improv comedy

Improvisers’ New Years Resolution: To Make You Laugh

If we make you laugh in 2012, we’ll have done our job. So we can do this one of two ways. Either you can come to one of our shows and enjoy a fully-improvised hour of comedy based on your suggestions, or we can follow you home from work one night and do a show in your living room. Look, I’m not threatening you, but one way might leave you with a broken TV. Not due to any violence on our part, we’re just kind of clumsy.

So what will it be? You can think it over. No need to rush into a decision. After all, you’ve got three opportunities this month to save your coffee table.

Here are the details of our first shows of 2012, straight from the freshly-updated Upcoming Shows page:

M.i.’s Westside Comedy Comedy Theater, Friday, January 6th
also featuring The Waterbrains and Mission: IMPROVable
Featured Meathands: TBA
Westside Comedy Theater
1323-A Third Street Promenade (in alley between 3rd and 4th Street)
Santa Monica, CA 90401
8:00pm; Admission $10; Rated:
Show Rating: Late Night

Family-Friendly Comedy Night, Saturday, January 14th
with special guest Jump Start Comedy Improv!
Featured Meathands: TBA
Mary Pickford Studio
8885 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 559-8868
8:00pm; Admission $7 ($3 for kids 12 & under); Rated:
Show Rating: Network Television

Tag Team Comedy, Saturday, January 21st
with special guest!
Featured Meathands: TBA
Mary Pickford Studio
8885 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 287-3700
8:00pm; Admission $7; Rated:
Show Rating: Late Night

The above was cross-posted on the Magic Meathands blog. I’ve been a member of the Magic Meathands for nearly 3 years, performing well over 100 shows of improvised comedy. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, give yourself a treat and catch one of our shows.

Celebrate the Holidays with Hilarity

Cross-posted on the Magic Meathands blog. I’ve been a member of the Magic Meathands for nearly 3 years, performing well over 100 shows of improvised comedy. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, give yourself a treat and catch one of our shows.

April's Fools joins the Magic Meathands on Dec. 17

Did you get stuffed on Thanksgiving? Did you get trampled on Black Friday?

The holiday season brings joy but it can also bring stress. Shopping, cooking, decorating, family gatherings – these can either be a lot of fun or higher therapist bills in the works. One of the best things to do during this time of year is get out, relax and enjoy some good comedy. Fortunately we’ve packed December with plenty of opportunities for just that sort of solution. Here are the details:

As I mentioned last week, we’re back at the Westside Comedy Theater this Friday night. Santa Monica’s best place for laughs has been renovated with a bar, which is guaranteed to make us seem much funnier. Our show starts at 8 PM and tickets cost $10. Those tickets are good for every show for the rest of the night, which means you can hang around to enjoy The Waterbrains and Mission: IMPROVable, two hilarious improv groups. Three groups all performing improv comedy might seem like much but we each have our own distinct style and format, which really keeps the whole night lively and unpredictable.

Then it’s our popular family friendly night with Jump Start, so you can bring the kids, spouse, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents and have a great night out. The show is Saturday, December 10, and starts at 8 PM with Jump Start, followed by us at around 9. Tickets are $7 for the whole show, which is at the spacious Mary Pickford Studio on Venice Blvd. at National in West LA.

And finally, it’s our monthly Tag Team Show where we’rere joined by some of our talented friends. This month, it’s the improv comedy group April’s Fools! Based in the South Bay area, they’ve been bringing laughs to Hermosa Beach and the surrounding area for over 13 years. Don’t miss your chance to see them with us on Saturday, December 17. The show starts at 8 PM at the Mary Pickford Studio. Tickets are $7.

So there you have it! Three opportunities to make the holidays just a bit sillier (in a good way). I hope to see you at one or more of this month’s shows. Each show is a completely unique experience, never to be repeated – just like a snowflake. So try to catch as many of our shows on your tongue as you can! … Wait, this metaphor just took an awkward turn. But if someone shows up in a snowsuit it will be worth it!

Can’t Blog… Eating

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone in the United States! Everyone else… Happy Thursday?

This morning, the Magic Meathands and I are performing at a church in Inglewood that is serving a Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless and needy. I think this makes the third year in a row we’ve done this show. Improv comedy directly to the people that need laughter the most. I love it.

