The Steve Allen Theater
Encyclopedia
The Steve Allen Theater at the Center for Inquiry
Los Angeles is a multidisciplinary resident fringe theater and theater of the absurd in Hollywood developed and helmed by Founding Artistic Director, Amit Itelman.
The Center for Inquiry is a nonprofit group founded by Carl Sagan
and Isaac Asimov
to promote science and secular humanism
. When paranormal investigator James Underdown
became the Executive Director of CFI West in 2003, he named the theater after Center for Inquiry supporter and television personality Steve Allen
and offered Itelman an opportunity to define an artistic vision for the space.
According to the LA Weekly
cover story Why Theater Matters - “Itelman has booked interdisciplinary acts (music, comedy and theater) that strike a particularly brainy and idiosyncratic chord." "A kind of theater that bounces off the walls." As described by the LA Times "Theater of the Absurd, Itelman's artistic credo reflects CFI's mission of 'not accepting things as they are' an unlikely lab for some of the freshest, strangest work in town…The bar for eccentricity may be pretty high in Hollywood, but the Steve Allen Theater clears it easily".
Craig Anton
,
Frank Conniff
,
Jeffrey Combs
,
John Ennis
,
Hans Fjellestad
,
Mick Garris
,
Mel Gordon,
Stuart Gordon
,
Dana Gould
,
Toby Huss
,
Mark Fite
,
Janet Klein,
Davey Johnson,
Randy Liedtke,
Ron Lynch
,
Max Maven
,
Ann Magnuson
,
Marc Maron
,
Kate Micucci
,
Jesse Merlin,
The Poubelle Twins,
Emo Philips
,
Mary Lynn Rajskub
,
John Reynolds
,
Maggie Rowe,
Eban Schletter,
Harry Shearer
,
Laura Silverman
,
Brendon Small
,
Jim Turner
, and
Rob Zabrecky
he states that Metalocalypse
began with small sketches "like 'George Fisher (Cannibal Corpse vocalist) Goes to the Hospital' developed at The Steve Allen Theater.
Aye Jay Carny Trash - An exploration of the carnival underworld by carny
Aye Jay. Directed by Amit Itelman.
The Beastly Bombing - Award winning controversial Edwardian musical about fundamentalism
. Book, lyrics and direction by Julien Nitzberg
. Music by Roger Neil. Produced with Rorry Daniels. Toured to New York and Amsterdam.
Borcht Belt Babies - Vaudeville
revival show featuring descendents of actual vaudeville stars. Hosted by Janet Klein. Directed by Amit Itelman
The Church of Satan’s Black Mass - The first ever public Satanic ritual on the 40th anniversary of Anton Lavey
’s church. Directed by Amit Itelman
Cartoon Dump - Mystery Science Theater’s Frank Connif and film historian Jerry Beck
’s variety show featuring the worst of animation history. Co-Hosted by Erica Doering
.
Claire and Josh Hate Themselves but Love Each Other - written and starring Josh Fadem and Claire Tittleman.
Clown Town City Limits - The dark side of the clowns. Avante Gaurd Vaudeville. Written and performed by Jim Turner
, Mark Fite
and David Allen Gruber, Craig Anton
. Written by Joel Madison, Dale Goodson and Bob Rucker. Directed by John Ferrara
Dueling Harps with Adam Dugas - Veteran performance artist Ann Magnuson
shows featuring two classical harpists.
Hollywood Hellhouse - A two story haunted house which was the first time a Hell house
was presented to a secular audience. Produced with Becky Thyre, Maggie Rowe and Jill Soloway
. Directed by Maggie Rowe and Jill Soloway, haunted house directed by Amit Itelman. Inspired New York production a year later.
Mary Lynn Spreads Her Legs - Mary Lynn Rajskub
dark comedy about postpartum depression
. Directed by Amit Itelman.
Max Maven Thinking in Person, an Evening of Knowing and not Knowing - Mentalist Max Maven
’s first full length show. Directed by Amit Itelman. Toured to Japan, and Europe.
Nevermore - Jeffrey Combs
portrayal of Edgar Allen Poe. Written by Dennis Paoli. Directed by Stuart Gordon
Playing with Micucci - Kate Micucci
in a one woman show featuring music, comedy and guest. Directed by Ron Lynch
.
Re Animator the Musical - Cult hit based on Lovecraft lore featuring audience blood "splash zone". Directed by Stuart Gordon
. Music lyrics by Mark Nutter. Book by Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon
& William J. Morris. Produced by Dean Shramm
Resbox - Expermental music showcase curated by Hans Fjellestad
.
The Secret World of Human Science - Multi-media variety show written and hosted by avante garde filmmaker Zzalgern0n about odd science. Directed by Ron Lynch
.
The Shredder - Comedian Emo Philips
shreds jokes that don’t get a laugh, never to perform them again.
