....................

EXTRAS: We need volunteer extras for the films big finale, a HUGE DANCE OFF!!!  We need groups of three of four to dress up in fun organized costumes such as, pirates, astronauts, dolphin, etc. for the shoot, which will take place the night of October 31st. Basically any costume you have in triplicate or more could be a dance gang.  You can either show up with your group in full costume or we will costume you when you arrive.  There's no pay but it will be a big dance party with some of the coolest hip hop dancers around, we'll feed you and there will be a prize for the best group costume!!!!....

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If you are interested in being an extra please contact Erin Owens at erinkalenowens@gmail.com. ....

http://ultimatecomedybash.com/index.php
These are the comedy shows to see in 2009.

Don't miss these shows.

....................

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Casting 3 or more person Dance Crews for the feature film "Freak Dance," a musical comedy produced by the Upright Citizens Brigade.  B-boy and 

girl, break-dancer, gymnastic, and hip hop dance crews all wanted.  

Please prepare 4-6 eight counts and perform in groups of 3.  Also be 

prepared to freestyle and demonstrate dynamic specialty moves.  

Individuals wanting to audition should still submit, but must have access to a dance group, and will probably be required to come back and audition with the group at a later date.  Movie shoots in Los Angeles between October 17 and 31.  Dancers will be paid appropriate SAG Modified Low Budget rate.  Bring a headshot (or picture) and resume.  Come dressed in your own style.

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Casting a featured dancer for the feature film "Freak Dance," a musical comedy produced by the Upright Citizens Brigade.  Will 

consider all dance styles as long as it can be executed as a soloist.  

Looking for experts in jazz, hip hop, break-dance, or specialty acts.  

Prepare to freestyle and perform your own routine.  Break-dancing, floor work, turn sequences, crazy kicks, splits/flexibility, and power moves are encouraged.  Movie shoots in Los Angeles between October 17 and 31.  Dancers will be paid appropriate SAG Modified Low Budget rate.  Bring headshot (or picture) and resume.  Come dressed in your own style.  We will also be looking to fill roles of 4 female chorus dancers.

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DATES AND TIMES:

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Wednesday September 23rd , 2009

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10 am :  Invited call for role of featured female dancer

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2 pm : Invited call for crews  and breakdancers

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7pm :  Open Call for Crews and Females

Comedy Death Ray
July 21 @ 8:30
UCB Theater in LA


Just For Laughs Festival / Zoo Fest
Mainline Theater
Montreal
July 23-25
I'll be in a few different shows: Asssscat, North America's Best Comic; Greatest Concert Ever.


Zoo Fest in Montreal

Greatest Concert Ever
Aug. 8
UCB Theater in LA

Greatest Concert Ever
Aug. 13
UCB Theater in NYC

Del Close Marathon
Aug. 14-16
UCB Theater in NYC
I'm in a lot of shows including: Asssscat; Smartest Panel of Experts; America's Best Comic; Church of Sing - A - Long.

Del Close Marathon

FREAK DANCE: THE FORBIDDEN DIRTY BOOGALOO....

"When pop comes to lock, when you're breakin' on the make, sometimes you got to take a chance and dance." ....

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 By popular demand The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is reviving Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo, a new musical theater extravaganza, written by Matt Besser (Upright Citizens Brigade, Walk Hard) and directed by Lindsay Hendrickson (Reflections on a Mountain). Running on Fridays through the Spring.  Freak Dance enjoyed months of sold out shows and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is proud to be able to bring it back to new audiences.....

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Freak Dance is a straight up, in your face, activated story of how dancers from different worlds come together to save Fantaseez Dance Center, the soul of the streets where dancing is the dream of every street kid, combating the city building inspector, the rival studio, and the Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo.....

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Choreographed by Jennifer Li (American Dreamz) & Kathryn Burns, Musical Direction by Jake Anthony (Oh God, We're Going to Die!) and music by Brian Fountain (Killgore: The Musical) and Jake Anthony, the cast includes Michael Cassady, Megan Lynam, Hal Rudnick (Reno 911!), Sam Riegel (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Drew Droege (Reno 911!), Mike Rose, Angela Trimbur (Entourage), Ben Siemon, Meghan Parks (SF Sketchfest), Allan McLeod, Scott Rodgers, Jackie Johnson, Joel Spence, Kathleen Mangan, James Ross,  Greg Winter, Brendan Hunt, and featuring break dancing from the Bad Newz Bears Crew Bboys.....

