It's always sad when news gets around that a beloved independent arts venue has to close its doors in some fashion or another. Enter The Tank on 279 Church street in Tribeca. Due to several building violations which include bad pipes and that always pesky one, an asshole owner, The Tank is being forced to move out of their current location by the end of the month.

The Tank is a non-profit venue that has been a haven for creative performing artists in the independent community around New York for three years. They pretty much host every form of performance art you can think of. As of July 31st, however, they will be relocating to a temporary space until they get their feet back on the ground for 2009 (hopefully).

From the press release:

After we lost our original home on 42nd Street, it wasn't clear if we'd survive the transition. But we've been on Church Street longer than we were on 42nd and "we not only survived, we expanded," explained Founder and Managing Director Mike Rosenthal, who has curated two of The Tank's most successful offerings: the annual Bent Festival of experimental music and Blip Festival of Game Boy generated music. "It's a shame to move so suddenly after all the work we've put into this space, but we need to feel our artists and audience are coming to a welcoming, healthy setting and we're going to make that true.

A home for theater, dance, mixed media, music, comedy, film, community events and public discussions, The Tank presents 300 events a year, welcoming over 10,000 audience members at capped, affordable ticket prices. Additionally, The Tank does not charge performers or presenters, making it a unique spot in Manhattan where artists can take risks without the prohibitive financial burden of most venues.

Now, it sounds like they're performing another one of their routine moves, but I think many of us who love venues like these are cringing just a little bit inside. Many realize that anytime a cash-strapped independent has to do something like this, there's a chance they might have to close their doors for good. It's hard for places like this to thrive, let alone survive in pricey New York (that's not even counting non-profits like The Tank). Granted, their Tribeca building was not up to snuff, but hopefully they can find a great place to set up shop soon and keep churning out the goodness (while never faking the funk).

You can go to their site and donate, or if you have any tips to provide them with so they can find a new home, they'd appreciate that as well.  And wherever they might wind up, support them by showing up and having a good time.  After all, They can only exist with your (our) help!

I went to high school with this feller, and word around the hometown campfire is that he'll be making his way to New York in the not too distant future. Of particular interest is his "A Joke Every Day" project, which is exactly what it sounds like. Beyond telling some funny jokes, I really dig his mission statement:

A Joke Every Day is a project focused on productivity and process. Every day I put up a joke, usually one that has been written within the past week, if possible that day - occasionally I'll put up an older joke, but I try to keep that to a minimum. In my opinion some are awesome, some are ok, and some just get me through the day. It's really about experimenting and process. I hope you enjoy it.

Judging from that attitude and this video, I think he'll do just fine:

Generating its fair share of controversy in comedy circles of late is the recently concluded SkitSkat Comedy Showdown and Awards.  A recent addition to the city's comedy festival circuit, the principal objection to SkitSkat is its venue: the Broadway Comedy Club, one of the old-school New York stand-up venues that is trying to capitalize on the booming sketch and improv scene.  At issue is the cost: $15 to get in, plus a two drink minimum.  Minimal poking around the site also reveals that the "awards" are somewhat dubious: 

Nominated troupes whom [sic] are selected to perform at the awards show on June 21st will receive heavier marketing campaigns throughout the festival as well as have their performances broadcast live on the jumbotron in the heart of Times Square.  The winners will be able to promote upcoming shows, videos, and website presence, a cash value of over $20,000.

On the matter of cost; SkitSkat has clearly not done their homework here.  One of the principal reasons for the thriving improv and sketch comedy scene is the affordability of the shows.  You can see the top performers in the industry on a weekly basis at the UCB, PIT, and Magnet theaters for between $5-8, and drinks, though available for very cheap prices, are completely optional.  Since the core of the audience at these theaters is comedy enthusiasts and their peers, you're talking about a demographic group that is going to balk at paying around $30 (after drinks, tax, and tip) for a half-hour comedy show.  