Things We Don't Understand and Are Definitely Not Going To Talk About - Miranda July
’s multi-media performance piece.
Tomorrow Show - Cult Midnight Comedy show originally hosted by Craig Anton
, Ron Lynch
and Brendon Small
, then helmed by Ron Lynch. This staple of Los Angeles comedy launched Kate Micucci
's career and features vignettes by the Doorknockers.
The Art of Bleeding – A night of experimental theater in which the audience experienced the sights and sounds of an actual medical emergency. Created and Produced by Al Ridenour. Special guests included Margaret Cho
, Danny Shorago, Satanica
, Los Ninos De La Tierra.
The Vampira Show – A Tribute Show and Fund Rasier hosted by Dana Gould
for the late, great Actress Maila Nurmi
(Aka Vampira). Proceeds from the show went to a Fund to get Nurmi interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery
.
Eban Schletter’s Witching Hour – Eban Schletter, composer for the show Spongebob Squarepants
, put on a live version of his debut Halloween album “Witching Hour”. Starring Dave Foley
, Paul F. Tompkins
, Tom Kinney, Samm Levine
, Grant Lee Phillips, and many more.
Girly Magazine Party – 70s late night cable access show ala Playboy After Dark
starring a plethora of rotating performers including Jim Turner
, Mark Fite
, , Craig Anton
, Music by Andy Paley
, and many more.
The Rudy Casoni Variety Show – Rat Pack
review hosted by Toby Huss
. Music by Andy Paley
& The Dago 5. Performers include Tom Lennon and Ben Garant
, Billy the Mime
, The Lampshades, Pat Healy, and Mark Fite
.
Maja Doust – The self proclaimed White Witch of Los Angeles,from the Philosophical Research Society
, performed as an Oracle
and answered various, deep audience questions about life, death, love, and the universe.
Supersmall – A benefit for "The 21st ChromosHome" project to help create a special needs community for people with Down Syndrome
. Performers included Peter Hayes (of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
), The Lampshades, Two-Headed Dog, Erin Quigly, and many other contributors.
The Whitest Kids U' Know
– The NY based Sketch Comedy group debuted their first feature film, The Civil War on Drugs.
Robochrist Industries
- Christian Ristow and his maniacal misfits of metal and mayhem presented actual live Robotic warfare (actual giant mobile robots destroying stuff) in the parking lot at the Steve Allen.
For the Glory of Steel - The Society for Creative Anachronism
brought a night of contact Medieval battle in full-on armor. With guest metal band, Crom.
The Car Plays – Moving Arts Theater Company presented fifteen ten-minute pieces in actual cars. Multiple directors included Moving Arts artistic producer Paul Nicolai Stein.
The Unholy Three - Magic cabaret trio featuring David Lovering, Rob Zabrecky
, and Fitzgerald performed their exclusive Magic Castle mystery revue with live piano accompaniment by Brad Kay.
Canadian sketch comedy
group. Multiple performances include their Reunion,
Reading of Pilot Episode,
Premier of Death comes to Town 6,
Premiere of Grand Guignol
short,
the Final Kiss starring Dave Foley and Scott Thompson and Directed by Amit Itelman.
Solo shows by Bruce McCulloch
,
Kevin Mcdonald
and Scott Thompson.
The Tribute, a musical directed by Dave Foley.
Retrospective, featuring the Los Angeles premier of At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World
. Horror Drive In Movie Series (Drive in technology by MobMov) - Human Are Such Easy Prey drive-in, Masters of Horror
drive-in, curated by Mick Garris
Zzalgern0n wawawawawawawawa,
’s lost first feature, Eggshells
, An American Hippie
in Israel, Grindhouse
release of lost hippie film featured performance by Nashville garage band The Ettes
.
presents rare vintage 16mm short films to open the show. John Doe
& Rancid – Founder of Legendary band X
, John Doe, featuring an acoustic set with Rancid
. Salty Songs and Gilded Gab – Rockabilly Legend, Phil Alvin
(of The Blasters
) & Marquis Howell (of Hobo Jazz & Janet Klein's Parlor Boys) present a night of acoustic roots music. Hollywood Hotshots – An evening of hot upstairs Jazz special guests have included Victoria Jackson
and Seth MacFarlane
. Soriah Tuvan throat singing and Indonesian Shadow Puppet Theater. The Bilgewater Brothers – Jug band
Jazz performed by David Barlia and John Reynolds
. Headless Hearsemen - Surf band black light performance of headless musicians.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - with Dave Lovering
, Amit Itelman and Oscar Rey. Tulsa Skull Swingers – Stomp Surf band featuring Craig Anton
, Blaine Capatch
, Amit Itelman, and Ron Lynch
. Faun Fables – Faun Fables is a psychedelic, folk band and performance art trio including Dawn McCarthy and Nils Frykdahl
. Becky Stark
– Lavender Diamond front woman variety show featured Miranda July
, Josh Fadem, Ron Regé Jr.
