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Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia – April 18th through April 24th

Now that we’re are all caught up from Philly Sketchfest 2016 we’re ready to return to this website back to some regularly scheduled content highlighting all the sketch comedy taking place in Philadelphia on a weekly basis. We’re also excited to announce here that we’ll be posting more articles and interviews with Philadelphia-based sketch groups as well as becoming the official home of the “My First Sketch” podcast hosted/created by Josh Higham. That’s good news. Some might say great, but we like to think of it as leaving ourselves room to grow. So what’s happening this week already, right? Well word on the street is that you have a hot date with sketch comedy on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday. Check out the events below to see exactly who’ll be taking you out on the town each night…

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News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia

PHILLY SKETCHFEST 2016 CLOSING NIGHT – COMMUNITY EDUCATION CENTER

Tonight is CLOSING NIGHT of Philly Sketchfest 2016 and it all takes place at The Community Education Center (3500 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104)! Please join us and host Nicole Yates for more sketch comedy than is legally allowed in the great Quaker state of Pennsylvania featuring performances from – Until Pluto, Bad Medicine, Goat Rodeo (Philly Improv Theater), Hoagiefist, Baby Steps, Your Mom, Brick Penguin (Dojo Comedy-Washington, DC), Success 5000, The Don’t We Boys (Grand Rapids, MI), The Flat Earth (Philly Improv Theater), Mani Pedi, Secret Pants, Barbara Bush, 2 Humans (Toronto, Ontario) and a very special live podcast taping of ‘My First Sketch with Joshua Higham’ with Dave Hill, Pat O’Keeffe, Greta Wink and Your Mom. Also, we apologize for this inconvenience but Adventure Friends performance has been rescheduled for Friday, May 20th at 8:30pm at the Adrienne Theater Playground. Check out the details below or at our festival calendar here

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my first sketchPhilly Sketchfest 2016 – My First Sketch with Joshua Higham featuring Dave Hill, Greta Wink, Pat O’Keeffe and Your Mom
Community Education Center (CEC) – 3500 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104Sunday, April 3rd at 4:00pm / Tickets – $10
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Philly Sketchfest Closing Night Show #1Philly Sketchfest 2016 – Until Pluto + Bad Medicine + Goat Rodeo
Community Education Center (CEC) – 3500 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, April 3rd at 5:00pm / Tickets – $10

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Philly Sketchfest Closing Night Show #2Philly Sketchfest 2016 – Hoagiefist + Baby Steps + Your Mom + Brick Penguin
Community Education Center (CEC) – 3500 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, April 3rd at 6:30pm / Tickets – $10

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Philly Sketchfest Closing Night Show #3Philly Sketchfest 2016 – Success 5000 + The Don’t We Boys + The Flat Earth
Community Education Center (CEC) – 3500 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, April 3rd at 8:00pm / Tickets – $15

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Philly Sketchfest Closing Night Show #4Philly Sketchfest 2016 – Mani Pedi + Secret Pants + Barbara Bush + 2 Humans
Community Education Center (CEC) – 3500 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Sunday, April 3rd at 8:00pm / Tickets – $15

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Can’t wait to see everyone tonight to close out Philly Sketchfest 2016! – Brian, Curt, and Ben!

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2016 Philly Sketchfest News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia Uncategorized

The 2016 Philly Sketchfest – Performing Groups Announced!

Philly Sketchfest thanks everyone who submitted to the 2016 festival and congratulates the following sketch groups on their upcoming performances as part of Philly Sketchfest 2016!

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News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia

Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia – January 4th through January 10th

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016! Yes, we are still celebrating because there is so much to be happy about. On New Year’s Day we opened up submissions and announced the dates of our upcoming 2016 Philly Sketchfest taking place from March 31st through April 3rd. You can submit here until we close out the submission process on January 31st. We’re also thankful to everyone who came out and enjoyed our January showcase featuring the American Breakfast Reunion Show with Your Mom and our 17 group sketch event, Sketch Hangover – The First Sketches of 2016. Our never-ending thanks to the performers who spent their New Year’s Day with us including, American Breakfast, Your Mom, Adventure Friends, Barbara Bush, Dog Mountain, High Dramma, HoagieFist, House of Solitude, ManiPedi, Mean Wendy Band, Patric Writes Sketches, The Burgundy Boys, The Flannel Chucks, The Flat Earth, The Incredible Shrinking Matt & Jacquie, The Prince, Until Pluto, and WGRA Radio Theatre. Let’s do it again next year! If you missed your first opportunity to see sketch comedy in 2016, you are in luck. There are no less than six sketch comedy shows occurring this week and we can’t wait to tell you about them…

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2015 Year In Review – Courtney Painter of Barbara Bush and Dog Mountain

This week Philly Sketchfest will be taking a look back at the year 2015 through the eyes of the writers, performers, directors and producers that make sketch comedy in Philadelphia a reality. Every single day of the week, you will find Courtney Painter living and breathing comedy in Philadelphia. She writes and performs with the ‘first ladies of comedy’ in Barbara Bush and this year, was asked to join PHIT Sketch House Team Dog Mountain as both a performer and writer. She’s the lead house manager at PHIT and wrote multiple shows for the Black Friday Comedy Marathon including a sketch show written with the children she takes care as a daytime Nanny along with writing partner, Jolie Darrow. And to think it all started just over a year ago, with a submission to sketch comedy game show, Iron Sketch offering to be in as many groups as we would allow her to work with. She’s that driven and it’s not just talk; Courtney simply does. You can see Courtney tomorrow night with Dog Mountain and the rest of the ‘first ladies of comedy’ in Barbara Bush, on New Year’s Day, as they perform their first sketches of 2016 at our Sketch Hangover! In the meantime, please enjoy Courtney’s look back at Philly sketch in 2015…

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News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia Sketch Hangover

2015 Year In Review – Kathryn Amrhein of Barbara Bush

This week Philly Sketchfest will be taking a look back at the year 2015 through the eyes of the writers, performers, directors and producers that make sketch comedy in Philadelphia a reality. Kathryn Amrhein is a Philadelphia-based writer, performer and one of the ‘first ladies of comedy’ in sketch group, Barbara Bush. She is also the sole reason that this website exists in a functional and update-able manner. We’re not going to shy away from it. Prior to a few months ago, this website’s home page hadn’t been updated in almost three years. And the sub-pages? Just a mess. When our new production team came on board, this website was our number one priority moving forward. But how do you internet? That’s when Kathryn arrived. Kathryn’s passion for sketch and her talent in web design/coding enabled everything we wanted in this new website with plenty of room to grow. Kathryn’s given a lot, continuing to entertain us as a comedian and working hard in her free time to allow us to celebrate it here. So when you see her, you thank her and you tell her how much you appreciate her talent and hard work. In fact, you can do it tomorrow night when Kathryn and the rest of the ‘first ladies of comedy’ in Barbara Bush tomorrow night, on New Year’s Day, as they perform their first sketch of 2016 at our Sketch Hangover! In the meantime, please enjoy Kathryn’s look back at Philly sketch in 2015…

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News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia Sketch Hangover Uncategorized

2015 Year In Review – Nicole Yates of DidjaEat? and Fighting Burrito Comedy

This week Philly Sketchfest will be taking a look back at the year 2015 through the eyes of the writers, performers, directors and producers that make sketch comedy in Philadelphia a reality. Nicole Yates is a stand-up comedian, co-creator of the Black Friday Comedy Marathon at Philly Improv Theater (PHIT) and since 2010, the host of the popular ‘foodie’ blog and podcast, DidjaEat?. It would be an understatement to note that Nicole is a fan of sketch comedy. She has been instrumental in not only bringing Philadelphia stand-up and sketch comedians together but also their audiences. Whether she’s performing stand-up as an opener at sketch shows or featuring sketch writer/performers as guests on her Fighting Burrito Comedy shows, we’re extremely thankful for her support of sketch comedy as part of the Philadelphia comedy community. And if we know Nicole, she’ll likely in attendance tomorrow night, on New Year’s Day, to see 17 Philadelphia-based sketch groups perform their first sketch of 2016 at our Sketch Hangover! In the meantime, please enjoy Nicole’s look back at Philly sketch in 2015…

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News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia Sketch Hangover Uncategorized Until Pluto

2015 Year In Review – Patric Ciervo of Patric Writes Sketches and Until Pluto

This week Philly Sketchfest will be taking a look back at the year 2015 through the eyes of the writers, performers, directors and producers that make sketch comedy in Philadelphia a reality. Patric Ciervo is making it known that he writes sketch comedy. No, not just because the name of his group is Patric Writes Sketches, although that does help. Rather, Patric is carrying the weight of writing material for two distinctly different sketch groups; the aforementioned Patric Writes Sketches and Until Pluto, a narrative-driven, sketch comedy collaboration with writer/performer Peter Gerbron. It’s also proving quite successful for Patric. This year, Patric Writes Sketches was accepted and performed at NYC Sketchfest at The People’s Improv Theater (The PIT) and Until Pluto performed two new shows of brand new material; a sketch murder-mystery-who-done-it entitled, ‘Bill Melchior Is Dead’ at PHIT and a rewriting of history in ‘Still Not A Better World’ as part of Philly Sketchfest Presents. Patric’s dedication to the craft of sketch comedy is seen not only in his work ethic and output, but also in his support of the entire Philadelphia comedy community. His commitment is admired by his peers and his comedy is being enjoyed by audiences both in and outside of Philadelphia. Don’t miss your opportunity to see both of Patric’s sketch groups this Friday night, on New Year’s Day, when they perform their first sketches of 2016 at our Sketch Hangover! Please enjoy Patric’s 2015 sketch year in review…

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2015 Year In Review – Joe Moore of Dog Mountain & Guilty Pleasures

This week Philly Sketchfest will be taking a look back at the year 2015 through the eyes of the writers, performers, directors and producers that make sketch comedy in Philadelphia a reality. Joe Moore is the head writer of PHIT Sketch House Team, Dog Mountain, the host of the ‘Best of Philadelphia‘ award winning Guilty Pleasures, best friends with Regional Child Star, Chucky McMelonmeyer, and one our favorite human beings on Earth. Joe is looked forward to. On-stage, he pairs quick wit with earnest portrayals of a characters motivations or decisions, adding so much more to the words on the page and translating all of it through performance in a matter of seconds. In the writer’s room, he has an innate ability to both ask and answer the questions needed to break mediocre sketches and build them to something memorably unique and special. In total, Joe appreciates both high brow and low brow comedy, is devoid of hubris, brings people together and we are forever thankful for that. Whether he’s working on his own ideas or helping out everyone else, amazing things result from his involvement. You can see Joe and Dog Mountain this Friday night, on New Year’s Day, when they perform their first sketch of 2016 at our Sketch Hangover! Until then, please enjoy Joe Moore’s 2015 sketch year in review…

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News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia Sketch Hangover Uncategorized

2015 Year In Review – Frank Farrell of The Prince

This week Philly Sketchfest will be taking a look back at the year 2015 through the eyes of the writers, performers, directors and producers that make sketch comedy in Philadelphia a reality. Frank Farrell is one-half of the sketch duo, The Prince with fellow La Salle University graduate, Jamie Glasheen. In 2015, The Prince put up one of our favorite sketch sets of the year, a seemingly minimalist show set entirely in one location (the stage of a grade-school talent show) with barely any costume changes/props and no blackouts. The end result was quite complex. Frank & Jamie seamlessly alternated between characters (and on different nights, they would even trade roles) using single objects as totems/short-hand to communicate information to the audience that would be further revealed through their performance. They play students, teachers, parents, and at one point, Frank plays himself, translating the excitement and vulnerability that comes in attempting to define yourself while at the same time, being defined by others. You can and should enjoy The Prince this Friday night, on New Year’s Day, when they perform their first sketch of 2016 at our Sketch Hangover! Until then, please enjoy what Frank enjoyed in his 2015 sketch year in review…