UP COMEDY CLUB Upcoming Calendar

Tickets are currently on sale for UP Comedy Club’s roster of stand-up and sketch shows taking place January – May 2013, including Matt Braunger, Nick Kroll, Donnell Rawlings, Dana Gould, Dan Harmon, as well as new shows including “Team Starkid: Airport for Birds and Other Great Ideas,” “Four Girls (And A Guy),” and “REACH: Risky, Eclectic Artists Comedy Hour.” Stand-up comedians have been added to the calendar through May 5 including: Greg Fitzsimmons, Judy Gold, Nick Thune, Dave Foley, and Pablo Francisco. Most events carry a suggested rating of R. For more information and performance updates visit UPComedyClub.com.

Tickets can be purchased by calling 312-662-4562 or visiting UPComedyClub.com. UP Comedy Club is located at 230 W. North Ave, 3rd Floor of Piper’s Alley in Chicago.

January 10 – 12, 2013
Matt Braunger

Matt Braunger’s television credits include a recurring role on NBC’s “Up All Night,” a series regular role on “MADtv,” and various roles on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “United States of Tara,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Carpoolers,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” “Acceptable TV,” and “Live At Gotham.” He is also a regular guest on the “Chelsea Lately” roundtable. In 2009, he was named to Variety’s Top 10 Comics to Watch and Comedy Central’s Hot 9 in ’09 list, his debut album “Soak Up The Night” was released by Comedy Central Records and named to the iTunes REWIND Top 20 Albums of 2009. Along with touring Comedy Clubs across the country he is also a regular at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles. Matt won the 2008 “Best Of The Fest” at the inaugural Rooftop Comedy Festival in Aspen and he co-founded the popular Bridgetown Comedy Festival that takes place annually in Portland.

ONE NIGHT ONLY – January 13, 2013 SOLD OUT
Nick Kroll From Comedy Central

Nick stars as “Ruxin” on FX’s critically acclaimed series, “The League.” Nick’s Comedy Central Series, “Kroll Show,” which he created and stars in, will premiere on the network January 2013. Nick has also appeared in “Get Him To The Greek,” opposite Russell Brand and Jonah Hill, “Dinner For Schmucks,” opposite Paul Rudd, and “Date Night,” opposite Steve Carell and Tina Fey. Other feature credits include “Little Fockers,” “I Love You Man” and “A Good Old Fashion Orgy.” Nick currently lives in Los Angeles and performs stand-up all over the country.

January 19 – 20, 2013
Donnell Rawlings

Donnell Rawlings is an overnight success a decade in the making. He made a splash in the DC Comedy Clubs going from a heckler in the audience to HBO’s Def Comedy Jam in a period of six months. Today you can watch Donnell on MTV2’s most watched shows “Guy Code” and “Hip Hop Squares.” In 2007, Donnell co-created and starred in Heavy.com’s hit web series “From Ashy to Classy,” which was picked up for a second round of episodes. His movie of the same name screened at the 2011 L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival. His rise to stardom may not have been “overnight,” but the journey itself has kept him edgy and relevant.
January 22, 2013
Dan Harmon’s “Harmontown”

Creator, writer and producer of hit comedy series such as NBC’s “Community” and Comedy Central’s “The Sarah Silverman Program,” Dan Harmon, is one funny dude. Harmon, along with fellow funny man, Jeff Davis (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”), can currently be heard on their comedy podcast “Harmontown.” The podcast fulfills Harmon’s dream to found a colony for like-minded misfits where he serves as mayor and has appointed the suit-clad Davis as his trusty comptroller (i.e. co-host). The show is deeply confessional in nature, with Harmon sharing off the cuff anecdotes with brazen honesty, bravado and enthusiasm. This format gives him the ability to go anywhere, say anything and tell any story, matched only by Davis’ candor, sharpness and strangely insightful, quizzical eye. The podcast is a chart-topper on iTunes and after doing some live shows in Los Angeles, the guys are ready to take their show on the road. The show is part stand-up comedy and part traditional podcast, featuring anecdotes from Harmon’s storied life, classic tweets, rambling thoughts, musical interludes and so much more.

January 25 – 26, 2013
Dana Gould

Dana started performing stand-up comedy at the tender age of 17 and moved to Los Angeles in the halcyon days of “The Comedy Boom.” In quick succession, Dana performed in several HBO specials, and numerous appearances on Conan and Letterman. He recorded the CD Funhouse, which was called “a comedy CD” by Billboard magazine, and an actor, appeared on Seinfeld, The Ben Stiller Show and the series “Working” (which wasn’t, and was soon cancelled). After writing the pilot “World On A String” (with Jay Kogen), Dana co-created MTV’s late, lamented, Super Adventure Team (with Rob Cohen). He then joined the staff of The Simpsons. Stand up remains a big part of his career, and he continues to perform regularly. He recently appeared in the film “The Aristocrats,” and is preparing to record his next stand-up CD. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and a bunch of kids and dogs.

