The new New Pornographers?

Neko Case has been keeping busy on the road lately, recording with the Dodos, spending lots of time with Jakob Dylan, and even sometimes playing with her band The New Pornographers, so it's nice to know that she (and the rest of the New Pornos) got the day off when they were making the video for "Moves" from their recent album Together.

In their place is a cast of funny characters including Julie Klausner (as Neko), Jon Wurster (as one version of Carl Newman), Kevin Corrigan (as Dan Bejar), and Ted Leo (as Kathryn Calder). Also look for Todd Barry, Other Music, Death By Audio, Wyatt Cenac, a mound of cocaine, Gabe Delahaye, Max Silvestri, Horatio Sanz, Bill Hader and Paul Rudd (the cast of Expectant Dads) and many more in the Tom Scharpling (who directed this Ted Leo masterpiece) directed video, that you can watch with full credits listed, below...

Continue reading "new comedian-filled New Pornographers video w/ Ted Leo too"

by Klaus Kinski

If the NY Comedy Festival is at one end of the comedy festival spectrum, then the Del Close Improv Marathon resides at the absolute opposite end. I am really excited to report that the 11th Annual Del Close Improv Marathon is, like, just around the corner. Dude. Taking place from August 14th - August 16th, the 56-hour NON-STOP improv marathon will take over 4 stages in NYC and will bring to us the absolute best improv from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Phoenix, Austin, Philadelphia, Finland, Hawaii, Baltimore, Ontario, St. Louis, Toronto, and more. FINLAND?! AND MORE!?!? This marathon is important to me because New York is so absolutely saturated with improv troupes. So much so that the scene is really hit-or-miss for me. So hit-or-miss that I rarely venture out to see improv comedy (the only thing that makes me sadder than bad improv is the end of Blade Runner). But with the Del Close Marathon, there are no misses. It is the best of the best, from start to finish.

Del Close was the driving force behind improvisational comedy in Chicago for over 30 years influencing Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, John Belushi, Chris Farley and the Upright Citizens Brigade to name a few. After Del's passing in 1999, the UCB started the Del Close Marathon to celebrate their mentor and keep alive his name and teachings for future generations.

Highlights of this years festival include 30 Rock-prov (featuring Donald Glover, John Lutz, Tami Sagher, and more), Horatio Sanz and the Kings of Improv (featuring Horatio Sanz of Saturday Night Live) and reunions of classic UCB Theatre groups The Swarm and Respecto Montalban (featuring Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer of Human Giant, Rob Riggle, and more). The Marathon will conclude with a special performance of ASSSSCAT at F.I.T.'s Haft Auditorium, featuring members of the Upright Citizens Brigade (Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh).

Shows will be taking place at the UCB Theater, Hudson Guild Theater, Urban Stages, and the FIT Kate Murphy Ampitheatre. The FIT Haft Auditorium will play host to that single ASSSCAT mega show. The schedule is insane, but with the help of the glorious time table set-up by the organizers, creating your own itinerary should be a cinch. $25 weekend passes are available at the UCB Theater as well as the other participating venues. The F.I.T. shows are $12 and are likely to sell right out, so buy your F.I.T. tickets ASAP.

2009 iO West Del Close Awards Nominations, and other videos below...

Continue reading "2009 Del Close Improv Marathon this weekend (lineup, tix) "

by Klaus Kinski

The 10th Annual Del Close Marathon is just a few weeks away, and like last year, the schedule is a tad overwhelming. Featuring over 150 shows from improv groups from all over North America, this milestone anniversary edition of the Marathon takes place non-stop from Friday afternoon August 8 to after midnight on Sunday August 10.

Del Close was the driving force behind improvisational comedy in Chicago for over 30 years influencing Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, John Belushi, Chris Farley and the Upright Citizens Brigade to name a few. After Del's passing in 1999, the UCB started the Del Close Marathon to celebrate their mentor and keep alive his name and teachings for future generations.

Shows will be taking place at the UCB Theater, Hudson Guild Theater, Urban Stages, FIT Kate Murphy Ampitheatre, and the FIT Haft Auditorium. The Marathon website has each theater's schedule individually mapped out, so creating your own itinerary should be a breeze.

Weekend passes are a measly $25 and are only sold at the door. Shows taking place at the FIT Kate Murphy Ampitheatre, however, are $10 each and can be purchased directly from the UCB Theater website. The FIT shows feature appearances by Horatio Sanz, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, Rob Riggle people from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, Amy Poehler and many many many other popular comedians. Buy tickets for those soon, as I expect them to sell out rather quickly.