As for the "awards," there are plenty of problems with the structure proposed by the festival organizers.  For one thing, the only people who wander past the Spotlight jumbotron are tourists, not comedy fans, and when they do look up at it, they're looking to see other tourists making fools of themselves singing karaoke.  In the unlikely event that a tourist did bother to stop, pull out a pen and paper, and jot down a comedy group's website, that's not going to do much to help a New York-based comedy group build an audience, and it's hardly worth $20,000.  I assume this figure comes from the cost of buying advertising on the jumbotron, but buzz around comedy groups in the city doesn't come from giant neon ads in Times Square, it comes from word-of-mouth and artistic respect around the community.  From where I'm sitting, SkitSkat isn't offering much to that community with this festival, and isn't showing it much respect with its blatant attempt to exploit it, either. 

Here's a new video by one of the UCB's many hilarious performers, Ms. Glennis McMurray. I met Glennis once in a diner, which she probably does not remember, but she's been around the theater for several years in a variety of shows. Among her current projects is the ECNY Award-winning I Eat Pandas, a fully improvised musical comedy show, which recently came highly recommended by a fellow performer. Enjoy, and have an excellent weekend!

A harrowing piece up on BlogStage today about the dangers independent actors face going on auditions.  It's a scary and also fascinating exploration of the notion of instinct, and how we all learn to draw the line between ambition and self-respect.  The most provocative passage:

As a new actor fresh out of college, I told myself that I would go to every audition offered to me. When I got a call to audition for a nonunion film at the director's house way out in Brooklyn, I stapled my headshot and résumé and pulled out my subway map. Did I have reservations? Certainly. I Googled the director and found that he had attained distribution for another film. I also noted that the film appeared to involve a lot of vampires running around very scantily clad. I was wary, but the vampire film was out on DVD. I wanted to be on DVD. So I went to the audition, and upon minutes of reading the very poorly spelled sides, I was informed that they would like to offer me a part, but only if I went into another room -- a bedroom, no less -- with the director and stripped topless in front of the camera. I declined. If I had trusted my instincts, I never would have shown up in the first place.

It's a scenario countless actors have found themselves in, and females in particular, who already have to deal with demeaning writing much of the time, even when the director isn't trying to sleep with them.  I'm curious as to whether any New Roots readers have had similar experiences, be they hilarious, frightening, or somewhere in between.  It's a dilemma that is particular to our profession, which requires profound emotional availability and sacrifice, and thereby makes us ripe for exploitation by the unscrupulous.   

Tonight at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, SportsCenter's Kenny Mayne reads from his new book, An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport. I spent countless hours watching Kenny Mayne and his other mid-90's SC counterparts (Keith Olbermann! Remember? Isn't that crazy?) riffing hilariously on sports scores in the pre-middle school hours. Judging from this blurb about the book, it would seem his trademark dry wit is still sharp as ever:

Painstakingly faithful to its title, Kenny Mayne’s book is neither complete nor is it particularly accurate. Ostensibly an A-to-Z encyclopedia of all known sports, many sports are never mentioned. There’s not a word about rugby, volleyball, Roller Derby, swimming, or (shockingly) Basque pelota or shinty. There is a chapter about sliding, but none about skiing. Competitive eating and rhythmic gymnastics will have to wait for another book. However, there are roughly eight chapters about tackle football—“the greatest sport in the world, and everyone knows it”—and a good four or five about horse racing, so quit complaining before you’ve even read the book. There will be plenty of time for complaining after you’ve finished it (about an hour from now—tops).

You can see Mayne read from the book for only $5. He's appearing with Hot Lather's As the Diamond Burns: An Improvised Soap Opera, which looks pretty hilarious as well.

Today's post is penned by Ben Masten, a performer we've cited here previously. You can see his work at various comedy venues around the city, but in particular at the PIT, about which we're privileged to have his input today. --SD

The People’s Improv Theater (which has been featured on the blog a few times before) occupies an interesting niche in the NYC improv and sketch scenes. It’s a smaller and younger theater than UCB, which means it tends to fly somewhat under the radar among people who aren’t comedy geeks. The geeks themselves, however, have always supported the theater in force.

