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News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia

Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia – February 1st through February 7th

Happy February 2016 everyone! We’re absolutely thrilled February is here because that means that in a few short weeks, we’ll be announcing the line-up of performers, workshops and panels taking place at Philly Sketchfest 2016, March 31st through April 3rd. If you haven’t heard, we’ve extended our submission deadline by 48 hours making today the final day to get your sketch group in on the festivities. But that’s not all we’re up to in February as Philly Sketchfest is also presenting two new sketch showcases! Both shows take place on Friday, February 19th with our 8:30pm showcase featuring sketch from Spirit Animal & The Flat Earth who will performing their sets from the 2016 Chicago Sketchfest with stand-up from Alyssa Al-Dookhi. Then at 10:00pm it’s a brand new set of sketch from The Prince entitled, ‘Whole Human, Whole Horse’ directed by Maggy Keegan with stand-up from Joe Bell.

Philly Sketchfest is also a proud sponsor of the 2016 Bechdel Test Fest celebrating Philadelphia’s women and trans comedians at the Christ Church Neighborhood House. You can find out about all the sketch groups performing in it after the break…

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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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Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia Sweetish The Dirtiest Sketch In Philadelphia 2015 Uncategorized

Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia – November 16th through November 22nd

Before we get started with this week’s shows, Philly Sketchfest would like to congratulate The Flat Earth & Spirit Animal on their acceptance into the 2016 Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. Please join us in wishing these two groups all the best when they represent Philly this coming January. And there’s more to celebrate because it’s show week for us here at Philly Sketchfest Presents and we’ve got two big events planned for you on Friday, November 20th at The Playground of the Adrienne Theater. First, it’s Sweetish, Trout House and stand-up comedian Eddie Finn at 8:30pm and then at 10:00pm it’s our annual, Dirtiest Sketch in Philadelphia with special guest judges, FUCT from New York City. More details on our Friday shows as well as all of the sketch comedy Philadelphia has to offer this week below.>

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Barbara Bush Crossroads Comedy Festival Fund Raiser News Sweetish The Dirtiest Sketch In Philadelphia 2015

Congratulations, Thank yous and Safe Travels to Barbara Bush!

<span style="color: #000000;">Julia Hudson, Shawna Stoltzfoos and Jolie Darrow of Barbara Bush</span>
Julia Hudson, Shawna Stoltzfoos and Jolie Darrow of Barbara Bush

Thank you & Congratulations to Barbara Bush, their director, Jacquie Baker, and Nicole Yates for an incredible show on Sunday! Extra special thanks to YOU, yes you, the audience for helping these amazingly talented sketch writer/performers on their upcoming trip, where they’ll next be performing on the main stage of the Crossroads Comedy Festival in Indianapolis, IN!

Philly Sketchfest Presents was honored to have hosted this fundraiser with all proceeds going to the ‘the first ladies of comedy’.

Come see us next month on Friday, November 20th with Sweetish, Trout House (NYC),& Eddie Finn at 8:30pm as well as ‘The Dirtiest Sketch in Philadelphia’ with guest judges, FUCTnyc at 10:00pm and an equally filthy surprise at 11:15pm…

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Barbara Bush Crossroads Comedy Festival Fund Raiser News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia

Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia – October 5th through October 11th

It’s a big week for us here at Philly Sketchfest with our first monthly show featuring ‘the first ladies of comedy’, Barbara Bush and special guest, Nicole Yates. But that’s not all that’s happening this week. In fact, sketch groups from Philadelphia are honing their material with local shows in preparation for next week’s New York City Sketchfest 2015 at The PIT. Philly Sketchfest would like to take a moment to alphabetically congratulate the Philadelphia sketch groups accepted into NYC Sketchfest, The Burgundy Boys, Goat Rodeo (PHIT), High Dramma, The Incredible Shrinking Matt & Jacquie, Mean Wendy Band, Your Mom, and the first group to begin preparatory shows this week, Patric Writes Sketches.
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Patric Writes Sketches w/ People Say I’m Sketchy
Philly Improv Theater – 2030 Sansom Street (2nd Floor)
Thursday, October 8th – 9pm / Tix – $8 Advance & $10 Door
Friday, October 9th – 9pm / Tix – $10 Advance & $12 Door

Patrick Writes Sketches LogoPatric Ciervo writes sketch comedy. So it only made sense that when he began putting his work on stage that he represent himself as such. And thus was born, ‘Patric Writes Sketches’. Patric’s shows feature a variety of comedic premises while also connecting to a through-line that begins and ends shows. Sketches explore double-standards, re-visits well known fairy tales from a modern perspective and provides fans of both light humor and dark comedy. There is always something for everyone in a Patric Writes Sketches set. Opening the show, ‘People Say I’m Sketch’, the first full sketch set from the up-and-coming sketch writer/performer, Charlie Shulman. A regular at Sketch Up or Shut Up, Iron Sketch and PHIT’s monthly Monologue show, Charlie is irreverent and not afraid to break the fourth wall in effort to get in touch with his audience’s comedic sensibilities.

Patric Writes Sketches is written by Patric Ciervo and performed by Sarah Clemency, Shannon DeVido (Adventure Friends), Pete Gerbron, Steve Holland (Best Friends TV) and Pat Reber (Hey, We’re Cool).

