Art

Will Upright Citizens Brigade Ever Reopen? ‘I Don’t Know’, Says Amy Poehler

In a feature interview for The New York Times Magazine, the co-founder of the famed, and now troubled, improv company and school said, “It’s been brutal for us. We’re basically using the fire of COVID to start some new version. We’re changing our school and our theater to not-for-profit.” (She and her co-founders have said they’ll give up leadership of UCB when that happens.) “Whether or not we’ll be able to get there, I don’t know.” – Vulture
Tags: Art, Theatre, Amy Poehler, New York Times Magazine, UCB, 02.22.21

Upright Citizens Brigade Is Closing All Of Its New York Space

The once-mighty, now-struggling comedy improv institution is giving up the leases to both its theater and its training center on Manhattan’s West Side. Nothing about the company’s Los Angeles location was said in the announcement, which stressed that “UCB is not leaving New York City. The school and the theater will continue on in a pared-down form, which will be very similar to how we operated when we first started in NYC over 20 years ago.” – Vulture
Tags: Art, New York City, Theatre, Los Angeles, Manhattan, UCB, 04.21.20, West Side Nothing

Upright Citizens Brigade, Already Teetering, Dumps Entire Staff By Mass Email

“Last week’s layoffs were just the latest addition to a list of controversial upheavals for the company in recent years, including climbing ticket prices in early 2017, the move from Chelsea to the bigger, less convenient Hell’s Kitchen theater in late 2017, mass layoffs in 2018, shuttering the East Village theater in 2019, and constant debate surrounding its choice to not pay performers. … There’s growing sentiment among many people in the UCB community that even if the theaters return post-co...
Tags: Art, Theatre, Chelsea, UCB, East Village, 03.23.20

Things to do in the San Fernando Valley, LA area, Jan. 18-25

    Aspen Santa Fe Ballet perform Fernando Melo’s Dream Play on Jan. 19 at the Soraya at Cal State Northridge. (Courtesy photo by Sharen Bradford)   There’s always something fascinating to do in the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles area. Here is a sampling of entertainments this week and also save-the-date events to put on your calendar.   EVENTS   Women’s March Los Angeles: Non-partisan march celebrating organizations that educate and register voters, inspire youth to perfo...
Tags: Local News, Art, Books, Comedy, Museum, Music, San Fernando Valley, Theater, Things to Do, Top Stories LADN

Upright Citizens Brigade To Close One Of Its Theaters

“[UCB], facing substantial financial pressures, announced on Wednesday that it would be closing its East Village location in Manhattan, a month after laying off several staff members. That will leave the comedy theater with three venues: Its struggling flagship in Hell’s Kitchen, which opened last year, and two locations in Los Angeles.” — The New York Times
Tags: Art, Theatre, Los Angeles, Manhattan, UCB, 01.10.19

"Crown jewel" wildlife refuge is about to be decimated as Trump starts border wall

A 2,000 acre wildlife area known as the “crown jewel” of the national refuge system is about to be gutted as Trump begins construction on his border wall. US Customs and Border patrol has quietly been preparing to start the 18-foot tall border wall in the Santa Ana National Refuge in southern Texas, according to an anonymous official. The refuge is home to 400 bird species and hundreds of animals, including the endangered ocelot – but if the wall is constructed as planned, it will decimate the ...
Tags: Texas, Design, News, Animals, US, Wildlife, Department Of Homeland Security, Trump, UCB, Center for Biological Diversity, Wildlife Refuge, US Customs, National Wildlife Refuge, Texas Observer, Trump Wall, Protecting Wildlife

"Crown jewel" wildlife refuge to be decimated as Trump starts building border wall

A 2,000 acre wildlife area known as the “crown jewel” of the national refuge system is about to be gutted as Trump begins construction on his border wall. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has been quietly preparing to build the 18-foot tall border wall in the Santa Ana National Refuge in southern Texas, according to an anonymous official. The refuge is home to 400 bird species and hundreds of animals, including the endangered ocelot – but if the wall is constructed as planned, it w...
Tags: Texas, Design, US, Department Of Homeland Security, Trump, U S Customs, Border Protection, UCB, Center for Biological Diversity, Texas Observer, Santa Ana National Refuge, Brian Segee

MYTH BREAKER: You Do Not Need to Do Everything

The weekend after Hurricane Sandy my friend wrote a post on Facebook that he was upset he couldn't help out. He was single-handedly keeping our company together (a downtown gym that had become a haven for those without power) and he was also about to open a production of The King and I in a week. There was no time to do anything outside of work and rehearsal, like  volunteering on a far-off island. On his Facebook post I replied, "We do what we can when we can." He didn't have time in t...
Tags: Facebook, Hbo, Theatre, Hurricane Sandy, Staten Island, Judd Apatow, UCB, Yale MFA