The Upright Citizens Brigade is opening a brand new theater in Los Angeles. UCB announced today that it’s added a new venue called UCB Theatre Sunset located at 5419 Sunset Boulevard in LA, which will be home to UCB LA’s training center for both improv and sketch writing, an 85-seat theatre, cafe/performance space called Inner Sanctum (featuring “a highly-trained team of baristas†and “an incredible art and sculpture collectionâ€), video production offices, and even retail stores on street level. Classes at the new location will start in November, and the theater will celebrate its grand opening on November 1st with a whole day of comedy. Performers slated to show up throughout the day include UCB Four Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh along with other UCB alums from both LA and New York. The original LA UCB Theatre on Franklin Avenue will continue to put up shows seven nights a week. Read more about the new training center and cafe via UCB’s press release below:
The highly anticipated new Training Center at UCB Theatre Sunset will house 14 classrooms, with three of those classrooms dedicated to sketch writing. The Training Center will have a full reception area, conference room and administrative offices. In 2013 alone, UCB Theatre Franklin offered 550 courses which they expect to increase significantly with the new Training Center. The new café will offer a second location within UCB Theatre Sunset for performances. The Inner Sanctum has a highly-trained team of baristas who will be serving everything from fresh brewed coffee and espresso from Stumptown Coffee Roasters to hand-made sandwiches and snacks. The Inner Sanctum’s work-space and gallery provides separation from the counter service environment, where diners, students, and performers can relax and hang out on the ample couches, lounge chairs, and tables. An incredible art and sculpture collection compliment the lounge space, which also offers a low-key performance space that will feature open mic nights, improv jams, and other shows where performers can work on their comedy. All the artwork seen in the Inner Sanctum is from the Diane and Sandy Besser Collection.
Photo credit: Liezl Estipona