Comedy Community Mourns The 'End Of An Era' As UCB Closes New York Locations
Upright Citizens Brigade, the improv mainstay and launchpad for many comics, will no longer have a physical space in New York City. Despite UCB's flaws, "people are grieving," a former UCBer says.
When the Upright Citizens Brigade announced plans to permanently close its New York bases last week, comedy lost a beloved home. The scrappy, alternative comedy troupe that grew into a school and theater revolutionized improv in New York and beyond with its embrace of "Yes, and ..."
The New York institution incubated the talents of stars such as Kate McKinnon, Aziz Ansari, Chris Gethard, Donald Glover, Aubrey Plaza and many others in the comedy world. A pillar of longform improv, UCB teachings have been brought into countless comedy writers' rooms and are etched into many successful TV shows.
Four of the company's founding members, known as the "UCB4" —
