SF Sketchfest
Encyclopedia
SF Sketchfest, or The San Francisco Sketch Comedy Festival, is a comedy festival founded in 2002 by Bay Area actor-comedians David Owen
, Janet Varney
and Cole Stratton. It takes place every January in a variety of San Francisco venues and features primarily sketch comedy
groups, as well as some stand-up comedy
performers.
In its first year, SF Sketchfest presented six Bay Area sketch groups in the intimate 80-seat Shelton Theatre: The Fresh Robots, Kasper Hauser, The Meehan Brothers, Please Leave The Bronx, Totally False People and White Noise Radio Theatre.
In 2003, the second annual festival featured Fred Willard
and his Hollywood Players, the Upright Citizens Brigade
and The Sklar Brothers performing at the 200-seat Eureka Theatre.
In 2004, the third annual festival featured a tribute to Amy Sedaris
; a panel discussion with Bill Corbett
, Kevin Murphy
and Michael J. Nelson
from Mystery Science Theater 3000
; and performances by Totally Looped featuring Dan Castellaneta
and Rick Overton
; Slovin & Allen; The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show featuring David Koechner
from Saturday Night Live
; Girl's Guitar Club featuring Karen Kilgariff
and Mary Lynn Rajskub
, who played Chloe on 24
; and current Saturday Night Live
castmember Fred Armisen
. Improvisational comedy was added to the festival with Beer Shark Mice featuring David Koechner
and Neil Flynn
. Film was added with the Bay Area premiere of Martin & Orloff
. The 400-seat Cobb's Comedy Club
was added as a larger venue.
In 2005, the fourth annual festival featured a tribute to Dana Carvey
; a panel discussion with writers and editors from The Onion
moderated by author Dave Eggers
and performances by Bruce McCulloch
from The Kids in the Hall
; comedian Demetri Martin
; Bizarro
creator Dan Piraro
; Hard 'n Phirm
; Olde English; Elephant Larry
and many more.
To celebrate its fifth annual festival in 2006, even more venues were added with the inclusion of The Punch Line, The Purple Onion
and 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley. The festival featured a tribute to Bob Odenkirk
and David Cross
from Mr. Show
; a lecture by Michael Showalter
and David Wain
, formerly of MTV
's The State
and Comedy Central
's Stella
; and performances by Dave Foley
from The Kids in the Hall
; Tinkle
, featuring David Cross
, Todd Barry
and H. Jon Benjamin
with guests Bob Odenkirk
, Brian Posehn
, Paul F. Tompkins
, Eugene Mirman
and musical act Rogue Wave; The Paul F. Tompkins Show with guests Paget Brewster
, Paul Gilmartin, Samm Levine
and Colin Hay
; The Upright Citizens Brigade: A.S.S.S.S.C.A.T. featuring Amy Poehler
, Matt Besser
, Rachel Dratch
and Horatio Sanz
with guest monologist Will Arnett
; Naked Babies featuring Rob Corddry
from The Daily Show
; Doug Stanhope
, Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
; Fred Armisen
; Aziz Ansari
; Will Franken
and a surprise appearance by Dana Carvey
.
In 2007, the SF Sketchfest tribute went to Paul Reubens
. Performers included Stella
, RiffTrax
Live featuring Michael J. Nelson
, Kevin Murphy
and Bill Corbett
from Mystery Science Theater 3000
, The Upright Citizens Brigade
with Matt Besser
, Ian Roberts
, Matt Walsh
, Sean Conroy, Andy Daly and guest monologist Bob Odenkirk
, Comedy Death-Ray
, Match Game
Live, David Cross
, Bruce McCulloch
, Eugene Mirman
, Naked Babies, Todd Barry
, H. Jon Benjamin
, Morgan Murphy
, Doug Benson
, Todd Glass
, Hard 'n Phirm
, A.D. Miles, Jimmy Pardo
, Paul F. Tompkins
, Maria Bamford
, Dragon Boy Suede
, Tony Hale
and Will Durst
.
In 2008, the Seventh Annual SF Sketchfest presented The Kids in the Hall
, in performance and in conversation for the annual Tribute. Other performers included Aimee Mann
, Paul F. Tompkins
, Todd Barry
, Rhys Darby
, Kristen Schaal
, Naked Babies with Rob Corddry
, The Sound of Young America
Live with host Jesse Thorn
and guests Danny Hoch
, Merlin Mann
, Morgan Murphy
, Bucky Sinister and musical guest Zach Rogue; RiffTrax
Live at the Castro Theatre
with the film "Plan 9 From Outer Space
;" Dr. Katz Professional Therapist Live with guest patients Bob Odenkirk
, Maria Bamford
, Brian Posehn
, Robin Williams
, H. Jon Benjamin
, Eugene Mirman
, Andy Kindler
and B.J. Novak; Michael Showalter
, John Vanderslice
, Match Game
Live, Comedy Death-Ray
, a "Freaks and Geeks
" reunion with Linda Cardellini
, John Francis Daley
, Samm Levine
, Martin Starr
, Busy Philipps
, Dave (Gruber) Allen, Steve Bannos
and Paul Feig
; Patton Oswalt
, Mary Lynn Rajskub
, Bro'in Out with Seth Morris with special guest Adam McKay
; Upright Citizens Brigade
with Matt Besser
, Ian Roberts
, Matt Walsh
, Rachel Dratch
, Rob Riggle
, Kevin Dorff
and guest monologist Neil Patrick Harris
; The Whitest Kids U Know, Tim and Eric and many more.
