From Examiner.com
SF SKETCHFEST’S HUGE LINE-UP FOR 2013 FESTIVAL
by Bonnie Steiger
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
SF Sketchfest will celebrate the 12th annual San Francisco Comedy Festival with in-person tributes to legendary actor Bruce Campbelland to the cast and creators of Adult Swim’sChildrens Hospital; spotlights on film andtelevision classics including The Adventures of Pete and Pete, American Splendor, Animal House, Futurama, The Naked Gun, Party Down, Pinky and the Brain, Pootie Tang, and Welcome to the Dollhouse; and appearances by Maria Bamford, Doug Benson, Drew Carey, Jennifer Coolidge, Rachel Dratch, Billy Eichner, Judah Friedlander, Jeff Garlin, Janeane Garofalo, Chris Hardwick, Tim Heidecker, John Hodgman, Keegan-Michael Key, Nick Kroll, John Landis, Heather Matarazzo, Kevin McDonald, Eugene Mirman, Laraine Newman, Tig Notaro, Patton Oswalt, Priscilla Presley, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Schaal, Adam Scott, Kevin Smith, Stephen Tobolowsky, Paul F. Tompkins, Reggie Watts, Fred Willard, the geeks behind w00tstock, The Upright Citizens Brigade, RiffTrax with Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphyand Bill Corbett, The State alumni Michael Ian Black, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter and David Wain and many more to 26 venues over 17 nights in San Francisco. SF Sketchfest, the most prestigious comedy festival on the west coast, runs January 24 through February 10, 2013.
Venues include: The California Academy of Sciences, The Castro Theatre, Cobb’s Comedy Club, The Dark Room, The Eureka Theatre, Herbst Theatre, The Independent, Kanbar Hall at JCCSF, Marines’ Memorial Theatre, Mezzanine, The Punch Line Comedy Club, Rickshaw Stop, Roxie Theater, Stage Werx, Verdi Club and Yoshi’s San Francisco.
The Festival will present an SF Sketchfest Tribute to the creators and cast of Adult Swim’s Emmy Award-winningChildrens Hospital. Creator, executive producer and starRob Corddry will be joined by collaborators including Lake Bell, Beth Dover, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel, Ken Marino and executive producers David Wain andJonathan Stern for a silly look back (and forward) at this hilarious show at Cobb’s Comedy Club on Saturday, February 9 at 8:00pm.
Legendary actor, writer and producer Bruce Campbell will be feted at Hail To The King, Baby: An Evening with Bruce Campbell with Army of Darkness at the Castro Theatre on Saturday, February 9 at 8:30pm. Campbell, co-creator of the Evil Dead series of films, author of If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor, and current co-star of USA’s runaway hit show Burn Notice, will be interviewed by friend and recent Burn Notice guest starPatton Oswalt prior to a screening of the cult classic Evil Dead finale film, Army of Darkness.
After a smash success at the 2012 festival, SF Sketchfest welcomes back the specially-curated series known as“Reggidency: a Reggie Watts series.” The brilliant comic and musical improviser Reggie Watts will play three dates at three separate venues, each one unpredictable, original and wildly different. Part 1: “Reggie Watts + The Amy O’Neal Dance Crew: Movement and Music” pairs Reggie with an acclaimed Seattle modern dance troupe on Sunday, January 27 at 8:00pm at Marines’ Memorial Theatre. Part 2: “Reggie Watts + Michael Winslow: Sound Effects Summit” unites Reggie with the “Man of 10,000 Sound Effects,” Police Academy star Michael Winslow and takes place at the Independent on Monday, January 28 at 8:00pm. Part 3: “Reggie Watts + Robert Glasper: The Rematch with special guest Chris Dave” reunites Reggie and Grammy-nominated pianist and jazz/hip-hop sensation Robert Glasper after last year’s highly successful collaboration, this time adding special guest drummerChris Dave on Tuesday, January 29 at 8:00pm at Mezzanine.
