Erik Escobar and Friends Comedy Tour

In March of this year, Erik Escobar Almost Asian Tour came through Roseville and stopped in at Blacktop Comedy. Funny. Very funny.Did you see it? What?! You missed it. Oh no... If only there was another chance for you to see it. Escobar, bring back the comedy! Bring your friends! Create an entirely new tour for all to enjoy! Is it to much to ask?

Rest easy, everyone. He heard our pleas. He gathered his friends, and made a flyer...... and a comedy tour. On that flyer he wrote about the comedy tour:

Yes! It's true! He is on Twitter!

Escobar and his merry band of comedy men are headed north. They will bring their tour Erik Escobar and Friends Comedy Tour to Blacktop Comedy of Roseville. The couples of Sacramento and Placer were looking for a perfect date night.

• Bekie: We never go out anymore.

• Chad: Baby. Baby. I got tickets to Erik Escobar and Friends Comedy Tour

• Bekie: I bought new heels! This was meant to be!

• Chad: They call that kimchi.

I think Chad meant "kizmet." Oh, Brad. You don't know words but you have great taste in comedy.

When can you catch Erik Escobar and Friends Comedy Tour? October 25, 8pm.

Message @ErikEscobar and send him pictures of you weeping for joy at the news.

It's always a great idea to know your comedians. Here's some information on the comics who will be performing on Saturday night.

Erik Escobar (NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Food Network) teams up with fellow Los Angeles and Northwestern based comedians for the Erik Escobar and Friends Comedy Tour, a stand up comedy tour throughout the Pacific Northwest as a second wind following the successful Almost Asian Comedy Tour, Erik participated in earlier this year. The tour will begin on September 19 at Spokane, Washington’s Rockin Goodtymes followed by a performance at the beautiful Blue Door Theatre the following night. Erik Escobar and Friends will then work its way through Washington, Oregon, and California hitting theatres, clubs, and venues all across the Pacific!

Chris Kao brings his unique perspective and nerd humor to the comedy stage. This self-proclaimed rising star in comedy, harnesses his nerdcore thoughts and job experience in the gaming world to make fun of the things that people obsess over. Whether ranting on science fiction, life being tough for geeks, or observations about Super Mario Bros. Chris is always willing to tell it like it is, and ready to geek out at a moment’s notice. Especially if it involves Zombies.

Actor/Writer/Comedian Alex Duong was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He moved to Los Angeles in 2006 to pursue a career in entertainment. Today, Alex is an Upright Citizen’s Brigade graduate and continues to write, perform, and act in film & television.

Wet the Hippo in Roseville

Price: $12.00Date: Friday, August 29th

Time: 8:00 PM

WET the HIPPO is coming to Blacktop Comedy for one night only. Sacramento, Roseville, and Rocklin...you do not want to miss this show!  This is a show is what we call... can’t miss. It makes you feel truly alive, unlike any other show you have seen before.

That means we’ve got your plans covered this Friday. What are you doing anyway? Step away from the Xbox.

Don’t miss WET the HIPPO, nominated for Best Comedy in the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival, performing at Blacktop Comedy this Friday!

HitchhikerHunters from Wet The Hippo on Vimeo.

They’ve been called twisted, fearless and total IDIOTS.

Trying to outdo each last show, this one­-of-­a-­kind comedy troupe is making waves in Los Angeles for its completely new approach to live performance, where the cast is directed in real time right in front of your eyes. Unafraid to go over-the-top, while creating truly honest, emotional connections with the audience, this is a must see show.

This show will leave you mostly confused and slightly delighted, just like your dating life, but less expensive. Come see this group, composed of unassuming yet mesmerizing actors, improvisers, comedians and one violinist, reach new levels of stupidity and leave you wanting more.

This talented and diverse group challenges each other on stage, creating a unique experience beyond comedy, one that pushes limits, emotions and takes big risks. Their provocative style has blown the minds of past audiences, leaving them feeling equally stunned and inspired. WET the HIPPO takes comedy performance to new heights, in a grotesque and absurd way.