, and more.
,
Joe Dante
,
Mick Garris
,
Don Coscarelli
,
Angus Scrimm
,
Exodus
,
Silenoz
(Dimmu Borgir
),
Patton Oswalt
,
Dana Gould
,
Louis CK,
James Franco
,
Larry Cohen
,
Stuart Gordon
,
Jessica Harper
,
Tom Murrin,
Cynthia Plaster Caster
,
Andy Richter
,
Sarah Silverman
,
Paul F. Tompkins
,
Doug Benson
,
Rob Zabrecky
,
Greg Fitzgerald,
Tom Lennon & Ben Garant
,
Bob Odenkirk
,
Harry Shearer
,
Bill Maher
,
Fred Armisen
,
Zooey Deschanel
,
Janeane Garofalo
,
The Poubelle Twins,
John C. Reilly
,
Weird Al Yankovic
Center for Inquiry
The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in the United States whose primary mission is to encourage evidence-based inquiry into paranormal and fringe science claims, alternative medicine and mental health practices, religion, secular ethics, and society...
Los Angeles is a multidisciplinary resident fringe theater and theater of the absurd in Hollywood developed and helmed by Founding Artistic Director, Amit Itelman.
The Center for Inquiry is a nonprofit group founded by Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
and Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
to promote science and secular humanism
Secular humanism
Secular Humanism, alternatively known as Humanism , is a secular philosophy that embraces human reason, ethics, justice, and the search for human fulfillment...
. When paranormal investigator James Underdown
James Underdown
James Underdown has been the executive director of The Center for Inquiry Los Angeles since 1999. The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in Amherst, NY, whose primary mission is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and...
became the Executive Director of CFI West in 2003, he named the theater after Center for Inquiry supporter and television personality Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
and offered Itelman an opportunity to define an artistic vision for the space.
According to the LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
cover story Why Theater Matters - “Itelman has booked interdisciplinary acts (music, comedy and theater) that strike a particularly brainy and idiosyncratic chord." "A kind of theater that bounces off the walls." As described by the LA Times "Theater of the Absurd, Itelman's artistic credo reflects CFI's mission of 'not accepting things as they are' an unlikely lab for some of the freshest, strangest work in town…The bar for eccentricity may be pretty high in Hollywood, but the Steve Allen Theater clears it easily".
Notable alumni and performers
David Gruber Allen,Craig Anton
Craig Anton
Craig Ward Anton is an American actor and comedian. Anton is most notable for being one of the original cast of comedians on sketch comedy television series MADtv and for his role as Lloyd Diffy in the Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future.-Early life and career:Anton, eldest son of...
,
Frank Conniff
Frank Conniff
Frank Conniff is a writer and actor who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of TV's Frank on Mystery Science Theater 3000 .-Early work:...
,
Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Alan Combs is an American actor known for his horror film roles and his appearances playing a number of characters in the Star Trek franchise.-Early life:...
,
John Ennis
John Ennis (actor)
John Ennis is an American actor and comic. He has been a regular cast member of Mr. Show with Bob and David, has played roles in Malcolm in the Middle and played a writer for the fictitious comedy show at the center of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip...
,
Hans Fjellestad
Hans Fjellestad
Hans Jorgen Fjellestad is a musician and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Fjellestad co-founded the Trummerflora Collective, and has worked as a curator/producer for the international art initiative, inSite 05. A classically trained pianist, he studied music composition and improvisation at...
,
Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
,
Mel Gordon,
Stuart Gordon
Stuart Gordon
After the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
,
Dana Gould
Dana Gould
Dana John Gould is an American comedian and comedy writer born and raised in Hopedale, Massachusetts. His upbringing and his extended family lent themselves to his stand-up routine, which has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, among other places.-Career:After high school, he studied...
,
Toby Huss
Toby Huss
Toby Edward Huss is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Artie, the Strongest Man in the World on the cult hit Nickelodeon TV series The Adventures of Pete & Pete, for his voice-over work on the long running animated series King of the Hill, and for his role as Felix 'Stumpy'...
,
Mark Fite
Mark Fite
Mark Fite is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. He lives in Los Angeles, California....
,
Janet Klein,
Davey Johnson,
Randy Liedtke,
Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. He has worked as a voice actor for several animated shows, including Home Movies and Tom Goes to the Mayor, and has made guest appearances on Dr...
,
Max Maven
Max Maven
Max Maven is an American magician and mentalist. He often appears on television magic shows to perform "interactive" mind reading tricks that work for the television audience....
,
Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer who first gained prominence in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan...
,
Marc Maron
Marc Maron
Marc Maron is an American stand-up comedian and podcast host.He has been host of The Marc Maron Show, and co-host of both Morning Sedition, and Breakroom Live, all politically-oriented shows, produced under the auspices of Air America Media. He was also the host of Comedy Central's Short Attention...