FILM EVENTS
On Opening Night on Thursday, January 24 at 8:00pm at the Castro Theatre, Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of Mystery Science Theater 3000 make their triumphant return to SF Sketchfest with RiffTrax Presents Night of the Shorts IV: Riffizens on Patrol, another hilarious evening of the worst short educational films ever made accompanied by live commentary by Nelson, Murphy and Corbett and their very special guest riffers Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall), Adam Savage (Mythbusters), Kristen Schaal (30 Rock), Paul F. Tompkins (Best Week Ever), and frequent RiffTrax Presents team Cole Stratton and Janet Varney.
SF Sketchfest’s annual collaboration with underground drag superstar Peaches Christ this year spotlights the hysterical and dark independent cult comedy Welcome to the Dollhouse, which will be given the special Peaches pre-show treatment with musical numbers and a very special guest appearance by the film’s star, “Dawn Wiener” herself, Heather Matarazzo on Friday, February 8 at 7:00pm at the Castro Theatre.
The 25th Anniversary celebration of the best law enforcement comedy parody of all time, The Naked Gun: From The Files of Police Squad!, takes place on Saturday, February 9 at 1:00pm at the Castro Theatre with very special guests: director and co-screenwriter David Zucker, co-screenwriter Pat Proft, and lead actress and entertainment icon Priscilla Presley.
Acclaimed comedy filmmaker John Landis (The Blues Brothers, Trading Places) will deconstruct his craft with Inside Joke’s Carl Arnheiter and introduce a special 35th Anniversary screening of his comedy classic Animal House on Wednesday, February 6 at 9:00pm at the Roxie Theatre.
The 15th Anniversary of the independent and innovative Harvey Pekar biopic American Splendorwill be celebrated with actor Judah Friedlander, who played “Genuine Nerd Toby Radloff,” plus the REAL Toby Radloff and producer Ted Hope on Tuesday, February 5 at 9:00pm at the Roxie Theatre.
In An Evening with Pootie, the cult classic comedy Pootie Tang will be introduced by actorLance Crouther, appearing in character as Pootie. Crouther will reappear as himself for a post-film Q&A session on Friday, February 8 at 10:00pm at the Castro Theatre.
Everyone’s favorite comedy interrupter Doug Benson had so much fun doing The Benson Movie Interruption at last year’s festival that this year he will be back every weekend of the festival to interrupt a series of films with his special surprise guest comedian friends. He will interrupt Catwoman on Saturday, January 26 at 4:20pm at the Roxie Theatre, Anaconda on Sunday, January 27 at 4:20pm at the Roxie, The Notebook on Saturday, February 2 at 4:20pm at the Roxie, and the teen vampire blockbuster Twilight on Saturday, February 9 at 4:20pm at the Castro Theatre.
Rounding out the film program are The Bitter Buddha, which chronicles beloved comedian Eddie Pepitone and his middle-age career surge and struggles with self-doubt, sobriety and his challenging family history on Saturday, February 2 at 1:00pm at the Roxie Theatre and Olde English’s crossover comedy/documentary The Exquisite Corpse Project, which challenges five comedy writers to each write a fifth of a movie, with the constraint that each writer can only read the previous five pages of the script before writing their section on Saturday, February 2 at 10:00pm, also at the Roxie.
TV SPOTLIGHTS AND REUNIONS
The cast and creators of the beloved Nickelodeon children’s television show The Adventures of Pete and Pete, which ran for three seasons from 1993-1996 and has grown in stature as a cult classic,will reunite for a special 20th Anniversary show that will include performances, live music, clips, audience Q&A and lots of surprises. The show’s creators, Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, will be joined by actors Mike Maronna, Danny Tamberelli, Toby Huss and Rick Gomez on Friday, January 25 at 8:00pm at Marines’ Memorial Theatre.
Billy Eichner, the star and creator of Funny or Die’s ridiculously funny interactive comedy quiz show Billy On The Street, which has become a sensation on the Fuse network, will host and present Billy Eichner & Friends, a mix of clips and comedy from special guests including Billy’s friend and collaborator Julie Klausner, on Saturday, February 2 at 10:30pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club.
The cast and creative team behind the Yahoo! Comedy Channel web series Burning Love will bring together cast members from both the first and upcoming second seasons for a panel discussion on Sunday, February 10 at 4:00pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club. Scheduled to appear are season one’s bachelor (and the series’ director) Ken Marino, season two’s bachelorette June Diane Raphael, host Michael Ian Black, writer/actress Erica Oyama, executive producerJonathan Stern, and series stars Beth Dover, Ryan Hansen, Rob Huebel, Natasha Leggero, Joe Lo Truglio, Paul Scheer, Adam Scott and Janet Varney.
At Futurama Live, on Saturday, January 26 at 1:00pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club, producer Lee Supercinski and voice actors Billy West (“Philip J. Fry”), Maurice LaMarche (“Morbo”), Phil LaMarr (“Hermes Conrad”), and Lauren Tom (“Amy Wong”) will give an inside look into the hit series, performing scenes and screening freshly smuggled, world-premiere footage from the all-new 2013 season on Comedy Central.
Fans of animation and comedy will also enjoy An Afternoon with Pinky and the Brain, with live shenanigans from acclaimed voice actors Rob Paulsen (“Pinky”) and Maurice LaMarche (“The Brain”), on Sunday, January 27 at 2:00pm at the Eureka Theatre.
At Party Down with Party Down on Saturday, February 9 at 4:00pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club, actors from the cult classic television show including Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Ryan Hansenand Martin Starr, will discuss the beloved series, about a group of struggling actors working as caterers in Los Angeles.
THEATRICAL EVENTS
Three of the co-founders of the wildly popular sketch group The State, Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Showalter and David Wain, will present and star in a loose and fun production of their 1998 playSEX a.k.a. Wieners and Boobs, along with fellow original cast members Shari Albert, Ian Helfer, Nina Hellman, Peter Sallett, and special guests. The play, about which the Wilmington Star-News said, “…is utterly ridiculous, completely stupid and thoroughly absurd. I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time,” will have one performance only on Friday, February 8 at 8:00pm at Marines’ Memorial Theatre.
The internationally acclaimed, long-running Celebrity Autobiography, returns to SF Sketchfest on Saturday, February 9 at 8:00pm and Sunday, February 10 at 5:00pm at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre with new hits and old classics. This year Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie), Rachel Dratch (30 Rock), Janeane Garofalo (Wet Hot American Summer), Laraine Newman (Saturday Night Live), Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids), Fred Willard (Best in Show) and Celebrity Autobiography’s co-creators Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel read memoirs of celebs such asSnooki, Streisand, Hasselhoff, Madonna, Beyonce, Bieber and beyond!
Also returning is the irreverent old-time radio-style production, Acker & Blacker’s The Thrilling Adventure Hour with Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds), singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton, John Hodgman (The Areas of My Expertise), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Busy Philipps (Cougar Town), Rider Strong (Boy Meets World), Paul F. Tompkins (Community),James Urbaniak (Venture Brothers), Reggie Watts (Comedy Bang! Bang!), and more at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre on Saturday, January 26 at 7:00pm and 9:30pm.
The festival will present a special reading of The Whisper, a new work-in-progress play by Celebrity Autobiography creator Eugene Pack, with a cast including Jennifer Coolidge, Rachel Dratch, Janeane Garofalo and Dayle Reyfel on Saturday, February 9 at 1:00pm at the Eureka Theatre.
In Uptown Showdown, a unique and quirky spin-off on school debate events, two teams of comedians will square off to argue which is better, The Eighties vs. The Nineties. Debaters Maria Bamford, Michael Ian Black, Janeane Garofalo, Dave Hill, Arden Myrin, Michael Showalter and moderator Gabe Liedman will go head-to-head on Friday, February 8 at 10:30pm at the Verdi Club.