People Say I’m Sketchy features sketches written by Charlie Shulman, Kris Hodge and Megan Carter. Performers include Charlie Shulman, Megan Carter, Kris Hodge, Gene Meyer and Annie Paradis.
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Hi, We’re Barbara Bush with special guest, Nicole Yates
Sunday, October 11th – Doors 7:30pm / Show 8:00pm
The Playground at Adrienne Theater – 2030 Sansom Street (1st Floor on Left) / Tix – $10

barbara bush show imageWe’ve been talking about Barbara Bush’s brand-new show since our this website launched. Now it’s finally time. We at Philly Sketchfest can’t tell you how excited we are to host ‘the first ladies of comedy’ in preparation for the upcoming set at the Crossroads Comedy Festival in Indianapolis, IN. Here’s what we know about the show so far without giving away all the surprises… They are performing their festival set in its entirety, there will be singing in a musical number and all ticket sale proceeds will go to the group. We’re happy, we’re excited and we simply can’t wait for Sunday when you all get to see what Barbara Bush and their director, Jacquie Baker, have planned for you.
Opening the show, stand-up comedian, Nicole Yates. Nicole is also the host of the DidjaEat Podcast and co-creator of the Black Friday Comedy Marathon at Philly Improv Theater (PHIT).

Barbara Bush is an all-female sketch comedy group featuring, Kathryn Amrhein, Jolie Darrow, Julia Hudson, Sue Nelson, Courtney Painter, Shawna Stotzfoos and Nicole Zeits. They are directed by Jacquie Baker.

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News Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia

Sketch Comedy in Philadelphia – September 28th through October 4th

Last week the Pope visited the city of Philadelphia. We we warned what would happen to the city. We were told we could leave while there was still time. Then reality set in… there would be no sketch shows while the Papal was in town. With a lack of sketch comedy entertainment, it wasn’t long before the city was torn asunder. Pandemonium reigned with chaos replacing all law and order. The children, covered in the blood of their fallen elders, wept when instead, they should have been validating the existence of sketch writers and performers with their laughter. To the survivors, to those returning, to those who have lost, please enjoy the following sketch shows as we move forward, forever changed by a week with no sketch shows.
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Hey, We’re Cool – We Got Drunk and Wrote a Show
Thursday, October 1st – 8pm / L’etage – 624 S. 6th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147 / $5 at the door

Hey, We're Cool
Hey, We’re Cool
If nothing else, Hey, We’re Cool prides themselves on their professionalism. So when they said “Let’s get, like, sloppy drunk and then write a show, and then we have to stick to whatever we wrote for that show, no matter how weird or uninterpretable the ideas are,” they did exactly that.

Promising a bizarre collection of ideas, drunkenly written weeks ago that are now simply bad decisions performed weeks after they drunkenly made them, Hey, We’re Cool has both thrown the gauntlet down and subsequently picked it back up. Drunkly written and soberly performed by Quinton Alexander, Matt Aukamp, Jacquie Baker, Kev Ketner, Chris McGrail, Pat Reber and Matthew Schmid.
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People of Interest – Two Year Anniversary Show
Thursday, October 1st – 10:30pm / PHIT – 2030 Sansom St. (2nd Floor), Phila, PA 19103 / Tix $8-$10
People of Interest LogoAfter you’re finished laughing at Hey, We’re Cool, why not give The Incredible Shrinking Matt & Jacquie a ride across town to Philly Improv Theater (PHIT) so you can watch them perform together in People of Interest! Host Ryan T. Barlow conducts NPR-style interviews with characters created and performed by local comedians. However, the performers have no idea who they will be portraying until they arrive on stage. This month, People of Interest celebrates its two-year anniversary and Ryan T. Barlow will interviewing comedy duos from Philadelphia including sketch duo, The Incredible Shrinking Matt & Jacquie and Improv duos, Proper Dodgy (Rachel Semigran & Lizzie Spellman), Mishegas (Mike Marbach & Kristen Schier) and Something Simple with Alex (Gross) & Frank (Farrell).
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Monologues at PHIT + Brought To You By…
Friday, October 2nd at 9pm / PHIT – 2030 Sansom St. (2nd Floor), Phila, PA 19103 / Tix $10-$12

Two Shows, One Hour
One hour, two shows.
Filmed sketch offers groups an ability to reach audiences outside their locale while also opening up creative opportunities not available in a live format. However, the ability to receive immediate feedback from an audience is otherwise absent. That’s where Brought To You By… fills the gap, premiering new filmed sketches from Philadelphia-area groups in front of a live audience. Hosted & curated by Casey Hogan, Peter Szekeres, and Alex Coffey, the trio also integrate live material in-between videos. This month, videos from Patric Ciervo (Patric Writes Sketches), Andrew Sigwart, and Paul Triggiani (Secret Pants/The Flat Earth).
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If you’re a comedian with an inclination to film and edit your material, email [email protected] to inquire about having your video featured as part of an upcoming show.

After that, it’s Monologues hosted & curated by Dru Kramcsak. This month’s performers include Kathryn Amrhein (Barbara Bush), Jacquie Baker (The Incredible Shrinking Matt & Jacquie), Josh Higham, Billy Kontostergios, Shelia Masters, Jon Plester (Jon & Ian Have Something To Tell You), Charlie Shulman (People Say I’m Sketchy) and host, Dru Kramcsak.
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Know about an upcoming sketch show? Want us to tell people about it? Send your listing to [email protected].