,
Kate Micucci
Kate Micucci
Kate Micucci born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian and singer-songwriter, whose first major television exposure was as Stephanie Gooch in Scrubs, and later as Shelly in Raising Hope...
,
Jesse Merlin,
The Poubelle Twins,
Emo Philips
Emo Philips
Emo Philips is an American entertainer and comedian born in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. Much of his standup comedy stems from the use of paraprosdokians and garden path sentences spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice and a confused, childlike delivery of his material to produce the...
,
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
,
John Reynolds
John Reynolds (musician)
John Reynolds is a record producer. He was the first husband of singer Sinéad O'Connor; they have one child, Jake. Reynolds, formerly a drummer for Jah Wobble, met O'Connor and recorded her first album, The Lion and the Cobra...
,
Maggie Rowe,
Eban Schletter,
Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
,
Laura Silverman
Laura Silverman
-External links:...
,
Brendon Small
Brendon Small
Brendon Small is an American sitcom writer/producer, actor, comedian, voice actor, composer, and musician...
,
Jim Turner
Jim Turner (comedian)
Jim Turner is an American actor and comedian, born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His father, George Turner, was in the Air Force and moved his family around often during Jim's youth to places including Quebec, Arizona, and Iowa. Turner married Lynn Freer in 1992 and they have a son, Otto...
, and
Rob Zabrecky
Rob Zabrecky
Rob Zabrecky is an American songwriter, actor and magician. His career began as a musician while being the front man for the band Possum Dixon. He later found success as a magician and actor....
Selected shows premiered and developed at the Steve Allen Theater
In a interview with director Jon SchneppJon Schnepp
Jon Schnepp is an American producer, director, actor, editor, writer and cinematographer. His company, Schneppzone, has worked on many shorts and television shows....
he states that Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse is an American animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006 on Adult Swim...
began with small sketches "like 'George Fisher (Cannibal Corpse vocalist) Goes to the Hospital' developed at The Steve Allen Theater.
Aye Jay Carny Trash - An exploration of the carnival underworld by carny
Carny
Carny or carnie is a slang term used in North America and, along with showie, in Australia for a carnival employee, as well as the language they employ...
Aye Jay. Directed by Amit Itelman.
The Beastly Bombing - Award winning controversial Edwardian musical about fundamentalism
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
. Book, lyrics and direction by Julien Nitzberg
Julien Nitzberg
Julien Nitzberg is an American film director, script writer, and theatre director.Nitzberg directed the musical The Beastly Bombing in Los Angeles and the documentary film The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, a portrayal of The White Family, who have been called "the most extreme...
. Music by Roger Neil. Produced with Rorry Daniels. Toured to New York and Amsterdam.
Borcht Belt Babies - Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
revival show featuring descendents of actual vaudeville stars. Hosted by Janet Klein. Directed by Amit Itelman
The Church of Satan’s Black Mass - The first ever public Satanic ritual on the 40th anniversary of Anton Lavey
Anton LaVey
Anton Szandor LaVey , born Howard Stanton Levey, was the founder of the Church of Satan as well as a writer, occultist, and musician...
’s church. Directed by Amit Itelman
Cartoon Dump - Mystery Science Theater’s Frank Connif and film historian Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
’s variety show featuring the worst of animation history. Co-Hosted by Erica Doering
Cartoon Dump
Cartoon Dump is an online comedy series/video podcast created by Frank Conniff and animation historian Jerry Beck...
.
Claire and Josh Hate Themselves but Love Each Other - written and starring Josh Fadem and Claire Tittleman.
Clown Town City Limits - The dark side of the clowns. Avante Gaurd Vaudeville. Written and performed by Jim Turner
Jim Turner (comedian)
Jim Turner is an American actor and comedian, born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His father, George Turner, was in the Air Force and moved his family around often during Jim's youth to places including Quebec, Arizona, and Iowa. Turner married Lynn Freer in 1992 and they have a son, Otto...
, Mark Fite
Mark Fite
Mark Fite is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. He lives in Los Angeles, California....
and David Allen Gruber, Craig Anton
Craig Anton
Craig Ward Anton is an American actor and comedian. Anton is most notable for being one of the original cast of comedians on sketch comedy television series MADtv and for his role as Lloyd Diffy in the Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future.-Early life and career:Anton, eldest son of...
. Written by Joel Madison, Dale Goodson and Bob Rucker. Directed by John Ferrara
Dueling Harps with Adam Dugas - Veteran performance artist Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer who first gained prominence in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan...
shows featuring two classical harpists.
Hollywood Hellhouse - A two story haunted house which was the first time a Hell house
Hell house
Hell houses are haunted attractions typically run by American, fundamentalist Christian churches or parachurch groups. These depict sin, the torments of the damned in Hell, and usually conclude with a depiction of heaven...
was presented to a secular audience. Produced with Becky Thyre, Maggie Rowe and Jill Soloway
Jill Soloway
Jill Soloway is an American comedian, playwright, a feminist and an Emmy-nominated television writer.Soloway was an executive producer and show-runner of the Showtime show The United States of Tara created by writer Diablo Cody. Soloway exited the show in November 2009...