IMPROVISATION AND SKETCH COMEDY
The master improvisers of the Upright Citizens Brigade return with their long-running and hugely popular show A.S.S.S.S.C.A.T. with one show on Saturday, February 2 at 9:30pm at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre. UCB’s co-founders Matt Besser (Freak Dance), Ian Roberts(Arrested Development) and Matt Walsh (VEEP) will be joined by Scott Adsit (30 Rock), Chris Gethard (The Chris Gethard Show), Tami Sagher (How I Met Your Mother) and a guest monologist.
In an improv mash-up extravaganza known as Naked Human Giant Babies, four members of the Naked Babies: Rob Corddry, John Ross Bowie, Brian Huskey and Seth Morris; will be joined by two members of Human Giant: Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer, for an epic night of long-form improvisational comedy on Saturday, February 9 at 10:30pm at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre.
Curb Your Enthusiasm star and producer Jeff Garlin will present his improvised storytelling show Combo Platter along with special guests Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine) and Jenny Slate(Girls) on Thursday, February 7 at 8:00pm in Kanbar Hall at the JCCSF.
The critically acclaimed troupe The Improvised Shakespeare Company will create fully improvised Shakespearean masterpieces right before your eyes using the language and themes of William Shakespeare on Wednesday, January 30 and Thursday, January 31 at 8:00pm at the Eureka Theatre. Nothing is planned-out, rehearsed or written.
Theme Park Improv returns, led by SF Sketchfest co-founders Cole Stratton and Janet Varney and featuring a team of all-star improvisers including Ian Brennan (co-creator of Glee),Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live), Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory), Michael Hitchcock (Glee), Jessica Makinson (Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole) and Oscar Nunez (The Office). Theme Park plays Saturday, February 9 at 10:30pm at the Eureka Theatre.
In Gravid Water, top improvisers and actors perform in scenes from Stoppard to Sophocles, and everything in between! The actors will know their lines and the improvisers will improvise, with no prior knowledge of the scenes. Creator and director Stephen Ruddy welcomes Lucy Davis, (“Dawn” from the U.K. version of The Office), Scott Adsit, Tami Sagher and the Upright Citizens Brigade’s Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh on Saturday, February 2 at 7:00pm at the Eureka Theatre.
Keegan-Michael Key, the co-star of the extremely popular Comedy Central series Key & Peele, and Thrilling Adventure Hour’s Marc Evan Jackson bring their improv troupe The 313 to the festival for the first time with troupe mates Andy Cobb, Larry Joe Campbell, Josh Funk, Nyima Funk, Maribeth Monroe and Jaime Moyer on Sunday, January 27 at 9:30pm at the Eureka Theatre.
Taking a break from the television game show favorite The Price is Right, Drew Carey will team up with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre’s beloved sketch troupe The Midnight Show to present a night of “a little bit of standup, a lot of sketch!” on Saturday, January 26 at 8:00pm and 10:30pm at the Eureka Theatre.
Kevin McDonald of the Kids in the Hall will lead an intensive workshop for students to improve their acting and writing skills by learning how to write comedy through performance and how to use improvisation as a writing tool. The two-day course is on Saturday, January 26 and Sunday, January 27 from 10:00am to 5:00pm each day at a location to be announced.
Before You Were Funny is a live show and podcast where hosts Justin Michael and Jacob Reed of Tremendosaur ask their favorite comedians to bring in and perform their worst sketches — to hilarious results. Joining them are James Adomian and Mary Lynn Rajskub on Saturday, January 26 at 3:00pm at the Dark Room.
Longtime San Francisco perennials Killing My Lobster return to SF Sketchfest with another batch of their smart and hilarious sketch comedy on Monday, January 28 at 8:00pm at the Eureka Theatre.
The festival also features dozens of the best up-and-coming sketch and improv groups from around the world at SF Sketchfest in the Mission at the Dark Room Theatre.