Over the past several years, the PIT has been able to attract solid audiences while slowly building a critical mass of skilled performers and students who use the theater as a relatively pressure-free environment to learn and grow. Now some industry folks have begun to take notice.

A couple weeks ago, The PIT announced that NBC has partnered with the theater to offer a diversity scholarship that will pay for the entire slate of PIT improv classes for two lucky female students or students of color. Here’s the press release:

NBC Universal and The PIT Partner in Diversity Scholarship

May 2, 2008: As part of their new Talent Diversity Initiative, NBC Universal is proud to announce its Improv Scholarship Program in partnership with The Peoples Improv Theater (The PIT) in New York City to support and promote diversity within the arts.

NBC Universal and The PIT will each sponsor one student for The PIT’s entire year-long improv program, which takes students from Level 1 to Level 5, and is taught by some of comedy’s newest and greatest talents including Kurt Braunohler, Ptolemy Slocum, Rebekka Johnson and Ali Farahnakian.

“NBC is proud to join with the The PIT in sponsoring this vital scholarship that will encourage new voices within the minority community to learn valuable skills under the guidance of such an excellent program,” said Marc Hirschfeld, Executive Vice President, Casting, NBC Universal Television. “This involvement underscores NBC Universal’s continuing commitment to promote diversity.”

“I love the idea of working with NBC, it is the channel I grew up with,” said Ali Farahnakian, the owner and founder of The PIT, and former SNL writer. “To me NBC is television and the best it has to offer. To be in partnership with them in any way is an honor.”

“I am thrilled and honored that NBC has offered to sponsor a new and improved Improv Scholarship program here,” said Katie Goan, Managing Director of The PIT. “It’s exciting that more students will now be able to experience the joys of improv due to this promising partnership.”

All performers, particularly talented women and people of color with a strong desire to study improv, are eligible to apply. The candidate will submit an official Improv Scholarship application along with a five-minute DVD in which the candidate explains why he or she should be chosen and performs an original comedic work. The two scholarship recipients will be selected by The PIT and NBC Universal executives, and awarded in September.

Scholarship Details:

• Full ride scholarship to study improvisation in The PIT’s one-year improv school for two students, Levels 1-5.

• SUBMISSION WINDOW OPENS: May 1, 2008 (All submissions must be received by August 1, 2008 by 5:00p EST to be considered.)

• Submission packet must include application, performance resume and a five-minute DVD.

• Scholarship awarded in September by The PIT and NBC Executives.

The NBC Talent Diversity Initiative was created to promote on-camera diversity through community involvement and development, showcasing non-traditional casting choices and creating programs to raise awareness at NBC Universal and within the entire entertainment community. This initiative is part of NBC Universal’s ongoing commitment to diversity, both on and off camera.

The Peoples Improv Theater (The PIT) is dedicated to the instruction, performance, and development of original comedy. The PIT strives to entertain and educate the community about the comedic arts in a safe and nurturing environment. The PIT is composed of four elements: a school that focuses on the craft of improvisation, an eclectic variety of electives and an unparalleled professional writing program; a theater that presents original comedy six nights a week; a video production company focused on producing comedy series for the Internet; and a corporate and educational workshop program that offers team building, leadership and business training.

You can check out application info for the scholarship here.

Aside from the obvious benefit of promoting diversity in comedy, it’s great to see the hard work of all the people at this fast-growing theater get some recognition from the industry powers that be. With any luck, we’ll all see some PIT-developed talent stepping into the spotlight in the not too distant future.

Don't miss ROFL at Piano's this Monday night. The slate features hilarious stand-up comedians and excellent live bands coming together for an evening of chuckles and grooves co-sponsored by Brooklyn Vegan (another excellent resource for comedy junkies in NYC), and you can enter to win free tickets from The Apiary. Here's a video preview of one of the performers doing a set on Conan O'Brian.