. Directed by Maggie Rowe and Jill Soloway, haunted house directed by Amit Itelman. Inspired New York production a year later.
Mary Lynn Spreads Her Legs - Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
dark comedy about postpartum depression
Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression , also called postnatal depression, is a form of clinical depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, typically after childbirth. Studies report prevalence rates among women from 5% to 25%, but methodological differences among the studies make the actual...
. Directed by Amit Itelman.
Max Maven Thinking in Person, an Evening of Knowing and not Knowing - Mentalist Max Maven
Max Maven
Max Maven is an American magician and mentalist. He often appears on television magic shows to perform "interactive" mind reading tricks that work for the television audience....
’s first full length show. Directed by Amit Itelman. Toured to Japan, and Europe.
Nevermore - Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Combs
Jeffrey Alan Combs is an American actor known for his horror film roles and his appearances playing a number of characters in the Star Trek franchise.-Early life:...
portrayal of Edgar Allen Poe. Written by Dennis Paoli. Directed by Stuart Gordon
Stuart Gordon
After the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
Playing with Micucci - Kate Micucci
Kate Micucci
Kate Micucci born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian and singer-songwriter, whose first major television exposure was as Stephanie Gooch in Scrubs, and later as Shelly in Raising Hope...
in a one woman show featuring music, comedy and guest. Directed by Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. He has worked as a voice actor for several animated shows, including Home Movies and Tom Goes to the Mayor, and has made guest appearances on Dr...
.
Re Animator the Musical - Cult hit based on Lovecraft lore featuring audience blood "splash zone". Directed by Stuart Gordon
Stuart Gordon
After the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
. Music lyrics by Mark Nutter. Book by Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon
Stuart Gordon
After the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
& William J. Morris. Produced by Dean Shramm
Resbox - Expermental music showcase curated by Hans Fjellestad
Hans Fjellestad
Hans Jorgen Fjellestad is a musician and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Fjellestad co-founded the Trummerflora Collective, and has worked as a curator/producer for the international art initiative, inSite 05. A classically trained pianist, he studied music composition and improvisation at...
.
The Secret World of Human Science - Multi-media variety show written and hosted by avante garde filmmaker Zzalgern0n about odd science. Directed by Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. He has worked as a voice actor for several animated shows, including Home Movies and Tom Goes to the Mayor, and has made guest appearances on Dr...
.
The Shredder - Comedian Emo Philips
Emo Philips
Emo Philips is an American entertainer and comedian born in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. Much of his standup comedy stems from the use of paraprosdokians and garden path sentences spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice and a confused, childlike delivery of his material to produce the...
shreds jokes that don’t get a laugh, never to perform them again.
Things We Don't Understand and Are Definitely Not Going To Talk About - Miranda July
Miranda July
Miranda July is a performing artist, writer, actress and film director. Born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger, she works under the surname of "July," which can be traced to a character from a "girlzine" Miranda created with high school friend Johanna Fateman, called Snarla.- Background :Miranda...
’s multi-media performance piece.
Tomorrow Show - Cult Midnight Comedy show originally hosted by Craig Anton
Craig Anton
Craig Ward Anton is an American actor and comedian. Anton is most notable for being one of the original cast of comedians on sketch comedy television series MADtv and for his role as Lloyd Diffy in the Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future.-Early life and career:Anton, eldest son of...
, Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. He has worked as a voice actor for several animated shows, including Home Movies and Tom Goes to the Mayor, and has made guest appearances on Dr...
and Brendon Small
Brendon Small
Brendon Small is an American sitcom writer/producer, actor, comedian, voice actor, composer, and musician...
, then helmed by Ron Lynch. This staple of Los Angeles comedy launched Kate Micucci
Kate Micucci
Kate Micucci born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian and singer-songwriter, whose first major television exposure was as Stephanie Gooch in Scrubs, and later as Shelly in Raising Hope...
's career and features vignettes by the Doorknockers.
Other notable performances
The Idiots - A Comedy about Watson and Crick launched the theater’s first season. Written and Starring Ron Lynch and Craig Anton.The Art of Bleeding – A night of experimental theater in which the audience experienced the sights and sounds of an actual medical emergency. Created and Produced by Al Ridenour. Special guests included Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
, Danny Shorago, Satanica
Satanica
Double CD edition It is known that a limited edition double CD was released. The jewel case contains a second bonus CD with live tracks from Strasbourg, France, February 26 1999.Notes...
, Los Ninos De La Tierra.
