SketchFest Seattle, the world’s original sketch comedy festival, comes roaring back with a brand new festival for 2016.
This year, SketchFest will bring the best sketch comedians from around the U.S. and Canada (but mostly Canada) and pair them with local favorites. Groups representing Hollywood, Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg will roar into Seattle in late September to bring their unique brand of comedy to our loyal audiences.
And if that weren’t enough, SketchFest presents the return of the Comedy Film Challenge: 12 short films, three celebrity guest judges, two cash prizes, and one incredibly funny evening. So buy your tickets below today!
Schedule
Thursday, September 15 | 7:00 pm
The Pocket Theatre | 8312 Greenwood Ave. N
$10 Online | $14 at the door
Featuring:
• BEEF!
• Death and Taxes
• Matt Hatfield
• Hosted by Randall Cleveland
Friday, September 16 | 7:00 pm
The Pocket Theatre | 8312 Greenwood Ave. N
$10 Online | $14 at the door
Featuring:
• Jason & Spike
• Smat!
• Turbo Turkey
• Hosted by Zak Nelson
Friday, September 16 | 8:30 pm
The Pocket Theatre | 8312 Greenwood Ave. N
$10 Online | $14 at the door
Featuring:
• Part Plant
• Super Famous
• Generation Friends
• Hosted by Matt Olson
Friday, September 16 | 10:00 pm
The Pocket Theatre | 8312 Greenwood Ave. N
$10 Online | $14 at the door
Featuring:
• Princess
• World Extreme Pencil Fighting League
• Ian Schuelke
• Hosted by Sarah McKinley
Saturday, September 17 | 7:00 pm
Central Cinema | 1411 21st Avenue
$15 General Admission
The SketchFest Seattle Comedy Film Challenge returns for its 9th year to crown the winner of 2016’s funniest film. Join SketchFest and celebrity judges for an evening of food, booze, and hilarity! Featuring a live set by Seattle favorites Day Job!
Sunday, September 18 | 5:30 pm
The Pocket Theatre | 8312 Greenwood Ave. N
$10 Online | $14 at the door
Featuring:
• Tomato Tomato
• Drop the Root Beer and Run
• Sleepover
• Hosted by Beth Peterson
Thursday, September 22 | 7:00 pm
The Pocket Theatre | 8312 Greenwood Ave. N
$10 Online | $14 at the door
Featuring:
• Fifty Percent Less Bear
• Stronger Than Love
• Deep Lez
• Hosted by Dan Hart
Friday, September 23 | 7:00 pm
Annex Theatre | 1100 E. Pike St.
$15 General Admission | $10 Students
Featuring:
• Josh Chambers
• Villains
• TwoSon
• Hosted by Jose Amador
Friday, September 23 | 9:30 pm
Annex Theatre | 1100 E. Pike St.
$15 General Admission | $10 Students
Featuring:
• Jason Goad
• Getting Naked with Friends
• H.U.N.K.S.
• Hosted by Kenny Davis
Saturday, September 24 | 7:00 pm
Annex Theatre | 1100 E. Pike St.
$15 General Admission | $10 Students
Featuring:
• Finn Cottom
• Love Snack
• Ladies & Gentlemen
• Hosted by Sarah Schellest
Saturday, September 24 | 9:30 pm
Annex Theatre | 1100 E. Pike St.
$15 General Admission | $10 Students
Featuring:
• Natalie Holt
• Babyfin
• Blade Brown
• Hosted by Ian Schuelke
Performer Bios
Babyfin (Seattle)
Saturday, 9/24 | 9:30pm
Annex Theatre
Zak and Randall are one and a half friends stuck in a haunted AirBNB with no hope of escape. They explore the tropes of sci-fi and horror movies while also delving into their own very real fears on stage for your amusement.
BEEF! (Seattle)
Thursday, 9/15 | 7:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
BEEF! is an extra rare, extra juicy Seattle sketch super-group. They’re only a few months old, but have already played to a sell-out crowd — now you can taste the deliciousness for yourself. Through the culinary arts of Seattle sketch legends Matt Hatfield and Clayton Weller, BEEF! was assembled. The group consists of Brian Borra, Samantha Demboski, Raul Lezcano, and Robby Zinchak. Their comedy is always rare, grass fed, and probably not carcinogenic. BEEF! presents their most succulent sketches, carefully grilled to artisanal perfection. It’s scripted comedy so expertly rendered and sumptuously seasoned, you’ll forget you’re watching the most hilarious show of your lives and not actually shoving a delectable beefsteak in your laugh hole! Let your salivary glands do what they do best (persuade you to buy tickets). Get up in that grill!
