Categories: Local & Entertainment; Literature & Arts

The Cheap Laughs In New York

By mattfriedinNY
updated 3 months ago

Improv and sketch comedy landed in New York in 1996 via four upstarts from Chicago who opened The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. In 2002, Second City alum Ali Farahnakian started The Peoples Improv Theater to give breadth to the community. Following Ali's lead, Armando Diaz opened The Magnet Theater in 2005. Today, all three institutions continue the legacy of comedy guru Del Close, who trained The UCB Four, Farahnakian, and Diaz, along with Tina Fey, Mike Myers, John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Gilda Radnor, among others. Twelve years later, these theaters produce the best improv and sketch comedy New York has ever seen. And the best part? You can see these shows for as little at $5.00 or FREE, in some cases.

Upright Citizens Brigade Theater

307 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001

Started in 1996 by Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts, UCBT was the first theater in New York dedicated to the longform improv teachings of Del Close. Before the success of their Comedy Central sketch show, The UCB Four began their school, teaching a curriculum based around The Harold, Close’s signature theater piece. To this day, you can catch the best talent of UCBT performing the Harold at Harold Night on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. Between the $5 tickets and the $2 and $3 beers, consider it one of the best cheap dates in the city.

People's Improv Theater

154 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001

In 2002, Close’s protege – and writer for Saturday Night Live – Ali Farahnakian opened The Peoples Improv Theater (The PIT). The PIT has since become a mainstay for homegrown talent like Kirsten Schaal (Flight of The Conchords) and Kevin Allison and Michael Showalter of the MTV sketch show The State. Check out Super Free Wednesday on Wednesdays, starting at 6:00 p.m. The PIT improv teams take the stage all night with four FREE shows at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, and at 9:30 with Farahnakian stepping out to perform with the theater’s flagship group, The Faculty. Get there early, passes go quickly!

Magnet Theatre

254 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001

Armando Diaz started The Magnet Theater in 2005 with the mission of bringing improv back to its slower, nuanced roots. Since then, The Magnet has hosted a slew of shows that have garnered critical praise around the city. If you’re free on a Saturday, go see The Tiny Spectacular at 7:30 p.m. featuring the theater’s faculty, performers, and a few surprise guests. At $5 a ticket, wouldn’t it be cool to brag to your friends that you got to see Mike Myers play an old-timey newspaper magnate with a penchant for old Cuban women? I know I did.

Peter McManus Cafe

152 7th Ave Frnt, New York, NY 10011

Before UCBT moved to its present location on 26th Street, it was a bit deeper into Chelsea on 23rd Street – not far from Peter McManus Cafe. In the theater’s early days, teachers, performers, and students would congregate there after shows to talk and swoon comedy. Today, performers and students alike still make the hike to grab an aftershow beer and burger. Don’t be surprised if you see Will Ferrell there on a Saturday – he’s known to drop-in when in town.

Mustang Sally's Saloon

324 7th Ave, New York, NY 10001

The official watering hole of The PIT and The Magnet. After any show, the performers stop by to talk shop over a drink. Any given Wednesday, Ali holds court to any fan or well-wisher. Order up something from the tap and ask him for a good Del Close story – you’ll be there ‘til four in the morning. Believe me though: you won’t regret it.

Gristedes

307 W 26TH ST NEW YORK, NY 10001

If you really want to impress some folks with your steadfast need to see comedy, bring a large group to UCBT, stake out a place in line, step inside New York’s favorite imported supermarket, and come back with a rotisserie chicken for your whole crew. That’s dedication.

Longform Improvisation (a brief history)

The roots of longform began at The Second City in Chicago, a theater company whose main focus was comedy. Among the theater’s early ensembles, Del Close emerged with a vibrant passion for improvisation. At the time, Second City used improv as a tool to create sketch comedy – Close took the controversial stance that improv could exist as a form of stand-alone theater. After several creative differences, Close and Second City parted ways permanently by the 1980s. Around that same time, he was approached by Charna Halpern to reinvent her company, The ImprovOlympic. Close’s theories were put into practice and by the 1990s, longform improvisation had been perfected into The Harold, a 30 minute stand-alone comedic piece that tells three interconnected, non-linear stories. Since Close’s death in 1999, The Harold has been reshaped and innovated, yet it is Close’s model that is still used today to train new generations of comic performers in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

The Silk Road of Comedy

Prior to the arrival of The UCB Four in New York, an improv and sketch scene in New York was non-existent. They brought with them a collective education that performers previously would have had to move to Chicago to learn. Improv Comedy is theater with no script – nothing is premeditated or prepared. Del Close innovated an art form will full plays are performed with only a suggestion from the audience. Sketch Comedy, on the other hand, is a series of comedic scenes that are scripted and rehearsed. Both forms are widely celebrated and respected at all three New York theaters.

You? Improviser?

Comedy is not meant to just be watched, try it – you never know what you may find. If you have any doubt or fear, here’s a quick “Yes or No” survey. If you say “Yes” to any of these, guess what? You may want to try an improv class.

1. Are you a human being?

2. Are you a nerd?

3. Do you like to laugh?

4. Does making people laugh ease the pain of your existence?

5. Are you of any country recognized by the United Nations?

6. Do you have a hard time meeting girls?

7. Do you not have a hard time meeting girls, but when you do meet them, is it hard to not talk about Star Wars, comic books, punk rock, or not sweat profusely?

8. Often, do you think “What if…?” more than “Remember when…”?

9. Is it easy to say “Yes?”

10. Does Iron Man not look awesome?