Lowell Memorial Auditorium

The Cast of NBC's Last Comic
Standing Live Tour
Friday, September 28 at 8:00pm
at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium (buy tickets here)

BassProv is a hilarious, improvised play starring Joe Bill and Mark Sutton, two of the nation’s leading improvisers.  BassProv has charmed audiences from coast to coast. This critically acclaimed comedy's simple style, and down home characters capture the straightforward lifestyle of the American heartland. The show sets up the audience with "good old boy" characters and then blows them away with intelligent debate and often poignant incite into life in modern times. Joe Bill is a co-founder of the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago and teaches improvisation for The Second City Conservatory and Training Center, Annoyance, The Playground and around the U.S., Canada, UK and Netherlands. Mark Sutton is a founding member of The Annoyance Theater and has been performing, teaching, writing, and directing comedy in Chicago for the past 15 years. He is a former director of The Second City National Touring Company.

This  improvised show  is the creation of veteran performers MarkSutton (Annoyance Theater, BASSPROV) and Stacey Hallal (All Jane No Dick).Based on the saying, “in every life, there is a comedy, and tragedy and a romance waiting to be told” the show consists of three fully improvised vignettes.  Each is played to one of the three aspects of the saying and all are inspired by a piece of music randomly selected by the audience.

The show previewed to great response at the 2004 Chicago Improv Festival and made a return engagement there in both 2005 and 2006.  It had its official Premiere at Jamboree 2004, the Toronto International Improv Festival to similar great responses.  It has also been a hit at festivals in Seattle and Miami, and recently wowed audiences at the 9th annual Del Close Marathon of Improv in New York City.Sutton and Hallal, who met on the festival circuit, create a show that is filled with rich characters and compelling chemistry.

On July 11, 1804, the most infamous duel in American history was fought. The rivals were Alexander Hamilton, former Secretary of Treasury of the United States, and Aaron Burr, Vice President of the United States. The outcome of the duel is well-known: Hamilton was fatally wounded. It was an affair of honor. However, Burr and Hamilton's animosity ran much deeper than political rivalry. The two men, whose early letters indicate that they were once friendly, were brought to conflict over a simple insult. Historians still debate over the true source of their mutual hatred. Code Duello: Hamilton & Burr dares to solve the mystery that biographers cannot! Each night, Boston actors Neil Reynolds & Matt Tucker don the wigs and waistcoats of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, improvising the lives of our two angriest founding fathers. Verily, Code Duello is an epic tale of:Friendship!Honor!Betrayal!Death!and vicious, vicious Slander! With the aid of scholarly research and audience suggestions, we recreate history. Come witness the most hilarious post-colonial comedy since Thomas Jefferson's ill-fated production of The Country Wife!

Stranger than Fiction features a cast of players from a variety of comedy and theatre backgrounds. Performing weekly at the LA Connection Comedy Theater, STF’s shows are lively, entertaining mix of short form comedy and musical improv. STF’s signature piece is Phoenyx.” The faux band Phoenyx (comprised of the Cast’s alter-egos), which has burst into the flames of oblivion and risen from the ashes again and again. The twist of course is that the songs they sing are made up on the spot from fictional titles provided by the audience prior to the show.

For nearly four hundred years, the city of Boston has been a breeding ground for the creative, the inspired, and the revolutionary. Since the first ships sailed into Boston Harbor, it has been known as a place of dynamism, excitement, and action. And now, frankly, it’s time to relax.

The characters that inhabit the sketches and short films of The City That Sleeps reflect this city’s unique perspective on life and culture. You don’t need to be from Boston to get the humor of The City That Sleeps, because everyone loves a cruller.

HLP will put on a show with a mix of live and video sketch comedy. Taylor Newhall & Robert Woo formed Hard Left Productions in the fall of 2006.  They specialize in creating a surreal type of sketch comedy, both live and filmed.  Their sketches have been well received by the online community, especially on YouTube, where they have nearly a million views and 3000 friends and subscribers.  Their "Wii Accident" sketch has been linked by CNN.com and played in Nintendo's official E3 video in 2007.  Currently, they also perform at ImprovBoston on the Mainstage and TheaterSports casts.Taylor Newhall & Robert Woo formed Hard Left Productions in the fall of 2006.  They specialize in creating a surreal type of sketch comedy, both live and filmed.  Their sketches have been well received by the online community, especially on YouTube, where they have nearly a million views and 3000 friends and subscribers.  Their "Wii Accident" sketch has been linked by CNN.com and played in Nintendo's official E3 video in 2007.  Currently, they also perform at ImprovBoston on the Mainstage and TheaterSports casts.