MUSIC MEETS COMEDY
Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live; Bridesmaids) is in a band called Princess and, yes, they are a Prince cover band. When Maya performed Prince’s “Darling Nikki” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon recently, Gawker called it “ingenious” and “the best thing on TV.” Don’t miss Princess’s Bay Area debut on Friday, February 8 at 8pm and 10:30pm at Yoshi’s San Francisco.
The epic comedic and musical salute to nerdery known as w00tstock comes to SF Sketchfest for the second time after a smash appearance last year for w00tstock Founders’ Night featuring co-creators Adam Savage (Mythbusters), musical comedy duo Paul and Storm (Da Vinci’s Notebook), actor/author/blogger Wil Wheaton (Stand by Me) and surprise guests on Friday, February 1 at 7:00pm at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre.
Relive the cheesy wonderfulness of 1970s soft rock with Yacht Rock Heroes with Mustache Harbor & Friends on Friday, February 2 at 11:00pm in Yoshi’s San Francisco’s Lounge.Mustache Harbor, the increasingly popular Bay Area-based cover band will perform the hits along with special guest vocalists who just might be comedy characters created for the occasion by Scott Adsit, Matt Besser, Jon Dore, Bobcat Goldthwait, Chris Hardwick, Paul and Storm and more.
Los Angeles-based comedy/folk music duo Garfunkel and Oates, also known as comedians and actresses Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome, bring their signature style of hysterical and lyrical wordplay to the Rickshaw Stop on Sunday, February 10 at 8:00pm, along with special guest Dragon Boy Suede, the comedic rapper and MC created by comedian Howard Kremer.
SKETCHFEST FOR KIDS
Award winning children’s book author Mo Willems, best known for his characters Knuffle Bunny, The Pigeon and Elephant and Piggie, will present Don’t Let The Comedians Do Story Time!, a sketch show for young children and their parents where a troupe of all-star comedians will act out his most famous stories on Sunday, February 10 at 11:00am in Kanbar Hall at the JCCSF. Special guest performers include Michael Ian Black, Rachel Dratch, Janeane Garofalo, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Laraine Newman, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph and David Wain.
PODCASTS
The enormously popular Nerdist Podcast with Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Miramakes a triumphant return to the festival on Saturday, February 2 at 7:00pm at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre.
Judge John Hodgman, the podcast starring John Hodgman as the Judge, and Jesse Thornas the Bailiff, delivers justice and settles disputes live on stage Friday, January 25 at 10:30pm at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre.
Kevin Smith, perhaps best known as the brains behind beloved films Clerks, Chasing Amy, and his own portrayal of the film character Silent Bob, will return to the festival with his wife, actressJennifer Schwalbach Smith, and their popular podcast Plus One, from the SModcast Network, on Wednesday, February 6 at 8:00pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club.
How Was Your Week with Julie Klausner, named one of the best comedy podcasts by Rolling Stone, comes to San Francisco for the first time with musical director Ted Leo and special guests including Billy on the Street’s Billy Eichner and comedian Eddie Pepitone on Saturday, February 2 at 8:00pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club.
The Tobolowsky Files with master storyteller Stephen Tobolowsky (also a leading character actor known for playing Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day and the co-writer of David Byrne’s True Stories) comes to SF Sketchfest for a funny live version of his Public Radio International series on Sunday, January 27 at 8:00pm at Yoshi’s San Francisco.
Professor Blastoff, the science-themed podcast hosted by comedy sensation Tig Notaro and her friends Kyle Dunnigan and David Huntsberger, makes its Sketchfest debut with two very unique and different live events. The first event is on Wednesday, January 30 at 8:00pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club, and the second is part of SF Sketchfest’s Comedy NightLife at the California Academy of Sciences on Thursday, January 31 at 6:00pm.
The increasingly popular You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes, which was a big, awkward hit at Outside Lands this year, makes its Sketchfest debut on Saturday, February 2 at 1:00pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club.
