asssscat 3000

The Upright Citizens Brigade is a comedy group that formed in the early 90's. The group's popularity (alumni include Amy Poehler, Horatio Sanz, Adam McKay, Ian Roberts) led to the creation of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York. The most well known show at the theatre is ASSSSCAT 3000.

ASSSSCAT 3000 has a simple premise: An hour of random, improvised scenes by 4 (or more) performers, based on 3 (quick) audience inspired monologues by a guest "monologist".

The show runs every Sunday night with a show at 7 and one at 9:30. Tickets can be purchased for the 7 o'clock show, but the 9:30 show is free for those who wait. The venue barely holds more than a hundred people, so arriving early is essential. Lining up as early as 6pm might only guarantee you standing room for the show.

We were lucky enough to see Horatio Sanz (formerly of SNL), Donald Glover (Community, former 30 Rock writer), John Lutz (30 Rock, former SNL writer), Zach Woods (The Office), and Chris Gethard (starring in Big Lake, with Sanz and Chris Parnell). Some of the other performers were writers from The Colbert Report. While waiting in line, we overheard another girl mention she had seen or heard of Alec Baldwin, Brian Williams, Conan O'Brien, Tina Fey, and Robin Williams, participating as monologists or performers in the past.

Neither of us have particularly been big fans of improv in the past, the combination of performers, monologist, and intimate venue, make for a great experience. Because they're not censored, like they are on TV, it allows for some incredibly hilarious material - laugh-til-you-cry kinda stuff. It became a Sunday night ritual for us and it was completely worth hanging out in line for awhile.