The ACME Comedy Theatre is an American

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

and

improvisational Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

theater 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. The performers may communi ...

located near

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, Los Angeles,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, on La Brea near Wilshire's "Miracle Mile".Bronstad, Amanda (2002)
Laughing matter: M.D. Sweeney has turned a bug for comedy from his college days into a theater where aspiring comics hone their skills preparing for bigger stages.
, ''

Los Angeles Business Journal The ''Los Angeles Business Journal'', established in 1979, is a weekly newspaper and online news source in Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most po ...

'', February 25, 2002, retrieved 2010-12-15 ACME was started by M.D. Sweeney as "The Two Roads Theater" in Studio City in 1989 with

Cynthia Szigeti Cynthia Szigeti (October 26, 1949 – August 10, 2016) was an American comic actress and acting teacher, known for her work at the Groundlings, an improv and sketch comedy troupe and school in Los Angeles, and the ACME Comedy Theatre. Her student ...

. The players known as the Two Roads Players and later the Tujunga Group. Sweeney changed the name to Acme a few years later, a reference to

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

cartoons (Sweeney assisted with some Tiny Toons scripts to help his writer girlfriend out) around the same time he moved the theater to North Hollywood. Eventually, he brought it to La Brea Boulevard near Los Angeles's "Miracle Mile", where it quickly rose to prominence in the world of sketch comedy. Sweeney was inspired by the

Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improv techniques we ...

, and throughout the 1990s, a rivalry developed between ACME and the famous Groundlings, with both theaters vying for the best sketch comedians in Los Angeles. (Sweeney's girlfriend—the mother of his children,

Sherri Stoner Sherri Lynn Stoner (born July 16, 1959) is an American actress, animation executive, and writer. She also voiced Slappy Squirrel in the children's television series ''Animaniacs'' and for one short segment in its revival. Biography She has wor ...

—is a former Groundling. The name "Acme" was selected after Stoner's career in animation writing at Warner Brothers had started to take off.) In 2004, Sweeney decided to retire from directing and sold ACME to

Travis Oates Travis Oates is an American voice actor. He was born in Dallas, Texas. He took over the voice role of Piglet in Disney's '' Winnie the Pooh''-related media after the death of the original voice actor John Fiedler in 2005. Oates started voicing P ...

, then a member of ACME's main sketch company. Oates embarked on a renovation of the theater that made ACME the most technically advanced 99-seat theater in Los Angeles. In the first quarter of 2007 ACME underwent a second major renovation, which saw the installation of broadcast equipment and effectively turned ACME into a television soundstage. ACME is now the only sketch comedy theater to broadcast all its shows live on the internet. After a period of inactivity, ACME began hosting a sketch night on Sunday evenings. Beginning in March 2018, ACME hosted the house sketch teams from the recently closed iO West Theatre, as well as the long running current events show Top Story Weekly.

Notable alumni

Cecily Adams Cecily April Adams (February 6, 1958 – March 3, 2004) was an American actress. Early life Adams was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, the daughter of comic actor Don Adams and singer Adelaide Efantis. Her siblings included her brother ...

Greg Benson Gregory Benson is an American comedian, actor, and director. His production company, Mediocre Films, creates comedic short films, generally for YouTube. He is a frequent director for '' The Guild''.

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cast member *

Adam Carolla Adam Carolla (born May 27, 1964) is an American radio personality, comedian, actor and podcaster. He hosts '' The Adam Carolla Show'', a talk show distributed as a podcast which set the record as the "most downloaded podcast" as judged by ''Guin ...

Felicia Day Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, singer, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and ...

Jackson Douglas Alexandrea Borstein (born February 15, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She is best known for voicing Lois Griffin in the animated comedy series ''Family Guy'' (1999–present), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award ...

Ralph Garman Ralph Garman (born November 17, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, musician and radio host best known as the host of ''The Joe Schmo Show'', for his voice work on the Fox animated series ''Family Guy'', former entertainment reporter and impress ...

Loynd, Ray (1994)
Refreshing Laughs on Tap: 'Acme Genuine Draft' features successfully written and delivered sketches
, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', July 15, 1994, retrieved 2010-12-15 *

Fred Goss Fred Goss (born March 25, 1961, in Orchard Lake, Michigan) is an American TV actor, director, writer, producer and comedian. He was the lead singer for the 1970's punk rock group "Bogue Herb". As writer Goss began writing and staging his own pla ...

Maz Jobrani Maziyar Jobrani (; born February 26, 1972), better known as Maz Jobrani, is an American comedian and actor who was part of the " Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in n ...

Jamie Kaler Jamie Kaler (born September 14, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has gained fame by portraying the character Mike Callahan on the TBS comedy ''My Boys''. Career Kaler hosted '' America: Facts vs. Fiction'' on American Heroes ...

Jessica Kiper Jessica Michele Kiper (born February 22, 1979) is an American actress, best known as a contestant from '' Survivor: Gabon'' where she placed third. She was more commonly known to the viewing audience during her run on ''Survivor'' by the nickname ...

Lisa Kushell Lisa Arch ( Kushell) is an American actress and comedian, known for her recurring role on ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' as Cassie with wife of Larry's cousin, Andy, her roles in the 1997–98 season of the FOX Network comedy show, ''Mad TV'', as coh ...

cast member * Jerry Lambert * Jeff Lewis *

John P. McCann John P. McCann is an American writer, actor and producer who has mostly focused on writing/producing animation and family-friendly scripts in the past. He is best known for his work on television cartoons, for which he has received numerous award ...

Joel McHale Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger, Jeffrey "Jeff" Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community (TV seri ...

Paul Rugg Paul Kevin Rugg is an American screenwriter, producer, voice actor, and puppeteer. He is best known for his starring roles in shows like ''Freakazoid!'', ''Pig Goat Banana Cricket'', and ''Earth to Ned''. Biography Rugg has worked extensively ...

Wil Wheaton Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor and writer. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', ...

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.acmecomedy.com/ Improvisational theatre Comedy clubs in California Theatres in Hollywood, Los Angeles 1989 establishments in California