Blade Brown (Hollywood)
Saturday, 9/24 | 9:30pm
Annex Theatre
Coming live and direct from Hollywood, CA it’s… Blade Brown! This is the dopest sketch team on the block! Blade Brown was formed in 2015 by comedians Myrone Sumner & Vlad Perez. Their members are a collection of writers and performers from the 2016 CBS Diversity showcase, iO West Mainstage, UCB, Nerdist, and Second City Hollywood. They are a diverse group of performers that bring that urban slice of life theme to any sketch stage. Most recently they won the 2016 L.A. Scripted Festival Sketch Cage Match Tournament, that won them an hour-long show at the Comedy Central Stage, and played on the headliner stage at the Austin Sketch Festival along side Bellevue and Girls with Brown Hair. Their show is fast paced, sponsored by Tito Jackson’s Handmade Vodka, The Alan Thicke Sex Mix, and the Broadway smash…Pack Rats Live!
Buy a ticket to see Blade Brown!
Josh Chambers (Stand-up)
Friday, 9/23 | 7:00pm
Annex Theatre
Finn Cottom (Stand-up)
Saturday, 9/24 | 7:00pm
Annex Theatre
Finn Cottom is a comedian and a proud recipient of the Celebration Award presented by Gender Justice League for their work in the arts around trans identities. They have also performed locally at The Gay Uncle Time, The Magic Hat, Not Too Late, Wisecrack, Out and In and Bumbershoot. Finn is a producer of QUEERZ: we’re hilarious and one half of the sketch comedy duo Pizza Crush.
Day Job (Seattle)
Saturday, 9/17 | 7:00pm
Central Cinema
Day Job has been making audiences pee a tiny bit in their pants from uncontrollable laughter since the summer of 2014. They are known for their use of physical comedy, heartwarmingly bizarre interactions, and pigeons. They’ve graced the stage as salmon, bros, Waldo, eligible murderers, QFC employees, mimes, and embarrassing dads. They have performed across this great nation at venues such as The Ballard Underground, Arts Crush, The Comedy Womb, The Pocket Theatre, and Annex Theatre. Day Job headlined at SketchFest Seattle in both 2014 and 2015! Come take a delightfully weird journey with Seattle’s favorite bandana wearing comedians as they tickle your funniest bone. “You do not want to miss this!” -said Everyone Ever.
Death and Taxes (Seattle)
Thursday, 9/15 | 7:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
Death and Taxes is the comedy of Chris Allen and Graham Downing. The two met at Jet City Improv in Seattle and have been working together for nearly a decade. They joined forces to become Death and Taxes which performs sketch, improv, and whatever else people will let them do and have performed on stages everywhere from basement bars to Second City. Death and Taxes focuses on relationship based comedy, where the characters care about each other and humor is found through dealing with difficult and awkward changes in those relationships.
Buy a ticket to see Death and Taxes!
Deep Lez (Seattle)
Thursday, 9/22 | 7:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
Deep Lez is Seattle’s premier – and, quite possibly, only – dyke comedy collective! They aim to entertain through a queer, feminist lens. They offer a unique voice in Seattle’s burgeoning queer comedy movement. And they’re not just for lezzies – they have performed in front of all kinds of audiences, and their subversive brand of humor offers something for everyone to appreciate. Their sketches find the humor in the everyday, the obscure, and sometimes the absurd – all while weaving in bits of dyke culture past and present. They create memorable, quotable characters – like the beloved Flame of “The Let’s-Be-in-Love Podcast.” And no Deep Lez show is complete without a few props for the ages. They have a lot of fun together onstage, and they want their audience to have so much fun that they leave the patriarchy behind forever! Or at least for 20 hilarious minutes.
Drop the Root Beer and Run (Seattle)
Sunday, 9/18 | 5:30pm
The Pocket Theatre
Fast-paced-absurdist comedy you wouldn’t feel weird about introducing to your parents.