The Vampira Show – A Tribute Show and Fund Rasier hosted by Dana Gould
Dana Gould
Dana John Gould is an American comedian and comedy writer born and raised in Hopedale, Massachusetts. His upbringing and his extended family lent themselves to his stand-up routine, which has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, among other places.-Career:After high school, he studied...
for the late, great Actress Maila Nurmi
Maila Nurmi
Maila Nurmi was a Finnish-American actress who created the campy 1950s characterVampira. She portrayed Vampira as TV's first horror host and in the Ed Wood cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space...
(Aka Vampira). Proceeds from the show went to a Fund to get Nurmi interred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...
.
Eban Schletter’s Witching Hour – Eban Schletter, composer for the show Spongebob Squarepants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
, put on a live version of his debut Halloween album “Witching Hour”. Starring Dave Foley
Dave Foley
David Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
, Paul F. Tompkins
Paul F. Tompkins
Paul Francis Tompkins , best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Tompkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a receptionist mother and railway worker father. He started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, PA, where he...
, Tom Kinney, Samm Levine
Samm Levine
Samuel Franklin "Samm" Levine is an American television and film actor. He is known for his portrayal of Neal Schweiber on NBC's short-lived Freaks and Geeks and PFC Hirschberg in the hit 2009 film Inglourious Basterds...
, Grant Lee Phillips, and many more.
Girly Magazine Party – 70s late night cable access show ala Playboy After Dark
Playboy After Dark
Playboy After Dark is an American television show hosted by Hugh Hefner. It ran in syndication through Screen Gems from 1969 to 1970 and was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles....
starring a plethora of rotating performers including Jim Turner
Jim Turner
Jim Turner may refer to:* Jim Turner , American football player* Jim Turner , American football player* Jim Turner , Major League Baseball pitcher...
, Mark Fite
Mark Fite
Mark Fite is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. He lives in Los Angeles, California....
, , Craig Anton
Craig Anton
Craig Ward Anton is an American actor and comedian. Anton is most notable for being one of the original cast of comedians on sketch comedy television series MADtv and for his role as Lloyd Diffy in the Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future.-Early life and career:Anton, eldest son of...
, Music by Andy Paley
Andy Paley
Andy Paley is a noted record producer and musician who has been active since the late 1960s. His work includes stints as a producer for such noted musicians as Madonna, the Ramones, Jonathan Richman, Debbie Harry, Brian Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis....
, and many more.
The Rudy Casoni Variety Show – Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
review hosted by Toby Huss
Toby Huss
Toby Edward Huss is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Artie, the Strongest Man in the World on the cult hit Nickelodeon TV series The Adventures of Pete & Pete, for his voice-over work on the long running animated series King of the Hill, and for his role as Felix 'Stumpy'...
. Music by Andy Paley
Andy Paley
Andy Paley is a noted record producer and musician who has been active since the late 1960s. His work includes stints as a producer for such noted musicians as Madonna, the Ramones, Jonathan Richman, Debbie Harry, Brian Wilson and Jerry Lee Lewis....
& The Dago 5. Performers include Tom Lennon and Ben Garant
Ben Garant
Robert Ben Garant is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer.Garant was born in Cookeville, Tennessee, and grew up in Farragut, Tennessee...
, Billy the Mime
Steven Banks
Steven Banks is an American musician, comedian, actor, mime and writer of television, plays, books and cartoons, including SpongeBob SquarePants.Banks attended Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus clown college...
, The Lampshades, Pat Healy, and Mark Fite
Mark Fite
Mark Fite is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. He lives in Los Angeles, California....
.
Maja Doust – The self proclaimed White Witch of Los Angeles,from the Philosophical Research Society
Philosophical Research Society
The Philosophical Research Society is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1934, by the prolific author and scholar Manly Palmer Hall, which provides learning and development of a philosophy of life which embraces conciliation of religion and science and higher understandings of life...
, performed as an Oracle
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
and answered various, deep audience questions about life, death, love, and the universe.
Supersmall – A benefit for "The 21st ChromosHome" project to help create a special needs community for people with Down Syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
. Performers included Peter Hayes (of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, now based in Los Angeles. BRMC is known for their garage rock, blues, folk revival, neo-psychedelia sound. They are influenced by bands such as: The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Verve, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, T...
), The Lampshades, Two-Headed Dog, Erin Quigly, and many other contributors.
The Whitest Kids U' Know
The Whitest Kids U' Know
The Whitest Kids U' Know is an American sketch comedy troupe and television program of the same name. The group consists of Trevor Moore, Sam Brown, Zach Cregger, Timmy Williams and Darren Trumeter, though other actors occasionally appear in their sketches. They were accepted into the HBO U.S...
– The NY based Sketch Comedy group debuted their first feature film, The Civil War on Drugs.
Robochrist Industries
Robochrist Industries
Robochrist Industries is a robotic performance art troupe most notably recognized for its performances in and around Los Angeles during the years 1997 - 2005. The performances feature large radio-controlled robots moving among and eventually destroying props and set-pieces intended to convey...
