ASSSSCAT 3000 at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
I just got home from my first experience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (otherwise known as UCB) and it was AWESOME! I saw a show called ASSSSCAT 3000. I had heard about UCB many times before and I knew that the cast of Saturday Night Live was supposed to frequent it, but I never knew when to expect them. Last Sunday I read a little blurb about Seth Meyers in the New York Times and he said that he often performs at ASSSSCAT 3000 on Sunday nights in order to unwind from the hectic life of prepping for SNL. When I googled it and saw that tickets were either $10 or FREE, I knew I had to go.
After discussing it with my husband, we decided to go for the $10 so that we wouldn’t have to wait in line for the later, free show, mainly because we don’t like lines and we can afford to shell out $20 for an interesting evening. The first show was at 7:30 and we got there about 7:15. We were way at the back of the line and didn’t quite know what to expect. The theater only seats 150 people and it seemed there were about 150 people in the line and it was growing. Turns out the line for the free show had already grown sufficiently by 7:15 and many people were lined up for it. We moved easily into the theater around 7:30. There are no reserved seats but we were glad to snag seats in the middle section because the actors often had their backs to the sides.
The lights went out and then the exciting part happened… Amy Poehler came out! I had read that she founded the theater 14 years ago but I didn’t expect to see her. She participated in the show the entire time along with another SNL alum, Rachel Dratch, and many other up and coming comedians. The show consists of long form improv where a monologist takes a one word suggestion from the audience and tells personal stories around the word for five minutes or so. After this the crew (including Rachel and Amy tonight) do short skits acting out parts of the monologue. The comedy is raw and you can tell that this is how these comedians practice and keep things fresh. This is what makes the show interesting. My husband suggested that the 9:30 show would be even better because the group would be more warmed up… I will have to go back and check it out. All in all, this was a great way to get rid of any Sunday night anxiety about the impending work week. It felt like a New York secret that I don’t want to get out too much because it will fill up so fast I will never get a seat there again.
