Upright Citizens Brigade leaves students in stitches
Attendees got a heaping dose of the best medicine.
Published Feb. 23, 2009
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Mike Still, Eli Newell, Fran Gillespie and Craig Rowin of the Upright Citizens Brigade perform a skit during Mizzou After Dark's Comedy Coffeehouse on Friday in Memorial Union.
The Missouri Students Association and Graduate Professional Council teamed up with Mizzou After Dark to create a night of comedy and coffee Friday night at Memorial Union.
Sophomore Lauren Vince said she came to the event because of the comedic atmosphere.
"I go to Comedy Wars every week with my friends," Vince said. "I know a few people that are just here because Comedy Wars is here."
Comedy Wars is a student improvisation group at MU that performs Wednesdays in Memorial Union.
Comedy Wars wasn't the only group performing Friday night, though. They were the opening act for the nearly two-hour performance of the Upright Citizens Brigade, a comedy club based in New York City.
John Shealy, MSA/GPC Department of Student Activities Special Events Committee chairman, said he knew of the Upright Citizens Brigade and went online in search of booking them for this event.
"It was a group venture," Shealy said. "I had heard good things about this group and so I did some research and contacted them from their Web site and that was pretty much it."
The night started with students grabbing coffee and snacks before heading in to take their seats. Comedy Wars performed a regular show and got the crowd laughing in preparation for the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Uptight Citizens Brigade comedian Craig Rowin said Comedy Wars was a great way to start off the night.
"Comedy Wars is a really funny group," Rowin said. "They got the crowd excited, so it was a really warm crowd once we got up there."
Fran Gillespie, the only woman in the group from Upright Citizens Brigade, also said she enjoyed Comedy Wars.
Both Gillespie and Rowin got involved with Upright Citizens Brigade because they were living in New York City when they became interested in comedy and the Brigade is a household name there.
"We took classes there and really got into it," Rowin said. "We really loved performing there so we got more involved and started touring the country."
Upright Citizens Brigade has many members who form their own comedy groups associated with the club. This particular group, consisting of Gillespie, Rowin, Mike Still and Eli Newell, travel from university to university bringing comedy to students.
Gillespie said she was chasing her dream of performing comedy.
"And caught it," Rowin said.