Here's my interview with Teresa Bass, Artistic Director of the PIT. She discusses the spirit of community and exploration for which the theater enjoys an excellent reputation, and explains exactly what constitutes a "PITizen." Enjoy!

The Times review of When Is A Clock is up!

This dizzy life of ours...

It's Super Free Wednesday at the PIT!

And just when you thought you'd heard a certain Simon and Garfunkel song too many times...THIS HAPPENED:

Keep it tuned to New Roots next week for exclusive interviews with Jon Stancato, Co-Artistic Director of the Stolen Chair Theatre Company, and Teresa Bass, Artistic Director of the People's Improv Theater!

And while you're waiting, why not check out some of the exciting shows at the Magnet Theater this weekend? Look for electric performances from Tara Copeland and Jason Mantzoukas in particular in The Tiny Spectacular, one of the Magnet's premiere shows. Having performed for many years at UCB with Mother, Copeland and Mantzoukas are the kind of dextrous, hilarious, and singularly weird performers that make the New York scene so unique.

See you next week!

If you believe their story, the members of Pangea 3000 foresaw the end of the world many years in advance, fled in a hot air balloon, and have now returned to this strange new world--which they have dubbed "Pangea 3000"--to explore and report on their findings.

If that doesn't make you want to check out their upcoming run at the UCB, perhaps you should peruse the ad copy they've prepared for the show, which is equally hilarious:

Hey, have you ever heard of this band called The Beatles? I think you in particular would really enjoy them. We'll make you a mix tape if you want. Oh! And if you like The Beatles, you're really going to like this sketch comedy group, Pangea 3000. They're pretty similar. They both have four or more members, and are from England or America. Both groups have either performed on The Ed Sullivan Show or at the Toronto and San Francisco Sketch Fests as well as the New York and D.C. Comedy Festivals. Members of both groups are either known as writers of timeless hit songs or as writers for The Onion, the Onion News Network, and McSweeney's. Only one of these two groups will be performing at the UCB!

Unless I have missed a major news item, the group performing at UCB is Pangea 3000, and you should be sure to check them out. Don't be disappointed that it's not the Beatles performing; I've got a new favorite music group for you. Here's the Brain Bustin' Beat Boyz...

Keith Huang at Improv Is Good For You frequently shares photos from various improv shows around the city, and here's a batch from a recent Vacation Island show. I like 'em because you can't tell if the performers are laughing in or out of character, which is always part of the vibe with Vacation Island.

Anthony King, the Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York, was gracious enough to sit down with me recently to discuss his work and that of the theater in creating the most innovative and vibrant comedy New York has to offer.

Our conversation ranged from the basic philosophies of improvisation to UCB's particular emphasis on the notion of "game," and King also discusses the influence of the theater's founding members (Matt Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, and Amy Poehler), whose TV series ran for 3 seasons on Comedy Central and crystallized the theater's intriguing "Don't Think" mentality. King also acknowledges the complicated legacy of Del Close, asserting that he was first and foremost an artistic experimenter...an ethos the theater continues to live by.

Enjoy!

The most recent addition to the New York City improv scene is the Magnet Theater, founded in 2005 by former UCB-affiliate Armando Diaz. Diaz's notoriety around the comedy community has helped establish the theater's reputation quickly, and such luminaries as Mike Myers have been known to drop in from time to time. Myers in fact used the Magnet as a workshop for his character in The Love Guru, performing a show called Guru Pitka at the theater back in April of 2007.

Like Harold Night at UCB and Free Wednesdays at the PIT, the Magnet takes a couple nights out of every week to showcase its signature performers. The show is called Megawatt, and you can catch it tonight at 8:30. Alexis Saarela, who we've featured here before, can be seen with The Yes Andersens, along with a gaggle of other talented comedians.