An electric urban sketch/improv comedy show that uses audience participation. This international award winning show has been seen around the U.S. Canada and Europe. The show features political sketches musical chairs, sketches of the absurd and improv forms not like you’ve seen before. The Nat Turner Revue continues to establish itself as one of the top comedy acts in the country. They have also found the time to be a three-time international award winning group. This pioneering Black sketch and iimprov group demonstrates this whether performing with Comic Relief 8 or as one of the most popular acts in on Manhattan’s Neighborhood Network’s “The Big Show.” Members of this group have appeared on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, The Sopranos, Friends and several movies. Don’t miss these guys.

Gordon College is a private college on Boston’s North Shore. It is also a state college in the University System of Georgia. Together they make Gordon North Campus and Gordon South Campus – but only in the minds of  Dan Stevens, Brett Johnson and Tim Lewis.

Gordon documents an 1800 mile road trip taken over the course of a 4 day vacation in the fall of 2006 by Gordon College (Whenam, MA) students Dan, Brett, Tim and David Ells. The four set out to experience the southern college that shares a name with their own school. Over the course of the film (13minutes), the guys experience unscripted interactions with fellow drivers caught in a traffic jam (including the serenading of a truck driver and a spelling bee with an MSNBC camera man), a run in with campus police, a rendezvous wit a Gordon South cheerleader and a rave in a mini-van.

Perfect Monster is a sketch comedy troupe that writes and develops original material for live performance and video. We are not an improv troupe. Perfect Monster is also a production company dedicated to the development of original and innovative film and performance art projects.  Since its inception in March of 2000, Perfect Monster has had shows at The Comedy Studio, the Harvard University Arts First celebration and the Franklin Park Zoo (go figure).

Fantastic Genius presents an offbeat sketch comedy duo ready to astound with their crazy costumed characters, awkward situations and interactive stage to video segments. Influenced by the classic routines and sketches by SNL and Laugh In, Fantastic Genius is a colorful, fast paced, high-energy multi-media sketch show. Running an intense 30 minutes, each performance pokes fun at current and social events, takes odd interpretations of real life situations and relationships, parodies pop culture references, slams corporate lifestyle issues and weaves all this together with video, music, and stage routines. All is fair game, and not topic is too taboo for Fantastic Genius’s brand of sketch comedy.

Gordon College is a private college on Boston’s North Shore. It is also a state college in the University System of Georgia. Together they make Gordon North Campus and Gordon South Campus – but only in the minds of  Dan Stevens, Brett Johnson and Tim Lewis.

Gordon documents an 1800 mile road trip taken over the course of a 4 day vacation in the fall of 2006 by Gordon College (Whenam, MA) students Dan, Brett, Tim and David Ells. The four set out to experience the southern college that shares a name with their own school. Over the course of the film (13minutes), the guys experience unscripted interactions with fellow drivers caught in a traffic jam (including the serenading of a truck driver and a spelling bee with an MSNBC camera man), a run in with campus police, a rendezvous wit a Gordon South cheerleader and a rave in a mini-van.

The show starts with a scene of a break-up of relationship; the relationship is determined by the audience. We then discover how the relationship begins and matures only to rediscover the relationships demise through a replay of the initial scene, who they are, and how it all happens is based on audience suggestion.  It is up to ThiBowla Virus to act out the how and why the relationship goes wrong all while consistently infecting the crowd with laughter. ThiBowla Virus consists of two improv junkies Tim Thibodeau and Melissa Bowler.

The Trinity Zoo is a collection of some of Southern New England’s most talented teenage performers. The Zoo performs longform and freestyle improv, constantly changing and adapting their format based on the improve issue they are currently exploring. The Zoo believes that the funniest material is truth-based, and constantly strives to go deeper rather than broader, with their improv. The Zoo has played at various venues in Providence and Boston and at this year’s Providence Improv Fest.

Rhode Island's most acclaimed long form improvisation company. Unexpected Company performs "The Morris", a loosely structured, fast paced long form comedy piece connected by monologues. Based out of Warwick, Rhode Island, Unexpected Company is the only group in the state strictly dedicated to long form improvisation. Called "a breath of fresh air" by the Providence Phoenix, this young company has been performing weekly since March of 2003, and has introduced hundreds to a form of improvisation rarely seen in Rhode Island. The Providence Journal simply describes Unexpected as "Pure Improv" and after experiencing "The Morris" it won't be difficult for you to understand why.