Fifty Percent Less Bear (Seattle)
Thursday, 9/22 | 7:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
Fifty Percent Less Bear has spent most of its three year life as an improv comedy group, specializing in creating elaborate worlds and narratives from that one thing that someone said once that was pretty fun. Referred to as “weird” and “experimental” in positive contexts, the only guarantee you’ll get from a Fifty Percent Less Bear show is that it’s completely different from the last one, but still very much Bear. Fifty Percent Less Bear‘s sketch comedy pulls heavily from its improv, taking ideas and characters from improvised scenes and building new sketches around them. Just as weird as its improv, Fifty Percent Less Bear‘s sketches run the gamut from brief interstitial scenes to character-driven folk tales, with original songs thrown in, and the occasional instance of pretending to be a couch.
Buy a ticket to see Fifty Percent Less Bear!
Generation Friends (Olympia)
Friday, 9/16 | 8:30pm
The Pocket Theatre
Generation Friends is the Evergreen State College’s comedy group. As of this year they have been around for nine years and continue to grow. Featuring Sierra Ditmar, Ry Pruett, Andrew Helsing and Ian Bradley.
Buy a ticket to see Generation Friends!
Getting Naked with Friends (Seattle)
Friday, 9/23 | 9:30pm
Annex Theatre
Getting Naked with Friends is the only sketch group in Seattle that wears clothes AND does not believe in fact checking promotional material. In our show, you’ll see sketches that make you laugh, and also other sketches that make you laugh too. Right now we’ve got some in the can about drugs, some about sex, and even some about rock and roll/political dissidence. If the New York Times reviewed us, they’d say “That show was funny AND educational for all ages assuming the kids don’t mind adult language and content.”
Buy a ticket to see Getting Naked with Friends!
Jason Goad (Stand-up)
Friday, 9/23 | 9:30pm
Annex Theatre
Jason Goad wanted a job working the fewest hours in the day, the fewest days of the week, and didn’t require getting up early. Jason found comedy later in life after attempts at being a novelist, short-story writer, and slam poet. He has squandered multiple thousands of dot com stock-option dollars and quit a career in the culinary arts twice. Comedy is the only thing Jason hasn’t had an overwhelming desire to quit. Described as “the Scared Straight of Seattle comedy,” or “if a Lou Reed song was funny,” Jason’s comedy comes from society’s grimy corners. Making frank jokes about terrible things, Jason has been featured at the Redwood Comedy Festival, the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, the 36th Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition, and has written jokes for Brian Posehn. Jason lives in Seattle, Washington.
Matt Hatfield (Seattle)
Thursday, 9/15 | 7:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
Matt Hatfield is a sketch comedy show with Matt Hatfield. It will contain a lot of material that is both written and performed by Matt Hatfield. Matt may be alone for the entirety of his set or he may very well bring in a few friends to help out. Maybe he’ll even do a monologue or two written by another Matt or may haps by a different person with a name other than Matt. But rest assured this show will contain at least one Matt doing comedy in the form of sketches and character monologues utilizing different voices, dumb facial expressions and saying things in really weird, almost convoluted ways. He’ll be funny, he swears! If he’s not, you’re just watching him wrong.
Natalie Holt (Stand-up)
Saturday, 9/24 | 9:30pm
Annex Theatre
Natalie Holt started her comedy career in Seattle, but she credits her absurd spirit to her weird and wonderful Florida upbringing. Onstage, she’s a whirl of surreal wordplay who wears her heart on her sleeve, and her act has been described as “an emotional Penthouse letter” with “jokes that almost don’t work”. She’s performed at Bumbershoot and, alongside comedian Maddie Downes, she co-hosts Sexual Awake’n’Baking, a weekly podcast about the birds, the bees, and THC.
H.U.N.K.S. (Winnipeg)
Friday, 9/23 | 9:30pm
Annex Theatre
H.U.N.K.S. formed in early 2015, summoning talent from all corners of Winnipeg’s comedy community. Their shows blend video and live sketch in to a high-nutrient paste that will leave you wanting more high-nutrient paste*. They have performed in the Vancouver Sketchfest, Montreal Sketchfest, Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Oddblock Comedy Block Party and Rapid Fire Theatre’s Improvaganza in Edmonton. H.U.N.K.S. received a ★★★★★ review from the Winnipeg Free Press, who said “every joke was well thought out and incredibly clever. It’s smart comedy that had the audience in stitches for the full 60 minutes,” and they were voted the #2 Theatrical Production of 2015 by readers of The Uniter. They also host a weekly podcast and perform regularly at the Park Theatre in Winnipeg.