Eat hearty and be thankful.

Meanwhile, here’s an awkward and poorly-lit video of our cat Cleo:

The Magic Meathands and Held2gether team up!

This Saturday, I’m performing with the Magic Meathands at the Mary Pickford Studio. It’s our Tag Team Comedy show where Held2gether kicks off the night. Improv comedy (that means we make it up but in a really funny way.) Come on out and have some laughs.

Show starts at 8 PM, tickets are $7.

RSVP on Facebook, if you like.

Improv Comedy this Friday in Santa Monica

Up for a giggle? How about a guffaw? You’ll get both and more at this Friday’s show.

I’m performing with the Magic Meathands at M.i.’s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica at 8 PM. Tickets are $10 and are good for the two shows immediately after us, The Waterbrains and Mission: Improvable.

We’ll be doing a fully improvised show with a mixture of short-form games and long-form scenarios based on your suggestions. You might even be able to join us on stage, if you’re so inclined. For more info, check out the new Magic Meathands blog and/or our Facebook event listing.

Private Eye Butt Kapinski arrives in LA, solves crime, breaks 4th wall

A whole lot of this please:

Butt Kapinski is a scrappy clown character played by Deanna Fleysher. With a brilliant bit of ingenuity, she has devised a way to light herself for performances that adds another level to the character’s look and physicality. This gives her the freedom to break the 4th wall and roam around her audience for an all-new level of interaction and immersion. Fleysher’s playfulness and joy comes through in the character who is almost instantly likable, funny and fun to watch.

The character originated in New York City but has recently made the trek to Los Angeles. I can’t wait to see what Butt Kapinski does in our city.

With Our Comedic Powers Combined…

The Magic Meathands (with me!) are teaming up with the improv comedy group with perhaps the most unique name – [This Space Left Intentionally Blank]. No, I didn’t accidentally post a rough draft, that’s actually their name.

We teamed up with them earlier this year, so I’m looking forward to seeing them perform again. While the group is full of some pretty savvy improvisers, I think that might’ve been their first official show together as a formal group. So it should be great to see how much more they’ve grown together.

Both groups will be performing this Saturday night at the Mary Pickford Studio in West LA.

Tickets are $7 for the whole night. The show starts at 8 PM. Check out more details at the links above and at our Facebook event listing.

Tag Team Comedy to Deliver Clothesline of Comedy this Saturday Night

The Magic Meathands (with me!) is teaming up with Darwin’s A Team, an improv comedy group from Victorville’s High Desert Center for the Arts, for a full night of improvised comedy at our new spacious location, the Mary Pickford Studio in West LA, this Saturday night at 8 PM for only $7.

Come out and have yourself a good laugh. Don’t believe me? Check out what people are saying about us on our Magic Meathands Facebook page:

“I enjoyed last night’s show very much. You exploded onto the stage and the energy never let up. Brilliant performance!” -Nick

“So much fun.” -Kathy

“Great show last night at your new location” -Peter

What more proof do you need?!

Comedy Improv Show with Jump Start & The Magic Meathands

It’s a double duo improv night of fun and family friendly comedy! The Magic Meathands (with me!) are joined by the South Bay improv group Jump Start! This Saturday night at our NEW LOCATION!

Mary Pickford Studio
8885 Venice Blvd Suite 102
Los Angeles, CA 90034

When: Saturday, August 13, 2011
Time: 8:00- 10:00 p.m. Show
Cost: $ 7.00 at the door

This Friday is brought to you by Banana Battling Kitteh

Sort of a sequel to this.

Things to do tomorrow in LA:

Mini-Comics Day at The Comic Bug in Hermosa Beach, Saturday 12 noon – 7 PM.

The 45 Show opening reception, an art gallery show of work using cover art of vinyl records, co-curated by my friend Robert Rodriguez of Wanted Records, at the Twenty Miles East Gallery in Pomona, Saturday 5 PM – 9 PM. Gallery is open through April 9.

Family-friendly improv comedy show with the Magic Meathands (and me!) and Jump Start at The Spot in Culver City, Saturday 8 PM.

Release Party for Undying Love by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman at Secret Headquarters in Silver Lake, Saturday night.

(Video via I Can Has Cheezburger.)