2011
3 Men and a Little Lady and Doppelganger
Theatre 99
3 Men and a Little Lady (Charleston)
What weighs 875 pounds, is 23-and-a-half-feet tall, and full of chuckles? Three Men and a Little Lady! With a white board full of your suggestions and minds full of wit, Three Men and a Little Lady are out to make you laugh! Join David Appleton, Jason Groce, Betsy Harper, and Tommy Hutchins as they prove that comedy really does come in all sizes. And who said size doesn't matter?
Doppelganger (Charleston)
Come see Charleston's only all-improvised rock show, where you, the audience, shout out the "titles" of your favorite Doppelganger! songs, and have them performed for the first and last time ever.
The Critics say: "Lee Lewis and Jason Cooper are so good at what they do that the lines between fact and fiction may blur a bit during the show." --Jason Zwiker, Charleston City Paper
"It's a mix of VH1 Storytellers and Tenacious D" --Erica Jackson, Charleston City Paper
All-Star JAM
Theatre 99
Some of the country's best improvisers will be in town during the festival. What better way to celebrate than by having good old fashioned improv jam! This is sure to be an "anything goes and probably will" type of show.
Cats Hugging Cats and Full Love Throttle
Theatre 99
Cats Hugging Cats (Charleston)
This five-person improv group finds the comedy in the mundane. Scenes start out normally but soon become ticking time bombs of insane hilarity. A show may start out with a scene about a parent teacher conference or a board meeting, but by the end chickens have risen up and taken over the world and cavemen file class action lawsuits. If that is not enough -- everyone in the show is totally hot as shit.
Full Love Throttle (Charleston)
After working together since 1991, Greg Tavares and Brandy Sullivan (both of The Have Nots!) decided it was time to do a two-person show. It starts by taking information from one audience volunteer and then dives headfirst into characters and scenes that you won't soon forget.
Charleston Comedy Festival Stand Up Competition Finals
Theatre 99
The 6 winners of the semi-final rounds on January 7 and 8 compete for the $1000 top prize.
Comedy Marathon: 2-Man No-Show, Drum Machine and France
Eye Level Art 103 GalleryEye Level Art 103 Gallery
2-Man No-Show (Canada)
The absurd and unpredictable Canadian tag-team sketch/improv duo of Isaac Kessler and Ken Hall take you on a bizarre ride of indefinably funny comedy. Critically acclaimed internationally and across North America, 2-Man No-Show will astound and amaze.
"Hilarious and physical sketch comedy that easily rivals anything currently on late-night TV" - -NOW Magazine
"If David Lynch married Mr. Bean, their love child would look a lot like 2-Man No-Show" --CBC
Drum Machine (Minneapolis)
Drum Machine is Jill Bernard's one-person unscripted musical featuring multiple characters in scenes, monologues, and songs accompanied by the mad beats of the Zoom-Rhythmtrak 123 which Bernard calls, "Nature's finest drum machine." Typically the show opens by interviewing a member of the audience and weaving details of their life into a historical period suggested by the audience.
France (NYC)
France is made up of quatre joli messieurs and trois magnifique mesdemoiselles from NYC. Having met at Upright Citizens Brigade, they perform about la cite bringing an Improv Révolution to the masses with a comedic guillotine that will have you laughing your head off. Get out of your chateau, put on your best perruque, and come and be a part of the Reign of Laughter!
Comedy Marathon: Einstein Meets Elvis, Big Dicktionary, and The Shock T's (Fri) and The 708 (Sat)
Eye Level Art 103 GalleryEye Level Art 103 Gallery
Einstein Meets Elvis (Atlanta)
Einstein meets Elvis is rocket-fueled improv! JaCKPie's award winning touring team, EmE, is made up of an all-star cast that promises to rock your socks off. (EmE not responsible for lost socks.) A "real life" filmmaker, a lawyer, a computer guru, a builder of motorcycles and graphics, a master of props, a builder of songs and music, an actor and an actress ... these minds create a show that just can't be missed. They'll put the party up in yo' business, light your test tube, and you'll shake your pelvis, when Einstein Meets Elvis!
Big Dicktionary (Charleston)
Big Dicktionary is a two-person, long-form improvisational comedy team composed of Timmy Finch and John Brennan. The two have just enough in common to share the stage and break many of the "rules" to entertain. Neither one is safe from the other as they keep the show tight and fast even as they call out each others' foibles. Oh yeah, they use a very big dictionary in the show.
The Shock T's (Friday night show only) (Chicago)
The Shock T's are a trio of musical comedians from Chicago who write and perform all their own material and have been together just over a year. The three met after graduating from Second City's Conservatory and now perform anywhere they can, from bars to theaters, presenting their own take on musical comedy.
The 708 (Saturday night only) (Raleigh)
It's time for something truly amazing. Beginning with an invocation, any ordinary object you suggest becomes a larger-than-life experience that inspires the eight-person team for all the scenes that follow. The 708 are veterans of the DSI Comedy philosophy. They perform the Harold. Sit back and enjoy.
Deon Curry, Kenny Zimlinghaus and Nicholas Anthony
Footlight Players TheatreFootlight Players Theatre
Deon Curry (Indianapolis)
Deon Curry, a.k.a. Bright Fame, became a professional comedian at the age of 21 and has been compared to such comedic greats as Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock. With a style of true stories he made up, Deon Curry takes you on a ride through his mind, society's falls, and hilarious everyday situations that we all experience. Deon has a quiet, in-your-face persona that leaves audiences wanting more.
Kenny Zimlinghaus (NYC)
Kenny "Z"imlinghaus is a comedian from New York City. He became a comedian after years of being a very fat child. Kenny is a regular at the Charleston Comedy Festival and those who have seen him perform have said "bless his heart." He has performed all over the country and co-hosts a daily morning show on SIRIUSXM's "Cosmo Radio." Kenny's act never disappoints. Only himself.
Nicholas Anthony
"High-Energy/ Heady" Nicholas Anthony's curious mind takes random situations and twists them into comedic gems. With his quick, candid delivery he creates a funhouse ride audiences never forget. Nicholas received first place at the coveted Las Vegas Comedy Festival and has been on two seasons of NBC's Last Comic Standing. Nicholas Anthony is quickly becoming one of America's top touring comedians.
Festival Finale
Theatre 99
The hottest ticket in the festival! This two-hour extravaganza is a sample platter of many of the festival shows and artists. Get your tickets now before they sell out.
Gilson Lubin, Andy Haynes and J. Reid
The American Theater
Gilson Lubin (Canada)
Do not ask him where St. Lucia is or why he moved from a tropical paradise to the cold winters of Canada. This St. Lucian born comedian has a style of his own. Don't let the laid-back Caribbean flow mislead you into thinking the comedian -- hailed as possibly Canada's next big contribution to comedy -- can't sling one-liners and punchlines with the best of them. Gilson's biggest strength is his versatility on stage. The Canadian Comedy award winner has appeared on HBO's Def Jam and Comedy Centrals Premium Blend.
Andy Haynes (NYC)
Andy Haynes was born in the shadows of Mt. Rainier in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, raised on salmon and caffeine. He now lives in New York City, where he works as comedian, writer, and mover. He's bummed about that last part too. One part camp counselor, one part debate team captain, he's bringing his immature take on serious issue to audiences around the English speaking world. With recent performances on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show, and at the New Faces showcase at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival, Andy is a must-see performer.
J. Reid (Las Vegas)
A regular at comedy clubs in Las Vegas, J.Reid is by far one of the hardest working comedians today. With his witty style and his funny impressions, he captures audiences and brings them into his world. His style of comedy is really something special. He can also be seen in the Kevin Spacey film 21.
Improv Marathon: Local 154, Doppelganger and Senior PGA
Stars at The American TheaterStars at The American Theater
Local 154 (NYC)
Local 154 is a house-team-slash-labor-union from the People's Improv Theater in New York. They perform their take on the traditional Harold every week at the PIT's Super Free Wednesdays, and they've hosted their own show, The Helmets and Hardhats Variety Hour, at venues across NYC. They've performed at festivals all around the country, like the Del Close Marathon, Sketchprov 2010, and the Boston Improv Festival.
Doppelganger (NYC)
Doppelganger is a group of funny ladies who do comedy stuffs in NYC. You've probably confused one member for the other ... or the other, but we're all very different. But we do the same stuff, and have the same energy, and perform in the same group. Doppelganger will do a 30-minute organic montage that will organically make you orgasm (organically).
Senior PGA (Raleigh)
Zach Ward and Jeremy McDonald improvised together in the late 90s and after a decade of separation (one hit Chicago and the other hit the beach) they are reconnected on stage and it's a hit. Zach and Jeremy grab an mp3 player from the crowd, click the most recently played tracks, and let the audience randomly select a song. After a minute or two, they improvise an absurd world of characters all inspired by the music. "Senior PGA sustained a packed house with continuous, unexhausted laughter... delivering successful joke after successful joke." --Daily Tar Heel
Improv Marathon: The Historical Fiction, Bastian and We're From Here
Stars at The American TheaterStars at The American Theater
The Historical Fiction (Atlanta)
Dad's Garage Theatre Company (Atlanta, GA) returns to the Charleston Comedy Festival with a show you'll call Edufuntertainmaniacation (only don't call it that cause they trademarked the hell out of it, and they will sue you). What if Neil Armstrong was a hitchhiker that Buzz Aldrin and John Glenn picked up on the side of the road as they raced to make the shuttle launch? Or if it was George Washington's son and his friends that crossed the Delaware after getting in a fight with his old man and stealing the keys to his boat? In just under 25 minutes time, they will teach you what the teachers in school were afraid to ... shit that was totally made up.
