Sep 26, 2013

It's hard to overstate the importance of the Upright Citizens Brigade to comedy in New York. In their performances, at their theaters, and in their classes, they've influenced a generation of performers, particularly in improv and sketch comedy. These days, Matt Besser lives in Los Angeles and hosts the podcast Improv for Humans. Matt Walsh co-stars on the HBO series Veep. After a ton of writing and performing, Ian Roberts may well be remembered as the captain of the blimp in a series of commercials that launched the Conan O'Brien show. These days he's the showrunner for Comedy Central's Key & Peele. I've wildly understated their credits, but I'm in their debt, as are we all.