The Magnet is also notable for the interesting design of the performance hall. There is no "backstage," the performers sit to the right of the stage, in full view of the audience, creating a familiar and convivial ambiance which the performers carry into their work. The result is a sensation of collective play, removing the element of tension and expectation so prevalent at other comedy venues. See for yourself tonight!

Here's a video of Megawatt performer Louie Pearlman playing Macy Gray's I Try on the ukulele:

Relentlessly ridiculous, Elephant Larry has been bringing houses down around New York City (and beyond) for several years now. One of its members, Alex Zalben, served for a time as the Artistic Director of the PIT, and is now seen there regularly as a part of Comic Book Club. They recently picked up an ECNY Award for their uproarious trailer for the film adaptation of Minesweeper.

Here's one of their many memorable sketches, "Sittin' on a Bear." Be sure to check out Comic Book Club, and check out the Elephant Larry website for your next opportunity to chuckle with them live.

Comedy enthusiasts seeking an evening of solid stand-up are too often relegated to the bleak realities of paying through the nose to go to Caroline's, or suffering through a cringe-inducing open-mic that a bellowing huckster in Times Square has bullied them into attending.

Thankfully, a high-quality middle ground exists.  The Lower East Side in particular is dotted with oddball clubs that charge a low cover and feature exquisite stand-up talents on a weekly basis.  

The Slipper Room is one such club.  Though its trademark is burlesque shows, Tuesday nights are reserved for Sweet, Seth Herzog's weekly stand-up/variety revue.  Admission is cheap ($5), there's tons of seats, and such luminaries as Michael Showalter (and his mom!) are regular performers. 

(image from www.slipperroom.com) 

Here's a video from Sid Viscous, one of the house teams at the PIT that you can watch for free every Wednesday night. It comes via Ben Masten, a member of Vacation Island, another of the PIT's house teams and one of New Roots' principal sources for comedic scoops.

Also, stay tuned to New Roots for one of our first-ever interviews! I'll be interviewing Anthony King of the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater on Thursday and posting the video as quickly as possible thereafter.

Continuing our discussion of reason vs. impulse in the arts, here's some audio of David Strathairn being interviewed by Leonard Lopate on WNYC about his work as Cassius in Conversations in Tusculum, currently running at the Public Theater. His reflections on finding a personal window into a character from a well-documented and fairly reified historical period are fascinating, and he discusses the value of "intangibles" as "grist for the mill."

Here's a link to the article Lopate references about plays with characters that never appear on stage.

Also, just a reminder that The Apple Sisters' five-week run at the PIT starts tonight! 

It's Harold Night at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater, and it's yet another great deal from New York's premiere independent comedy venue: $5 gets you 5 shows, each of them the particular take of a particular team on the loosely-structured "Harold" improv show format devised by Del Close. 

I'll leave it up to you to decide whether it's more fun to watch Harold Night with or without knowing what the Harold is, but there's as much disagreement about Close's vision for what it ought to be and the shape it ought to take as there are improvisers.  My favorite  explanation for Close's intent, provided by Kevin Mullaney, is that Close was seeking a format wherein a group could begin from a randomly-generated suggestion and craft a performance which explicates and celebrates the inherent interconnection of all things.  

This is, admittedly, a conveniently vague definition, but it is precisely the reason that Harold Night is so enjoyable.  You'll watch five improv groups put their own spin on the format.  The casts and group names shift from month to month, but certain players have been around the theater for years.  Look for amazing work from Sarah Burns, Jonathan Gabrus, Ellie Kemper, Risa Sang-urai, Ben Schwartz, and Matthew DeCoster.  These performers in particular embody the versatility and intrepid exploration required to wring continued viability and excitement from the Harold structure week after week.

Rebekkah Johnson is one of the PIT's finest comedians, and she and her two co-stars Kimmy Gatewood and Sarah Lowe will be performing The Apple Sisters at the PIT on March 20th, commencing a five-week run. The show has recently traveled to sketch festivals in Chicago and Seattle, earning rave reviews, and was awarded the 2007 ECNY award for Best Musical Comedy Act (and Outstanding Achievement in Postcard or Flyer Design to boot).

I've seen Ms. Johnson several times at the PIT in improv shows with both The Faculty and Threat, and she has a prodigious talent for simultaneously deranged and endearing characters from all walks of life and history. In The Apple Sisters, she, Gatewood, and Lowe portray Cora, Candy, and Seedy Apple, stars of a variety show on WXYZ radio in 1943. Combining historical humor with irreverent ditties such as the one below, it's a wonderfully strange way to spend 30 minutes.

Suppose you are a person whose priorities for this Friday night are as follows: "Go to see a hilarious comedy show at an affordable price. If possible, there should also be cheap beer available at the performance."

Here, person, is what you should do: proceed directly to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater to see The Stepfathers. This group features Michael Delaney, one of the elder statesmen of the New York improv scene, and the combination of his meticulously realistic stylings (along with those of cast-mate Will Hines), Chris Gethard's contagious enthusiasm, and Bobby Moynihan's mastery of the bonkers non-sequitur is comedically lethal. The Stepfathers offer deliciously savage fare that frequently veers into familial territory--the original title for the show was Freckles Gets A Beating, because Gethard's characters frequently took the form of a stepchild subjected to verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his lunatic elders.

Speaking of lunacy, you can sip on some famously-cheap PBR during all UCB performances. With tix for the performance only running you $8, your choice is clear: get thee live yon Friday, peoples mine!

You'll want to be on this train, friends:

Comedienne Alexis Saarela e-mails to report that she'll be part of a new series of comedy shows at the Magnet Theater called Focus, a parody of The View. She plays a former Christian Teen Pop star, and her fellow performers will presumably play roles similarly derived from the View hosts personae. She describes the show as "like The View, only funny on purpose." Guests for the first batch of shows will include real life NYC personalities Marty Beckerman (author of Generation S.L.U.T.), Playgirl Senior Editor Jessanne Collins, and DivaDanceNYC founder Jami Stigliano.

Focus will run March 11th, 18th, and 25th at 8pm, so get there and get live, my peoples!

Mobilize yourself for one of the best deals in town tonight at the People's Improv Theater (more commonly known as "the PIT"). Every Wednesday night, all shows from 6pm until midnight are 100% gratis. The slate of performers is killer; the evening kicks off with the theater's house improv teams: The Wilhelm, Vacation Island, Fancy Dragon (named, incidentally, for a sushi dish at the place downstairs from the theater, where they'll give you a discount if you mention the PIT), Big Black Car (featuring Kristen Schaal of Flight of the Conchords and Ugly Betty), Sid Viscous, and the Baldwins. It's a gut-busting sucker punch of silliness, and the Wilhelm and Vacation Island are particularly interesting to watch, as they are the newest additions to the theater's cadre of regulars. The other groups are excellent, but each of them has a particular tone that's been honed over time, whereas the new groups are still learning each others' rhythms...right before your very eyes. It's exciting and raw in a way that most venues would shy away from.

I recommend the Faculty in particular; this group of the theater's elder statespeople is really spectacular in terms of creating improv that transcends simple "cleverness" and achieves something singular. The Faculty focus intently on character and setting, and the result is richly-layered scenes that you don't want to end. I prefer it to the similarly hilarious but frequently hyperactive fare of Assssscat 3000, Upright Citizens Brigade's roughly equivalent show featuring their veteran performers. The Faculty's scenarios play out a bit more gradually, but the gratification is intoxicating.

No less noteworthy is Wide Eyed Productions' latest assault on the classics: an updated staging of Much Ado About Nothing in the deliciously dank basement space at the Gene Frankel Theater.  I've not seen it yet, but director Kristin Skye Hoffman recently rocked houses with her Medea (also with Wide Eyed), and early reviews of Much Ado are equally glowing.

Get live, my peoples! 

(press photo for "Much Ado About Nothing" from TheaterMania)