Jean Louis

Running this month (MARCH 2010) at the Curious Comedy Theater you will see FIT TO PRINT the longform improv show where we do our scenes based on news items selected by audience members, followed by JEAN LOUIS the two-person longform show by Curious founders Stacey Hallal and Bob Ladewig. Watch them improvise scenes - generating material for their next full sketch show. It's like a one-act play made up on the spot!

Catch us at the Curious Comedy Theater and laugh your face off.

I think this says it all.

This ad is running in our two papers in Portland. Come see our theater.

Cagematch! - Defending the title

Stuart, Alex and Anthony... better known as Ductape Worms won the Cagematch two weeks in a row. Last week they performed the puppet harold... This week? Who knows!

Curious Comedy at the Bagdad Theater

Last Saturday (April 25th) the Curious Comedy Mainstage players performed at the Bagdad Theater as part of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. We did our 'greatest hits' in a way. Enough sketches to fill 25 minutes. The venue is huge and it felt really good to get our show scene by such a large audience. Thanks to Andy and everyone at Bridgetown for asking us to be a part of such a great festival!

Return of the CAGEMATCH

the Cagematch is back! Tonight at its new time. 7pm!!!

the Curious Comedy Theater

Hey,
Guess what?
We have a hilarious show for you to see.
You should come see it this weekend. Friday and Saturday night at 8pm.
It will cost you $6.00 (cheap!) and bring a smile to your face.
There is a full bar and food offered.
Also -
We have bathrooms!

Curious Mainstage Show

This weekend we've got the Curious Mainstage Players mixing sketch and improv in the mainstage shows. Friday and Saturday at 8pm. It's the funniest night in Portland. You'd be crazy to miss it. come on out, grab a drink and laugh the night away.

Gustafer day!

Seriously, you should come see the Gustafer Yellowgold show at the Curious Comedy Theater today at 2pm! You will not be disappointed! This is the last time to see it!

Fools Fest is here!

The Curious Comedy Theater opened the Fools Fest on Wednesday April 1st to a great crowd.
Shakesprov and Dopamine gave the audience (in particular the guy with the crazy laugh) a lot to laugh about. Thursday nights Open Court was also a great night, filled with plenty of "that's what she said" jokes and some wicked Wii-ing.
Tonight (and all through the weekend) the roller coaster will continue with some of the Northwest's funniest sketch and improv groups. Not only that, but we have two extra-special guests in town to help make Portland laugh. Check out the schedule below and support your local comedy scene! Complete festival passes still available for $30.00 (they do not include the guest shows).

Open Court continues!

In late 2003 at the Playground Theater in Chicago, Sammy Tamimi (The Geek Productions) and International Stinger came up with an idea of a longform jam. We rented out the Playground Theater on an off night (Thursday nights at 10pm) and began to run one of the most successful improv jams ever. The idea was simple - Not everyone has longform improv experience. Most people who get into improv comedy go through shortform games first. In Chicago there are something like 300 new improv students annually. All these students want to learn everything, want stage time and want to be seen, so we gave them a small opportunity for all those things at Open Court. It quickly took off and has continued to be the best improv jam around.
Now I've brought it here to Portland in our beautiful Curious Comedy Theater. Thursday nights at 8pm will be our Open Court night. The night where all our friends and students can come together and experiment with longform exercises in a comfortable and supportive environment.
At every Open Court we will do our best to support each and every player. All we ask is that two simple rules are followed: 1 - Agreement. improv is nothing without agreement. You must do your best to be on the same page as your team (and scene partner) all the time. It makes for better scenework and better energy.
2 - Positivity. While we are using Open Court as a learning format, it's also a jam. A lot of times a Jam can feel unfair to people who aren't open to new ideas. All we're asking for is that our participants feel the welcoming and positive feeling of the OC and feed it right back.

I hope to see you at the Open Court some thursday night.

Don't be a fool!

Coming soon to a Curious Comedy Theater near you...the Curious Fools Festival! Starting on Wednesday April 1st and going until Sunday April 5th, we'll be hosting a slew of comedic acts on our stage. You'll get to see some of the best acts from the northwest like the Brody Theater, Super Project Lab, The Liberators, and of course the Curious Main Stage Players.