*Nutrient level not guaranteed. Ask your doctor if H.U.N.K.S. is right for you.
Buy a ticket to see H.U.N.K.S.
Jason & Spike (Seattle & Los Angeles)
Friday, 9/16 | 7:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
In addition to performing in people’s homes across the land (seriously) Jason and Spike have performed at Seattle SketchFest, Bumbershoot, The Evergreen Comedy Festival, and the Tank NYC. They also write and perform with the group Ubiquitous They (San Francisco Sketchfest, Bumbershoot, Seattle Sketchfest). Before joining forces with Jason, Spike Friedman was a member of the Upright Citizen’s Brigade house team Raynard, a featured performer with Wing-It Production’s Funbucket, and a founding member of the Satori Group. In addition to having joined forces with Spike, Jason Miller is behind the music project Relays, and is a theatrical sound designer in Seattle, Washington.
Buy a ticket to see Jason & Spike!
Ladies & Gentlemen (Montreal)
Saturday, 9/24 | 7:00pm
Annex Theatre
Ladies & Gentlemen – Daniel Carin & Chris Sandiford. Together, they have performed at the Vancouver SketchFest, the Toronto SketchFest and multiple shows at the Montreal SketchFest, where they won the Best Local Troupe award in 2014 and the Just For Laughs award in 2016. They also co-created & co-host The Ladies & Gentlemen Comedy Show, a weekly stand up show featured in Off-JFL and voted the #1 comedy night in Montreal by CultMTL in 2016.
Buy a ticket to see Ladies & Gentlemen!
Love Snack (Seattle)
Saturday, 9/24 | 7:00pm
Annex Theatre
Love Snack is a purveyor of sketch comedy duo shenanigans in Seattle, Washington! They are Baylie Freeman and Caitlin Obom and they care about you very much.
Buy a ticket to see Love Snack!
Part Plant (Seattle)
Friday, 9/16 | 8:30pm
The Pocket Theatre
Part Plant is a sketch comedy troupe in Seattle performing absurd, sweet, physical, nature inspired comedy. Part Plant began by photosynthesis in March 2015 and has since performed at SketchFest Seattle and The Pocket Theatre. Featuring Anthony Householder, Sarah McKinley, Casey Middaugh, Jeffrey Nickels, and a bunch of succulents.
Buy a ticket to see Part Plant!
Princess (Seattle)
Saturday, 9/16 | 10:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
They’re four guys who make comedy that dabbles in filthy dick jokes, social commentary on the patriarchy and sexism, and drugs. They dance too.
Ian Schuelke (Seattle)
Saturday, 9/16 | 10:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
Ian Schuelke is a local comedian, writer and film maker obsessed with the absurdity of our modern relationships to religion, television, sex, the internet, and each other. This show is about a keynote speaker though. And virtual reality and radio disc jockeys. And altar boys.
Sleepover (Seattle)
Sunday, 9/18 | 5:30pm
The Pocket Theatre
Sleepover is comprised of Alex Blackstone, Kristopher Gray, and Justina Kolb. The three met in, you guessed it, improv class, and all gravitate toward the dark and absurd. They’ve been improvising together for over a year, and writing together for… less than that. Sleepover enjoys hanging out on a dank deck and listening to Rage Against the Machine. Sleepover’s show is a mix of character-centric sketches, journeying between silly and somber. Their performances are straight-forward and minimalistic. Expect relatable/hatable characters and some very goofy lines.
Buy a ticket to see Sleepover!
Smat! (Seattle)
Friday, 9/16 | 7:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
Smat! is your least favorite sketch comedy duo. They do anti-sketch comedy, tearing down sketch conventions and distorting their audience’s perceptions of reality.
Stronger Than Love (Seattle)
Thursday, 9/22 | 7:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
Stronger Than Love is a theatrically trained, relatively physical, narrative based, unafraid to take off their clothes in public sketch comedy troupe. Their sketches generally end in death and/or making out.
