ComedySportz is a really fun concept where improv comics compete against one another. There is a large amount of audience participation and the competitions vary greatly, so each show is completely different. The San Jose ComedySportz troop runs their shows out of the Camera 3 theater, but there are actually 25 different ComedySportz locations throughout the world.
Next week the ComedySportz World Championship is taking place in San Jose at the Hammer Theatre (now run by SJSU). This is the second time we will be hosting the World Championship, and San Jose won the first time we hosted it in 2006. You can find everything you need to know about the epic four-day event in the press release below.
THE WORLD OF COMEDY COMES TO SAN JOSE
WHO: 30th Annual ComedySportz World Championship
WHAT: 22 ComedySportz teams from the United States and England will come together to battle for laughs. (See list of participating cities below)
WHEN:
Wednesday, June 28 7:30pm Opening Ceremonies and First Match.
Thursday, June 29 Championship Matches at 7:30pm
Friday, June 30 Championship Matches at 7:00pm and 9:30pm
Saturday, July 1 Semi-Final Matches at 4:00pm and 7:00pm. FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH at 9:30pm followed by Awards Ceremony with presentation of the "Meaningless Cup” and Closing Party.
WHERE: Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, CA 95113
WHY: This 30th annual event is fun, fast-paced, family-friendly improvisational comedy played as a sport. Two teams take turns making up scenes, playing games and singing songs – and the audience votes on which team they like best. This is serious funny business. This is only the second time in the 30 years of the event that the Bay Area will host the games. Sponsored by San Jose State University.
PRICES: Single Tickets $10 to $20. All-Access Pass available for $75. (All four days; all events)
TICKETS: 408.924.8501 or https://web.ovationtix.com/
Hammer Theatre Center Box Office is open weekdays 12-5pm and 2 hours prior to performance for both phone and walk-up sales. Located on Paseo de San Antonio between Second and Third Streets.
CITIES PARTICIPATING: Boise, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Manchester (England), Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Portland, Provo, Quad Cities, Richmond, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Jose, Seattle, Twin Cities and Washington DC.
SHORT BYTE FOR CALENDARS: The 30th annual ComedySportz World Championship will be held June 28 through July 1 in the beautiful Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo de San Antonio in the heart of downtown San Jose. Nearly two dozen teams from around the United States (and one from England) will compete over the four day event for pride and prizes with improvisational comedy, games and songs based on suggestions from the audience. Tickets are $10 to $20 at 408.924.8501 or online at https://web.ovationtix.com/
PHOTOS: Photos by PJ Heller courtesy of ComedySportz San Jose. Comedy as a sport! Two teams battle each other in an improvised comedy competition based entirely on audience suggestions. A referee calls penalties for boring or crude humor. If a player (or fan) uses “foul language" the referee can call the “Brown Bag Foul" and place a paper bag over the offenders head.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Representative teams from 22 improvisational comedy groups from across the United States and England will descend on San Jose June 28 through July 1 for the 2017 ComedySportz World Championship.
ComedySportz isn’t a comedy about sports, it’s comedy played AS a sport. It’s a competition between two teams competing for laughs and for points by making up scenes based on the audience suggestions. There are penalties, there are fouls, there’s a uniformed referee. This is serious funny business.
The four-day event, featuring workshops, public performances and impromptu improvisation sessions stretching into the early morning hours, kicks off on Wednesday June 28th at 7:30pm. San Jose’s own venerable ComedySportz team, founded in 1987, will participate in the opening match. On Saturday, July 1st, after that evening’s 9:30pm championship match, one team will emerge victorious and be awarded the "Meaningless Cup."
The ComedySportz concept, created by Dick Chudnow in Milwaukee in 1984, was inspired by the Canadian-born Theatersports enterprise. Chudnow gave it a sports-themed look and feel, incorporating uniformed referees and devising time limits and a point system that seemed to place the event somewhere between the NFL and "Who’s Line is it Anyway." Chudnow has described the ComedySportz ethos as family friendly, relatively foolproof and pretty much guaranteed to be goofy.
ABOUT US: CSz San Jose, the producer of ComedySportz was founded in 1987 and is licensed by CSz Worldwide, one of 25 teams in cities across the United States and two in Europe (Manchester England and Berlin Germany.) In addition to a year-round schedule of matches at their Arena in San Jose, they participate in programs and road shows for corporate, college, church, school and association clients each year, coach high school leagues, and lead corporate team-building and Applied Improv workshops. 2017 will be the second time that ComedySportz San Jose has hosted the World Championships and they won the title in 2006.
My group of friends enjoys eating and trying lesser known beers, or the amazing cocktails all the time. This is the best place I know with the most perfect environment. It has become my favorite event space over the last year.
ReplyDelete