But that's not all! You'll also get to see amazing acts like Gustafer Yellowgold from New York, Unexpected Productions from Seattle, and the Great Miasma from Eugene.

Still not convinced? Wait, there's more! Sunday night at 8pm we'll be treating you to Joe Raiola, editor of Mad Magazine, and his one man show Almost Obscene, a show all about censorship.

So don't be a fool! This is a festival you don't want to miss. Want tickets? Click here!

Open Court Thursday!

If you want to get on stage and do some longform improv in a fun and supportive environment than the Open Court is for you! Stop by on Thursday, put your name in as a performer and you'll be put on a team. The team has a coach and a form. You'll get 20(ish) minutes to perform your form with your new team. At the end of the night, prizes are drawn. Everyone Wins! (prizes are limited, but 'everyone wins' in the sense that you walk away feeling good and supported having done something different and fun).

Friday the 13th!

Come check out our new mainstage show where we mix improv and sketch comedy!

Curious Comedy Main Stage Show

Starting this Friday (the 13th!) the Curious Theater will be starting a new weekly show called the Curious Comedy Main Stage Show. This new show will feature original sketches from the Main Stage Players, as well as short form and long form improv. You also might get to see some stand up, musical comedy, and heck we might even slaughter a goat.

Um...scratch that. We will not slaughter a goat.

This week's show will feature the "Fit to Print" format in the first half and the "Commando" format in the second (don't worry, that doesn't mean we'll be performing without underwear). Each half will be about 45 minutes long and each one will leave you wanting more. But that's why we are doing the show twice a week. So come on Friday and then bring your friends back on Saturday.

Curious Comedy Main Stage Show

Fridays & Saturdays 8pm

from Now until Eternity

$12

Hurricane Dopamine

There's a storm a brewin'! It's headed this way. We will call it Hurricane Dopamine. It's going to be hitting Portland hard throughout the month of March. Come on down to the Curious Comedy Theater to get a first hand look at the mayhem.

Cheap Date: Featuring - Dopamine

Thursday, March 5th, 8pm

$5

The Cody Rivers Show was...AWESOME!

This weekend was Kuh Ray Zee! The Cody Rivers Show rolled into town with their two man sketch comedy show and a fleet of loyal fans marched in droves to the theater to greet them. Unfortunately on Friday night, for their first show, Mike (pictured in blue) was horribly sick and not able to make it to the show. Andrew (in red) showed up anyway and along with Curious Comedy cast members Stacey Hallal, Bob Ladewig, and Craig McCarty from they put on an impromptu improv show that knocked the socks off the audience. 

Saturday night Mike was back in good health and he and Andrew combined their powers to form the 2 man sketch show known as the Cody Rivers Show. It was incredible. From synchronized monologues to full blown conversations on opposite day to time traveling radio interviews, their show blew my mind for an hour straight. And then, they did a scene where two chair made out. Weird. But awesome. 

Sunday night they did a make up show for the people who didn't get to see them on Friday and their fans proved just how loyal they are by coming out on Oscar night to see the true Cody Rivers action. 

It was a great weekend and a lot of fun. We certainly hope to see them again sometime soon.

Highlights from Shoshinz

Are YOU HERE Yet?

Our new sketch show, Are We There Yet OR Don't Make Me Turn This Country Around, debuted this weekend. It's really great! You should have seen it! If you did see it, you and I are now best friends! If you didn't see it, don't fret! You still have a chance to become my best friend. You could come next weekend, or the weekend after that! You could even come three weekends after this week, but my offer to be my best friend will be off the table. It will still be a funny show though.

Also this weekend is the Cody Rivers Show. Friday and Saturday night they'll be performing after Are We There Yet? They are amazing and if you miss your chance to see them you will never be able to forgive yourself. You don't want to live the rest of your life like that, do you? No, some come on out! We've got great comedy and ladies...we've got a really cute bartender.

Shoshinz 2

Seriously, Check out Shoshinz on their first ever American tour (West Coast). They put on one of the most entertaining shows I've seen in a long time. Full of beautifully choreographed dance and movement pieces and genuine, hilarious comedy. It's cute and mezmorising. You have to see it to believe how wonderful this show is... not to mention how wonderful these two ladies are in person.
The Curious Comedy Theater wishes Yanomi and Kuronatsu good luck on the rest of their tour!
Bellingham, WA
The Walton Theatre at The Mount Baker Theatre www.mountbakertheatre.com
Thursday & Friday, February 19 & 20
9:00

Sacramento, CA
Sacramento All-Sketch www.allsketch.com
Friday & Saturday, February 26 & 28

San Francisco, CA
The Hemlock Tavern
Sunday, March 1

Los Angeles, CA
Sacred Fools Theatre
Thursday & Friday. March 5 & 6

Coffee Gallery Backstage
Monday, March 9

Woweee!

What a weekend we just had. Shoshinz, the female japanese duo, graced our stage 3 times and wowed us with their hilarious physicality. Without saying a word they had us laughing through their whole show. Being the fan of classic slapstick that I am, I was excited to see that this style of humor could still get big laughs in a time where stand up comedy and sex jokes dominate the comedy scene. 

If Shoshinz was the only special guest group to join us this week we would have counted ourselves lucky. But we had the extra bonus of watching the Liberators explode in our theater. There shows are always high energy and exciting. We can't wait to have them back!

If you feel like you missed out on a great weekend don't worry because we've got another great one coming up. This week we are debuting our next great sketch comedy show, Are We There Yet? Or Don't Make Me Turn This Country Around! We tested a lot of the material out last week and the audiences really liked it.

Also, keep your eyes on this blog for upcoming information about the Cody Rivers Show coming in a few weeks. 

Japanese Female Comedy Duo!

Looking for something completely different this week? Come check out Shoshinz! Shoshinz is a female Japanese duo and is one of the most renowned comedy troupes in Japan. We're really excited to have this completely different comedic experience in our theater and we hope you'll join us for it.

Thursday 8pm - $12

Friday 8pm - $12

Saturday 10pm - $12

New Sketch Show

Opening in three weeks. Better start marketing the show now!

pp protest?

About a mile south of the theater on MLK there is a Planned Parenthood being built. While at the theater today we witnessed a protest march going down MLK against Planned Parenthood. The thing that struck me as funny about the anti Planned Parenthood protest was a sign one person was carrying which read, "Planned Parenthood Promotes Pills, Promiscuity and STD's".
Really? I'm all for standing up for what you believe in, but come on... try to be smart about it. Planned Parenthood Promotes those things? and STD doesn't even start with the letter P. Try harder next time.

Special Night Tonight

Tonight at 8pm (I know this picture says 10, but it's from a different event. deal with it.) A very special CHEAP DATE featuring SWINGERS and a Happy Birthday show by BROWN CHICKEN BROWN COW. You won't want to miss it!

the Birthday Train

Happy Brrrthday Manuel Hall! Current Fit To Print castmember and Dopamine fixture, Manuel Hall celebrated his drrrtieth birthday with us on Friday. There was a great Fit to Print show, followed by a roast for the man of the hour. Nate Smith was out of town, so I was asked to host the event. I'm normally not one for hosting, but it is next to impossible to turn a guy like Manuel down for anything he requests. A lot of great people came out and said a lot of great things about one of the most kind and hilarious people in Portland.
Happy Birthday Manuel. We're happy to have you as a part of the Curious Comedy Theater!

Midnight Sausage

This week the Curious Comedy Theater was honored to host not one, but two special appearances by Portland's premier formal wear improv/dance troupe Midnight Sausage. David Saffert and Kathryn Durkin amazed the crowds on Thursday and Sunday night with their longform improv broken up with old-timey dancing.
Do yourself a favor and catch Midnight Sausage the next time you see they're performing!

Mayor Ex Machina: LIVE!

Sam Adams officially took office on January 1st, but was sworn in today - Monday January 5th. After getting knighted (or whatever it is mayors do) he bustled over to the Curious Comedy Theater to deliver a speech for NNEBA (North Northeast Business Association). Seeing as how the Curious Comedy THEATER (not club) is located in Northeast Portland - they keep it in the neighborhod. It was a great event! Sam Adams gave an inspirational speech and set out his goals for his first 100 days as mayor. Portland has a great plan laid out ahead. I'm hoping it all comes to fruition.