Big changes are coming to the Upright Citizens Brigade’s annual weekend improv event, the Del Close Marathon, next year. UCB has confirmed to Vulture that after DCM celebrates its 20th year in New York later this month, the event will make the move to Los Angeles and kick off at its new homes at the Franklin and Sunset theaters in 2019. UCB’s co-founders Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts, as well as the staff from UCB in New York and Los Angeles, gave us this statement about the big move:
After 20 years of hosting the Del Close Marathon in NYC and with much thought and consideration, we felt it was time to pass the torch to our left coast partners, UCBTLA, and let the chaos run rampant on Franklin Avenue and Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles. Factors such as the rising costs of doing business in NYC and offering our many talented LA-based performers the chance to participate in DCM impacted the decision. We look forward to going out with a bang in NYC with the kickoff show at Carnegie Hall on June 28 and our incredible DCM lineup of over 750 shows across eleven stages.
As reported last year, Poehler, Besser, Roberts, and Walsh will bring UCB’s long-running improv show ASSSSCAT to Carnegie Hall for a special performance on Thursday, June 28, serving as the official kickoff for DCM 20, which runs from June 29 through July 1. Some tickets for the Carnegie Hall event are still available here; the full schedule and passes for DCM are available here.
For more on the Del Close Marathon, check out the 2016 documentary Thank You, Del: The Story of the Del Close Marathon, which is available to stream on Amazon and iTunes.