In most cities, standup comedy and improv are separate entities. If you go to Chicago, which many consider the origin of improv, improv shows are regularly done at the famous Second City. Legendary places for stand-up comedy are Caroline’s in New York City, and the Icehouse and Comedy Store in Los Angeles. At the Lil-Brick Theater we created a fusion of the two and we believe there’s nowhere else in the country that does that.
We have hosted area stand-up comics as early as 2018. In 2019 we sparked an early Udderly Improv team as an experiment. We suffered from location-dislocation and a pandemic. It wasn’t until our move to Old Downtown Hanford in 2023 that we began hosting standup comedy again and at the same time envisioned a new Udderly Improv team. We looked for potential improv-ers from our classes.
January 2024 Payton Tuman and Trevor Brock came onboard to recreate our trademarked Udderly Improv. Tuman and Brock had a slew of cohorts that also came onboard to blend with our actors that expressed interest in improv. Thus, Udderly Improv was reborn. Not only that, it’s a high caliber of improv never before seen in Kings County.
In March, the Udderly Improv performed a pre-show for stand-up comedian Bob Fernandez. It was a hilarious evening. Our audience learned that improv is just as fun as stand-up comic and the blend of the two in one evening made it extremely fun!
If you are unfamiliar with improv, Tuman explains it as a comedy show where nothing is rehearsed, and performers use the audience suggestions to spontaneously create hilarious moments and scenes on stage.
Where else can you get improv and standup comedy for one entrance fee? I’ll tell you where, at the Lil’ Brick Theater space in Old Downtown Hanford.
We invite you to see Nat Baimel and Anna Valenzuela our stand-up comics with a preshow from Hanford’s own Udderly Improv team on June 8 at 7:30 pm. Don’t let the front section fool you.
There is an actual stage and audience section deep in the building. You just walk 46 feet through the building to get there. Then a surprise awaits you. A full functioning theater!
Online tickets recommended and available at www.HanfordMTC.com in the events section of the website. Just scroll down to it.
