Reuben Williams
Encyclopedia
Reuben Williams is an improvisational
troupe associated with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
in New York City
. http://ucbtheatre.com/schedule/showdetails.php?showid=864
Reuben Williams came together in Summer 2004 when members from four different "Harold
" teams joined to perform as "Robin Williams." In Fall 2004, the group became an official Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
house team and changed its name at the request of Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre owner Amy Poehler
. Reuben Williams began its run on Tuesday nights at the UCB Theatre, performing the Harold
. In fall 2005, the team was promoted to a weekend time slot with its show As Seen On TV.http://ucbtheatre.com/schedule/showdetails.php?showid=864
In addition to being performers, the members of Reuben Williams are all teachers at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.http://ucbtheatre.com/classes/ Team members also work professionally in the comedy industry. Television credits include VH1
's A2Z, VH1
's Best Week Ever
, Late Night with Conan O'Brien
, Comedy Central
's Jump Cuts, CNN
's Showbiz Tonight
, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
, VH1
's 40 Greatest Pranks, VH1
's 40 Dumbest Celebrity Quotes, E!
's Starveillance, UPN
's Get This Party Started!, MTV
's Human Giant, Fox/4Kids' Viva Pinata, Comedy Central
's Window Seat, MTV
's Anton & Crapbag, MTV's It's On With Alexa Chung, Comedy Central
's All Access Middle Ages, and G4
's Attack of the Show.
The original members of the group included Katie Dippold, Anthony King
, Chris Kula, John Reynolds, Eric Scott, Kate Spencer, Charlie Todd, and Joe Wengert. Katie Dippold left the group in summer 2006 to write for Fox
's MADtv
. She was replaced by Lennon Parham. John Reynolds left the group in fall 2006 to write for CBS
's The Late Late Show
. He was replaced by Charlie Sanders. Chris Kula left the group in fall 2007 to write for Fox
's MADtv
. He was replaced by Eugene Cordero. In the Winter of 2009, Ben Rodgers and Porter Mason joined the team. Cordero and Mason left that summer and Kevin Hines and Brandon Gardner joined in September 2009.
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
troupe associated with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre or UCB Theatre is an improvisational theatre and associated UCB Training Center with locations in Chelsea, New York, the EEast Village, New York and Hollywood, California.....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. http://ucbtheatre.com/schedule/showdetails.php?showid=864
Reuben Williams came together in Summer 2004 when members from four different "Harold
Harold (improvisation)
Harold is a form of longform improv. Developed by Del Close and brought to fruition through Close's collaboration with Charna Halpern, the Harold has become the signature form of Chicago's I.O. and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York and Los Angeles...
" teams joined to perform as "Robin Williams." In Fall 2004, the group became an official Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre or UCB Theatre is an improvisational theatre and associated UCB Training Center with locations in Chelsea, New York, the EEast Village, New York and Hollywood, California.....
house team and changed its name at the request of Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre owner Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
. Reuben Williams began its run on Tuesday nights at the UCB Theatre, performing the Harold
Harold (improvisation)
Harold is a form of longform improv. Developed by Del Close and brought to fruition through Close's collaboration with Charna Halpern, the Harold has become the signature form of Chicago's I.O. and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York and Los Angeles...
. In fall 2005, the team was promoted to a weekend time slot with its show As Seen On TV.http://ucbtheatre.com/schedule/showdetails.php?showid=864
In addition to being performers, the members of Reuben Williams are all teachers at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.http://ucbtheatre.com/classes/ Team members also work professionally in the comedy industry. Television credits include VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's A2Z, VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever
Best Week Ever is a weekly television program on the United States cable/satellite network VH1. It started airing in 2004 and was put on hiatus in the summer of 2009...
, Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
, Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's Jump Cuts, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Showbiz Tonight
Showbiz Tonight
Showbiz Tonight is an American entertainment news program on HLN .Showbiz Tonight is hosted by A.J. Hammer at CNN New York. The show reports and debates celebrity entertainment news stories and controversies, along with social networking segments involving viewer interaction via social networks and...
, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn is a comedic talk show that aired on Comedy Central. The show featured roundtable discussions, inviting various guests of many views, mixing mostly comics/entertainers expressing themselves with journalists and political figures. Quinn's regular guests consisted mainly...
, VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's 40 Greatest Pranks, VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's 40 Dumbest Celebrity Quotes, E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
's Starveillance, UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
's Get This Party Started!, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Human Giant, Fox/4Kids' Viva Pinata, Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's Window Seat, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Anton & Crapbag, MTV's It's On With Alexa Chung, Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's All Access Middle Ages, and G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
's Attack of the Show.
The original members of the group included Katie Dippold, Anthony King
Anthony King
Anthony King is an American writer, director, and comedian based in New York City. He is the Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City...
, Chris Kula, John Reynolds, Eric Scott, Kate Spencer, Charlie Todd, and Joe Wengert. Katie Dippold left the group in summer 2006 to write for Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
. She was replaced by Lennon Parham. John Reynolds left the group in fall 2006 to write for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
. He was replaced by Charlie Sanders. Chris Kula left the group in fall 2007 to write for Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's MADtv
MADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
. He was replaced by Eugene Cordero. In the Winter of 2009, Ben Rodgers and Porter Mason joined the team. Cordero and Mason left that summer and Kevin Hines and Brandon Gardner joined in September 2009.