In 2009, the Eighth Annual SF Sketchfest featured a reunion of the MTV sketch comedy group The State, marking the first time in twelve years that all eleven original members (Kevin Allison, Michael Ian Black, Robert Ben Garant, Todd Holoubek, Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter and David Wain) were together onstage. They presented a brand-new hour-long sketch show at the intimate 200-seat Eureka Theatre, and also sat down with moderator Janeane Garofalo for the annual Tribute award at the Herbst Theatre. Related programming included a cast-introduced screening of Wet Hot American Summer, and Stella: The Classic Nightclub Show, with guests Thomas Lennon, Tig Notaro, Nick Kroll, Zak Orth, Eugene Mirman, Seth Herzog and Janeane Garofalo. The festival introduced their first Comedy Writing Award, presented to Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien scribe Robert Smigel, who was joined in conversation with Dana Carvey. Smigel also joined Dino Stamatopoulos, Doug Dale, the Anifriends and Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog for a live stage version of the Comedy Central television show TV Funhouse. Other notable programming included A Salute to Bud Cort, interviewed after a screening of Harold and Maude at The Castro Theatre; A Fernwood Reunion with Martin Mull and Fred Willard, who appeared in character as Barth Gimble and Jerry Hubbard; Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!; Savage Steve Holland and Diane Franklin with a screening of Better Off Dead; The Hills: A Staged Reading with Garofalo, Rachael Harris, Tom Kenny, Rob Huebel, Rob Riggle, Dannah Feinglass, Danielle Schneider and Mike Phirman; Comedy Death-Ray with Zach Galifianakis, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Kindler, Chris Hardwick, Paul F. Tompkins, Mary Lynn Rajskub and hosts The Fun Bunch (Scott Aukerman and BJ Porter); Game Show Explosion with Jimmy Pardo; Celebrity Autobiography with Michael McKean, Annette O’Toole, Scott Thompson, Rachel Dratch, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, Laraine Newman and creators Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel; Sunday with Moral Orel with Dino Stamatopoulos and Scott Adsit; Upright Citizen Brigade ASSSSCAT Improv with Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Tim Meadows, Andrew Daly, Danielle Schneider and monologist Andy Richter; Totally Looped movie dubbing show with Laraine Newman, Maria Bamford, Oscar Nunez, Rick Overton, Joe Liss and Richard Kuhlman; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale and guests including Todd Barry and Paul Scheer; Facebook Improv with Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, Seth Morris, Chad Carter and Owen Burke; Theme Park Improv with Scott Adsit, Oscar Nunez, Kate Flannery, Jessica Makinson, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton; Scott Thompson’s solo show Scottastrophe!; Cartoon Dump with Frank Conniff; Never Not Funny Live with Jimmy Pardo, Jon Hamm and Pat Francis; The Sound of Young America Live with Jesse Thorn, Sean Cullen, Jello Biafra and Kasper Hauser; Monsters of Podcasting with Jordan, Jesse, Go and You Like Nice Today; and stand-up sets from Doug Benson, Aziz Ansari and Will Durst.
In 2010, the Ninth Annual festival included Conan O’Brien, recipient of the annual Tribute Award, who was scheduled to appear on January 17, but had to be postponed due to the late night fiasco at NBC. The tribute was done later that summer on July 17 at the Herbst Theater, where O’Brien was joined by Andy Richter and moderator Patton Oswalt for a incredible, candid, three-hour conversation. The Comedy Writing Award was presented to author and humorist John Hodgman, who was joined in conversation with Dave Eggers. The festival presented their first Monty Python member in Terry Jones, who appeared in conversation with Carl Arnheiter at a screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python’s Life of Brian at the Castro Theatre. Other film related programming included Cinematic Titanic (with Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Conniff and Mary Jo Pehl of Mystery Science Theater 3000); Waiting For Guffman with Fred Willard; The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy with Dave Foley; Animal Crackers with Bill Marx (son of Harpo) and Dick Cavett; and UHF with “Weird Al” Yankovic. Yankovic also joined Chris Hardwick for a conversation at Cobb’s Comedy Club. Other notable events and performers included Tim and Eric; an Evening with the Reno 911! Sheriff’s Department; The Greg Proops Chat Show with Robin Williams, Linda Cardellini and musical guest Michael Penn; The Dave Hill Explosion with Dick Cavett and The Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano; Celebrity Autobiography with Jason Segel, Rachel Dratch, Laura Kightlinger, Steve Schirripa, and Fred Willard; Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, David Koechner, Tim Meadows, Chad Carter and monologist Moon Zappa; The Paul F. Tompkins Show featuring Dave Foley, Illeana Douglas and musical guest Grant-Lee Phillips; Comedy Death-Ray with Michael Ian Black, Dana Gould, Doug Benson, Natasha Leggero, James Adomian, musical guest Aimee Mann and host Scott Aukerman; the return of Facebook Improv; Game Show Explosion with Jimmy Pardo; The Red Wine Boys with Todd Barry and H. Jon Benjamin and guests Larry Murphy, Brendon Small and musical guests Mates of State; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale; The Whitest Kids U’ Know; Greg Behrendt’s Bring the Rock featuring Matt Nathanson; The Jill and Julia Show with Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney; Ask A Ninja Live; The Big Gay Sketch Show; Theme Park Improv with Edie McClurg, Danny Pudi, Scott Adsit, Rachel Dratch, Jessica Makinson, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton; Never Not Funny Live with Jimmy Pardo and guest Dave Foley; The Benson Interruption with Doug Benson, Steve Agee, Graham Elwood and more; Doug Loves Movies and Comedy Death Ray Radio Live; The Shit Show with Rob Huebel; Dr. God Improv with Matthew Lillard; My Monster with Bill Corbett from Mystery Science Theater 3000; Reggie Watts; Kasper Hauser; Killing My Lobster; and stand-up sets from Nick Kroll, Jon Dore, Brent Weinbach, Matt Braunger, Kyle Kinane, and Jamie Kilstein.
