THIS WEEK in TIMES SQUARE

IMPROV COMEDY SHOWS & CLASSES
in Times Square, NYC
CLICK HERE for FULL CALENDAR and TICKETS
CLICK LINK, select date/time you wish to attend (Click on the show time) then select number of seats (choose discount options in blue) and proceed to check out.

UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS

• SATURDAY 
  3pm Show LMAO Off Broadway
  – 10am Comedy 4 Teens Class
  – NOON Comedy 4 Kids Class
• SUNDAY 
  3pm Show LMAO Off Broadway
  – 12:45 Improv 101 – Adult Class (18+)
• MONDAY 
  8pm ON THE SPOT Cabaret Improv Show
  – 5:30-7:30pm HAPPY HOUR Improv Comedy Class and Networking – ticket includes first drink and snacks
• 9pm NIGHTLY Stand-up Comedy – All Star comics from TV, Film and national headliners
• $25 at the door CLICK HERE for $10 tickets to shows and drop in classes
• CLICK HERE for more about CLASSES

PRIVATE EVENTS/GROUP SALES

Let us host your next corporate team building event, office party, off-campus college club event and even K-12 Field Trips. We offer great rates for amazingly high impact events. Show, workshops and catering options from $10-200. EMAIL NOW for more details

TOURING NATIONWIDE

Looking to fill your venue’s calendar?
Need entertainment at your next corporate/private event?
We send entertainment and educational workshops nationwide to theaters, clubs, colleges, universities, corporate events, family events, and K-12 outreach (schools, camps, community centers).EMAIL NOW for more details

TIMES SQUARE COMEDY CLASSES

• SATURDAYS 10am Comedy 4 Teens
• SATURDAYS NOON Comedy 4 Kids
• SUNDAYS 12:45 Adult Improv 101 (18+) Start your path to becoming an Improv Player or refresh skills. Popular with professional performers, college students and and those just looking for some fun self enrichment.
• MONDAYS 5:30 HAPPY HOUR After Work Improv Comedy Jam (Adults 18+) – Geared towards young professionals from all walks of life to play, network and develop valuable life skills for work and personal life. 8 weeks plus performance showcase. Or just drop in and play. Admission includes a beverage (beer, soda, bottled water)

Other Classes

• LONG ISLAND Comedy 4 Kids – Farmingdale Sundays 6-8
  Accepting new students for March session – 4 classes for $100, Drop in 1st week for $30
• NEST+m After School Program Wednesdays 3pm
• Williamsburg North After School Program Tuesdays 3pm
• NYIT Teachers also around the city at schools via Comedy Hall of Fame (Summit School Queens, Flushing High School, Queens Prep) and numerous other organizations.

Prefer Stand-Up Comedy CLICK HERE for ticketing calendar

QUICK LINKS

• Improv Show Ticket Calendar
• Stand-Up Comedy Ticket Calendar
• NYC Comedy Classes 
• Click links. Select Date/Time of show you wish to attend. Complete Check Out procedure. Scroll down and follow blog for line-ups and more updates on shows and classes as well as videos, podcasts and educational posts.

A division of IMPROV THEATER, LLC, New York Improv Theater at the Broadway Comedy Club is home to professional improv artists, showcases of up and coming talent and classes of filled with great student artists. Many top NYC teams call NYIT home.

We host corporate events, college groups, private events and even K-12 student groups (Improv 4 Teens / Improv 4 Kids).

We also send our professional cast touring nationwide to clubs, theaters, colleges, corporate/private events and K-12 schools.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on public shows, private events and classes/workshops email Walt Frasier at eightimprov@gmail.com

CLUBS & THEATERS NATIONWIDE
– Headliner or solo act with 30-90 minute sets

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMEDY TOUR
– Main Stage Events
– Student Activites
– Homecoming
– Orientation
– Preview Weekends
– Greek / Club Events

PRIVATE / CORPORATE EVENTS
– Team Building
– Holiday Parties
– Family Events
– Promotional Outreach (Improv Performers for publicity stunts etc)

K-12 Educational Outreach
– Field Trips to NYC Theater
– Assemblies
– After School Programs
– PTA Nights / Family events
– Fundraisers
– Shows, Workshops, Residencies
– Professional Development

Artistic Director, PATRICK REIDY is an actor, comedian, musician, and improviser in NYC.  He can currently be seen as a host and improv comedian at the Broadway Comedy Club for the Eight Is Never Enough and LMAO-NYCInteractive Comedy Shows as well as touring with their family friendly cousin, Improv 4 Kids.  He is also an established improv teacher, having taught for the Comedy Hall Of Fame and independent residences throughout the five boroughs.  As a sketch writer and performer his work has been featured onFunny Or Die, College Humor, and the Absent Minded Comedy Show.  He is a graduate of Salem State University and has studied improv, sketch-writing, stand-up, and screenwriting at the Upright Citizens Brigade, The Peoples Improv Theatre,andThe Annoyance Theater.  Yes, and he would love to help you with your next artistic project!

Follow Pat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepatreidy

Catch Walt Frasier this Spring on TruTV’s “Friends Of The People” now in their 2nd season. Go to Netflix – RIGHT NOW!!! – to see Walter in Lilyhammer (Season 3, Episode 8) as the American comic performing at Steven Van Zandt’s Norwegian club. Also now on Netflix – Blue Bloods (Season 3, Episode 8) see Walter in spandex body suit in first 5 minutes as Arnie the Homeless Avenger. Royal Pains (Season 6 Episode 3) as the Choking Victim. Past credits include sketch bits on Letterman (9 episodes), Stakervision (MTV2), Naked Brother’s Band (NICK), Hair Trauma (WE) and numerous commercials including Dr. Oz’s Fat Pants. Theater Credits include Off Broadway, Touring and Regional Theater plus over 4000 professional Improv Comedy Shows with EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH (AKA LMAO Off Broadway. Improv 4 Kids, Improv 4 Teens, Absent Minded Comedy).

Follow Walt on Twitter – IF YOU DARE
https://twitter.com/waltfrasier

 Laurice Fattal

Laurice Fattal has been performing in theatre, music concerts, and stage shows since the age of 10. She originally began writing scripts and composing music through her  own vocal group in high school. She continued to pursue her passion for the performing arts in college through studies in  theatrical production, acting, music and opera.  She has worked in casting, directing, and writing with professional companies based out of  NYC, MD and DC. Laurice has written and performed in dozens of sketch comedy digital shorts for LMAONYC. Other credits include the Indie short mockumentary: P.O.O.P: The Movie, Writer/Director of The Top 8 at Eight (original web series), Fox & Friends. Musicals/Operas: Amahl and the Night Visitors (Riverside Opera NYC), 27 Santa’s & and Elf Called Kevin , Alice in Wonderland – A New Musical, The Phantom Tollbooth – By Sheldon Harnick, The Lounge @ Under St. Marks. In  addition to developing the concept for “Eight is NEVER enough!”,  she is thrilled to be the co-founder of “IMPROV 4 Kids!” and Bully Assemblies NY  – both are outreach programs that currently tour K-12 school.

Amelia Fowler

Amelia is our client relations manager. After booking a show or workshop, you will be hearing from Amelia to make sure your event surpasses all expectation.

Amelia Fowler, a native of Brooklyn, New York, can  be seen in the upcoming motion pictures “Top Five”, starring Chris Rock and “Learning to Drive” starring, Sir Ben Kingsley as well as “Monica Z”, directed by Per Fly as Ella Fitzgerald and “Orange is the New Black”, directed by Jodie Foster.  Amelia has been seen in commercial spots for Cablevision, the History Channel, IFC, as well as comedy venues throughout the U.S. with her fellow cast mates of the improv troupes “Comedy Sportz – New York City” and “Eight is Never Enough.” Amelia has also had the good fortune to perform in the GLAAD award winning “She Like Girls” at the Ohio Theater as Regina and her one woman show “Flozetta” performed at HERE as part of the “Downtown Urban Theater Festival” and the movie . Amelia currently serves as Client Relations Manager for EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH so if you are booking a private event or outreach program, expect a friendly call. Visit her website at AmeliaFowler.com

