Upright Citizens Brigade team to bring laughter to campus with improv performance

Members of the Upright Citizens Brigade have absolutely nothing planned for their show Wednesday night ““ but that’s what they are most excited about. The team of improvisation specialists will attempt to engage the UCLA crowd with its comedic skills and create a performance based entirely on feedback and vibes from its audience.

“We only plan how we’re going to generate the information to (start the show),” said Allan McLeod, one of the UCB members who will be participating in the event.

The show begins with student volunteers sharing their experiences with school and life at UCLA. Each performance is different from previous shows and events are catered to each particular campus.

“We really want to get to know the students,” said UCB improv comedian Amanda Sitko. “The show is just as fun for them as it is for us and it’s based off of people’s life experiences.”

During the first half of each show, a few students from the audience are chosen to come on stage and are then interviewed so that the performers can get some information upon which they can build their improvisations.

“We get to hear a lot about things that are going on at the school, and usually it’s pretty funny and interesting,” McLeod said. “We end up grabbing at different pieces of truthful information.”

With this practice in mind, the show’s second half often comes straight from students’ pockets or purses.

“We’ll have students read off random text messages from their cell phones or sometimes we’ll end up looking in people’s purses and wallets,” McLeod said. The performers find it helpful to ask what students find interesting, cool or weird and find things that stand out.

According to UCB comedian Alex Berg, students tend to react with surprise when they realize that they are going to play such a large role in the show and won’t just be passive observers.

“Once they realize what’s going on, students are usually very willing to participate,” Berg said.

Tonight’s show is the product of the Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company of which Berg, Harris, McLeod and Sitko are all members. While the UCB consists of theaters and instructional facilities in Los Angeles and New York, the TourCo travels around the country to showcase its comedy.

UCB theaters are home to students taking comedy classes, which have helped fuel the careers of comedians such as Amy Poehler and Horatio Sanz from “Saturday Night Live” and Rob Corddry of “The Daily Show.” Students have also been credited as writers and actors featured on several other popular programs including “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “MADtv,” MTV’s “Boiling Points” and VH1’s “Best Week Ever.”

The performers of Wednesday’s show credit their entertainment success to their involvement with the UCB.

“I never thought that I could do comedy as a full-on career, but they teach you how to make a living in comedy,” Sitko said.

UCB comedian David Harris has worked on MTV’s “Disaster Date” and has gone on to teach UCB classes when not on tour. He said that the experience gained through his classes helped him pursue his career in comedy.

“Teaching and getting to do the show on MTV and getting to tour all came through my involvement in the UCB,” Harris said.

McLeod’s first experience seeing improv was at an Upright Citizen’s Brigade show that he said amazed him because he had never seen improv comedy done in this interactive style.

The cast credits their show’s success to their close relationship and ability to work well together on stage. While they have all been a part of UCB, being on this tour was the first time they had all worked together to create a show tailored to a specific audience.

“If you like comedy and you’re open to watching something form in front of you, then you should come because this show is only going to ever happen once,” Berg said. “Each show is a pretty little snowflake that melts away after it ends.”