In 2011, the festival celebrated its 10th Anniversary, now regularly utilizing nearly a dozen venues, including The Castro Theatre, Yoshi’s San Francisco, The Purple Onion and Marines’ Memorial Theatre. The annual Tribute award was split into a new Great Collaborator Series, showcasing fantastic comedy teams. The first was a 25th Anniversary Tribute to “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”with Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel appearing at the Castro Theatre with moderator Zach Braff; second was an Airplane! Tribute to Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, moderated by Chris Hardwick; and the third was a Tribute to Murphy Brown with Candice Bergen and Diane English. The third Comedy Writing Award was presented by James L. Brooks, who candidly chatted with Danny DeVito before a screening of Brooks’ classic Broadcast News. The festival teamed with local drag superstar Peaches Christ for an evening with Cloris Leachman and a screening of High Anxiety, and presented a 25th Anniversary screening of True Stories with Talking Heads’ frontman David Byrne. Other great events included a Saturday Night Live: The Originals panel with Dan Aykroyd, Tom Davis, Laraine Newman, Don Novello and moderator Carl Arnheiter; Brian Henson in conversation with Neil Patrick Harris featuring a live puppet demonstration; The Thrilling Adventure Hour with a star-studded cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Colin Hanks, Alison Brie, John DiMaggio, Donal Logue, Danny Pudi, James Urbaniak, Busy Philips, Samm Levine, John Ennis and Paul F. Tompkins; a four show preview of Mike Birbiglia’s new solo show, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend; Celebrity Autobiography with Will Forte, Rachael Harris, Joe Pantoliano, Jonathan Silverman and Linda Cardellini; Whose Live Anyway? improv show with Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Chip Esten and Jeff Davis; a Viva Variety Reunion show with Thomas Lennon, Michael Ian Black Kerri Kenney-Silver and Robert Ben Garant; Gentlemen’s Club with Bob Odenkirk; The Paul F. Tompkins Show with Gillian Jacobs, Neil Patrick Harris and musical guest Tom Brosseau; The Dave Hill Explosion with Moby, Thao Nguyen and Will Franken; Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Show with Jon Benjamin and guests Todd Barry, Andrew Daly, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, Will Forte and musical guest A.C. Newman; The Benson Interruption with Doug Benson and guests Zach Galifianakis and more; The Kevin Pollak Chat Show with guest Adam Savage; Greg Behrendt’s Maximum Volume with Matt Nathanson and Brendon Small; Music Night with Garfunkel and Oates, David Koechner, Chris Hardwick, Mike Phirman, Eli Braden and Zach Selwyn; Tig Has Friends with Tig Notaro; Billy The Mime; Charlyne Yi; Paul Brittain; Rich Fulcher; Killing My Lobster; Solo shows by Rob Delaney, Brett Gelman, Joe Sibb and Lauren Weedman; Storytelling shows Porchlight, This is Not Happening and Risk! with Kevin Allison and The Friday Forty with Dave Holmes. Podcasts also made up a major component of the festival, and included live tapings of WTF with Marc Maron and guests Bobcat Goldthwait, Will Franken, Maria Bamford, Baron Vaughn and W. Kamau Bell; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo and guest David Koechner; Nerdist with Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira with guest Zach Galifianakis; Pop My Culture with Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland and guest Bob Odenkirk; Sklarbro Country with the Sklar Brothers and guests Michael Ian Black, Har Mar Superstar and Bill Romanowski; Citizen Radio with Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny and guest Markos Moulitsas; The Sound of Young America with Jesse Thorn and guests John Vanderslice and Steve Dildarian; and Monsters of Podcasting. The festival also introduced a new program called The Dozen, spotlighting the next wave of stand-up comedy stars, featuring Dan Mintz, Dan Telfer, Chris Fairbanks, Chelsea Peretti, Matt Braunger, Jamie Kilstein, Jen Kirkman, Baron Vaughn, Mary Mack, Kumail Nanjiani, Deon Cole and Harris Wittels. There was also a reunion and performance from the original six groups from the first Sketchfest—The Fresh Robots, Kasper Hauser, The Meehan Brothers, Please Leave The Bronx, Totally False People and White Noise Radio Theatre.
David Owen
David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen CH PC FRCP is a British politician.Owen served as British Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979, the youngest person in over forty years to hold the post; he co-authored the failed Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg peace plans offered during the Bosnian War...
, Janet Varney
Janet Varney
Janet Varney is an American comedic actress best known for being the current hostess of TBS's Dinner and a Movie.-Early life:Varney was born in Arizona...
and Cole Stratton. It takes place every January in a variety of San Francisco venues and features primarily sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
groups, as well as some stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
performers.
In its first year, SF Sketchfest presented six Bay Area sketch groups in the intimate 80-seat Shelton Theatre: The Fresh Robots, Kasper Hauser, The Meehan Brothers, Please Leave The Bronx, Totally False People and White Noise Radio Theatre.
In 2003, the second annual festival featured Fred Willard
Fred Willard
Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...
and his Hollywood Players, the Upright Citizens Brigade
Upright Citizens Brigade
The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh...
and The Sklar Brothers performing at the 200-seat Eureka Theatre.
In 2004, the third annual festival featured a tribute to Amy Sedaris
Amy Sedaris
Amy Louise Sedaris is an American actress, author, and comedian. She is known for playing the character Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central television series Strangers with Candy. Sedaris regularly collaborates with her older brother, humorist and author David Sedaris...
; a panel discussion with Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 , for which he voiced the robot Crow T. Robot during the show's later seasons on the Sci Fi Channel and played the character...
, Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy (actor)
Kevin Wagner Murphy is an American actor and writer best known as the voice and puppeteer of Tom Servo on the Peabody Award-winning comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.- Early career :...
and Michael J. Nelson
Michael J. Nelson
Michael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
from Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
; and performances by Totally Looped featuring Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
and Rick Overton
Rick Overton
Richard "Rick" Overton is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include Dennis Miller Live, and his acting credits include Willow and The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.-Life and career:...
; Slovin & Allen; The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show featuring David Koechner
David Koechner
David Michael Koechner is an American comedian, musician, and character actor. Koechner began studying improvisational comedy in Chicago at the ImprovOlympic, under the teachings of Del Close, before joining the Second City Northwest...
from Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
; Girl's Guitar Club featuring Karen Kilgariff
Karen Kilgariff
Karen Kilgariff is an actress and writer best known for her work on the late 1990s sketch comedy television program Mr. Show and the Glasgow-set situation comedy The Book Group. She was the head writer for The Ellen DeGeneres Show and occasionally appears on screen in sketches and other segments...
and Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
, who played Chloe on 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
; and current Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
castmember Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen is an American actor, comedian and musician best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and portraying off-color foreigners in various comedy films such as EuroTrip, Anchorman and Cop Out...
. Improvisational comedy was added to the festival with Beer Shark Mice featuring David Koechner
David Koechner
David Michael Koechner is an American comedian, musician, and character actor. Koechner began studying improvisational comedy in Chicago at the ImprovOlympic, under the teachings of Del Close, before joining the Second City Northwest...
and Neil Flynn
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, known for his role as Janitor in the medical comedy-drama Scrubs. He currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.-Early life:...
. Film was added with the Bay Area premiere of Martin & Orloff
Martin & Orloff
Martin & Orloff is a feature film written by and starring Matt Walsh and Ian Roberts along with Ian's wife Katie Roberts. The film was produced and directed by Lawrence Blume and features an ensemble cast of alternative comedians including H...
. The 400-seat Cobb's Comedy Club
Cobb's Comedy Club
Cobb's Comedy Club is a venue to showcase stand-up comedy. It's located in San Francisco, CA in the North Beach area. The club has been open for more than 25 years and has had many top comedians on its stage.Comics include:Tim Allen,Dave Attell,...
was added as a larger venue.
In 2005, the fourth annual festival featured a tribute to Dana Carvey
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
; a panel discussion with writers and editors from The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
moderated by author Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
and performances by Bruce McCulloch
Bruce McCulloch
Bruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
from The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
; comedian Demetri Martin
Demetri Martin
Demetri Martin is an American comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer and humorist. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian, contributor on The Daily Show and for his Comedy Central show Important Things with Demetri Martin.- Early life :Demetri Martin was born to a Greek...
; Bizarro
Bizarro
Bizarro is a fictional character that appears in publications published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman and first appeared in Superboy #68...
creator Dan Piraro
Dan Piraro
Daniel Charles Piraro is a painter, illustrator and cartoonist best known for his award-winning syndicated cartoon panel Bizarro. Piraro's cartoons have been reprinted in 15 book collections between 1986 and the present....
; Hard 'n Phirm
Hard 'n Phirm
Hard 'n Phirm is a comedy/parody musical duo based in Los Angeles. The members are Chris Hardwick and Mike Phirman. They began performing at UCLA in 1994, but broke up, only to reform 7 years later. After the huge success of their song "Rodeohead" , they released their first and only album to...
; Olde English; Elephant Larry
Elephant Larry
Elephant Larry is a sketch comedy group from New York City. They were formed in 2002 and have been performing since, most recently at The Peoples Improv Theater.- History :...
and many more.
To celebrate its fifth annual festival in 2006, even more venues were added with the inclusion of The Punch Line, The Purple Onion
The Purple Onion
The Purple Onion is a celebrated cellar club in the North Beach area of San Francisco, California located at 140 Columbus Avenue...
and 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley. The festival featured a tribute to Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
and David Cross
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
from Mr. Show
Mr. Show
Mr. Show with Bob and David is an American sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer/actor Bob Odenkirk and stand up comedian/actor David Cross...
; a lecture by Michael Showalter
Michael Showalter
Michael English Showalter is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is a member of the sketch comedy trio Stella. Showalter first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's The State, which aired from 1993 to 1995...
and David Wain
David Wain
David Benjamin Wain is an American comedian, writer, actor and director. He is most widely known for the feature films Role Models and Wet Hot American Summer, the 1990s' sketch comedy series The State and for producing/directing/writing the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital...
, formerly of 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 The State
The State (TV series)
The State is a half-hour sketch-comedy television show, originally broadcast on MTV between December 17, 1993 and July 1, 1995. The show combined bizarre characters and scenarios to present sketches that won the favor of its target teenaged audience...
and Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's Stella
Stella
-People:*Stella , a feminine given name** Stella McCartney, English fashion designer** Stella , Singaporean-Taiwanese singer** Stella Maessen, Dutch singer, sometimes going under the singular name of Stella-Fictional characters:...
; and performances by Dave Foley
Dave Foley
David Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
from The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
; Tinkle
Tinkle
Tinkle is an Indian monthly magazine, published mainly in India. Originally owned by the India Book House, the Tinkle brand was acquired by ACK Media in 2007. The Magazine contains comics, stories, puzzles, quizzes, contests and other features targeted at school children, although its readership...
, featuring David Cross
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
, Todd Barry
Todd Barry
-Biography:Barry was born in The Bronx, New York, and grew up in Florida. In 1999, his Comedy Central Presents aired. He wrote, directed and starred in the short film Borrowing Saffron , which co-starred H. Jon Benjamin. He has made a variety of guest appearances on shows like Dr...
and H. Jon Benjamin
H. Jon Benjamin
Henry Jon Benjamin , known professionally as H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Benjamin, is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his voice-over roles as Jason and Coach McGuirk on Home Movies, Ben on Dr...
with guests Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
, Brian Posehn
Brian Posehn
Brian Edmund Posehn is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.-Early life:Posehn...
, Paul F. Tompkins
Paul F. Tompkins
Paul Francis Tompkins , best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Tompkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a receptionist mother and railway worker father. He started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, PA, where he...
, Eugene Mirman
Eugene Mirman
Eugene Boris Mirman is a Russian-born American comedian, writer, and filmmaker. Mirman currently plays Yvgeny Mirminsky on Delocated, and voices Gene Belcher for the animated comedy Bob's Burgers.-Early life:Mirman was born in Russia to Jewish parents...
and musical act Rogue Wave; The Paul F. Tompkins Show with guests Paget Brewster
Paget Brewster
Paget Valerie Brewster is an American actress. She is currently known for playing Special Agent Emily Prentiss on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds. In June 2010, it was said that her role on Criminal Minds would be reduced in the sixth season. In March 2011, Brewster's character left the series...
, Paul Gilmartin, Samm Levine
Samm Levine
Samuel Franklin "Samm" Levine is an American television and film actor. He is known for his portrayal of Neal Schweiber on NBC's short-lived Freaks and Geeks and PFC Hirschberg in the hit 2009 film Inglourious Basterds...
and Colin Hay
Colin Hay
Colin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist.- Early life and Men at Work :...
; The Upright Citizens Brigade: A.S.S.S.S.C.A.T. featuring 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...
, Matt Besser
Matt Besser
Matthew Gregory "Matt" Besser is an American actor and comedian best known as one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe who also had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998-2000....
, Rachel Dratch
Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
and Horatio Sanz
Horatio Sanz
Horatio Sanz is a Chilean-born American actor and comedian best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998-2006. Sanz most recently starred alongside his former SNL castmate Chris Parnell in the Comedy Central series Big Lake.-Early life:Sanz, the youngest of three sons, was born in...
with guest monologist Will Arnett
Will Arnett
William Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
; Naked Babies featuring Rob Corddry
Rob Corddry
Robert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
from The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
; Doug Stanhope
Doug Stanhope
Douglas Gene "Doug" Stanhope is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author known for his abrasive comedy routines.-Life and career:Stanhope quit high school after his freshman year...
, Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players describe themselves as an "indie-vaudeville conceptual art-rock pop band", from the United States. Originally from Seattle, Washington, they are now based in New York, New York.-Overview:...
; Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen is an American actor, comedian and musician best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and portraying off-color foreigners in various comedy films such as EuroTrip, Anchorman and Cop Out...
; Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
; Will Franken
Will Franken
Will Franken is a comedian and impressionist based in San Francisco.Born and raised in Sedalia, Missouri, Franken holds a Master’s degree in English . He pursued an acting career and taught high school in New York City after college...
and a surprise appearance by Dana Carvey
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
.
In 2007, the SF Sketchfest tribute went to Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens is an American actor, writer, film producer, and comedian, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor...
. Performers included Stella
Stella
-People:*Stella , a feminine given name** Stella McCartney, English fashion designer** Stella , Singaporean-Taiwanese singer** Stella Maessen, Dutch singer, sometimes going under the singular name of Stella-Fictional characters:...
, RiffTrax
RiffTrax
RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedians Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett heckling films in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a TV show in which Nelson was the head writer, and later the host. The RiffTrax are sold online and delivered by digital...
Live featuring Michael J. Nelson
Michael J. Nelson
Michael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
, Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy (actor)
Kevin Wagner Murphy is an American actor and writer best known as the voice and puppeteer of Tom Servo on the Peabody Award-winning comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.- Early career :...
and Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 , for which he voiced the robot Crow T. Robot during the show's later seasons on the Sci Fi Channel and played the character...
from Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, The Upright Citizens Brigade
Upright Citizens Brigade
The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh...
with Matt Besser
Matt Besser
Matthew Gregory "Matt" Besser is an American actor and comedian best known as one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe who also had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998-2000....
, Ian Roberts
Ian Roberts (actor)
Ian Michael Roberts is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe.-Life and career:...
, Matt Walsh
Matt Walsh
Matthew Paul "Matt" Walsh is an American actor, comedian, director and writer best known as a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade improvisational sketch comedy troupe...
, Sean Conroy, Andy Daly and guest monologist Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
, Comedy Death-Ray
Comedy Death-Ray
Comedy Death-Ray is a weekly "alternative" comedy show held every Tuesday in Los Angeles. CDR, as it is also known, was started by former Mr. Show writers/actors Scott Aukerman & B.J. Porter, who also perform as The Fun Bunch. The first show was on October 1, 2002 at L.A.'s M Bar...
, Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
Live, David Cross
David Cross
David Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
, Bruce McCulloch
Bruce McCulloch
Bruce Ian McCulloch is a Canadian actor, writer, comedian, and film director. McCulloch is best known for his work as a member of The Kids in the Hall, a popular Canadian comedy troupe, and as a writer for Saturday Night Live. McCulloch has also appeared on series such as Twitch City and Gilmore...
, Eugene Mirman
Eugene Mirman
Eugene Boris Mirman is a Russian-born American comedian, writer, and filmmaker. Mirman currently plays Yvgeny Mirminsky on Delocated, and voices Gene Belcher for the animated comedy Bob's Burgers.-Early life:Mirman was born in Russia to Jewish parents...
, Naked Babies, Todd Barry
Todd Barry
-Biography:Barry was born in The Bronx, New York, and grew up in Florida. In 1999, his Comedy Central Presents aired. He wrote, directed and starred in the short film Borrowing Saffron , which co-starred H. Jon Benjamin. He has made a variety of guest appearances on shows like Dr...
, H. Jon Benjamin
H. Jon Benjamin
Henry Jon Benjamin , known professionally as H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Benjamin, is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his voice-over roles as Jason and Coach McGuirk on Home Movies, Ben on Dr...
, Morgan Murphy
Morgan Murphy
Morgan Murphy may refer to:*Morgan Murphy , former catcher in Major League Baseball*Morgan Murphy : standup comedian and comedy writer...
, Doug Benson
Doug Benson
Douglas Steven "Doug" Benson is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central Presents, Best Week Ever and was a contestant on Last Comic Standing in the show's fifth season....
, Todd Glass
Todd Glass
Todd Steven Glass is an American stand-up comedian originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Biography:Glass is perhaps best known for his appearances as a contestant on the second and third seasons of NBC's Last Comic Standing and has appeared regularly on programs such as Jimmy Kimmel Live!,...
, Hard 'n Phirm
Hard 'n Phirm
Hard 'n Phirm is a comedy/parody musical duo based in Los Angeles. The members are Chris Hardwick and Mike Phirman. They began performing at UCLA in 1994, but broke up, only to reform 7 years later. After the huge success of their song "Rodeohead" , they released their first and only album to...
, A.D. Miles, Jimmy Pardo
Jimmy Pardo
Jimmy Pardo is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and host of the popular comedy podcast Never Not Funny.He is married to fellow comedian Danielle Koenig. They live in Los Angeles with their son Oliver...
, Paul F. Tompkins
Paul F. Tompkins
Paul Francis Tompkins , best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Tompkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a receptionist mother and railway worker father. He started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, PA, where he...
, Maria Bamford
Maria Bamford
Maria Bamford is an American stand-up comedian and voice actor. She is best known for her portrayal of her dysfunctional family and self-deprecating comedy involving jokes about depression. Her comedy style draws upon surrealism and incorporates voice impressions that good-naturedly mock various...
, Dragon Boy Suede
Dragon Boy Suede
Howard Kremer, better known by the stage name Dragon Boy Suede, is an American comedian and comedic rapper. He has released two albums and has had a half-hour special on Comedy Central Presents. He has also made regular appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin Stories, Scare Tactics and Comedy...
, Tony Hale
Tony Hale
Tony Hale is an American actor, best known for his role in the Fox comedy series Arrested Development as the neurotic Byron "Buster" Bluth.-Early life:...
and Will Durst
Will Durst
Will Durst is an American political satirist; he considers himself a modern mix of Mort Sahl and Will Rogers....
.
In 2008, the Seventh Annual SF Sketchfest presented The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall
The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy group formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1988 to 1994 on CBC in Canada, and 1989 to 1995 on CBS and HBO in the United States...
, in performance and in conversation for the annual Tribute. Other performers included Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
, Paul F. Tompkins
Paul F. Tompkins
Paul Francis Tompkins , best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Tompkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a receptionist mother and railway worker father. He started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, PA, where he...
, Todd Barry
Todd Barry
-Biography:Barry was born in The Bronx, New York, and grew up in Florida. In 1999, his Comedy Central Presents aired. He wrote, directed and starred in the short film Borrowing Saffron , which co-starred H. Jon Benjamin. He has made a variety of guest appearances on shows like Dr...
, Rhys Darby
Rhys Darby
Rhys Montague Darby is an actor and stand-up comedian from New Zealand, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals...
, Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal is an American actress, writer and comedienne, best known for her role as Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords, as Louise in Bob's Burgers and as a contributor on The Daily Show.-Early life:...
, Naked Babies with Rob Corddry
Rob Corddry
Robert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
, The Sound of Young America
The Sound of Young America
The Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...
Live with host Jesse Thorn
Jesse Thorn
Jesse Thorn is an American public radio show host/creator. He is the host and producer of the radio show and podcast The Sound of Young America, which is distributed by Public Radio International to 25 public terrestrial radio stations in 13 states and is also broadcast weekly on XM Radio's "XM...
and guests Danny Hoch
Danny Hoch
Danny Hoch is an American writer, director and performance artist. He has acted in larger roles in independent and art house movies and had a few small roles in mainstream Hollywood films, with increasing exposure as in 2007's We Own the Night...
, Merlin Mann
Merlin Mann
Merlin Dean Mann III writes the blog . He received a B.A. from New College of Florida, and he currently resides in San Francisco, California with his wife, Madeline Mann, and their daughter, .-Writing:...
, Morgan Murphy
Morgan Murphy
Morgan Murphy may refer to:*Morgan Murphy , former catcher in Major League Baseball*Morgan Murphy : standup comedian and comedy writer...
, Bucky Sinister and musical guest Zach Rogue; RiffTrax
RiffTrax
RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedians Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett heckling films in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a TV show in which Nelson was the head writer, and later the host. The RiffTrax are sold online and delivered by digital...
Live at the Castro Theatre
Castro Theatre
The Castro Theatre is a popular San Francisco movie palace which became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street, in the Castro district, it was built in 1922 with a Spanish Colonial Baroque façade that pays homage—in its great arched central window...
with the film "Plan 9 From Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
;" Dr. Katz Professional Therapist Live with guest patients Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
, Maria Bamford
Maria Bamford
Maria Bamford is an American stand-up comedian and voice actor. She is best known for her portrayal of her dysfunctional family and self-deprecating comedy involving jokes about depression. Her comedy style draws upon surrealism and incorporates voice impressions that good-naturedly mock various...
, Brian Posehn
Brian Posehn
Brian Edmund Posehn is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.-Early life:Posehn...
, Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, H. Jon Benjamin
H. Jon Benjamin
Henry Jon Benjamin , known professionally as H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Benjamin, is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his voice-over roles as Jason and Coach McGuirk on Home Movies, Ben on Dr...
, Eugene Mirman
Eugene Mirman
Eugene Boris Mirman is a Russian-born American comedian, writer, and filmmaker. Mirman currently plays Yvgeny Mirminsky on Delocated, and voices Gene Belcher for the animated comedy Bob's Burgers.-Early life:Mirman was born in Russia to Jewish parents...
, Andy Kindler
Andy Kindler
Andy Kindler is an American stand-up comedian from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles.-Stand up:His material often covers the comedy industry itself, criticizing other comedians for being too predictable. One of his more notable criticisms was that of Dane Cook where he compared the...
and B.J. Novak; Michael Showalter
Michael Showalter
Michael English Showalter is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is a member of the sketch comedy trio Stella. Showalter first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's The State, which aired from 1993 to 1995...
, John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice is an American musician and songwriter. Previously a member of the band Mk Ultra, he now records and performs as a solo artist.-Early years:...
, Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
Live, Comedy Death-Ray
Comedy Death-Ray
Comedy Death-Ray is a weekly "alternative" comedy show held every Tuesday in Los Angeles. CDR, as it is also known, was started by former Mr. Show writers/actors Scott Aukerman & B.J. Porter, who also perform as The Fun Bunch. The first show was on October 1, 2002 at L.A.'s M Bar...
, a "Freaks and Geeks
Freaks and Geeks
Freaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow, that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season...
" reunion with Linda Cardellini
Linda Cardellini
Linda Edna Cardellini is an American television and film actress. She is best known for her roles as high school student Lindsay Weir on Freaks and Geeks, as Velma Dinkley in the live-action Scooby-Doo films, and as Samantha Taggart on ER.- Early life :Cardellini was born in Redwood City,...
, John Francis Daley
John Francis Daley
John Francis Daley is an American television and film actor, singer, screenwriter, and director, sometimes credited as John Daley or John Francis Daly. He is best known for playing Sam Weir on the NBC comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks and his current role as Lance Sweets on the series Bones...
, Samm Levine
Samm Levine
Samuel Franklin "Samm" Levine is an American television and film actor. He is known for his portrayal of Neal Schweiber on NBC's short-lived Freaks and Geeks and PFC Hirschberg in the hit 2009 film Inglourious Basterds...
, Martin Starr
Martin Starr
Martin Starr is an American television and film actor, known for his roles as Bill Haverchuck on the short-lived NBC comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks and as Roman DeBeers on the Starz comedy series Party Down, as well as for his roles in the films Knocked Up, Cheats, and Adventureland.-Life and...
, Busy Philipps
Busy Philipps
Elizabeth Jean Philipps , known professionally as Busy Philipps, is an American film actress, perhaps best known for her supporting roles on the television series Freaks and Geeks and Dawson's Creek...
, Dave (Gruber) Allen, Steve Bannos
Steve Bannos
Steve Bannos is an American television and film actor and writer. As an actor, he may be best known for his portrayal of Frank Kowchevski on the short-lived NBC dramedy Freaks and Geeks....
and Paul Feig
Paul Feig
Paul S. Feig is an American director, actor and author. Feig is known for playing Mr. Eugene Pool, Sabrina's science teacher, on the first season of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as well as Tim a camp counselor on the hit kids movie Heavyweights...
; Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
, Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.-Early life:...
, Bro'in Out with Seth Morris with special guest Adam McKay
Adam McKay
Adam McKay is an American screenwriter, director, comedian, and actor. He is most famous for his partnership with comedian Will Ferrell, with whom he co-wrote the films Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys....
; Upright Citizens Brigade
Upright Citizens Brigade
The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh...
with Matt Besser
Matt Besser
Matthew Gregory "Matt" Besser is an American actor and comedian best known as one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe who also had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998-2000....
, Ian Roberts
Ian Roberts (actor)
Ian Michael Roberts is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe.-Life and career:...
, Matt Walsh
Matt Walsh
Matthew Paul "Matt" Walsh is an American actor, comedian, director and writer best known as a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade improvisational sketch comedy troupe...
, Rachel Dratch
Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
, Rob Riggle
Rob Riggle
Robert Allen "Rob" Riggle, Jr. is an American actor, comedian and United States Marine Corps officer. He is best known for his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show from 2006–2008, as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2004–2005, and for his comedic roles in films such...
, Kevin Dorff
Kevin Dorff
Kevin Dorff is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a writer and sketch performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Dorff co-starred as "Mike the Federal Agent" on the first season of the Adult Swim series Delocated with his former Late Night...
and guest monologist Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
; The Whitest Kids U Know, Tim and Eric and many more.
In 2009, the Eighth Annual SF Sketchfest featured a reunion of the MTV sketch comedy group The State, marking the first time in twelve years that all eleven original members (Kevin Allison, Michael Ian Black, Robert Ben Garant, Todd Holoubek, Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter and David Wain) were together onstage. They presented a brand-new hour-long sketch show at the intimate 200-seat Eureka Theatre, and also sat down with moderator Janeane Garofalo for the annual Tribute award at the Herbst Theatre. Related programming included a cast-introduced screening of Wet Hot American Summer, and Stella: The Classic Nightclub Show, with guests Thomas Lennon, Tig Notaro, Nick Kroll, Zak Orth, Eugene Mirman, Seth Herzog and Janeane Garofalo. The festival introduced their first Comedy Writing Award, presented to Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien scribe Robert Smigel, who was joined in conversation with Dana Carvey. Smigel also joined Dino Stamatopoulos, Doug Dale, the Anifriends and Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog for a live stage version of the Comedy Central television show TV Funhouse. Other notable programming included A Salute to Bud Cort, interviewed after a screening of Harold and Maude at The Castro Theatre; A Fernwood Reunion with Martin Mull and Fred Willard, who appeared in character as Barth Gimble and Jerry Hubbard; Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!; Savage Steve Holland and Diane Franklin with a screening of Better Off Dead; The Hills: A Staged Reading with Garofalo, Rachael Harris, Tom Kenny, Rob Huebel, Rob Riggle, Dannah Feinglass, Danielle Schneider and Mike Phirman; Comedy Death-Ray with Zach Galifianakis, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Kindler, Chris Hardwick, Paul F. Tompkins, Mary Lynn Rajskub and hosts The Fun Bunch (Scott Aukerman and BJ Porter); Game Show Explosion with Jimmy Pardo; Celebrity Autobiography with Michael McKean, Annette O’Toole, Scott Thompson, Rachel Dratch, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, Laraine Newman and creators Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel; Sunday with Moral Orel with Dino Stamatopoulos and Scott Adsit; Upright Citizen Brigade ASSSSCAT Improv with Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Tim Meadows, Andrew Daly, Danielle Schneider and monologist Andy Richter; Totally Looped movie dubbing show with Laraine Newman, Maria Bamford, Oscar Nunez, Rick Overton, Joe Liss and Richard Kuhlman; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale and guests including Todd Barry and Paul Scheer; Facebook Improv with Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, Seth Morris, Chad Carter and Owen Burke; Theme Park Improv with Scott Adsit, Oscar Nunez, Kate Flannery, Jessica Makinson, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton; Scott Thompson’s solo show Scottastrophe!; Cartoon Dump with Frank Conniff; Never Not Funny Live with Jimmy Pardo, Jon Hamm and Pat Francis; The Sound of Young America Live with Jesse Thorn, Sean Cullen, Jello Biafra and Kasper Hauser; Monsters of Podcasting with Jordan, Jesse, Go and You Like Nice Today; and stand-up sets from Doug Benson, Aziz Ansari and Will Durst.
In 2010, the Ninth Annual festival included Conan O’Brien, recipient of the annual Tribute Award, who was scheduled to appear on January 17, but had to be postponed due to the late night fiasco at NBC. The tribute was done later that summer on July 17 at the Herbst Theater, where O’Brien was joined by Andy Richter and moderator Patton Oswalt for a incredible, candid, three-hour conversation. The Comedy Writing Award was presented to author and humorist John Hodgman, who was joined in conversation with Dave Eggers. The festival presented their first Monty Python member in Terry Jones, who appeared in conversation with Carl Arnheiter at a screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python’s Life of Brian at the Castro Theatre. Other film related programming included Cinematic Titanic (with Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Conniff and Mary Jo Pehl of Mystery Science Theater 3000); Waiting For Guffman with Fred Willard; The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy with Dave Foley; Animal Crackers with Bill Marx (son of Harpo) and Dick Cavett; and UHF with “Weird Al” Yankovic. Yankovic also joined Chris Hardwick for a conversation at Cobb’s Comedy Club. Other notable events and performers included Tim and Eric; an Evening with the Reno 911! Sheriff’s Department; The Greg Proops Chat Show with Robin Williams, Linda Cardellini and musical guest Michael Penn; The Dave Hill Explosion with Dick Cavett and The Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano; Celebrity Autobiography with Jason Segel, Rachel Dratch, Laura Kightlinger, Steve Schirripa, and Fred Willard; Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, David Koechner, Tim Meadows, Chad Carter and monologist Moon Zappa; The Paul F. Tompkins Show featuring Dave Foley, Illeana Douglas and musical guest Grant-Lee Phillips; Comedy Death-Ray with Michael Ian Black, Dana Gould, Doug Benson, Natasha Leggero, James Adomian, musical guest Aimee Mann and host Scott Aukerman; the return of Facebook Improv; Game Show Explosion with Jimmy Pardo; The Red Wine Boys with Todd Barry and H. Jon Benjamin and guests Larry Murphy, Brendon Small and musical guests Mates of State; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale; The Whitest Kids U’ Know; Greg Behrendt’s Bring the Rock featuring Matt Nathanson; The Jill and Julia Show with Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney; Ask A Ninja Live; The Big Gay Sketch Show; Theme Park Improv with Edie McClurg, Danny Pudi, Scott Adsit, Rachel Dratch, Jessica Makinson, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton; Never Not Funny Live with Jimmy Pardo and guest Dave Foley; The Benson Interruption with Doug Benson, Steve Agee, Graham Elwood and more; Doug Loves Movies and Comedy Death Ray Radio Live; The Shit Show with Rob Huebel; Dr. God Improv with Matthew Lillard; My Monster with Bill Corbett from Mystery Science Theater 3000; Reggie Watts; Kasper Hauser; Killing My Lobster; and stand-up sets from Nick Kroll, Jon Dore, Brent Weinbach, Matt Braunger, Kyle Kinane, and Jamie Kilstein.
In 2011, the festival celebrated its 10th Anniversary, now regularly utilizing nearly a dozen venues, including The Castro Theatre, Yoshi’s San Francisco, The Purple Onion and Marines’ Memorial Theatre. The annual Tribute award was split into a new Great Collaborator Series, showcasing fantastic comedy teams. The first was a 25th Anniversary Tribute to “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show”with Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel appearing at the Castro Theatre with moderator Zach Braff; second was an Airplane! Tribute to Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, moderated by Chris Hardwick; and the third was a Tribute to Murphy Brown with Candice Bergen and Diane English. The third Comedy Writing Award was presented by James L. Brooks, who candidly chatted with Danny DeVito before a screening of Brooks’ classic Broadcast News. The festival teamed with local drag superstar Peaches Christ for an evening with Cloris Leachman and a screening of High Anxiety, and presented a 25th Anniversary screening of True Stories with Talking Heads’ frontman David Byrne. Other great events included a Saturday Night Live: The Originals panel with Dan Aykroyd, Tom Davis, Laraine Newman, Don Novello and moderator Carl Arnheiter; Brian Henson in conversation with Neil Patrick Harris featuring a live puppet demonstration; The Thrilling Adventure Hour with a star-studded cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Colin Hanks, Alison Brie, John DiMaggio, Donal Logue, Danny Pudi, James Urbaniak, Busy Philips, Samm Levine, John Ennis and Paul F. Tompkins; a four show preview of Mike Birbiglia’s new solo show, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend; Celebrity Autobiography with Will Forte, Rachael Harris, Joe Pantoliano, Jonathan Silverman and Linda Cardellini; Whose Live Anyway? improv show with Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Chip Esten and Jeff Davis; a Viva Variety Reunion show with Thomas Lennon, Michael Ian Black Kerri Kenney-Silver and Robert Ben Garant; Gentlemen’s Club with Bob Odenkirk; The Paul F. Tompkins Show with Gillian Jacobs, Neil Patrick Harris and musical guest Tom Brosseau; The Dave Hill Explosion with Moby, Thao Nguyen and Will Franken; Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Show with Jon Benjamin and guests Todd Barry, Andrew Daly, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, Will Forte and musical guest A.C. Newman; The Benson Interruption with Doug Benson and guests Zach Galifianakis and more; The Kevin Pollak Chat Show with guest Adam Savage; Greg Behrendt’s Maximum Volume with Matt Nathanson and Brendon Small; Music Night with Garfunkel and Oates, David Koechner, Chris Hardwick, Mike Phirman, Eli Braden and Zach Selwyn; Tig Has Friends with Tig Notaro; Billy The Mime; Charlyne Yi; Paul Brittain; Rich Fulcher; Killing My Lobster; Solo shows by Rob Delaney, Brett Gelman, Joe Sibb and Lauren Weedman; Storytelling shows Porchlight, This is Not Happening and Risk! with Kevin Allison and The Friday Forty with Dave Holmes. Podcasts also made up a major component of the festival, and included live tapings of WTF with Marc Maron and guests Bobcat Goldthwait, Will Franken, Maria Bamford, Baron Vaughn and W. Kamau Bell; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo and guest David Koechner; Nerdist with Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira with guest Zach Galifianakis; Pop My Culture with Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland and guest Bob Odenkirk; Sklarbro Country with the Sklar Brothers and guests Michael Ian Black, Har Mar Superstar and Bill Romanowski; Citizen Radio with Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny and guest Markos Moulitsas; The Sound of Young America with Jesse Thorn and guests John Vanderslice and Steve Dildarian; and Monsters of Podcasting. The festival also introduced a new program called The Dozen, spotlighting the next wave of stand-up comedy stars, featuring Dan Mintz, Dan Telfer, Chris Fairbanks, Chelsea Peretti, Matt Braunger, Jamie Kilstein, Jen Kirkman, Baron Vaughn, Mary Mack, Kumail Nanjiani, Deon Cole and Harris Wittels. There was also a reunion and performance from the original six groups from the first Sketchfest—The Fresh Robots, Kasper Hauser, The Meehan Brothers, Please Leave The Bronx, Totally False People and White Noise Radio Theatre.