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Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre is located at 5919 Franklin Avenue; Hollywood, CA; 90028. Valet parking available. Tickets for Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo are $10: Friday, Jan. 16^rd at 8pm; and Wed. Feb. 25 at 8pm.  For tickets and more information, call 323.908.8702 or visit www.ucbtheatre.com.....

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Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo....

Friday, Jan. 16 @ 8pm 

$10....

.. 
..

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre....

5919 Franklin Avenue....

Hollywood, CA 90028....

323.908.8702 | www.ucbtheatre.com....

ALL AGES | valet parking available.... LA WEEKLY THEATER PICK ....

FREAK DANCE: THE FORBIDDEN DIRTY BOOGALOO Much of the propulsion in Matt Besser's dance confection comes from the great breakdance interludes by the Bad Newz Bearz crew (Joel Lara, Jose D. Martinez, Ernie Rodriguez, Isaac Lara and Jesus Corla). The rest derives from Besser's comic-book satire of self-righteous programs claiming to use the arts to get kids off drugs. Our hero, Funky Bunch (Michael Cassady), sports a DARE T-shirt and tries to rally a clan of inner-city youth led by an aging homey (Hal Rudnick) who suffers the effects of a brain injury from dancing on the ceiling, as well as the complete evisceration of his penis from too much friction with the ground. There's even a rich girl (Megan Lynam) — "I'm not so rich that I can't learn to be poor." They hunker down in an abandoned office and rehearse their dance moves. Enter the Building Inspector (Besser), in the colonial attire of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, slapping them with a $2K fine. How to endure? A dance contest, of course, pitting their slick moves against the sleazy lap-dance gyrations of their opponents, the Dazzles, led by Drew Droege and featuring Allan McLeod, in a mentally impaired turn that looks like Christopher Walken with a high-pitched manic laugh. Dance-bulge codpieces are like visual centerpieces adorning the actors, under Lindsay Hendrickson's perfect direction. Brian Fountain and Jake Anthony wrote the music. Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, ....5919 Franklin Ave....., Hlywd.; Fri., ..8 p.m...; thru April 25. (323) 908-8702. ....

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LA MAGAZINE ....

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Our appetite for the inspirational dance movie genre is insatiable, just as humanity never tires of the washed-up coach who takes over a ragtag sports team, leads it to victory (or edifying defeat), and thus gains redemption. Matt Besser, one of the original four of Upright Citizens Brigade, writes and directs Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo, a send up of the You Got Serveds and Step Ups that have fed our dreams. As Besser describes his show: "Overly sincere musical numbers describing the hard life of a ghetto street dancer." Yes, musical theater and dance movies are often very stupid, and Besser does a sly job of skewering both, and his turn as the Inspector Javert villain is genius. Drew Droege, one of ....L.A.....'s funniest up-and-comers, plays an evil, silver-suited advocate of lap dances. The Bad News Bears dance troupe also brings the real pops and locks to the stage. And, hey, dig those dance bulges.

Mish Mash Mag: Comedy Spotlight : "Freak Dance" at UCB Theatre ....

Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo
Upright Citizens Brigade - Hollywood, CA
by Josh Henaman

.. .. .. ......On a cold, rainy Friday night, tucked away in the relatively cozy atmosphere of the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles, I discovered something about each and every one of us. In the simplest of terms, I found out that each one of us is a brain… and an athlete… and a basket case… and…. Ah screw this Breakfast Club bullshit. The only thing I learned on that cold and rainy night is that dancing isn't about sex. It's all about the looove...and we can blame weed for everything… including terrorism.

In case you didn't know, I'm talking about Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo. Billed as a straight-up, activated and in your face musical extravaganza, Freak Dance is the absolute must-see show of the decade because you never know when you'll keel over dead as your head implodes because you danced on the ceiling one too many times. WTF? That's right, I'll bet you didn't even know the threat of head implosion existed. Well, thank Christ for Freak Dance.

Written by UCB alum, Matt Besser, directed by Lindsay Hendrickson and with songs by Brian Fountain and Jake Anthony, Freak Dance follows the tried and true story of a group of inner city youths as they strive to save their dance hang-out from closure and in the process discover something about themselves and everyone around them. But what separates their story from those in Save the Last Dance or Step Up or Step Up 2: The Streets or even that non-dancing movie where Sean Connery shouts, "You're the man now, dog!", Freak Dance isn't just about preaching to us the joys of dancing, it oozes it from its break-dance lovin' pores. This show isn't above reminding us every thirty seconds or so that dancing isn't something to do, but something to be.