Andrew Del Vecchio

Andrew Del Vecchio is a New York based actor, improv performer, and improv teacher. After graduating Celebration High School and being part of it’s inaugural season of the Off Book Productions theatre group he received a degree in Theatre Performance from the University of South Florida. He has been performing with Eight is Never Enough since the spring of 2011 and has also been teaching with the Comedy Hall of Fame Foundation for over 2 years. Notable projects: Critters Castaway (Busch Gardens Tampa), FILM: The Last 5 Years, Lie Maintenance, Rhapsody, The Amazing Spider-man 2 TV: Deception ONLINE: Fine Fiiine Production. You can follow him on his Facebook fan page or on Twitter, Instagram, and Vine at @AndrewJDV

Christopher Catalano

Christopher Catalano, member of EIGHT IS NEVER ENOUGH since 2007, was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. He worked on a shrimp boat, he did shows at the World’s Fair, and in the French Quarter. At the age of 15 he moved to Florida, and did theatre in Daytona Beach and surrounding areas before attending Florida State University. After college he moved directly to NY where he booked his first audition for a production of Romeo & Juliet. This was the first of many professional productions of the Bard’s work, as of 2015 he has performed Shakespeare in 38 states. Since returning to NYC, he has appeared onstage in over 75 plays (from Lanford Wilson to Trey Parker), and performed as an improvisational comedian over 500 times. As a writer he has had 5 plays produced and published, and his pilot, “Open Bar,” was a semi-finalist in Bravo Television’s reality competition, “Situation: Comedy.” http://www.christophercatalano.com/

Andrew Scannell

Since Andy moved to NYC in 2011, he has performed with 8 is Never Enough. While attending Salem State University, he was part of Grandma’s Third Leg, a brand new improvised comedy troupe. He hasn’t stopped doing comedy since. He also can be found performing at the Jekyll & Hyde Club, and commentating at Paragon League Wrestling in Woodbridge, CT under the name Chops McManus. (www.paragonleague.com) You can also find him doing karaoke somewhere. Give him a high five.
Twitter: @andyscannell  @chopsmcmanus
Instagram: andyscannell
Vine: andyscannell

Brian Simmons

Liz Lord

Liz Lord has been a cast member of Eight is Never Enough presents Improv for Kids and LMAO since April of 2012. After receiving her theater degree from Earlham College, Liz came to the city to act, direct, and teach.  Favorite roles include Ophelia in Hamlet, Liz in Chicago, and She in The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year. She loves performing in new work as well, and has been on stage for many of New York Cities various theater festivals.  Liz has directed adults and children, and is the co-artistic director of the newly formed Three Bridges Theater.  Teaching has always been one of Liz’s favorite endeavors. She has worked with Americorps to bring arts education to low income families, taught literacy through acting with the Central Park Historical Society, and acted as an assistant director for the Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation.  Her favorite teaching position, however, has been teaching stand-up and Improv to kids with SGF Productions.

Nathan Armstrong

PRODUCER – ON THE SPOT Mondays at 8pm

Nathan Armstrong has been seen in many productions, including recent tours of Phantom, Brigadoon, and Richard Sherman and Milt Larson’s new musical Pazzazz!  Other regional credits include Buddy, the Buddy Holly Story, Guys and Dolls, Anything Goes, Big River, and Joseph… He is also on the soundtrack for the feature  film Rock Slyde and has performed in venues worldwide, from the Hilton Hawaiian Village to festivals in the Czech Republic and Hungary.

John William Rhea

John William Rhea is made his debut with Eight is NEVER Enough in the fall of 2009 with LMAO Off-Broadway! Ever since then he has been busy doing Improv shows for school groups with EINE. In Los Angeles John performed Improv for three years at multiple venues. Recent stage credits include: The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, Moby Dick Rehearsed, The Laramie Project.  “Pirates be the best thing, thanks to those who believed in me and didn’t make me walk the plank!”