Other podcasts new to the festival include Bullseye with Jesse Thorn; The Champs with Neal Brennan, Moshe Kasher and DJ Douggpound; Dead Authors with Paul F. Tompkins; The JV Club with Janet Varney; On Cinema with Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington; Ronna & Beverly; Talkin Walkin with Kevin Pollak; Throwing Shade with Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi;and Who Charted? with Howard Kremer and Kulap Vilaysack.
Popular podcasts returning to the festival include Harmontown with Dan Harmon and Jeff B. Davis; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo; Pop My Culture with Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland; Superego: Profiles in Self-Obsession; and Walking The Room with Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony.
VARIETY AND STAND-UP SHOWS
Paul F. Tompkins & Friends Real and Fake is a stand-up and character-based show hosted by one of the masters of both forms, Paul F. Tompkins, who will be joined by friends Steve Agee(The Sarah Silverman Program), Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall), and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) on Friday, January 25 at 8:00pm at the Verdi Club.
Team Coco Live brings together Andy Richter and his comedy-writing colleagues from theConan staff, along with some stand-up guests and friends of the show. Writer/performers Laurie Kilmartin, Andres de Bouchet, Jesse Popp and Josh Comers will be joined by Rory Scovel, Ron Funches and more on Friday, February 8 at 10:30pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club.
Back for another clandestine visit, SF Sketchfest and Adult Swim present the Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Show, featuring performances by the show’s star, Jon Glaser, who will be joined by very special guests including Steve Agee, Eugene Mirman, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Kristen Schaal on Saturday, January 26 at 10:00pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club.
Stella: The Classic Nightclub Show, features Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter andDavid Wain, well known for their Comedy Central series Stella and groundbreaking MTV sketch show The State. They will be joined by guest comedians and musicians at Mezzanine on Sunday, February 10 at 8:00pm.
Other top stand-up and variety shows at the festival include Bestie x Bestie with Jenny Slateand Gabe Liedman; Pretty Good Friends with Eugene Mirman; Kristen Schaal & Friends; The Meltdown with Kumail Nanjiani and Jonah Ray; Set List: Comedy Without a Net; Crash Test with Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer, presented by Adult Swim; Conspiracy Theory Livewith Jesse Ventura starring James Adomian; and The Chris Gethard Show.
STAND-UP COMEDY SPOTLIGHTS
Comedy Central Live Presents Nick Kroll featuring a preview of his new series Kroll Show on Saturday, January 26 at 7:30pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club.
Jeff Garlin from Curb Your Enthusiasm brings his CLOSER THAN I APPEAR show to the Eureka Theatre on February 4, 5, and 6 at 8:00pm.
Tim Heidecker (Tim and Eric, Awesome Show! Great Job!) and Neil Hamburger, the self-proclaimed “hardest working comedian in existence,” co-headline a night at the Verdi Club on Friday, February 1 at 8:00pm.
Todd Barry brings his Crowd Work Tour to the Eureka Theatre on Tuesday, January 29 at 8:00pm for an entire show of riffing and bantering with the audience.
The SF Sketchfest Threesome series at Cobb’s Comedy Club spotlights comedians at the top of their game in unique triple-co-headline bills. These include Wayne Federman, Eddie Pepitoneand Brody Stevens on Thursday, January 31 at 8:00pm; Ron Funches, Dave Hill and Rory Scovel on Thursday, February 7 at 8:00pm; and Maria Bamford, Andy Kindler and Natasha Leggero on Sunday, February 10 at 8:00pm.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival sensation and winner of the prestigious and coveted Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2012, the comedian known simply as Dr. Brown brings his wildly unique and hilarious show to the Independent on Sunday, January 27 at 8:00pm.
The festival will also feature stand-up performances from Guy Branum, Drennon Davis, Will Franken, Myq Kaplan, Moshe Kasher, Arden Myrin, April Richardson, Joe Sib, Brent Weinbach and many more.
