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Photo Cred: Upright Citizens Brigade
Before Amy Poehler was making us double over in laughter on SNL, she was cracking jokes from the stage of the Upright Citizens Brigade. In fact, she was one of the four founding members who helped many great comedians get their start.
The improv and sketch comedy theater opened in NYC in 1996, after moving from Chicago. Since then, it’s been THE place to go in the city for hilarious, cutting edge comedy. The small theater, which first opened in Chelsea and now has a second location in the East Village, allows anyone to perform as long as they’ve undergone training at the UCBT Longform Improvisation Training Center. None of what the comedians perform is rehearsed, which you’ll find pretty unbelievable while watching. To involve the audience, most acts request a topic from the crowd to get the skit rolling. Nothing is pre-written or planned ahead, characters are made up on the spot and the result is pure, unadulterated hilarity. Tickets are cheap, the talent is fresh, and laughing burns calories so it’s sort of also a work out (maybe?!) .