Olivia Howell

Olivia Howell, a Kansas City native, is proud to call NYC her new home. She is thrilled to be a part of the cast “Eight Is Never Enough.”. New York Credits Include: Phantom of the Improv and Berenstain Bears (off-broadway), You are Not Alone- An uplifting show about depression, Fancy Nancy, The 39 Steps, Jekyll and Hyde, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Peter Rabbit, and A Year with Frog and Toad. Make sure to catch Olivia on Oxygen’s upcoming show “My Crazy Love,” and her commercial debut for “Kaboom Sticks.”  As always, she thanks her parents for their undying support and never forcing me to become a doctor or anything moderately lucrative.

Paul DeGrocco

Paul DeGrocco has performed with Eight is Never Enough Improv since November of 2009. He is most well known as the On-Field promotions host /mc for the Long Island Ducks Baseball Club and as Long Island’s Official Greeter (as voted by Newsday readers). Paul’s career has stretched over many different genres of performance. Off-Broadway: LMAOFF-BROADWAY. Regional Theater: THE WIZARD OF OZ (The John W. Engeman Theater), IMPROV 4 KIDS (Tour), A CHRISTMAS STORY (Broadhollow Theater). TV appearances include CHAPELLE’S SHOW (Comedy Central), SINGULARITY (The Discovery Channel) and THE PAVEMENT (Cuest Films).  Paul has also hosted radio shows for WNYG and The World Famous WLIR. In addition he has also appeared in numerous corporate training videos, independent films, has voiced many radio commercials and was named Hofstra University’s Alumnus of the Month in May of 2010. More at  PaulDeGrocco.com

Evan Schultz

Evan Schultz has been performing with the Eight Is Never Enough Improv troupe since 2009! This New York native is a graduate of Wagner College with a BA in Theatre Performance as well as Voice and Speech. Off Broadway: LMAO, Isabelle and the Pretty-Ugly Spell, The Gayest Christmas Pageant Ever. Off-Off Broadway: Lost Boys or an Awfully Big Adventure, JAR’D, Isabelle and the Pretty-Ugly Spell, Hollywood-Hollywood!, Booth! The Musical, Dickens Condensed. Regional Theatre: Jekyll and Hyde. A Wonderful Like, Grand Hotel, Into The Woods, Sleeping Beauty, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Touring Theatre: Improv4Kids, Charlotte’s Web, 1776, A Christmas Carol. TV/Film: 30 Rock, Law and Order, Gossip Girls, Fringe, Cupid, When in Rome. Thank you to The Entertainment Group, friends and family for the love and support.

Lauren Kelston

Megan Reilly

Ariel Bethany

Thomas Burns Scully

Thomas Burns Scully is a British born writer-performer, now living and working in the States. He is a Max Fischer Award winning graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and has been performing with Eight is Never Enough since 2013. Notable projects as an actor include: appearing in the award-winning short film “The Boy Under the Piano”, the New York Times critically-acclaimed “A Girl Without Wings” (For which he also composed the score), and an upcoming appearance on Martin Scorcese’s HBO pilot ‘The Rock and Roll Project’. He has been playing the guitar and the banjo since age ten, and his work as a musician is available online. As a writer, his work has been produced on three continents. He also workshops new plays with his theatre group ‘Ruffian Productions’ and writes reviews and editorials for OnStageBlog.com/
http://thomasburnsscully.wix.com/thomasdbs
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thomas-Burns-Scully/387088688070772?ref=hl
https://soundcloud.com/thomas-david-burns-scully

Robert Savage

Christopher Leidenfrost-Wilson

Steven Prestia

Steven Prestia is currently with Lauren Singer Talent.  He has appeared in various local plays and musical theater productions in addition to his comedic talents.   He can be seen in the indie film “The Great Kevini” and will soon appear on the HonestlyAmelia.com web series (S2 E4).  He is currently an Intern/Assistant Teacher with Improv 4 Kids on Saturday mornings and can be found performing at the Broadway Comedy Club with the Eight is Never Enough comedy troupe on select Saturday afternoons.

I have been ranting on Twitter on and off since New Year’s Eve about the fiasco with Mariah Carey’s performance. Not for the same reasons most gossip and so-called news outlets have kept the conversation alive.

I turned off the TV after the Mariah Carey “performance” on January 31, 2016. On some level I did feel bad for the “Pop Diva” for not being able to hear the tracks etc But as the number continued I got angry.

