something we can’t answer just yet. We will definitely be doing improv, as to exactly what form we do… That is a decision to be made on stage. We like to just go up there and see where that particular set takes us. Sometimes it is just a matter of ‘wanna do a monoscene tonight?’ ‘Yeah.’

JT: I completely agree. Most sets we just make a decision right before we go onstage, whether it be monoscene or some other specific form. Then we do our Panda Warm-up and then we’re on.

You both have other popular projects you work on – Pig Brooch, Fwand, Sidecar, UCBW, writing and acting… what is it about Tybrus that brings you back?

JG: Justin is my writing partner/neighbor/one of my best friends (and I just say ‘one of’ in case he doesn’t call me his best friend I don’t want to make things awkward). We are always hanging out together, he lives a block away in Brooklyn, and we are constantly working on writing projects together, and a plethora of drinking projects. We have all these other projects going on but they are side projects. We know where our bread is buttered.

JT: Michael Delaney of Stepfathers here in New York once referred to Billy Merritt as his ‘improv wife’, and that is the best way to describe the relationship Gabrus and I have. Which one of us is the wife is a matter for public debate. Gabrus is my best friend (Things are not awkward), we truly do live about a block from each other and see each other on an almost daily basis. The first improv scene Gabrus and I ever did together was a race between Superman and The Flash. That’s a cosmic alliance if I’ve ever heard one.

We see a lot of pretty crazy characters come out on stage. But when watching it’s clear there’s a level of personal investment – you own those characters as a piece of yourselves. Do you see a lot of your character work being autobiographical?

JG: It is safe to say that both of us are pretty crazy people on a very basic level. So all we have to do on stage is let our mask of sanity slip a little bit in a certain direction, and you have a fucking nutso character that is grounded in reality. Justin is a really talented actor and makes it look great/easy up there. But there is definitely a lot of ourselves or each other in our character work.

JT: To make a character real there has to be at least a little piece of them inside of you, even the ones that wear other people’s skin on their faces. Gabrus is two kinds of machines, optimized for your benefit: an idea machine and a commitment machine. Our characters can get crazy because of the unique and grounded environments that they live in.

We’ve also seen a lot of crazy coming out off stage. How much of what you do on stage carries with you when you leave?

JT: It all comes off with you and Gabrus and I have made it our personal quest to live out every improvised moment we create on stage. Especially our characters drink a lot and then take off their clothes.

JG: To be 100 percent honest this question can pretty much answer every other question. Why do Justin and I work together because we both are fucking nuts. It is so rare that you bump into someone in life whose sense of humor lines up almost totally with yours, and then also their outlook on life, and how they act in public is very similar.

JT: We’ve both performed with a lot of different people but we always come back home. Someday we’ll both live in a tiny bungalow in Key West, watching re-runs of Dawson’s Creek all day, writing a joint memoir that involves jail time. And our wives will be there too.

JG: We were meant to perform together or at least fight each other in a bar.

JT: We may be doing both this weekend.

Come witness the love yourself… tonight @ 10pm & tomorrow @ 8pm.  

Justin Tyler is a writer and actor in New York City, and a member of the late UCB Harold team Havana Clambake. He is a founding member of sketch/improv groups Cubicle and Sidecar, which perform regularly all over New York. Justin is a monthly contributor to Jest Magazine and the artistic director of Pig Brooch Inc., a New York based theatre company, which produced his play, Happy Mundanes, in the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival.

Putting The Brus In Tybrus

It’s once again Shubin week for the Philly Improv Theater and this month’s special guest is the NYC improv duo, Tybrus. I recently chatted with Jon Gabrus on their impending trip to our city.

Jon, by my count this is your sixth run of shows in Philly. What’s your favorite thing about the city?

You guys keep inviting us back, and that is more than enough. We love the city, it is a 20 dollar Chinatown bus ride away and always a good time. (Greg) Maughan puts us up and puts up with us, and being able to do that is enough to make that guy a saint in the Tybrus bible.

You’ve done a lot of different divergent comedy with Tybrus – in addition to your sketch show, You’re Out Too Far, we’ve seen everything from monoscenes to complete freeform improv. What can audiences expect on this run?

Great question, and probably something we can’t answer just yet. We will definitely be doing improv, as to exactly what form we do… That is a decision to be made on stage. We like to just go up there and see where that particular set takes us. Sometimes it is just a matter of ‘wanna do a monoscene tonight?’ ‘Yeah.’

You both have other popular projects you work on – Pig Brooch, Fwand, Sidecar, UCBW, writing and acting… what is it about Tybrus that brings you back?

Justin is my writing partner/neighbor/one of my best friends (and I just say ‘one of’ in case he doesn’t call me his best friend I don’t want to make things awkward). We are always hanging out together, he lives a block away in Brooklyn, and we are constantly working on writing projects together, and a plethora of drinking projects. We have all these other projects going on but they are side projects. We know where our bread is buttered.