Featuring 9 talented performers, this show is directed live by John Gilkey, a long time lead clown for Cirque Du Soleil. He appeared in more shows that any other clown, developing and performing original characters and routines. John has also been invited to Pixar Studios to consult on comedy routines that were included in Ratatouille. In 2012, Mr. Gilkey started The Idiot Workshop, with classes for experienced actors, devoted to further developing innovative and bold comedic performers.  Claiming to be “the most frightening and absurdly twisted comedy class in LA” from these classes, a group of selected students formed WET the HIPPO.

Other cast members include:

ALEC JONESTRUJILLO grew up taking ballet classes and swimming. After graduating with a theater minor and a history major from UC Santa Cruz, he attended the Clown Conservatory at The San Francisco Circus Center. Deciding to further train in physical comedy he studied at the Flying Actors Studio which emphasized mime, mask, and clown. Throughout all this, Mr. JT was regularly performing standup comedy and sketch. Once moving to Los Angeles he took classes at UCB and now performs in the indy improv scene. Constantly trying to blend and merge the physical, verbal, improvisational and nonsensical, Mr. JT is happy to find the perfect hybrid home for himself in Wet The Hippo.

MICHAEL LIEBERMAN Michael Lieberman, Violist, pursues a busy and varied career as a chamber musician, orchestral player and teacher. He performed as the onstage Violist for the world premier and national tour of Philip Glass’s opera, “In the Penal Colony”. He was the Music Director and Violist for, “Tempo of Recollection” a theatrical staging of Czech composer and holocaust victim Erwin Schulhoff’s works set in a 1920′s Prague beerhall.  Recently, he was the Assistant Music Director and Violist for Cirque Du Soleil’s “IRIS” at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood with over 500 performances including an appearance on the Tonight Show. Michael has played principal Viola with the Santa Babara Symphony, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and Opera Santa Barbara. For 10 years he was Violist in the Saint Helen’s String Quartet with performances in every major venue, on television and radio throughout the Pacific Northwest including a residency at Cornish College of the Arts. Currently he is a member of Central4 with performances throughout California and Latin America. Michael studied at the Peabody Conservatory.

GABE MCKINNEY Gabe McKinney has performed throughout the US with the Dell’Arte Company and internationally at Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets in Sukawati, Bali. He has a MFA from Dell’Arte International School of Physical theater and performs in More Bigger Masses, directed by John Gilkey. He is the founder of Black Hive Theater Projects, a proud member of Wet The Hippo and once did a 28hour long improv show with 3 other guys.

NATALIE PALAMIDES Natalie graduated Summa Cum Laude from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with dual degrees in Theatre and Communications Media, as well as a minor in Fine Art. During her time there, she was selected to work with the Obie Award winning Pig Iron Theatre Company as a creative consultant in helping to develop a new production to be put up in the spring of 2014. She is now studying Improv and Sketch Comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade, The Groundlings, and The Idiot Workshop.

TIM REID Tim Reid has been an ensemble member with the NeoFuturists in Chicago since 2008, writing and performing in their longrunning, latenight show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind and recently in the prime time show Analog. He has created and performed work with Emmy Bright, Ellie Heyman and Gabe McKinney among others. He did not care for theater at all until he saw a play called Interference by DOG, a theater company in March 2003.

CLAIRE TITELMAN 2009 Andy Kaufman Award semifinalist Claire Titelman is a comedian, actor and writer. She has recently been on Chelsea Lately, filmed roles on Wilfred and the TBS pilot Do It Yourself, as well as parts on New Girl, Parks and Recreation, Veronica Mars and others. As a standup she performs in L.A., N.Y., the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland and her solo show “Lemons are for Emergencies Only” was first produced in L.A. in her kitchen before going to the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland. She is excited to be a part of the Fringe and loves the Hippos.

TYLER WATSON Tyler Watson is a graduate from the University of California Santa Cruz where he majored in creative writing. It was there that he performed with the long established improv teams Humor Force Five and Someone Always Dies. He was also a member of ShakestoGo for two seasons in which he played Dromio of Syracuse in Comedy of Errors and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night traveling to schools in the greater Santa Cruz area to perform for students. He currently lives in Long Beach, California where he is pursuing writing. He is thrilled to be wetting the hippo and to be in such talented company.

SCOTCH WICHMANN Scotch Wichmann is a writer, standup comedian, performance artist, actor, and filmmaker. A regular at comedy clubs and dive bars across the U.S., his comedy short SECRET TO A BETTER LIFE was recently showcased at the Nihilist and Freethought film festivals. His debut novel, TWO PERFORMANCE ARTISTS KIDNAP THEIR BOSS AND DO THINGS WITH HIM a screwball dark comedy about a pair of performance artists struggling to make itis due for publication in Spring, 2014. The book was a firstround finalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest, and is receiving great early reviews.

Come see this chaotic live show and leave with something new to think about.

Every Person Should Take An Improv Class

The first time I stepped into an improv class was February 2004. I had no idea what to expect. I had always been anxious in new situations, but I figured it was as good a time as any to come out of my shell. I knew that improv was the way to do that… and I was right.

I have been consistently performing improv comedy for the last decade. It’s one of my favorite things to do and my favorite subject to discuss! When we started Blacktop Comedy in Roseville, CA, I wanted to create a place where people could see great improv shows and where people could take a class and learn the benefits of adding more YES into their lives. Improv has made me a stronger and more flexible person, it has helped me in every aspect of my life... So, I want to share with you why everyone can benefit from taking an improv class.

1. Confidence! I’ll admit that it’s pretty scary to walk into a room full of strangers as an adult and do strange improv exercises. That's the idea I push when running warm-ups and games: everybody is in the same boat. You’re not the only one who looks silly– we all do! That’s a great way to look at life in general – we all have struggles, issues, bad days, good days and it’s kind of nice to realize we’re all in this together. It gives you confidence to know that you can handle almost anything.

2. No Fears, Find Fun! Improv pushes you to step outside of your comfort zone. To participate in the class, you have to go on stage but you’re surrounded by supportive classmates and a teacher who will cheer you on and motivate you to find your voice.

3. Say Yes! The philosophy of improv is the idea of “yes, and”. Not only are you saying, “Yes” but you’re also providing more information. By saying yes, you move action forward instead of stalling it. "And" means you add to the original idea. If you're saying no to new ideas... You could be missing out on so much! Basically, why do the same old thing when you're looking for something to do in Sacramento or Roseville Friday or Saturday night? Why not try something new... Say for instance a hilarious comedy club in Roseville. (I'm performing most nights!)

4. Social benefits! Get ready to make a ton of friends you never thought you’d be friends with... Improv attracts all types of people. And your life is going to be better because of it. Folks come from all over Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo County. It’s cool to get together with people outside of your main group of friends and bond over why you started taking improv classes.

5. Think fast! In an improv class, you’re not training to be FUNNY, your humor is natural, but you are training your brain to act faster. It’s a helpful tool for any situation.

6. Basically, improv is awesome. Even if you don’t want to be an actor, improviser, writer or performer – it’s a super beneficial skill to have and it's fun. It encourages you to let go of the fear and be a confident, risk-taking and positive person. All of a sudden, you’ll find yourself solving problems with ease and not turning down new ideas. You’ll have a whole new set of people to call when you want to grab a drink or two. And let's face it, you’re going to fail at some things… improv is going to make it so much easier to deal with. So, do it!

Take a risk, sign up for a class and get ready for a whole new outlook.

Join the fun this weekend at Blacktop Comedy's Intro to Improv Weekend Intensive. Register NOW.