Annoyance Theater
The Annoyance Theatre, or Annoyance Productions, is a theatre and associated ensemble based in Chicago, Illinois, that deals mainly in absurd and outrageous humor. Many people who have performed with the ensemble have gone on to become successful stage and screen actors. Popular productions have included ''Co-Ed Prison Sluts'' and ''That Darned Antichrist''. Annoyance Productions currently runs classes in improvisation, writing, musical improvisation, acting, and solo work. History The Annoyance Theatre was founded by Mick Napier as "Metraform" in 1987 and changed its name to the Annoyance after moving into a new building in 1989. The Annoyance moved again in 1994 to a theater on the 3700 block of North Clark Street, where it would remain for six years. In 2000 the Annoyance was forced to move out so the building could be demolished to make room for a temporary parking lot for nearby Wrigley Field, which was later the site of a mixed commercial/residential building containing ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. It is the oldest form of drama, though live theatre has now been joined by modern recorded forms. Elements of art, such as painted scenery and stagecraft such as lighting are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. Places, normally buildings, where performances regularly take place are also called "theatres" (or "theaters"), as derived from the Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, "a place for viewing"), itself from θεάομαι (theáomai, "to see", "to watch", "to observe"). Modern Western theatre comes, in large measure, from the theatre of ancient Greece, from which it borrows tec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Splatter Theatre
''Splatter Theatre'' was the first show for The Annoyance Theatre. The show was first performed at the Cabaret Metro, on October 31, 1987 and directed by Mick Napier. Performers involved in the original production included Joe Bill, Marguerite Hammersley, Doug Hartzell, Kim Howard Johnson, Kaluah, Richard Laible, Geoffrey Lantz, David MacNerland, Jill Meyerhoff, Brett Paisel, David Pasquesi, Lyn Pusztai, David Razowsky, Al Rose, Barry Saltzman, Tim Slagle, Faith Soloway, Ellen Stoneking, Elizabeth Trask, Eric Waddel, and Harlan Wallach. Plot A spoof of gory slasher films, along the lines of ''Friday the 13th'' or ''Halloween'', Splatter Theatre features thirteen characters, all clichéd horror movie characters—the high school jock, the virgin, the class jerk, the bimbo, the nerd—killed in various creatively disgusting ways. The stage itself is freshly painted white, and the actors wear white costumes, allowing the red blood to stand out for the audience. Remounts With t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to 2014, and the CBS talk program ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' since September 2015. Colbert originally studied to be a dramatic actor, but became interested in improvisational theater while attending Northwestern University, where he met The Second City, Second City director Del Close. Colbert first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago. Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, comedians with whom he developed the sketch comedy series ''Exit 57,'' were in his troupe. Colbert performed on ''The Dana Carvey Show'' (1996) and wrote for the show, before collaborating again with Sedaris and Dinello on the sitcom ''Strangers with Candy'' (1999–2000). Colbert's work as a correspondent on Comedy Central ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beth Cahill
Beth Cahill (born September 15, 1963) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her brief stint as a featured cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' during its 17th season between 1991 and 1992. Life and career She began her career doing improv comedy at the Annoyance Theater in Chicago and starred as Marcia Brady in their production of ''The Real Live Brady Bunch'' in 1990. Cahill along with castmate Melanie Hutsell (who played Jan Brady in the show) were both hired as cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') after producers were impressed by their performances in the ''Brady Bunch'' stage show. They both reprised their roles as Jan and Marcia Brady on ''SNL'' as well. During her time on the ''SNL'', Cahill impersonated Pam Hurn and played recurring characters such as Denise Swerski, the daughter of Bob Swerski in the Bill Swerski's Superfans sketches and Pam, one of the "Delta Delta Delta" sorority girls, which Cahill pe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aidy Bryant
Aidy Bryant (born May 7, 1987) is an American actress and comedian. Bryant is most notable for being a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for ten seasons, joining the show for its 38th season in 2012, and leaving at the end of its 47th season in 2022. For her work on the series she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, including two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Her other work includes a voice role in the animated series '' Danger & Eggs'' (2017), and the Netflix adult animated series ''Human Resources''. She played a starring role in the sitcom '' Shrill'' (2019–2021). She also served as writer and executive producer and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Early life Bryant was born on May 7, 1987, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Georganne (née Vinall) and Tom Bryant. Her mother owns a boutique, ''Frances'', in Phoenix. Bryant is of Eng ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The show's premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title ''NBC's Saturday Night''. The show's comedy sketches, which often parody popular culture and politics, are performed by a Saturday Night Live cast members, large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that is usually based on current events and ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!, Live from New York, it's ''Saturday Night''!", properly beginning the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vanessa Bayer