Buy a ticket to see Stronger Than Love!
Super Famous (Seattle)
Friday, 9/16 | 8:30pm
The Pocket Theatre
You’ve never seen anything like Super Famous! Their variety-style shows feature various “hosts” such as ambitious sorority sisters, Kenzie and Chloe, to a super villain Skul-laytor and his hapless assistant, to the down-on-his luck lawyer Sweaty D. Super Famous combines ½ hour comedies with sketch and improv groups, musicians, and stand-up comics. Former attorney and full time train wreck, Sweaty D, has just been divorced, disbarred, and disgraced. He’s living and working out of his new office – the men’s room at JoAnn Fabrics. Just when it looks like there’s no hope, he’s visited by a mysterious woman who offers him a way to get back on top – for a price. Will he do the right thing or will he sell out everyone and everything he loves? Watch Sweaty D stumble toward his hilarious conclusion in Super Famous!
Buy a ticket to see Super Famous!
Tomato Tomato (Seattle)
Sunday, 9/18 | 5:30pm
The Pocket Theatre
Tomato Tomato is no stutter, it’s a sketch comedy group! This conglomeration of minds and bodies write and perform sketches that are self-referential, self-deprecating, and self-masturbatory at the same time. They consistently receive more glowing admiration than they deserve, but less than they need. You may have seen them perform in Seattle’s Sketch Comedy Month the last three years running, or as the Live Entertainment portion of SketchFest Seattle’s 2015 Comedy Film Challenge. Oh, you didn’t see them? You could have one more chance!
Buy a ticket to see Tomato Tomato!
Turbo Turkey (Seattle)
Friday, 9/16 | 7:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
Turbo Turkey is like a family. A family of Turkeys. They all gobble, gobble up the laughter with fast paced sketch comedy. And other turkey puns. They have 11 talented performers Adam Hegg the Head of the Turkey, Josh Rodriguez, Anna Richardson, Diana Martin,Jenette Troberg, Gina Kessler, Draeko Damon, Jessica Hewitt, Jim Quartier, Erin O’;Loughlin, and Dani Miller.
Buy a ticket to see Turbo Turkey!
TwoSon (Toronto)
Friday, 9/23 | 7:00pm
Annex Theatre
TwoSon are tiny Canadians trained in sketch and improv through Toronto’s Second City Training Centre and Bad Theatre Company. Devon and Jackie met in the Second City Writing Program where they bonded over their love of emotional distance and Shonda Rhimes television programs. They immediately started performing sketch together and have since performed at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (2015/2016), SheDot Festival (2016), Vancouver Sketch Comedy Festival (2016). Last year they wrote and performed at The Toronto Fringe with their play “The Real Housewives of Murder.” TwoSon performs improv regularly around Toronto. They advanced to the third round of “The World’s Biggest Improv Tournament” at the Social Capital Theatre. They are also part of the Second City Longform Grad Team, Grim Diesel.
Villains (Seattle)
Friday, 9/23 | 7:00pm
Annex Theatre
World Extreme Pencil Fighting League (Seattle)
Friday, 9/16 | 10:00pm
The Pocket Theatre
The World Extreme Pencil Fighting League has been entertaining audiences since 2009 when it started showcasing bouts in Seattle’s infamous Funhouse. With a cast that features professional sports announcers and local comedians, the WXPFL has made appearances all over town, from Annex Theatre to Emerald City Comic Con. It has played host to local and national celebrities such at Emmett Montgomery and James Adomian. It has earned press coverage from the Pacific Northwest as well as national outlets and recruited an impressive stable of sponsors. Now in its 7th year, the WXPFL produces monthly bouts at Seattle’s iconic Re-bar performance space. The World Extreme Pencil Fighting League cast is made up of devout fans of wrestling and other forms of controlled chaos. They come from a variety of different backgrounds. Some members come from the comedy and improv community. They have members that developed their skill while working with the Rat City Roller Girls and have taken talent from Seattle’s Underground Wrestling scene. Some members started with no performance background whatsoever and have been honing their skill as pencil fighters over the years. And they all know how to show an audience a good time.
Buy a ticket to see the WXPFL!