The Derd Show; a one-man (and one-woman!)comedy with a difference: music, sound effects and a face only a mother could love, replace the spoken word. That’s right – no dialogue. But Derd isn’t a mime. Think of him more as a stand-up comic without all the annoying chatter. Physical comedy and sound effects combine in sketches and audience-involved improve to make this sometimes subtle, sometimes brazen performance uniquely funny.

Stranger than Fiction is New Hampshire’s premiere improv group. The group performs regularly in venues from Portsmouth NH to Boston. An exciting combination of local actors, playwrights, and comedians, the cast works to promote their unique brand of entertainment through hilarious improv comedy revues, Stand Up Comic Battles, and youth programs designed to train and entertain the next generation of improv artists. Our show format can be manipulated to fit any audience or performance space. Click the images below to learn more about the cast.

Stand Up

Selena Coppock is a stand-up comedian, writer, improviser and most importantly, a frickin’ hottie. She has been told this by numerous construction workers, strangers in bars and even ex-boyfriends. Selena stared off performing in Boston where she performed in the 2006 Boston Comedy Festival and presented her one woman show – “Seriously?” in the 2006 Lowell Comedy Festival.  In the Boston area, Selena has performed at the Comedy Studio, The Comedy Connection and Improv Boston. She currently lives in New York and has played Gotham, Mo Pitkins, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, The Knitting Factory and has a weekly sketch/variety show on the lower East Side. She possesses an infectious energy and enthusiasm that sets her apart and makes Selena a refreshingly unique, and fantastically-coiffed stand-up comedian.

Luckily for Mike, genetics prevented him from becoming a famous athlete, playing for millions of dollars and having many adoring fans. So he decided comedy was the next best thing.  Mike has performed at Catch a Rising Star in RI, The Comedy Studio in Cambridge, and the Laugh Lounge in New York City. This is Mike’s second Lowell Comedy Festival.

Corey Rodrigues has performed at Comedy Connection, Nick’s Comedy Stop, Dick Doherty’s Comedy Vault, Improv Boston, Cantab Lounge, Boston Comedy Connection, All Asia, Medieval Manor, Tuckerman Hall, … the list goes on! Be sure to catch this act as he has wide vocal range and the ability to pick up and imitate different voices.

Cameron Esposito cut her chops doing that improve comedy everyone talks about, as a cast member at Improv Boston and Improv Asylum theatres in Massachusetts. She returned to Chicago in the fall of 2007, too up the art of stand-up and refuses to look back. Even now if you stand behind her she will not turn around to address you. Since returning to Chicago she has performed at Lincoln Lodge and Chicago Underground Comedy Show. She is also a frequent performer at Chicago’s Town Hall Pub and Playground Theatre. She has been compared to Amy Sedaris by Nina Metz of the Chicago Tribune.

Charlene Ward is a stand-up comedian who was born in Lowell, Massachusetts and up in nearby Pelham NH. She attended Emerson College and studied acting, radio and improv.

While in New England, she had a lot of fun interning at both WCGY and WAAF and hosting her own radio show at UMASS Lowell. After moving to LA she studied improv comedy at the Groundlings Theatre in LA. She co-founded a sketch group called “The Wet Naps” performed many venues throughout Southern California. She has performed at the Comedy Store, The Ice House, The Improv, Martini Blues and many more.

Bari is known as Boston’s “middle-aged comedienne” but her material appeals to all ages. Bari speaks frankly about being middle-aged, overweight and divorced. She has performed at comedy clubs throughout New England including Nick’s Comedy Stop, Dick Dougherty’s Comedy Vault and Comedy Connection clubs in Boston, RI, and Maine.

Dana Jay Bein is West Springfield, MA's "Bastard Son of Comedy". He has been performing stand up and improv comedy for over ten years at comedy clubs, festivals, benefits and schools throughout the northeast. Dana has developed a stand up comedy curriculum which he has implemented as an instructor at ImprovBoston and the Boston Center for Adult Education. He's taught over 200 students at the BCAE where his class has been a best seller for two years. ImprovBoston has known Dana since 2001 where he began performing improv comedy in the weekly cast of Micetro/UnNatural Selection. He has performed in ImprovBoston showcase shows such as Quest, Law and Puppet, Action Comix, Felt, In the Garage, Dana and Steve Do it, Gorefest 4 and Fort Awesome (which was featured at the Toronto International Improv Festival and the DC Comedy Festival). Currently, Dana can be found in ImprovBoston's TheatreSports cast every Friday night. You can also see him in this fall's Halloween Spectacular: Gorefest V - Blood on the Bayou.