If you have any knowledge of longform improv in North America, I don’t have to tell you that this announcement is a Big Frickin’ Deal: Matt Besser and Matt Walsh are coming to Toronto to perform Asssscat for the very first time, Saturday, May 8 at the Glenn Gould Studio.
If the cool factor of the above sentence is lost on you, here’s a quick backgrounder: Besser and Walsh are two of the four co-founders of the Upright Citizens Brigade and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres in New York and Los Angeles. The UCBT’s training program is arguably the best there is, was, and ever will be. It’s inspired by the improv teachings of Del Close, who the UCB4 (rounded out by Ian Roberts and Amy Poehler) studied under in Chicago.
Asssscat is a longform improv show that’s been held on Sunday nights in New York for eons, long even before the UCBT existed (it runs is Los Angeles now as well). The cast rotates, with regulars from SNL, Conan, and 30 Rock (the UCB4 are now all Los Angeles-based and frequently participate in the LA theatre’s edition). Read the wiki for more info.
Matt Besser at the UCBT-NY. Photo by Sharilyn Johnson
The show is produced by Vanguard Comedy, and details about ticket on-sale dates and who will round out the cast are still to come. For updates, add it to your Facebook events.
Sharilyn Johnson is a full-time television writer, part-time blogger, and sometimes comic.