Bastian (NYC)
Bastian is the longest-running Harold team at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Performing to sold-out crowds every week in New York, Bastian appeals to both long-form improv fans and "normals" alike. This show will change your life.
We're From Here (Toronto)
Where's "here?" Wherever you want it to be. Based on the suggestion of a single location, We're From Here transforms the stage into an exploration of people and places, both far away and in your own backyard. We're from Here is actually coming to Charleston from Toronto, Ontario.
Moral Fixation and Human Fireworks
Theatre 99
Moral Fixation (Charleston)
Moral Fixation is a two-man long-form improv show birthed from the fertile loins of Lee Lewis and Greg Tavares. They take one audience member suggestion and through personal revelation and virtuoso scenework weave an intricate tapestry of artistic deliciousness. It's improv at the speed of brilliance! The perfect show for those who like their comedy a little on the meaty side.
Human Fireworks (Charleston)
Human Fireworks is Charleston's only group performing the longform improv style known as The Harold. Every show begins with a warning that "it's about to get weird," and they deliver. Combining abstract movement and sound with inspired scene work, the six-person team creates a unique hilarious experience that stretches the boundaries of an improv show.
Murderfist and Tarot Lounge
Theatre 99Theatre 99
Murderfist (NYC)
Murderfist is a journey to the extreme horizon of your mind-ocean.
Winston-Salems, a couple of old chubbies, a horse with a banana in it's
mouth, a man dressed up like a doctor, some Peppercorn schnapps and
Monster Mash playing on repeat, Murderfist is going to get loud and get
weird and this show may just help the pain of being alive. Winner of the
2010 ECNY Award for Best Sketch Comedy Group and named by the Village Voice as
the "Best Sketch Comedy Group in New York." "[MURDERFIST] is the only
group that has attempted to bring me back to life!" --Peter Briggard
Mayonnaise, inventor of mayonnaise. Very Rated R. Not for kids or
uptight people.
Tarot Lounge (Las Vegas)
Las Vegas Improviser/ Host Matt Donnelly reunites some of the best improvisers from around the country to perform a half-hour improv set based solely on a not-so-psychic Tarot Card reading of an audience member. The audience's fortune is Tarot Lounge's comedic fodder in this no-holds-barred super fun improv set. This is the second year in a row the show is appearing after a very well received debut in 2010.
Nate Bargatze, Dave and Ethan, and Tom Keller
Charleston Pour House
Nate Bargatze (NYC)
Nate grew up watching his father, a world-class magician, and decided to follow his footsteps in the entertainment business. Since making his television debut on CMT Comedy Stage in 2007, he has appeared twice on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, performed on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham and at the 2008 Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, receiving critical acclaim in the Hollywood Reporter. Nate just taped his own Comedy Central half-hour special for 2011. He recently won "New York's Funniest" from the New York Comedy Festival and won the Boston Comedy Festival competition in 2010. He's performed three times for the troops in Baghdad. He continues to keep the momentum going with his laid-back style, working every night in New York City comedy clubs when he is not on the road.
Dave and Ethan (NYC)
Using an ad on YouTube, best friends Dave and Ethan invited pairs of women to double date them. Now, 200 dates later, their experiences have been translated into reenactments, educational songs, and valuable lessons in everything from dancing to kissing, in an attempt to enlighten their audiences on the art of romance.
Video: Using Accents to Pick Up Girls
Tom Keller (Raleigh)
Winner of the Carolina's Funniest Comic title in 2010, Tom has been a featured performer at the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival, the Laugh Detroit Comedy Festival, and the Laughing Skull Festival in Atlanta. He is a proud ensemble member at the DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro, N.C.
Nate Bargatze, The Shock T's and The Village Theatre (Thursday Only)
Charleston Ballet Theatre
Nate Bargatze (NYC)
Nate grew up watching his father, a world-class magician, and decided to follow his footsteps in the entertainment business. Since making his television debut on CMT Comedy Stage in 2007, he has appeared twice on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, performed on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham and at the 2008 Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, receiving critical acclaim in the Hollywood Reporter. Nate just taped his own Comedy Central half-hour special for 2011. He recently won "New York's Funniest" from the New York Comedy Festival and won the Boston Comedy Festival competition in 2010. He's performed three times for the troops in Baghdad. He continues to keep the momentum going with his laid-back style, working every night in New York City comedy clubs when he is not on the road.