We see a lot of pretty crazy characters come out on stage. But when watching it’s clear there’s a level of personal investment – you own those characters as a piece of yourselves. Do you see a lot of your character work being autobiographical?

It is safe to say that both of us are pretty crazy people on a very basic level. So all we have to do on stage is let our mask of sanity slip a little bit in a certain direction, and you have a fucking nutso character that is grounded in reality. Justin is a really talented actor and makes it look great/easy up there. But there is definitely a lot of ourselves or each other in our character work.

We’ve also seen a lot of crazy coming out off stage. How much of what you do on stage carries with you when you leave?

To be 100 percent honest this question can pretty much answer every other question. Why do Justin and I work together because we both are fucking nuts. It is so rare that you bump into someone in life whose sense of humor lines up almost totally with yours, and then also their outlook on life, and how they act in public is very similar. We were meant to perform together or at least fight each other in a bar. Also Matt, I think the question could be even worded as how much of what we do in life carries with us on stage? Either way, we are excited for this weekend. I know personally I am going to ensure that Maughan doesn’t sleep at all.

————-

Tybrus performs tonight at 10pm and Saturday at 8pm. They’ll be joined by Holmes/Maughan, Tongue & Groove and the Ninjas. They will also be teaching a workshop on Saturday entitled Finding the Game.

PHIT @ The Shubin
407 Bainbridge Street
Fri @ 8pm: Tongue & Groove with Holmes/Maughan
Fri @ 10pm: Tybrus with the Ninjas
Sat @ 8pm: Tybrus with Holmes/Maughan
Sat @ 10pm: Tongue & Groove with the Ninjas
$10/show

Jonathan Gabrus is a writer and actor living in Brooklyn. He has studied improv under Michael Delaney, Paul Scheer, Billy Merritt, Amy Poehler, Matt Besser and Matt Walsh. He is a current member of UCB harold team fwand. He performs sketch and improv around NYC and beyond with Justin Tyler as part of Tybrus, their sketch show You’re Out too Far ran at the UCB for seven months. His other UCB credits include: Sketch Cram, Hot Sauce 4th Floor Walk-up, UCBW, The Documentary, and Glue Trap Theatre. Gabrus has written for Spike TV, Heavy.com, Collegehumor.com, Toyfare Magazine and ClipsQuips.com. He has appeared on Late Night with Conan O Brien, Best Week Ever, I Love 80s/90s/Toys, Spike Video Game Awards and many Internet shows. He can also be seen in a bunch of commercials and promos, usually as the slacker or shirtless slacker.

The Philly Improv Theater (PHIT) is the only longform improvisation theater in the Metro Philadelphia area. Founded in 2005, PHIT is a nonprofit theater company that embraces the art of improvisation as an end rather than a means – creating and producing improv, sketch, and alternate comedy shows in the tradition of theaters like Chicago’s Second City and New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade. To further this philosophy, PHIT offers it’s own take take on the theories and concepts behind good improvisation in a full curriculum of classes for performers of all skill levels taught by local talent and through master classes with distinguished performers and teachers from all over the world (including Impro author Keith Johnstone, Joe Bill and Mark Sutton of The Second City, and former SNL writer Ali Farahnakian). In addition to performing as part of PHIT’s weeklong residency at The Shubin Theatre each month, local improv troupes produced and presented by PHIT have toured extensively on the East Coast and performed in festivals throughout North America.

Elation. Loneliness. Despair. Potential Incarceration.

As the month draws to a close, we find ourselves ready for another week of PHIT Presents at the Shubin. One of my personal favorites, Bedtime Stories, spent a couple months finding its footing. More recently, we’re seeing this night of story time for adults beginning to garner a nice fan base. This month’s edition is entitled Let My Love Open The Door.

From creator and host, Gregg Gethard:

Let’s face it: the quest for love has made us all do many a crazy thing. I myself have given a mixtape to the dad of a girl I briefly dated five years previously in hopes to win her back.
This is why I chose “relationships” as this month’s theme for Bedtime Stories. Everyone, each and every single one of you, has at one point done something completely ridiculous in hopes to find someone to play tonsil hockey with. There is no denying it. None whatsoever.So I’ve assembled some of Philadelphia’s funniest people, all assigned with the task of telling stories/performing sketches/doing whatever about the theme of relationships/dating/heartbreak. I’m not someone who enjoys self-promotion and I largely am self-depricating to a fault. But trust me: this show is going to rule. I can feel it!

If you are interested in participating, you can contact Gregg at gregg_gethard@yahoo.com

BEDTIME STORIES PRESENTS: LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR
WED. Nov. 28 – 8 p.m.
Shubin Theater – 411 Bainbridge St.
$5 All ages/BYOB w/ ID
Hosted by: Gregg Gethard.
feat. Secret Pants, Meg and Rob, The Sixth Borough, Greg Maughan and others!