Are you a fan of sketch comedy, such as “Saturday Night Live,” “Monty Python,” “MADtv,” “In Living Color,” “Kids in the Hall,” “Chappelle’s Show,” “Key & Peele” or “A Black Lady Sketch Show?”
Check out D.C. Sketchfest with two free shows at the D.C. Arts Center in Adams Morgan on Wednesday, followed by six paid shows at the D.C. Improv in Dupont Circle on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“This is the very first D.C. Sketchfest,” Executive Producer Isaiah Headen told WTOP. “We’ve been traveling around the country going to sketch fests all over, and we wanted to bring one here to Washington D.C. … We’ve been growing a lot the last couple of years, there’s so many new teams … so it felt like the right time to bring the community together to showcase the talent and also invite our friends from all over the country to come participate.”
The event features 100 performers from 22 comedy troupes from all over the U.S. and Canada, including New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago and Austin.
Headen said that the more than 100 applications shows that there’s interest in this kind of show in the D.C. area. So how does the District compare in the sketch-comedy scene?
“The Seattle teams tend to be very silly and wacky, whereas the New York teams are very sharp and smart humor, so you’re going to get a mixed flavor palette of styles of comedy,” Headen said.
Each show features three different sketch troupes, including two out-of-town teams and one D.C. team.
“Isaiah is part of Bad Medicine here in D.C., and I’m part of Rails Comedy,” producer Bobby Cohoat told WTOP.
Grace and The Gang is another local team, and they’re playing on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., followed by Showburger. You can see the rest of the teams and when they will be performing by visiting the D.C. Sketchfest website.
“Anyone you choose, you’re gonna get a winner,” Cohoat said. “No matter what show you go to, you’re going to see 90 minutes of just pure hilarious comedy.”
The sketches are all scripted, rehearsed and presented for your enjoyment.
“Sketch comedy is an avenue to bring your own perspective on things that mean something to you. … You’re able to tell stories through acting, jokes and characters that are personal but also can reach a larger audience. I think that’s why people continuously tune into ‘SNL’ or other sketch shows because there’s something personal about it,” Cohoat said.