The Shock T's (Chicago)
The Shock T's are a trio of musical comedians from Chicago who write and perform all their own material and have been together just over a year. The three met after graduating from Second City's Conservatory and now perform anywhere they can, from bars to theaters, presenting their own take on musical comedy.
The Village Theatre: Tag Journey (Atlanta)
Come along with these brash guys and gals from the ATL as they take you on an improvised adventure known as the "Tag-Out Journey." A one word suggestion is all it takes and these actors will use there improv powers and barbecue sauce to deliver outlandish characters and an ever expanding storyline.
/div>Neckprov and Hot Pants
Theatre 99
Neckprov (Charleston)
Come join Skeeter, Wild Man, Jackson, Carlene, R.L., Ray Ray and Chevron for an evening for rednecks and those who are curious about rednecks. This long-form show weaves a tapestry of stereotypical redneck situations and not-so-stereotypical situations into a gut-busting show that will have you waving the stars and stripes and yelling "Free Bird." What if rednecks were at the signing of the Declaration of Independence? What if they were the brains behind such great inventions as the telescope, duck pate or the atom bomb? Come find out! Someone is gonna burn down their trailer house trying to deep-fry some roadkill. It's all improv based on your suggestions. Rednecks don't write scripts.
Hot Pants (Charleston)
Get fired up with Theatre 99 co-founder Brandy Sullivan and Theatre 99 veteran performer Jennifer Buddin as they let it all hang out in the two-woman, comedy improv show Hot Pants! Based on audience suggestions, the ladies explore different characters, relationships, and situations that'll have your pants on fire, too!
New Exc!Tement and Disco Balls: Into The Light (The Quest To Be Fabulous Balls)
Theatre 99Theatre 99
New Exc!tement (NYC)
New Exc!tement creates sketch comedy that is "relentlessly physical" and "exists in a Pythonesque alternate reality" (Chicago Tribune). Formed in New York City in 2008, Mary, Matt, Randy, Chris, and Chris have backgrounds in improvisation (Second City Chicago, Upright Citizens Brigade, The People's Improv Theatre) clown (Kill Me Loudly), and television writing and performance (NBC, Comedy Central). New Exc!tement recently performed at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and received an ECNY nomination for Best Sketch Team in New York City 2010. Their innovative comedy celebrates the messiness of life and their shows have been described as The Marx Brothers meet Saturday Night Live.
"Live-action Looney Tunes" —The Chicago Tribune
"This is Buster Keaton, not Dennis Miller" —The Eye, Toronto
"Tone-perfect performances; go see them." —IFC.com
Disco Balls: Into the Laight (The Quest to be Fabulousballs) (NYC)
In 1998, at the age of 18, Glennis McMurray moved 3,000 miles across the country from Durango, Colo., to NYC. Armed with $100, five outfits, and some huge balls, Glennis vowed to make it big time. Written by and starring Glennis McMurray (I Eat Pandas), directed by Kate Tellers, music by SNL's Katreese Barnes (Emmy-winning composer of D*ck in a Box) and music production by Tyler Walker.
Nobody's Token and Beatbox
Charleston Ballet Theatre
Nobody's Token (NYC)
From the people who brought you The Cosby Show, I mean, the people who were brought up watching The Cosby Show, we present: Nobody's Token. Based on your suggestions, the best improvisers in New York bring you a television show you've never seen before: a live, improvised sitcom. You'll scream with laughter as they bring the funny out of your TV and put it in your face. Out-of-control situations, hilarious characters, and surprising plot twists will keep you chuckling all the way home after a Nobody's Token show.
BeatBox (Chicago)
Chicago's funniest hip-hop comedy crew. Scenes are cut, mixed and transformed by a human beatbox and some of the most acclaimed improvisers in the country. BeatBox opens with a freestyle off a single suggestion, features improv comedy scenes, battle raps, scratches, and ends in a one-night-only rap jam inspired by the world of characters from that show. Named "Chicago's Top 5 Late-Night Shows" by the Chicago Tribune and hailed as "Critic's Choice" by the Chicago Reader, BeatBox has played festivals and theaters all over North America. New York, North Carolina, Minneapolis, Austin, Philadelphia, and Toronto.