Vanessa Bayer (born November 14, 1981) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 2017, for which she was nominated for an Emmy. She co-created, co-executive produced, and starred in the Showtime comedy '' I Love That for You'', loosely based on her experience as a survivor of childhood leukemia. She has appeared in such films as '' Trainwreck'' (2015), ''Office Christmas Party'' (2016), '' Carrie Pilby'' (2016), ''Ibiza'' (2018), and '' Wander Darkly'' (2020). Early life and education Bayer was born on November 14, 1981, in Orange, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and raised in nearby Moreland Hills.Moynihan, Rob. "''SNL''s Fab Four", ''TV Guide'', March 7, 2011, Pages 44-45 She is the daughter of Carolyn and Todd Bayer. Bayer's family is Jewish, and she has stated that her Jewish upbringing "influenced erlife and comedy". She has a brother, Jonah, who is a music journalist and the guitarist of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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MADtv
''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodies of popular culture and occasionally politics. Many of its sketches featured the show's cast members playing recurring original characters and doing celebrity impressions. The series premiered on Fox on October 14, 1995, and ran for 14 seasons. Its final episode aired on May 16, 2009. Salzman created ''Mad TV'' with record producer Quincy Jones after they purchased the rights to ''Mad'' in 1995. Salzman brought on Bahr and Small, who had formerly written for the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', as showrunners. The show was intended to compete with fellow sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), which was experiencing declining viewership and poor critical reception. Critics noted that ''Mad TV'' had ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ike Barinholtz
Ike Barinholtz (born February 18, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his starring roles in the comedy series '' MADtv'' (2002–2007), '' Eastbound & Down'' (2012), '' The Mindy Project'' (2012–2017), '' Bless the Harts'' (2019–2021), '' The Afterparty'' (2022), '' History of the World, Part II'' (2023), and '' The Studio'' (2025-present). His films include '' Disaster Movie'' (2008), '' Neighbors'' (2014), ''Sisters'' (2015), '' Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising'' (2016), ''Suicide Squad'' (2016), ''Snatched'' (2017), '' Blockers'' (2018), '' Late Night'' (2019), '' The Hunt'' (2020), and '' The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent'' (2022). He co-wrote the action comedy film '' Central Intelligence'' (2016), and directed, wrote, produced, and starred in the comedy film '' The Oath'' (2018). On February 2, 2023, he won the inaugural primetime season of '' Celebrity Jeopardy!'', winning $1,000,000 for charity, Pacific Clinics, and placed as a semifinali ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Punxsutawney (; Unami language, Lenape: ') is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in southern Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 5,769. It is located approximately northeast of Pittsburgh. Punxsutawney is known for its annual Groundhog Day celebration held each February 2, during which thousands of attendees and media outlets visit the community for an annual weather "prediction" by the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil. History Shawnee wigwam villages once occupied this site on the Mahoning Creek. The first settlement that included non-indigenous people was established in 1772, when Reverend John Ettwein, a Moravian Church missionary, arrived with a band of 241 christianized Lenape.''Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State'' (Illustrated). Oxford University Press, 1940. University of Pennsylvania, Federal Works Agency. p. 568. Google Books.''The WPA Guide to Pennsylvania: The Keystone State''. Trini ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day (, , , ; Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a tradition observed regionally in the United States and Canada on February 2 of every year. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow, spring will arrive early. In 2025, the shadow was seen, auguring six more weeks of winter. While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather. The weather lore was brought from German-speaking areas where the badger () is the forecasting animal, while in Hungary for example the bear serves the same purpose, and Badger, badgers were only watched when Bear, bears were not around. It is related to the lore that clear weather on the Chr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by president Presidency of George W. Bush, George W. Bush to hold terrorism suspects and "illegal enemy combatants" during the "war on terror" following the September 11 attacks. , at least 780 people from 48 countries have been detained at the camp since its creation, of whom 756 had been released or transferred to other detention facilities, 9 Death in custody, died in custody, and 15 remain. Following the September 11 attacks, the U.S. United States invasion of Afghanistan, led a multinational military operation against Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to dismantle Al-Qaeda and capture its leader, Osama bin Laden. During the invasion, in November 2001, Bush Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain No ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |