One weekend a year, the best sketch comedy troupes in the country descend on Portland, Oregon to celebrate and bring attention to a quickly expanding national performance community. With more and more sketch festivals appearing each year, Portland's fest sets itself apart by inviting only troupes that the producers have seen in person and whose greatness they can personally guarantee. The Best Of The Best Sketch Fest has become THE invitation to get among the sketch festival circuit. Last year's nine sold-out performances in two days seems to be proving they may be on to something. This year's fest features 11 troupes from Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles.
(PRWEB) August 8, 2005 -- One weekend a year, the best sketch comedy troupes in the country descend on Portland, Oregon to celebrate and bring attention to a quickly expanding national performance community. With more and more sketch festivals appearing each year, Portland's fest sets itself apart by inviting only troupes that the producers have seen in person and whose greatness they can personally guarantee. The Best Of The Best Sketch Fest has become THE invitation to get among the sketch festival circuit. Last year's nine sold-out performances in two days seems to be proving they may be on to something. This year's fest features 11 troupes from Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles.
blue door productions presents
THE BEST OF THE BEST SKETCH FEST 2005
portland, oregon's 3rd annual national sketch comedy festival.
August 19th & 20th
Artists Repertory Theatre
1516 SW Alder
Portland, OR
Call 503-258-1681 For Info
www.bestofthebestsketchfest.com for full schedule & troupe profiles
The idea for the festival is to collect the top sketch comedy troupes weve encountered on our various national festival experiences and have them each come to Portland to perform a 45-minute set over a single whirlwind weekend. The element that sets this festival apart from the growing number of national sketch comedy fests is that it is invitation only. We are not accepting applications or having a jury decide which groups are good enough to be included. We have invited only troupes that we know are great. Weve seen each of them in person and consider them to be the finest of the festival circuit. This is, quite simply, the cream of the national crop.
Inspiration for the festival comes from three trips The 3rd Floor sketch comedy troupe have taken to Chicago for The Chicago Sketchfest, the largest sketch comedy festival in the country (83 troupes performed). For the past three years, The 3rd Floor has received enthusiastic attention from the local press and The Second City (The Mt. Olympus of sketch comedy). Portlands Hoskins & Breen (featuring T3F alumni, Loren Hoskins) also received similar attention. Interest in Portland stage comedy is at an apex. There is also a legion of comedy troupes popping up in the NW.
Hoping to turn the spotlight towards Portland, further establishing the Portland theater scene as a national comedic hot-spot, we held the first annual Best Of The Best Sketch Fest in July of 2003. It was a spectacular success, drawing in over 1000 audience members over the one-weekend event. Last year, our success grew beyond our wildest dreams, selling more than 1400 tickets in two days. The 2004 Fest included 9 troupes, 9 sold out shows, 5 standing ovations and even an encore. The Portland festival has become the invitation-to-get as buzz has spread across the national festival circuit. So, were doing it again. Were hoping to make it an even bigger success. Please help Blue Door Productions and The 3rd Floor welcome an army of sketch comics hitting town in a little over a month. Any coverage you can give us would be hugely appreciated. We guarantee itll be a hell of a party.
2005 Particpating Troupes
The 3rd Floor (Portland)
Champagne (Seattle)
Elephant Larry (New York City)
Fearsome (New York City)
Flaming Box Of Stuff (Seattle)
Hoskins & Breen (Portland)
Hypnagogia! (Seattle)
Kasper Hauser (San Francisco)
MEAT (New York City)
Ten West (Los Angeles)
Troop! (Los Angeles)
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