Robot Johnson, Introducing Fish Taco, and This Is Chucktown (Fri) And Stand Up Get Down (Sat)
South of Broadway TheatreSouth of Broadway Theatre
Robot Johnson (Charlotte)
Robot Johnson is Charlotte's premier sketch comedy troupe, giving the Queen City good humor by bad people. The cast is a varied mix of writers and performers that have excelled as stand-up comedians, improv performers, playwrights, directors, and actors. The winners of the 2010 Charlotte Magazine Best of the Best Award for Best Sketch Comedy. And they're the only sketch comedy troupe to win a Metrolina Theatre Award. Robot Johnson performs at venues across the Carolinas.
Introducing Fish Taco (Charleston)
Loved by women, envied by men, and feared by all, Introducing Fish Taco is an acoustic-improv-theatric-comedy-ballad-duo whose relentless grip on the delicate intricacies of passion and comedy will leave you quite literally flabbergasted. After making their debut on the corner of King and Calhoun Streets when Millennium Music was still a thing, IFT has been blowing Charlestonian minds and stealing Charlestonian hearts for over five years now. To call it music, comedy, or even just strangely interesting would be selling the boys short. One thing is certain, after experiencing them, you won't quite be the same again.
This is Chucktown (Friday only) (Charleston)
This is Chucktown is a collection of the best local comics who have combined forces to present the greatest comedy the world has ever produced. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll laugh at other people crying.
Stand Up Getdown (Saturday only) (Charleston)
The Stand Up Get Down Comedy Dance Party is the most fun stand up comedy show in Charleston and possibly the world. This show features Charleston's hottest stand up comedians as well as regional up-and-coming comedians, all joining forces for one purpose... to make you laugh. The Stand Up Get Down has been entertaining Charleston audiences for over a year. Its part comedy show, part game show, but ALL fun!
Somebody's In The Doghouse: Cruisin' For a Bruisin' and Long Pork
Charleston Ballet TheatreCharleston Ballet Theatre
Somebody's in the Doghouse: Cruisin' for a Bruisin' (Chicago)
Leah and Marty spent four months working as professional sea comedians. Part salacious travelogue, part sketch show, the ladies of Somebody's in the Doghouse set sail into a world where the booze starts flowing at 9 a.m., mullets and sequined gowns are de rigueur, and if you don't watch your back, you might end up pregnant. The two have performed their show at The Friars Club Improv & Sketch Competition NYC, Chicago Sketchfest, San Francisco Sketchfest, and the Women in Comedy Festival, and in these theaters: UCB NY ("Spank") and The PIT, NYC and Improv Asylum, Boston and The Playground Theater, Chicago.
Long Pork (Chicago)
Long Pork represent the best of sophisticated low-brow humor that Chicago has to offer. They say yes to every idea, no matter how crazy, and branch out from there, creating a fast-paced Looney Tunes inspired show. "Like early Kids in the Hall, these are some weird, talented dudes," says Ryan Hubbard of the Chicago Reader.
The Screw You Revue Starring Wayburn Sassy and The Pushers
The American TheaterThe American Theater
The Screw You Revue starring
Wayburn Sassy
(Florida)Entertainment Legend Wayburn Sassy loves South Carolina. In his opinion, it's "where they do bigotry best." He and his suspiciously statuesque girlfriend, Miss Didi Panache, bring their shocking show to the Charleston Comedy Festival. The Deep South might never recover from its first dose of this show, which has been called a "raucous romp in the tradition of Don Rickles and Lisa Lampanelli." The Screw You Revue is part improv, part cabaret. But it's all offensive.
The Pushers (Va. Beach/NYC)
Looking for some safe, stuffy, high-brow comedy? Then you've come to the wrong place. The Pushers put on a racy, high-octane, energetic show. Think a wild and raunchy Saturday Night Live... only funny and with no boring musical interruptions from aging rock stars or bands no one has ever heard of. No subject or taboo is safe from being laughed with... or at. With that in mind... their show is not for the easily offended.
Todd Barry
Footlight Players TheatreFootlight Players Theatre
You may have seen Todd as Mickey Rourke's mean boss in The Wrestler, as the annoying bongo player on HBO's Flight of the Conchords, or in roles on Sex and the City, The Larry Sanders Show, Louie, Delocated, Chappelle's Show, The Sarah Silverman Program, Pootie Tang, Bored to Death, and Road Trip. In 2003, he was named Entertainment Weekly's "It Standup." He's performed on Letterman, Conan, and in two of his own Comedy Central Presents specials. You can also hear his voice on many cartoons, including Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Home Movies, Squidbillies, Hey Monie, Freak Show, and Lucy, The Daughter of the Devil.