NEW – Starting January 27, 2013
Team Starkid: Airport for Birds and Other Great Ideas

Known for creating heartfelt parody musicals for YouTube, Team StarKid now jumps from the small screen to no screen at all! From the group that brought you A Very Potter Musical comes Airport for Birds: an evening of “great” ideas and other bits that have hit the cutting room floor. Come see some familiar StarKid faces fly through 90 minutes of sketch comedy, video shorts, and music! So grab the nearest unattended bag, make sure you have your bird-ing pass, and join us at The Second City’s UP Comedy Club for Airport For Birds (and Other Great Ideas). PG-13

NEW – Starting January 31
Four Girls (And A Guy): A One Night Stand With The Second City

The women of “Four Girls (And A Guy)” take the stage in this new revue about sex and other natural disasters. Glass ceilings, slippers and champagne flutes are in abundance in “Four Girls (And A Guy).”

NEW – Starting February 10, 2013
REACH: Risky, Eclectic Artists Comedy Hour

See an urban melting pot of stand-up, music, poetry, performance and improv all in one night! Bringing together the city’s most diverse voices in comedy and performance art, REACH artists perform theme driven material on history, women, sex and violence, race and LGBTQ themes in rotation during each monthly 2nd Sunday performance. A portion of ticket sales supports scholarships to emerging talent from Second City Outreach & Diversity.

March 8 – 9, 2013
Greg Fitzsimmons

Mixing an incisive wit with scathing sarcasm, Greg Fitzsimmons has achieved success as a stand-up, Emmy Award winning writer and host on both radio and TV. A regular with David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jay Leno, Greg has made more than 50 visits to “The Howard Stern Show.” He also hosts “The Greg Fitzsimmons Show,” on Sirius XM’s “Howard 101” and twice a week puts out the hugely popular “FitzDog Radio” Podcast. Greg hosts a series on The Speed Channel called “Pumped” and is a frequent panelist on “Chelsea Lately.” His 2011 book, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons, climbed the best-seller charts and garnered outstanding reviews from NPR and Vanity Fair. Greg is taping a new One-Hour standup special this summer.
Showtimes: Fri. and Sat. 8:00/10:30 p.m.

March 14 – 16, 2013
Judy Gold

Judy Gold Photo” width=”215″ height=”156″ align=”left” />Emmy Award- winning actress and comedian Judy Gold is best known as the star of the critically acclaimed long-running Off Broadway hit show “25 Questions for a Jewish Mother,” for which she was nominated for a 2006 Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Solo Performance.” In addition, the show won the 2007 GLAAD award for “Outstanding New York Theater.” A book based on the show was nominated for the prestigious Quill Award.

Judy has been in the cast of Nora & Delia Ephron’s Off-Broadway play, “Love, Loss and What I Wore.” Most recently, she has appeared on “30 Rock,” “The View,” “The Wendy Williams Show,” co-hosted “Anderson Live,” “The Next Great Baker,” and she will be guest starring in the series finale of Showtime’s “The Big C.”

April 18 – 20, 2013
Nick Thune

Nick Thune, comedian / actor, hails from the Great Northwest (Seattle), where he spent his early years growing up. Nick’s absurdest view and deadpan wit combined with the soothing lull of his guitar, have distinguished his unique style of comedy. He has appeared on the Tonight Show eight times, and on each occasion, he won. Nick has also appeared on “Conan,” “The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon” and has his own Comedy Central Special.

April 24 – 27, 2013
Dave Foley

Dave Foley was born and raised in Toronto, and at a young age, he began writing stand-up comedy for creative writing projects. His interest in improv led him to comedy workshops, where he met and teamed with Kevin McDonald. They became “The Kids in the Hall” one year later and the rest is history! Their distinct and irreverent brand of comedy quickly earned “The Kids in the Hall” a large cult following influencing a new generation of sketch comedy. In 1987, Lorne Michaels produced their first television special. By 1989, the troupe had their own series on the Canadian Broadcasting Co. and, later on HBO, where it aired until 1991. CBS and Comedy Central soon after picked it up, where it ran from 1992 – 1994. They crossed over into feature films with the 1995 release of Brain Candy for Paramount Pictures. After the successful television run of Kids in the Hall, Dave signed onto the long running NBC series, Newsradio. In between seasons, he forged a feature film career that is still very active today.

May 2 – 5, 2013
Pablo Francisco

When Pablo Francisco hits the stage, he immediately brings his audiences to their feet with boisterous laughter and applause. He weaves together his arsenal of characters, spontaneous outbursts, and clever insights to create a stand-up show that more resembles an hour-long comedic jazz riff. He is an off-the-wall, animated character that points out the absurdity in an illogical, pop-culture obsessed world. His unmatched take on all things pop culture has taken him into the ranks of the most popular touring comedians worldwide. Pablo’s enormous popularity and outrageously funny material has hooked millions of viewers on YouTube and Facebook.

Check out UP’s ongoing shows & improv revues:

What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell You: A Chicago Revue