The third year of the series The SF Sketchfest Dozen, which spotlights twelve of the best of the next wave of stand-up comedy stars every Friday and Saturday night at the Punch Line Comedy Club this year features Sara Benincasa, Janine Brito, Michelle Buteau, Erin Foley, Chris Gethard, Hari Kondabolu, Jamie Lee, Joe Mande, Jonah Ray, Dan St. Germain, Duncan Trussell, and Glenn Wool.
SF Sketchfest once again teams with Rooftop Comedy, the San Francisco-based Internet hub for great stand-up clips and full-length comedy albums, for a series of six showcases introducing audiences to over forty great new voices on the stand-up scene. These showcases take place every Saturday night at 8:00pm and 10:00pm at Stage Werx.
The festival will also shine a spotlight on many of the Bay Area’s top local stand-up showcase venues including the Actor’s Theatre, Café Royale, Cinecave at Lost Weekend Video, Esta Noche, The Layover, The Make-Out Room, Milk Bar, Murphy’s Pub, Rite Spot and 1772 Market.
STORYTELLING
Perfecting the art of crafting and delivering a great tale with just the right amount of comedy has become another focus at SF Sketchfest, with popular storytelling shows such as The Mortified Sessions; Porchlight with Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte; RISK! with Kevin Allison; Previously Secret Information with Joe Klocek; and the slightly more risqué Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction.
INTERACTIVE EVENTS AND GAME SHOWS
For Judah Friedlander and American Tripps Ping-Pong Party, audiences will first watch a stand-up set by The World Champion Judah Friedlander (“Frank Rossitano” on 30 Rock), the trucker cap-wearing comedian who also happens to be the best athlete in the world, the greatest martial artist, the sexual desire of every woman, and a master ping-pong player. After Judah’s set, join him and the American Tripps partiers for an epic throwdown of “Berlin-style” ping-pong on Wednesday, February 6 at the Verdi Club.
It’s SF Sketchfest’s first sing-along! Audiences can participate to their heart’s content along with R. Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet Sing-Along hosted by wild man film curator Henri Mazza from Austin’s fabled Alamo Drafthouse on Tuesday, February 5 at 8pm at the Rickshaw Stop.
In the comedy game show realm, this year the festival offers some exciting new shows, includingIron Comic with Nato Green and Moshe Kasher and their guest comics Maria Bamford, Michael Ian Black, Andy Kindler, Natasha Leggero and Michael Showalter on Saturday, February 9 at 10:30pm at Cobb’s Comedy Club; Stardumb with Bil Dwyer, Erica Rhodes and guests Maria Bamford, Simon Helberg, Andy Kindler, Oscar Nunez and Jimmy Pardo on Saturday, February 9 at 8:00pm at the Eureka Theatre; Write Now with Jimmy Pardo and guestsJosh Comers, Ron Funches, Laurie Kilmartin, Danielle Koenig and Gary Lucy on Friday, February 8 at 8:00pm at the Eureka Theatre; and Guy Branum’s Talk Show The Game Showtakes place Saturday, February 9 at 8:00pm at the Dark Room.
COMEDY MEETS SCIENCE
The call of the wild once again beckons on Thursday, January 31 at 6pm for the third SF Sketchfest Comedy NightLife at the California Academy of Sciences. Sharks, rare butterflies and iridescent jellyfish play host to the rarest creatures of the comedy realm includingChris Hardwick, Tig Notaro, Greg Proops, Brent Weinbach, Myq Kaplan, Will Franken and more in a variety of configurations including stand-up, podcasts and more. NightLife features food, drinks and DJs and is for guests ages 21 and over.
ABOUT SF SKETCHFEST
SF Sketchfest, co-founded and directed by David Owen, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney, produces the eclectic San Francisco Comedy Festival, an internationally-recognized and critically-acclaimed event that mixes major comedy stars and the best up-and-coming comedians from around the world for three weeks of sketch, improv, stand-up, alternative comedy, films, tributes and panel discussions. SF Sketchfest offers its audiences the rare opportunity to see their favorite performers in intimate live performances and discussions.
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