- Christian Ristow and his maniacal misfits of metal and mayhem presented actual live Robotic warfare (actual giant mobile robots destroying stuff) in the parking lot at the Steve Allen.
For the Glory of Steel - The Society for Creative Anachronism
Society for Creative Anachronism
The Society for Creative Anachronism is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century...
brought a night of contact Medieval battle in full-on armor. With guest metal band, Crom.
The Car Plays – Moving Arts Theater Company presented fifteen ten-minute pieces in actual cars. Multiple directors included Moving Arts artistic producer Paul Nicolai Stein.
The Unholy Three - Magic cabaret trio featuring David Lovering, Rob Zabrecky
Rob Zabrecky
Rob Zabrecky is an American songwriter, actor and magician. His career began as a musician while being the front man for the band Possum Dixon. He later found success as a magician and actor....
, and Fitzgerald performed their exclusive Magic Castle mystery revue with live piano accompaniment by Brad Kay.
The Kids in the Hall
The Steve Allen Theater is the Los Angeles home for The Kids in the HallThe Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
Canadian sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
group. Multiple performances include their Reunion,
Reading of Pilot Episode,
Premier of Death comes to Town 6,
Premiere of Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
short,
the Final Kiss starring Dave Foley and Scott Thompson and Directed by Amit Itelman.
Solo shows by Bruce McCulloch
Bruce McCulloch
Bruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
,
Kevin Mcdonald
and Scott Thompson.
The Tribute, a musical directed by Dave Foley.
Selected screenings
CronenbergDavid Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
Retrospective, featuring the Los Angeles premier of At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World
At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World
At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World is a short film by David Cronenberg and part of the To Each His Own Cinema anthology film.-Plot:In the film Cronenberg explores for the first time on film his Jewish identity...
. Horror Drive In Movie Series (Drive in technology by MobMov) - Human Are Such Easy Prey drive-in, Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror is an informal social group of international film writers and directors specializing in horror movies and an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.- Origin :...
drive-in, curated by Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
Zzalgern0n wawawawawawawawa,
Lost screenings
Tobe HooperTobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...
’s lost first feature, Eggshells
Eggshells (film)
Eggshells is an independent low budget film released in 1969. It is the first film directed by Tobe Hooper. It was written by Kim Henkel and Tobe Hooper . It was produced by Tobe Hooper. It had a budget of $100,000...
, An American Hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
in Israel, Grindhouse
Grindhouse
A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.- History :...
release of lost hippie film featured performance by Nashville garage band The Ettes
The Ettes
The Ettes is a garage rock revival band consisting of Lindsay “Coco” Hames, Maria “Poni” Silver, and Jeremy “Jem” Cohen. The band formed in 2004 in Los Angeles, California and is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee.-History:...
.
Selected music performances
Janet Klein - Naughty, lovely and obscure musical gems. Film historian Jerry BeckJerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
presents rare vintage 16mm short films to open the show. John Doe
John Doe (musician)
John Doe is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet and bass player. Doe founded the much-praised L.A. punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span the rock, country and folk music genres...
& Rancid – Founder of Legendary band X
X band
The X band is a segment of the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of X band is rather indefinitely set at approximately 7.0 to 11.2 gigahertz . In radar engineering, the frequency range is specified...
, John Doe, featuring an acoustic set with Rancid
Rancid (band)
Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
. Salty Songs and Gilded Gab – Rockabilly Legend, Phil Alvin
Phil Alvin
Phil Alvin is an American singer and guitarist. He is known primarily as the frontman of the roots-rock band The Blasters.Alvin grew up in Downey, California in a music-loving family where he and his younger brother...
(of The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...
) & Marquis Howell (of Hobo Jazz & Janet Klein's Parlor Boys) present a night of acoustic roots music. Hollywood Hotshots – An evening of hot upstairs Jazz special guests have included Victoria Jackson
Victoria Jackson
Victoria Jackson is an American comedian, actress, satirist and singer best known as a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1992....
and Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
. Soriah Tuvan throat singing and Indonesian Shadow Puppet Theater. The Bilgewater Brothers – Jug band
Jug band
A Jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. These home-made instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making of sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe and comb & tissue paper...
Jazz performed by David Barlia and John Reynolds
John Reynolds
John Reynolds may refer to:* John Reynolds , English writer* John Reynolds , soldier in the English Civil War* John Reynolds , farmer and agricultural innovator from Kent, England...
. Headless Hearsemen - Surf band black light performance of headless musicians.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - with Dave Lovering
Dave Lovering
David Lovering is an American musician and magician. He is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band Pixies, which he joined in 1986. After the band's breakup in 1993, Lovering drummed with several other acts, including The Martinis, Cracker, Nitzer Ebb and Tanya Donelly...
, Amit Itelman and Oscar Rey. Tulsa Skull Swingers – Stomp Surf band featuring Craig Anton
Craig Anton
Craig Ward Anton is an American actor and comedian. Anton is most notable for being one of the original cast of comedians on sketch comedy television series MADtv and for his role as Lloyd Diffy in the Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future.-Early life and career:Anton, eldest son of...
, Blaine Capatch
Blaine Capatch
Blaine Capatch is an American stand-up comedian and writer who is best known for hosting Season 2 of the Comedy Central game show Beat the Geeks....
, Amit Itelman, and Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch
Ron Lynch is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He has appeared in a number of movies and television shows. He has worked as a voice actor for several animated shows, including Home Movies and Tom Goes to the Mayor, and has made guest appearances on Dr...
. Faun Fables – Faun Fables is a psychedelic, folk band and performance art trio including Dawn McCarthy and Nils Frykdahl
Nils Frykdahl
Nils Frykdahl is an American musician most known for his work with the bands Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and the now-defunct band Idiot Flesh. He has a bachelor's degree in music from UC Berkeley, which he received in 1989. He also is a member of the bands Faun Fables and Darling Freakhead, and used...
. Becky Stark
Becky Stark
Becky Stark is an artist, singer, songwriter and entertainer from Los Angeles, California. She is the voice of the band Lavender Diamond. She was raised in Maryland where she began performing as a child. At the age of 13 she travelled to the former Soviet Union as part of a U.S. State...
– Lavender Diamond front woman variety show featured Miranda July
Miranda July
Miranda July is a performing artist, writer, actress and film director. Born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger, she works under the surname of "July," which can be traced to a character from a "girlzine" Miranda created with high school friend Johanna Fateman, called Snarla.- Background :Miranda...
, Josh Fadem, Ron Regé Jr.
Ron Regé Jr.
Ronald J. Regé, Junior is a cartoonist and musician from Plymouth, Massachusetts.-Artistic career:Regé began publishing his own minicomics while attending Massachusetts College of Art in 1988. He has since been published by Highwater Books, Fantagraphics, Buenaventura Press, McSweeney's and Drawn...
, and more.
Special Appearances
Tobe HooperTobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...
,
Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
,
Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
,
Don Coscarelli
Don Coscarelli
Don Coscarelli is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for horror films. His credits include the Phantasm series, The Beastmaster, and Bubba Ho-Tep.-Biography:...
,
Angus Scrimm
Angus Scrimm
Angus Scrimm is an American actor, best known for playing the Tall Man in the 1979 horror movie Phantasm and its sequels.-Life and career:...
,
Exodus
Exodus (band)
Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...
,
Silenoz
Silenoz
Silenoz , is a Norwegian guitarist who is a founding member, along with Shagrath and Tjodalv, of the Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir which he is the primary songwriter...
(Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
),
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
,
Dana Gould
Dana Gould
Dana John Gould is an American comedian and comedy writer born and raised in Hopedale, Massachusetts. His upbringing and his extended family lent themselves to his stand-up routine, which has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, among other places.-Career:After high school, he studied...
,
Louis CK,
James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
,
Larry Cohen
Larry Cohen
Lawrence G. "Larry" Cohen is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known as a B-Movie auteur of horror and science fiction films - often containing a police procedural element - during 1970s and 1980s...
,
Stuart Gordon
Stuart Gordon
After the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
,
Jessica Harper
Jessica Harper
Jessica Harper is an American actress and producer, as well as a singer and author of children's music and books.-Early life:...
,
Tom Murrin,
Cynthia Plaster Caster
Cynthia Plaster Caster
Cynthia Plaster Caster , whose real name is Cynthia Albritton, is an artist and self-described "recovering groupie" who creates plaster casts of famous persons' penises and breasts. She began her career in 1968 by casting penises of rock musicians. She later expanded her subjects to include...
,
Andy Richter
Andy Richter
Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS...
,
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
,
Paul F. Tompkins
Paul F. Tompkins
Paul Francis Tompkins , best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Tompkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a receptionist mother and railway worker father. He started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, PA, where he...
,
Doug Benson
Doug Benson
Douglas Steven "Doug" Benson is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central Presents, Best Week Ever and was a contestant on Last Comic Standing in the show's fifth season....
,
Rob Zabrecky
Rob Zabrecky
Rob Zabrecky is an American songwriter, actor and magician. His career began as a musician while being the front man for the band Possum Dixon. He later found success as a magician and actor....
,
Greg Fitzgerald,
Tom Lennon & Ben Garant
Ben Garant
Robert Ben Garant is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer.Garant was born in Cookeville, Tennessee, and grew up in Farragut, Tennessee...
,
Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
,
Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
,
Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
,
Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen is an American actor, comedian and musician best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and portraying off-color foreigners in various comedy films such as EuroTrip, Anchorman and Cop Out...
,
Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Claire Deschanel is an American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous...
,
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
,
The Poubelle Twins,
John C. Reilly
John C. Reilly
John Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
,
Weird Al Yankovic