From the opening dance number that introduces us to a world of oversized man junk and the art of the dance fight, we are fully engrossed in the plight of Funky Bunch, Sassy, Egghead and Barrio as they welcome the rich, wannabe-poor girl, Special Flavor, into the fold. With guidance from their mentor, Asteroid, an old school dance machine who once danced the forbidden boogaloo so fast and so hard the friction burnt his penis off, the gang set out to save their hang-out, Fantaseez, after it's shut down due to a bathroom deemed too dark to pee (among other things.) For about two hours, we're enveloped in a setting where dance numbers involving illiteracy, weed and slaughtering a pig might be considered the tamest of the bunch. And while it's hard to review a show that is as non-stop riotous as Freak Dance and single out all great standouts, random highlights and snippets include The Bad Newz Bears Crew BBoyz, smoking weed to forget I'm ugly, my dead brother, ten and the evil genius that is Dazzle.

With only two shows left in their run, May 30th and June 6th, you would not only be wise to check it out, but you might even be branded a friggin' genius by all of your friends. And to paraphrase Funky Bunch's signature line… "Activate! And go see Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo. It's fucking awesome."

For more information on UCB Theatre => UCB Theatre Los Angeles....

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footlosing it

.. .. .. ......The more drinks I had on Saturday night (thank you to all y'all who helped me celebrate—pictures coming soon!), the more I found myself talking about Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo.

If I were not so mature, maybe I would have been doing the forbidden dirty boogaloo on my birthday, but at the ripe old age of 31, I was happy to simply proselytize Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre's brilliant and hilarious spoof of dance movies, which I shall now proceed to do on my blog as well:

Riffing on everything from Footloose to Save the Last Dance (with a little HMS Pinafore, Gypsy and West Side Story thrown in for old times' sake), Boogaloo is populated with such archetypal favorites as The Rich Ballerina Who Wants To Dance Street and The Guy From The Barrio Who's Dancing For His Dead Brother (which he reminds us of every five minutes before turning his head and saying he doesn't like to talk about his dead brother).

The plot begins as pure parody: The good-but-poor kids at Fantaseez Dance Center must save their community center (which is plastered with "encouraging" posters all too recognizable to those in the nonprofit biz—my favorite was a photo of a wistful looking cat beneath the caption "Try Harder") from an evil building inspector because, of course, Dancing Is Their Only Way Out. But the story takes a turn for the absurd when we learn more about the surefire steps that will win the Big Dance Contest—the Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo has been known to burn off boys' penises (or "dance lumps" in the parlance of the show) and flat-out kill girls (talk about "What I Did For Love").

Such a show could easily be a stage version of a Scary Movie-style spoof, a genre I mostly dislike (with the exception of Wet Hot American Summer). It didn't help that most of the cast could not actually sing or dance all that well (with the exception of Angela Trimbur as Sassy, a sort of ghetto Jessica Simpson who, we learn in a Very Special moment, cannot read).

But Boogaloo succeeds big time because it's both more ridiculous and more serious than most spoofs. Beneath the '80s breakdancing getups and the five-sock-big dance lumps, there's an actual theme, which is: What is dancing about? This is a genuine critique of films that suggest dance has everything to do with poverty and passion and nothing to do with training or talent. The characters frequently remind us that dance is about all things good ("Reading is what dance is all about!" the kids tell Sassy) and nothing bad. Even the dirtiest dirty dancing is about love, not sex. Come on. Dance lumps are for balance, okay?

Highlighting the humor of the Fantaseez team are several interstitials by a crew of actual breakdancers. They're good, they're unassuming, they're diverse, they're not wearing legwarmers…and their performance offers an unspoken explanation of what dance actually is about.

See it for some straight-up good moves or see it for yo-mama jokes performed as Broadway showstoppers. But see it! (And it's only $10, less than a movie ticket to Step Up 2: The Streets.)

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MATT BESSER TO PERFORM TEN-WEEK RESIDENCY AT COMEDY DEATH-RAY
Comedy Death-Ray, Los Angeles's premier comedy show, is proud to announce that Upright Citizens Brigade founding member and the pride of Arkansas Matt Besser will be recording sets over the next few months, exclusively at CDR's Tuesday night program, and will be releasing them the very same week on UCBcomedy.com.

Fans have delighted to Mr. Besser's antics over the six-year history of CDR, with recent exploits including "Skittles 4 Wittels," "The Upstager," and "The Guy Fixing The Air-Conditioner." Audiences have oft wondered what a concentrated dose of Mr. Besser would offer. At last the wondering must cease.

"Comedy Death-Ray is the Olympics of the alternative comedy world," Mr. Besser replied when asked for comment. "It was a dream come true when my residency was accepted. For the last three years I have trained at CDR to be able to meet the challenge of the comedic decathalon I will perform these bits with all my heart, not just for the comedy nerds in the CDR audience, but also for the comedy nerds in the middle of America. I do these ten sets for you."

