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Upstairs Gallery Chicago: Tonight Late! SKETCHVILLE USA!
Thursday- April 19th - 10pm, Free ($5 Suggested Donations), BYOB
A new regular Sketch Night at the Upstairs Gallery? SURE!
Come see some of our favorite Chicago Sketch groups run new material/rehash old material/do whatever they want. Sets from:
- Conner O’Malley and Hans Holsen
- …
We are doing sketch comedy to night at the Upstairs Gallery! Come check out some new stuff.
25 Ways to Explain to Someone Whether They’re Watching Improv or Sketch
After even my parents, the people who have the most invested in what I have to say, could not grasp the fact that an improv show Sarah and I were in was not written ahead of time, we decided that this list needed to be created.
Thus and thus, 25 Ways to Explain to Someone Whether They’re Watching Improv or Sketch:
1. If someone says: “What you’re going to see is improv. Not sketch. Improv is made up on the spot. That is what you will be watching. You will not be watching sketch. Sketch is written. Improv is not. You will be watching improv,” it’s an improv show.
2. If someone says: “What you’re going to see is sketch comedy. Not improv. Improv is made up on the spot. That is NOT what you will be watching. You will be watching sketch. Sketch is written. Improv is not. You will be watching sketch,” it’s a sketch show.
3. If someone asks for a suggestion at the top, you’re probably watching improv.
4. If the show has lots of tech, like lighting, music cues, costumes changes, it’s probably sketch.
5. If someone tells you it’s improv, it’s probably improv.
6. If it’s called a sketch revue, it’s probably a sketch revue. That means that if you’re seeing a sketch revue at Second City, it’s probably a sketch revue.
7. If your daughter’s like, “I’d love if you would come to my improv show.” And you say, “Did you write it?” And she says, “No, Dad, it’s an improv show,” then it’s probably an improv show.
8. If after a show you say to a performer, “That was awesome writing!” And they say, “It wasn’t written. It was improvised!” Then it was probably improv.
9. This is an improv show.
10. This is a sketch show.
11. This is a sketch revue with one scene that is improvised. You will know the one improv scene by the way the performers are asking the audience for a suggestion.
12. If you say, “Oh! Like Who’s Line Is it Anyway!” And the performer says, “Yeah…something like that…” You’re seeing an improv show.
13. If you say, “Oh! Like Who’s Line Is it Anyway!” And the performer says, “Yes, exactly,” then it’s a sketch show.*
14. If there are smartly utilized props—probably a sketch show.
15. If a performer picks up a beer from an audience member’s table, drinks it, accidentally drops it on the stage and shatters it into a million glass shards on stage, it’s most likely a late night improv show.
16. If the whole cast is wearing nice black clothes, it’s probably a sketch show, or an improv show taken really seriously.
17. If there’s one or more performers standing on the side of an ongoing scene and lunging like he’s getting ready to steal home plate, it’s an improv show.
18. If there are performers standing on the sides of a stage while a scene is happening and a couple of them are whispering in plain sight, it’s an improv show.
19. If an actor throws a chair several times throughout the show and someone gets hurt, it’s probably an improv show.
20. If an actor throws a chair several times throughout the show and pixie girl in a fairy costume is always there to catch it, it’s a really weird sketch show.
21. If there are a lot of choreography, it’s hopefully a sketch show.
22. If something seems wildly unprepared and unscripted it’s an improv show or an unrehearsed sketch show.
23. If you see a group of 20-somethings standing with their arms crossed at the back of the theater near the bar and high-fiving each other when something’s funny, it’s probably a sketch show, and those are probably the writers.
24. If the playbill says “Written and performed by…”, it’s a sketch show.
25. If there’s a playbill, it’s a sketch show.
* That was a nasty quip at Who’s Line for having a reputation for seeming like they do actually write their material ahead of time.
The Era at the Upstairs Gallery 10.12.11
This is a sketch show we did at The Upstairs Gallery in order to apply for Chicago sketchfest!!! Check it out.
WARNING: Not for the faint of heart.
The Era Does Second City!
Guess what?! This Friday, July 29th you can see both SARAH and DARA in sketch comedy shows at The Second City in Chicago!
Sarah performs at 7:30pm in Black & White & Red Denim Moustache, a scripted 50 minute sketch comedy revue celebrating the newspaper one last time before people start using iPads to line their bird cages. Join us in remembering the newspaper without getting ink on your hands.
Dara performs at 9pm in Blinded by Delight, a raucous romp through the lives and relationships of forward thinking adults who have twice the degrees as their parents and earn about a sixth of the income. The choices we made on the paths to love, money and success lead us to… where? When we come out on the other side and face the real world, we learn that all this time, we’ve been Blinded by Delight.
Also, this was a result in a Google Image search for “sketch comedy”:
We can’t promise our shows will be THIS funny, but they will come close.
The Era
We are Dara & Sarah!
We are Chicago comedians, students of improv, commentators on life, liberty and the eclectic quirkiness that is this time. We are THE ERA.
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