I have been a professional performer for more than 20 years. I have been performing for nearly 40 at some level. At age 5, a piano teacher told me to never stop, no matter what. If you make a mistake, DON’T make a face. And as I tell my students at every class, the only ones that will know you messed up are your teacher and your Mom.

“MOM ALWAYS KNOWS. THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT THAT” I tell me students with a grin.

Mariah Carey broke that basic cardinal rule of live performance. #FAIL

Live performance is always an imperfect beast. And performing live for millions on TV in the freezing cold is always difficult for any serious artist. I played trumpet in a brass choir down at the DC Christmas trees. So cold I was almost in tears, but the crowd loved the carols and we felt justified in our suffering. We were not paid in money, just “feels” as the kids say on Twitter these days (or was that 3 months ago? lol).

If Mariah Carey was a dancer I could understand doing a lip sync. I understand why Britney or Madonna would lip sync because it is almost impossible to do the dances from some of their videos and sing. At least impossible for a pop diva. Any Broadway artist or otherwise TRAINED professional could get through it.

But most pop divas are not truly trained pros. They rely on tracks because they are not true musicians that could follow a band live. They are incapable of responding to live stimuli and recreate what a genius sound producer made them sound like in the studio.

So when all you have to offer are fading looks, a recorded voice you have not had in 10 years, perhaps you are doomed to fail eventually. Too bad it was on one of the biggest live broadcasts of your lifetime – anyone’s lifetime – but that is what happens.

And as I said on Twitter, my goal here is NOT to shame Mariah Carey. My hope is to inspire students of mine to spend one more hour every day working on your craft as an artist.

This debacle does not happen to real artists. Sure we have bad microphones and monitors, but we are professionally trained and experienced to deal with this.

Mariah Carey has been a professional recording “ARTIST” since 1990. This should have been cake. Instead she looked like a fool. Maybe it was the producers’ fault. Perhaps the sound guy played the wrong track. Perhaps it was even sabotage.

A true artist should be able to cope and get through the moment with far more grace. A true artist would never have let the audience know there was a problem.

I think there is also a lesson here to be learned about aging as an artist. Part of the problem is Mariah is still trying to be that 1990s pop diva. You need to reinvent yourself CONSTANTLY.

We all age. We all change as we age. Our voices change, especially when we are making unnatural vocal sounds that strain the vocal chords. The sound great in the studio but the chances of making those sounds live EVERY time are slim to none.

I have teen students that use to be kid students. They are discovering that they need to spend more time writing stand-up comedy material. They need to make better choices in Improv scenes. They can no longer count on being cute because they are 8. They have passed through puberty. Voices changed. Motivations changed.

Some former teen students are now in college. They are no longer under their parents roof.Fear of not being able to pay rent sets in… affording a metro card…

Skip ahead 5-10 years no we are talking marriage, kids, morgage etc etc etc In my 30s my voice and physical body was always ready to rock. All that training and experience from 5-30yo was working for me. I woke up and sang Hi Cs/ I was always warmed-up. I could drive to Ohio and back from a gig (About 18 hours plus 4-5 hours set-up/performance) and jump right back on stage.

Skip ahead to 40. I turned 40 and I went from being in perfect health (seriously despite being overweight all my numbers – sugar, cholesterol, heart rate – went from perfect to crap over night). Losing weight/staying thin becomes harder. I have to warm up like a high school kid that has never sung before.  Because it takes 1-2 days to recover now from a road trip, I am not singing/acting/dancing EVERYDAY. Sure, after 60-90 minutes I can still sound like a wannabe Pavarotti, (in some ways I am better sounds/acting than ever) but it is not easy to get there any more.

But EVERYDAY I focus on my instrument and career. EVERYDAY I vocalize a little bit, even if that just means humming to melt away from congestion from the chords. I’m very sensitive that way.

But before every LIVE performance and EVERY class I teach, I focus myself, warm-up my instrument (Mind, Body, Voice) and prepare to rock.

I hope I can instill this work ethic in all my students. I promise if you have this work ethic you will never go through what Mariah Carey went through on New Years Eve.

However, you can always ignore me, skip learnign how to be a real artist and hope to become a reality star.