Mr. Besser will appear at the popular comedy spot ten separate Tuesdays through October. In these ten weeks, Mr. Besser will attempt all ten disciplines of comedy in an effort to reach "the perfect ten:"

1. Topical
2. Blue
3. Satire
4. Parody
5. Multiple characters – no costumes, no props; voice only
6. Musical
7. Impression
8. Physical
9. Stand-up – one word suggestions given the week before over internet and stage
10. Improvised – crowd work, taking suggestions

"I'm neither deluded nor vain enough to consider myself the Michael Phelps of comedy," Mr. Besser continued. "I am more like the Kerri Strug. I just want one gold night and I will give everything to get it. Even if I bomb the first nine Tuesdays, I will limp to the stage, maybe only standing on one tired old bit, but I will perform that bit with all my heart."

The excitement starts this Tuesday, 19 August 2008, as Mr. Besser shares the bill with fan-favorite Todd Glass and Saturday Night Live's Casey Wilson, launching his ten-night-stand with a surprise bit guaranteed to both amuse and shock the audience into convulsions of laughter.

"This is for all the comedy nerds in all the towns across this great land of ours – like Topeka, Harrisburg, Dover, Little Rock, and a few more that I can't remember now," Mr. Besser beamed. "God bless the Comedy Death-Ray for giving me the opportunity to achieve my dream."

LA WEEKLY THEATER PICK 

FREAK DANCE: THE FORBIDDEN DIRTY BOOGALOO Much of the propulsion in Matt Besser's dance confection comes from the great breakdance interludes by the Bad Newz Bearz crew (Joel Lara, Jose D. Martinez, Ernie Rodriguez, Isaac Lara and Jesus Corla). The rest derives from Besser's comic-book satire of self-righteous programs claiming to use the arts to get kids off drugs. Our hero, Funky Bunch (Michael Cassady), sports a DARE T-shirt and tries to rally a clan of inner-city youth led by an aging homey (Hal Rudnick) who suffers the effects of a brain injury from dancing on the ceiling, as well as the complete evisceration of his penis from too much friction with the ground. There's even a rich girl (Megan Lynam) — "I'm not so rich that I can't learn to be poor." They hunker down in an abandoned office and rehearse their dance moves. Enter the Building Inspector (Besser), in the colonial attire of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, slapping them with a $2K fine. How to endure? A dance contest, of course, pitting their slick moves against the sleazy lap-dance gyrations of their opponents, the Dazzles, led by Drew Droege and featuring Allan McLeod, in a mentally impaired turn that looks like Christopher Walken with a high-pitched manic laugh. Dance-bulge codpieces are like visual centerpieces adorning the actors, under Lindsay Hendrickson's perfect direction. Brian Fountain and Jake Anthony wrote the music. Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 5919 Franklin Ave., Hlywd.; Fri., 8 p.m.; thru April 25. (323) 908-8702.

 

 

LA MAGAZINE review

Our appetite for the inspirational dance movie genre is insatiable, just as humanity never tires of the washed-up coach who takes over a ragtag sports team, leads it to victory (or edifying defeat), and thus gains redemption. Matt Besser, one of the original four of Upright Citizens Brigade, writes and directs Freak Dance: The Forbidden Dirty Boogaloo, a send up of the You Got Serveds and Step Ups that have fed our dreams. As Besser describes his show: "Overly sincere musical numbers describing the hard life of a ghetto street dancer."

Yes, musical theater and dance movies are often very stupid, and Besser does a sly job of skewering both, but we're not offering an unequivocal thumbs up on the show. It runs a half hour too long, and some of the musical numbers could probably be cut, but the weirdness, including onstage pig slaughter, is worth it, and Besser's turn as the Inspector Javert villain is genius. Drew Droege, one of L.A.'s funniest up-and-comers, plays an evil, silver-suited advocate of lap dances. The Bad News Bears dance troupe also brings the real pops and locks to the stage.

And, hey, dig those dance bulges.

Three hours of Assssscat recorded at our theater in LA!

 

Shout Factory is releasing Asssscat on DVD on March 25!

get it at www.ucbtheater.com

or www.UCBcomedy.com

 

COMEDY PILOT
I've been lucky enough to be cast in a new HBO pilot called David's Situation written by Bob Odenkirk & David Cross. I play David's hippie roommate.
The pilot taping will be in LA on May 9th.
call soon for tickets
310-382-3260