Yesterday, at approximately 6pm the 14th Annual Del Close Marathon began at the Upright Citizen's Brigade theater. What will follow throughout the course of this weekend is almost 400 improv teams from all around the world taking seven stages to provide comedy. We're talking shows at 9 am, 3 am, noon. Seriously, it's all f*cking weekend and it's become an institution that has inspired both veteran comedians and those pushing laughter into the future.
The marathon is named after Del Close, the unofficial godfather of improv comedy. Del Close taught comedy icons like Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Chris Farely, Amy Poehler and John Belushi. If someone has made you laugh, they had a connection to Close.
It's a hot weekend in New York, but that doesn't stop the line outside of the Chelsea UCB theater from stretching far down the block. Like last year, the creators of the UCB as we know it took the stage to break the ice and prepare us all for inevitable chuckles. Matt Walsh, Matt Besser and Ian Roberts ran the press conference like everyone should- by conversing with the audience about lecherous celebrities (particularly Andy Dick and Jeff Goldblum).
Then came the discussion of about comedy- rather the science behind it. Besser, Walsh and Roberts take the craft of comedy (particularly improv) very seriously. These guys are professionals but passionate, loving every crook and cranny of the art of making people laugh through improv. They talked about the mission (some of Close's last works) "to literally impart the spread of love of imrpov." They want their students to commit and practice and live in the world of the craft. They stand by the theory of "playing at the top of your intelligence."
The Del Close Marathon will be available through Sirius Radio this whole weekend, ending at 8PM Sunday night but if you're in New York stop by any stage to buy tickets. Trust me, it's worth your time and attention to delve into this world, it might just inspire you to take up the art itself.
--
Follow on Ology: Emily Cheever | FilmOlogy
Follow on Twitter: @EmilyFCheever | @Film_Ology
--
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment!