SF Sketchfest

SF Sketchfest, or The San Francisco Comedy Festival, is an American comedy festival founded in 2002 by Bay Area actor-comedians David Owen, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton.[1] It takes place every January and February in a variety of Bay Area venues and features sketch comedy, improv comedy, film and television tributes and reunions, solo performers, music, podcasts and stand-up comedy performers.

SF Sketchfest, the San Francisco Comedy Festival
Genre	Sketch comedy, Improvisation, Stand-up comedy, Movies, Television, Podcasts, Music
Date of premiere	2002
Location	San Francisco, CA, U.S.
Official website

History

2002

In its first year (January 2–27, 2002), SF Sketchfest presented six Bay Area sketch groups in the intimate 80-seat Shelton Theatre: The Fresh Robots, Kasper Hauser, The Meehan Brothers, Please Leave The Bronx, Totally False People and White Noise Radio Theatre. Stand-up show hosts were Kevin Avery, Geoff Bolt, Tony Dijamco and Joe Klocek.

2003

The Second Annual SF Sketchfest (January 2–26, 2003) featured Fred Willard and his Hollywood Players, the Upright Citizens Brigade, The Sklar Brothers, The Vestibules and The Tenderloins performing at the 200-seat Eureka Theatre. The fest opened up submissions for sketch groups to perform—the lineup included Bald Faced Lie, Hoskins and Breen, The Infinite Monkeys, Kasper Hauser, Killing My Lobster, The Latino Comedy Project, Lester McFwap, The Meehan Brothers, The Sniffs, Some Kind of Cult, The Tenderloins, The 3rd Floor LA, Totally False People, Troop! and White Noise Radio Theatre. Stand-Up show hosts were Kevin Avery and Joe Klocek.

2004

The Third Annual SF Sketchfest (January 9-February 1, 2004) featured a tribute to Amy Sedaris; a panel discussion with Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy and Michael J. Nelson from Mystery Science Theater 3000; and performances by Totally Looped featuring Dan Castellaneta, Richard Kuhlman, Deb Lacusta, Joe Liss, Gail Matthius, Rick Overton and Angela V Shelton; Slovin & Allen; The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show featuring David Koechner; Girl's Guitar Club featuring Karen Kilgariff and Mary Lynn Rajskub; and Fred Armisen. Improvisational comedy was added to the festival with Beer Shark Mice featuring David Koechner and Neil Flynn. Film was added with the Bay Area premiere of Martin & Orloff and Kasper Hauser's film Cowmonkey. The 400-seat Cobb's Comedy Club was added as a larger venue.

Additional performers included Will Durst; Beth Lisick; Red Shirt Freshmen; Trev & The Rev with Brian Huskey and Seth Morris; The Sklar Brothers; Kasper Hauser; Killing My Lobster; Totally False People; The Meehan Brothers; The 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors; Peer Counselors: I Will Not Apologize with Jason Mantzoukas and Jessica St. Clair; Matt Price & Jason Nash; Respecto Montalban with Owen Burke, Chad Carter, Jackie Clarke, Dannah Feinglass, Rob Huebel, Rob Riggle and Danielle Schneider; Sequel 4000; Lloyd Dobbler's Boombox; The Animal Club; Brick; Some Kind of Cult; Troop!; The Oops Guys in Asian Sings the Blues; The Habit; Brychael; The Disclaimers; I Can't Believe It's Not Comedy; Ludlow & Canal; Uphill Both Ways; Jasper Reid; and Joe Klocek.

2005

The Fourth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 13–30, 2005) featured a tribute to Dana Carvey; a panel discussion with writers and editors from The Onion moderated by author Dave Eggers and performances by Bruce McCulloch from The Kids in the Hall; comedian Demetri Martin; Bizarro creator Dan Piraro; Hard 'n Phirm with Chris Hardwick and Mike Phirman; Kasper Hauser; Olde English; and Elephant Larry.

Emerging performers included Killing My Lobster, Sequel 4000, Lloyd Dobbler’s Boombox, The Animal Club, Prank The Dean, The iOWest Mainstage Sketch Show, Clifford & Kidd, The Barrel Brothers, Burglars of Hamm, Lucky Ham, Pretty, Pretty Pony, Ron & Ryan, Single Entendre, Scott & Stacey, Diani & Devine and Something With Genitals.

2006

The Fifth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 12–29, 2006) featured a tribute to Bob Odenkirk and David Cross from Mr. Show; a lecture by Michael Showalter and David Wain; and performances by Dave Foley from The Kids in the Hall; Tinkle, featuring David Cross, Todd Barry and H. Jon Benjamin with guests Bob Odenkirk, Brian Posehn, Paul F. Tompkins, Eugene Mirman and musical act Rogue Wave; The Paul F. Tompkins Show with guests Paget Brewster, Paul Gilmartin, Samm Levine and Colin Hay; The Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT featuring Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Rachel Dratch and Horatio Sanz with guest monologist Will Arnett; Naked Babies featuring Rob Corddry; Doug Stanhope, Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players; Fred Armisen; Aziz Ansari; Will Franken and a surprise appearance by Dana Carvey.

Emerging performers included W. Kamau Bell, Sheng Wang, Boom Time (Moshe Kasher, Alex Koll and Brent Weinbach), Mark Pitta, Fempyre, Diani & Devine, Pretty, Pretty Pony, Prank the Dean, Showgirls: The Best Motion Picture Ever Made! Ever!, The Cody Rivers Show, The Cupid Players, Fries on the Side, Karla, Let’s Go!, MEAT, Rob F. Martinez, Oh, You and Your Bone Spurs, The Royal We, Jacon Sirof, Somebody’s in the Doghouse, Ryan Stout, Summer of Tears, Ten West, Kristopher Tinkle, Olde English, Something With Genitals, Sunshine Fortress, The Hot Bubbles, Tossing Alice, Jason Wheeler and The Wooden Robot.

2007

The Sixth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 11–28, 2007) featured the SF Sketchfest Tribute to Paul Reubens and performers including Stella; RiffTrax Live featuring Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett from Mystery Science Theater 3000 riffing Daredevil; The Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Sean Conroy, Andy Daly and guest monologist Bob Odenkirk; Comedy Death-Ray; Match Game Live; David Cross; Bruce McCulloch; Naked Babies with Rob Corddry, Brian Huskey, John Ross Bowie and Seth Morris; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry H. Jon Benjamin and Morgan Murphy; The Benson Interruption with Doug Benson; Todd Glass; Hard 'n Phirm; Short Film Night with Tony Hale and The Barrel Brothers; A.D. Miles; Jimmy Pardo; Paul F. Tompkins; Maria Bamford; Dragon Boy Suede; James Adomian; Will Franken; Duncan Trussell; Paul Gilmartin; Kasper Hauser; Moshe Kasher; and Will Durst. Workshops were offered with Michael Showalter, Matt Walsh and Kasper Hauser.

Emerging performers included The 30 Cent Players, Becky And Noelle, The Bicycle Men, Kevin Camia, Canadian Content, Diani & Devine, Jason Downs, Elephant Larry, Fried Green Durbins, Eddie Geller, Sean Kelly, Killing My Lobster, Joe Klocek, Latino Comedy Project, Laundry Basket and Spiegelman, Neil And Paul (Neil Campbell & Paul Rust), Olde English, Mark Pitta, Pretty, Pretty Pony, The Printers’ Daughters, Sandy Takes A Break, Jack Shack, Jacob Sirof, Sherry Sirof, Sketch Armstrong, Straitjacket, Sunshine Fortress, Team Submarine, Tossing Alice, Triplette, Troop! and Uphill Both Ways.

2008

The Seventh Annual SF Sketchfest (January 10–27, 2008) presented The Kids in the Hall, in performance and in conversation for the annual Tribute. Other performers included Aimee Mann, Paul F. Tompkins, Todd Barry, Rhys Darby, Kristen Schaal, Naked Babies with Rob Corddry, The Sound of Young America Live with host Jesse Thorn and guests Danny Hoch, Merlin Mann, Morgan Murphy, Bucky Sinister and musical guest Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave; RiffTrax Live at the Castro Theatre with the film Plan 9 from Outer Space; Dr. Katz Professional Therapist Live with guest patients Bob Odenkirk, Maria Bamford, Brian Posehn, Robin Williams, H. Jon Benjamin, Eugene Mirman, Andy Kindler and B.J. Novak; Michael Showalter, John Vanderslice, Match Game Live, Comedy Death-Ray, a Freaks and Geeks reunion with Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Samm Levine, Martin Starr, Busy Philipps, Dave (Gruber) Allen, Steve Bannos and Paul Feig, moderated by Patton Oswalt;, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Bro'in Out with Seth Morris with special guest Adam McKay; Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Rachel Dratch, Rob Riggle, Kevin Dorff and guest monologist Neil Patrick Harris; The Whitest Kids U' Know,Tim and Eric, Mosey Improv with Scott Adsit, Josh Dean, Jessica Makinson, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton, Kasper Hauser, Will Franken and Smug Shift with Brent Weinbach and Moshe Kasher.

Emerging performers included The Apple Sisters, Backpack Picnic, Boomtime, BriTANicK, Bucky Sinister, Cheap City: The Show with Michael Capozzola; Davidson!, Diani & Devine, Drennon Davis, Excentric, Foxtails Brigade, freeloveforum, Jacob Sirof, Kathleen Phillips, Les Milton, Mark & Ari, Mark Pitta, Mark Silverman, Mary Van Note, Muff ‘n Tops, Naomi Crystal, Oh, You and Your Bone Spurs, Pangea 3000, Ronna and Beverly, Roy Zimmerman, Sherry Sirof, Siblings of Doctors (with Danny Pudi, Ranjit Souri and Rasika Mathur), Something With Genitals, SPF7, Sunshine Fortress, Things We Made, Tossing Alice, Trophy Dad, TV You Can Heckle and Uphill Both Ways.

2009

The Eighth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 15–31, 2009) featured a reunion of the MTV sketch comedy group The State, marking the first time in twelve years that all eleven original members (Kevin Allison, Michael Ian Black, Robert Ben Garant, Todd Holoubek, Michael Patrick Jann, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Michael Showalter and David Wain) were together onstage. They presented a brand-new hour-long sketch show at the intimate 200-seat Eureka Theatre, and also sat down with moderator Janeane Garofalo for the annual Tribute award at the Herbst Theatre. Related programming included a cast-introduced screening of Wet Hot American Summer, and Stella: The Classic Nightclub Show, with guests Thomas Lennon, Tig Notaro, Nick Kroll, Zak Orth, Eugene Mirman, Seth Herzog and Janeane Garofalo. The festival introduced their first Comedy Writing Award, presented to Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O'Brien scribe Robert Smigel, who was joined in conversation with Dana Carvey. Smigel also joined Dino Stamatopoulos, Doug Dale, the Anifriends and Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog for a live stage version of the Comedy Central television show TV Funhouse. Other notable programming included A Salute to Bud Cort, interviewed after a screening of Harold and Maude at The Castro Theatre; A Fernwood Reunion with Martin Mull and Fred Willard; Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!; Savage Steve Holland and Diane Franklin with a screening of Better Off Dead; The Hills: A Staged Reading with Janeane Garofalo, Rachael Harris, Tom Kenny, Rob Huebel, Rob Riggle, Dannah Feinglass, Danielle Schneider and Mike Phirman; Comedy Death-Ray with Zach Galifianakis, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Kindler, Chris Hardwick, Paul F. Tompkins, Mary Lynn Rajskub; Celebrity Autobiography with Michael McKean, Annette O'Toole, Scott Thompson, Rachel Dratch, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, and Laraine Newman; Sunday with Moral Orel with Dino Stamatopoulos and Scott Adsit; Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT Improv with Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, Tim Meadows, Andrew Daly, Danielle Schneider and monologist Andy Richter; Totally Looped movie dubbing show with Laraine Newman, Maria Bamford, Oscar Nunez, and Rick Overton; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale and guests including Todd Barry and Paul Scheer; Facebook Improv with Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, Seth Morris, Chad Carter and Owen Burke; Theme Park Improv with Scott Adsit, Oscar Nunez, Kate Flannery, Jessica Makinson, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton; Scott Thompson's solo show Scottastrophe!; Cartoon Dump with Frank Conniff; Never Not Funny Live with Jimmy Pardo, Jon Hamm and Pat Francis; The Sound of Young America Live with Jesse Thorn, Sean Cullen, Jello Biafra and Kasper Hauser; Monsters of Podcasting with Jordan, Jesse, Go! and You Like Nice Today; and stand-up sets from Doug Benson, Aziz Ansari, Bob Odenkirk, and Will Durst.

Emerging performers included The 3 Actorteers, The Be-Bop Heroin Hour, Best Friends, The Birthday Boys, Casting Couch, Crisis Hopkins, Drennon Davis, Dry Hump, Elephant Larry, Emo! The Musical, The Farce Side Comedy Hour, The Freeze, Good Neighbor (with Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, Nick Rutherford and Dave McCary), Groomed for Success, The Heather Gold Show, The Hitler Roast, Inaugural Obama-HaHa, Iron Comic with Nato Green, Jason Downs, The Lampshades, Let’s Get Awkward!, Mark Pitta, Michael Capozzola, Monsters of Podcasting, Oh, You and Your Bones Spurs, Oren Brimer and Friends, Pangea 3000, Piano Fight/The S.H.I.T. Show, The Remainders, R.O. Manse, Rue Brutalia, Rusty Mahakian, Serve By Expiration, Sidecar, Things We Made, Two Headed Dog, Ubiquitous They, and VentureTek™.

2010

The Ninth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 14-February 2, 2010) included Conan O'Brien, recipient of the annual Tribute Award, who was scheduled to appear on January 17, but had to be postponed due to the late night fiasco at NBC. The tribute was done later that summer on July 17 at the Herbst Theater, where O'Brien was joined by Andy Richter and moderator Patton Oswalt for an incredible, candid, three-hour conversation. The Comedy Writing Award was presented to author and humorist John Hodgman, who was joined in conversation with Dave Eggers. The festival presented their first Monty Python member in Terry Jones, who appeared in conversation at a screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python’s Life of Brian at the Castro Theatre. Other film related programming included Cinematic Titanic (with Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Conniff and Mary Jo Pehl of Mystery Science Theater 3000); Waiting For Guffman with Fred Willard; The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy with Dave Foley; Animal Crackers with Bill Marx (son of Harpo) and Dick Cavett; and UHF with "Weird Al" Yankovic. Yankovic also joined Chris Hardwick in conversation. Other notable events and performers included Tim and Eric; an Evening with the Reno 911! Sheriff's Department; The Greg Proops Chat Show with Robin Williams, Linda Cardellini and musical guest Michael Penn; The Dave Hill Explosion with Dick Cavett and The Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano; Celebrity Autobiography with Jason Segel, Rachel Dratch, Laura Kightlinger, Steve Schirripa, and Fred Willard; Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, David Koechner, Tim Meadows, Chad Carter and monologist Moon Zappa; The Paul F. Tompkins Show featuring Dave Foley, Illeana Douglas and musical guest Grant-Lee Phillips; Comedy Death-Ray with Michael Ian Black, Dana Gould, Doug Benson, Natasha Leggero, James Adomian, musical guest Aimee Mann and host Scott Aukerman; the return of Facebook Improv; Game Show Explosion with Jimmy Pardo; The Red Wine Boys with Todd Barry and H. Jon Benjamin and guests Larry Murphy, Brendon Small and musical guests Mates of State; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale; The Whitest Kids U' Know; Greg Behrendt's Bring the Rock featuring Matt Nathanson; The Jill and Julia Show with Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney; Ask A Ninja Live; The Big Gay Sketch Show; Theme Park Improv with Edie McClurg, Danny Pudi, Scott Adsit, Rachel Dratch, Jessica Makinson, Janet Varney and Cole Stratton; Never Not Funny Live with Jimmy Pardo and guest Dave Foley; The Benson Interruption with Doug Benson, Steve Agee, Graham Elwood and more; Doug Loves Movies and Comedy Death Ray Radio Live; The Shit Show with Rob Huebel; Dr. God Improv with Matthew Lillard; My Monster with Bill Corbett from Mystery Science Theater 3000; Reggie Watts; Kasper Hauser; Killing My Lobster; and stand-up sets from Nick Kroll, Jon Dore, Brent Weinbach, Matt Braunger, Kyle Kinane, and Jamie Kilstein.

Emerging performers included Animosity Pierre,, Barats and Bereta, Arj Barker, The Barrel Brothers, The Be-Bop Heroin Hour, Sara Benincasa’s Agorafabulous!, The Birthday Boys, Black Sundays Video Show, Julie Brister: Fatparts, The Business, Comedy Noir: The Obama Roast, Convoy, The Cool Table, Crisis Hopkins, The Freeze, Funny But Mean, The Heather Gold Show, Good Neighbor (with Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, Nick Rutherford and Dave McCary), Molly Harper, Emily Heller, Holly & Inessa, The Internet, Iron Comic with Nato Green, Joke-e-Oke with Harmon Leon, Doug Anthony Jones: How To Enterprise, A Kiss From Daddy, Jeff Kreisler’s Get Rich Cheating, Edwin Li, Josie Long, Long Pork, Brendan Lynch, Colin Mahan: Remaking It, Marvin Berry, Les Milton, Ray Molina, Kevin O’Shea, Pappy’s, Mary Patterson Broome, PianoFight, Picnicface, Pros From Dover, Raffie Presents Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Beets, Robber Barons, Sidecar, Siskel & Negro Present: The Just-Us League of America (with W. Kamau Bell and Kevin Avery), The Skinny, Tang, Things We Made, Dave Thomason, 2-Man No-Show, Mary Van Note, Waiting For Obama and We Are Nudes.

2011

In 2011, the festival celebrated its 10th Anniversary (January 13-February 5, 2011), now regularly utilizing nearly a dozen venues, including The Castro Theatre, Yoshi's San Francisco, The Purple Onion and Marines’ Memorial Theatre. The annual Tribute award was split into a new Great Collaborator Series, showcasing fantastic comedy teams. The first was a 25th Anniversary Tribute to It’s Garry Shandling’s Show with Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel appearing with moderator Zach Braff; second was an Airplane! Tribute to Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, moderated by Chris Hardwick; and the third was a Tribute to Murphy Brown with Candice Bergen and Diane English. The third Comedy Writing Award was presented by James L. Brooks, who candidly chatted with Danny DeVito before a screening of Brooks’ classic Broadcast News. The festival teamed with local drag superstar Peaches Christ for an evening with Cloris Leachman and a screening of High Anxiety, and presented a 25th Anniversary screening of True Stories with Talking Heads’ frontman David Byrne.

Other great events included a Saturday Night Live: The Originals panel with Dan Aykroyd, Tom Davis, Laraine Newman, Don Novello and moderator Carl Arnheiter; Brian Henson in conversation with Neil Patrick Harris featuring a live puppet demonstration; The Thrilling Adventure Hour with a star-studded cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Colin Hanks, Alison Brie, John DiMaggio, Donal Logue, Danny Pudi, James Urbaniak, Busy Philipps, Samm Levine, John Ennis and Paul F. Tompkins; a four show preview of Mike Birbiglia’s new solo show, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend; Celebrity Autobiography with Will Forte, Rachael Harris, Joe Pantoliano, Jonathan Silverman and Linda Cardellini; Whose Live Anyway? improv show with Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Chip Esten and Jeff B. Davis; a Viva Variety Reunion show with Thomas Lennon, Michael Ian Black, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Robert Ben Garant; Gentlemen's Club with Bob Odenkirk; The Paul F. Tompkins Show with Gillian Jacobs, Neil Patrick Harris and musical guest Tom Brosseau; The Dave Hill Explosion with Moby, Thao Nguyen and Will Franken; Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Show with Jon Benjamin and guests Todd Barry, Andrew Daly, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Will Forte and musical guest A.C. Newman; The Benson Interruption with Doug Benson and guests Zach Galifianakis and more; The Kevin Pollak Chat Show with guest Adam Savage; Greg Behrendt’s Maximum Volume with Matt Nathanson and Brendon Small; Music Night with Garfunkel and Oates, David Koechner, and more; Tig Has Friends with Tig Notaro; Billy The Mime; Charlyne Yi; Paul Brittain; Rich Fulcher; Killing My Lobster; Solo shows by Rob Delaney, Brett Gelman, Joe Sibb and Lauren Weedman; Storytelling shows Porchlight, This is Not Happening and Risk! with Kevin Allison and The Friday Forty with Dave Holmes.

Podcasts also made up a major component of the festival, and included live tapings of WTF with Marc Maron and guests Bobcat Goldthwait, Will Franken, Maria Bamford, Baron Vaughn and W. Kamau Bell; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo and guest David Koechner; Nerdist with Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira with guest Zach Galifianakis; Pop My Culture Podcast with Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland and guest Bob Odenkirk; Sklarbro Country with the Sklar Brothers and guests Michael Ian Black, Har Mar Superstar and Bill Romanowski; Citizen Radio with Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny and guest Markos Moulitsas; The Sound of Young America with Jesse Thorn and guests John Vanderslice and Steve Dildarian; and Monsters of Podcasting.

Emerging performers included Andrea Alton, Amazing Sunset Crew, Christina Anthony as Cheryl “Nookie” Jackson, Boat, Jessi Campbell, Carlie & Doni, Matt Champagne, Charles, Comedy Noir’s Red, White and Wrong, Convoy, Steve Dildarian, Donny Divanian, The DK and Morgan Show, Doppelganger, Extreme Tambourine, Ron Funches, Funny Party, Chris Garcia, Caitlin Gill, The Great Samaritans, Groomed for Success, Ian Harvie, Andy Haynes, Emily Heller, Karl Hess, Hot Mess, Inside Joke Films, Jerks, Joke-e-oke, Sean Keane, Matt Knudsen, Alex Koll, KT Comedy, Julie Lofrano, Science Comedian Brian Malow, The Midnight Show, The Moore Brothers, The Nerdologues, Kevin O’Shea, Andy Paley, Sean Patton, PianoFight, Jules Posner, Prazoff, Schmazoff, Amber Preston, Prison Freaks: A Talent Show, The Riot Act, Tony Sam, Red Scott, Rory Scovel, Seeder & Lee, Ari Shaffir, Sweat, Teenager of the Year, Chris Thayer, Dave Thomason, Tremendosaur, Unitard and Mary Van Note.

The festival also introduced a new program called The Dozen, spotlighting the next wave of stand-up comedy stars, featuring Dan Mintz, Dan Telfer, Chris Fairbanks, Chelsea Peretti, Matt Braunger, Jamie Kilstein, Jen Kirkman, Baron Vaughn, Mary Mack, Kumail Nanjiani, Deon Cole and Harris Wittels. There was also a reunion and performance from the original six groups from the first Sketchfest.

2012

The Eleventh Annual SF Sketchfest (January 19-February 4, 2012) featured The SF Sketchfest Tribute to Eddie Izzard, in conversation with Greg Proops, and a tribute to festival favorite Upright Citizens Brigade, with founding members Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh in conversation with Andy Richter, and also performing their ASSSSCAT improv show.[2] One of the most anticipated events of the fest was Wet Hot American Summer, the Live Radio Play, which brought stars of the original film and surprise guests reading the film script onstage with a band and live foley effects.[3] Reprising their roles were Michael Ian Black, Samm Levine, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Christopher Meloni, Marguerite Moreau, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. Surprise guests included Busy Philipps, David Cross, Joshua Malina, Colin Hanks, Marc Evan Jackson, Bruce McCulloch, Jessi Klein, Gillian Jacobs, John Hodgman, Craig Cackowski, Zandy Hartig, Andy Richter, Bobcat Goldthwait and Paul and Storm.

Film events included a celebration of Robert Altman and M*A*S*H* with guests Elliott Gould, Sally Kellerman and Kathryn Altman; RiffTrax presents Night of the Shorts III: The Search for Schlock with Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy and guest riffers David Cross, Bruce McCulloch, Paul F. Tompkins, Eugene Mirman, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney; The Rocky Horror Picture Show with host Peaches Christ and star Barry Bostwick; Best in Show with Michael Hitchcock and Fred Willard; a 30th Anniversary Celebration of The Dark Crystal with Dave Goelz; and Doug Benson interrupting the film Road House.

Reggie Watts[4] performed a four show "Reggidency," in which he collaborated with Garfunkel & Oates and Robert Glasper, performed solo, and did a live improvisational score to the film Legend. w00tstock Founder's Night featured Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton and Paul and Storm. The Groundlings made their first appearance at the festival with their Beverly Winwood Presents The Actors Showcase show featuring Jennifer Coolidge, Jim Rash, Nat Faxon and more, and The Black Version improv with Phil LaMarr, Keegan-Michael Key and Cedric Yarbrough. Other events and performers included Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza with Drew Carey, Chip Esten, Greg Proops and Ryan Stiles; Celebrity Autobiography: The Next Chapter with Rachel Dratch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Florence Henderson, Laraine Newman, Luke Perry and Fred Willard; The Thrilling Adventure Hour with Paget Brewster, John DiMaggio, Colin Hanks, John Hodgman, Gillian Jacobs, Bruce McCulloch, Christopher Meloni, Busy Philipps, Kevin Pollak, Andy Richter and Paul F. Tompkins; A table read of the unproduced script "They Came Together" by David Wain and Michael Showalter with an all-star cast including Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler; the return of Theme Park Improv with guest monologist Bob Odenkirk; Stella, the Classic Nightclub Show with house band Release The Sunbird; The Paul F. Tompkins Show with Judy Greer, John Hodgman and musical guest Ted Leo; Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Show with Jon Glaser and guests including Brett Gelman, David Cross, Paul Rudd and Ben Gibbard;[5] Set List: Comedy Without a Net with Matt Braunger, Jon Dore, Rick Overton, Eddie Pepitone, Chelsea Peretti, Greg Proops, Steve Agee and surprise guest Robin Williams; John Hodgman - An Evening of My Expertise, featuring Dana Gould and Lance Bangs; Bruce McCulloch's solo show The Pink Dot Stories; Harmontown with Dan Harmon; An Afternoon with Eagleheart with Chris Elliott; Pretty Good Friends with Eugene Mirman; Jon Benjamin Has a Van Live with H. Jon Benjamin; Bring The Rock with Greg Behrendt and guests including Marc Maron, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Jesse Tyler Ferguson; The Meltdown with Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani; Mapping the Heavens with Rob Delaney and Dave Holmes; Bob Odenkirk and The Birthday Boys in "Seven-Man Sweater;" The Whitest Kids U' Know;[6] and stand-up from Brent Weinbach, Drennon Davis, W. Kamau Bell and Will Franken.

Live podcasts at the festival included Smodcast with Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier; WTF with Marc Maron, Nerdist with Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira and guest Dan Harmon; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo and guest Florence Henderson; Doug Loves Movies; The Kevin Pollak Chat Show with guest Rachael Harris; Walking the Room with guests Patton Oswalt and Dave Holmes; Greg Proops The Smartest Man in the World; Superego with Paul F. Tompkins and Erinn Hayes; Pop My Culture with Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland and guest Drew Carey; and RISK! with Kevin Allison.

Emerging Stand-Up, Sketch, Improv and Solo performers included 7th Grade: The Awkward Musical, Adam Paul, Andres du Bouchet, Andrew Short, Andy Wood, Anna Seregina, Aparna Nancherla, April Richardson, Arden Myrin, Backstage Paige, Bad Movie Night, Barbara Gray, Barbara Holm, Beth Stelling, Billy Wayne Davis, Brian Malow, Caitlin Gill, Casey Ley, Chris Garcia, Chris Locke, Chris Thayer, Colin Mahan in Too Many Wordz, Comedy Noir presents: The XXX Factor, Coree Spencer, Cory Loykasek, Crisis Hopkins, Dave Thomason, Dead Honkey, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Donny Divanian, Don’t We Boys, Ed Hill, Edwin Li, Everything Jamboree, The Gentlemen Callers, Grant Pardee, Harmon Leon: Ironic/NOT Ironic, Hill Jones, Hip Hop Penguin, Hollywood Saturday Night, Ivan Hernandez, Janine Brito, JC Coccoli, Jeff MacKinnon, Jill Bourque, Jin & Joshi, Joe Klocek, Joseph Scrimshaw and the Comedy of Doom; Josh Gondelman, Katie Compa, Keith Lowell Jensen, Kevin O’Shea, Knuckles & Tits, Kristen Studard: Small Victories, KT Comedy, Jules Posner, Lance Weiss, Laundry Basket & Mike Spiegelman and Friends, Madeline Walter: I’m Doing Great!, Mary Mack, Matt Morales, Michael Capozzola, Michael Meehan: Hey Monster! Hands Off My City!, Mike Brown, Miles K, Oh Brother, Oh Theodora, Paco Romane, Reid Faylor, Rob F. Martinez, Robert Buscemi, Scott Vermeire: Hiding Places and Places to Hide, Sean Keane, Seth and Kellen, Snob Theatre, Stupid Time Machine, Tatse Better Wit, Teenager of the Year, Thunderstood and Wobbly H Presents.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen featured Ron Funches, Nick Thune, Moshe Kasher,[7] Jessi Klein, Nikki Glaser, Brendon Walsh, Myq Kaplan, Sheng Wang, Rachel Feinstein, Pete Holmes, Kyle Kinane and Morgan Murphy.

2013

The Twelfth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 24-February 10, 2013) featured the annual SF Sketchfest Tribute to two influential comedy shows currently on television -- Portlandia, with Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein and director Jonathan Krisel, in conversation with Adam Savage;[8] and Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital, with cast members Lake Bell, Rob Corddry, Erinn Hayes, Rob Huebel, Ken Marino, David Wain and producer/co-creator Jonathan Stern.

The Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete and Pete had a 20th Anniversary reunion featuring Michael C. Maronna, Danny Tamberelli, Toby Huss, Rick Gomez, Mark Mulcahy and creators Chris Viscardi and Will McRobb.[9] Party Down with Party Down reunited cast members Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen and Ken Marino with moderator Paul Scheer.[10] Web series sensation Burning Love assembled its extensive cast for an afternoon discussion, and the voice talents behind Futurama, including John DiMaggio, Billy West, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Lauren Tom and producer Lee Supercinski, did an episode table read and a Q&A.[11] Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche reprised their beloved characters from Animaniacs for An Afternoon with Pinky and The Brain.

Film events included Hail to the King, Baby: An Evening with Bruce Campbell with Army of Darkness, in conversation with Patton Oswalt; RiffTrax Presents Night of the Shorts IV: Riffizens on Patrol with Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy, with guest riffers Kevin McDonald, Adam Savage, Kristen Schaal, Paul F. Tompkins, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney; Welcome to the Dollhouse with Peaches Christ and star Heather Matarazzo;[12] The Naked Gun 25th Anniversary with David Zucker, Pat Proft and Priscilla Presley, moderated by Andy Richter; 35th Anniversary screening of National Lampoon's Animal House with director John Landis in conversation with Carl Arnheiter; 10th Anniversary screening of American Splendor with Judah Friedlander and Toby Radloff; An Evening with Pootie Tang with Lance Crouther; and The Benson Movie Interruptions of Catwoman, Anaconda, The Notebook, and Twilight with Doug Benson and surprise guests including Zach Galifianakis, Patton Oswalt, Michael Ian Black and Greg Behrendt.

Children's book author Mo Willems made his picture books into sketch comedy with "Don't Let the Comedians Do Storytime!," a show for kids with guest stars including Patton Oswalt, Maya Rudolph, Michael Ian Black, Laraine Newman and more. Reggie Watts returned for a second "Reggidency" series, this time collaborating with The Amy O'Neal Dance Crew, Michael Winslow, Robert Glasper and drummer Chris Dave. Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum appeared as Princess, doing an evening of Prince cover songs. Other events and performers included SEX a.k.a. Wieners and Boobs, a play written by and starring Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Showalter and David Wain;[13] The Thrilling Adventure Hour with guests including Jonathan Coulton, Colin Hanks, John Hodgman, Gillian Jacobs, Keegan-Michael Key, Autumn Reeser, John Roderick, Rider Strong and James Urbaniak; Celebrity Autobiography with Maria Bamford, Roger Bart, Jennifer Coolidge, Rachel Dratch, Janeane Garafalo, Andy Kindler, Laraine Newman, Kevin Pollak, Maya Rudolph and Fred Willard; Uptown Showdown Debate with Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and more; Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT improv with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Scott Adsit and monologist Lucy Davis; Drew Carey and The Midnight Show; Jeff Garlin's Combo Platter; Naked Human Giant Babies with John Ross Bowie, Rob Corddry, Seth Morris, Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer; The 313 Improv featuring Keegan-Michael Key and Marc Evan Jackson; Theme Park Improv with Rachel Dratch, Simon Helberg, Michael Hitchcock, Jessica Makinson, Oscar Nunez, Cole Stratton, Janet Varney and monologist Erinn Hayes; Gravid Water with Scott Adsit, Lucy Davis and more; the return of w00tstock Founders Night with Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton and Paul and Storm; Yacht Rock Heroes with Mustache Harbor and Friends; Garfunkel & Oates[14] with Dragon Boy Suede; Billy Eichner and Friends with Julie Klausner, Retta and more; The Mortified Sessions Onstage; The Chris Gethard Show; Crash Test with Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer; Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Show with Jon Glaser and musical guest Bob Mould; Kristen Schaal and Friends; The Meltdown with Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani; Paul F. Tompkins and Friends Real & Fake; Stella The Classic Nightclub Show; Team Coco Live with Andy Richter; Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction; Iron Comic All-Stars; R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet Sing-Along; Stardumb with Bil Dwyer; Write Now with Jimmy Pardo; and stand-up from Nick Kroll, Jeff Garlin, Judah Friedlander, Tim Heidecker, Neil Hamburger, Dr. Brown, Brent Weinbach, Drennon Davis, Wayne Federman, Ian Edwards, Brody Stevens, Rory Scovel, Andres du Bouchet, Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero.

Live podcasts included Before You Were Funny with guest Daniel Handler; Bullseye with Jesse Thorn; The Dead Authors Podcast with Paul F. Tompkins and John Hodgman; Harmontown with Dan Harmon;[15] How Was Your Week with Julie Klausner and musical director Ted Leo; Judge John Hodgman Live; The JV Club with Janet Varney and guest Tig Notaro; The Nerdist Podcast with Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira and guest Pete Holmes; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo; Plus One Podcast with Kevin Smith and Jennifer Schwalbach Smith; Pop My Culture with Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland and guest Rachel Dratch; Professor Blastoff with Tig Notaro; RISK! with Kevin Allison;[16] Ronna & Beverly; The Smartest Man in the World with Greg Proops;[17] The Tobolowsky Files with Stephen Tobolowsky;[18] Superego; Talkin Walkin with Kevin Pollak and guest Simon Helberg; This Feels Terrible with Erin McGathy; Throwing Shade; Walking the Room; Who Charted? with Howard Kremer and Kulap Vilaysack; and You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes.

Showcases for Emerging Sketch and Improv groups and solo performers included Big Grande, BOAT, Brute Squad, Casey and Dave are Different, Charles, Colin Mahan: Preview: The Movie!, Convoy, Cream, Dan Crossley, Don’t Watch This Show Live, The Dress-Up Gang, The Elsie Bo Show, EndGames Improv, Femikaze, The Fringe Riders, The Get Go, Goatface Comedy, The Grind, Ham Pants Productions, Hip.Bang!, Hollywood Saturday Night, Hot Mess SF, Jesse’s Restless Mind Syndrome, Kristen Studard, Last Call Cleveland, Let’s Paint TV, Listen Kid!, Makin’ Friends Havin’ Fun, MC Mr. Napkins, Mission CTRL, The Mutiny, Onassis, PianoFight’s ForePlays, Sad Vicious, Taste Better Wit, 3 Woman 1 Woman Show (with 3 Women), Thunderstood, TMI, Tremendosaur Sells Out, Two Hot Mics, Up Up Up!, and Valley Meadows. Emerging Stand-Up performers included Josh Androsky, Kevin Anglin, Kunal Arora, Greg Barris, Eric Barry, Kaseem Bentley, Kate Berlant, Clara Bijl, Bobby Joe Ebola and The Children MacNuggits, Nathan Brannon, Nicole Calasich, Doug Chagnon, Shanti Charan, George Chen, Paul Cibis, JC Coccoli, Claudia Cogan, Kelly Collette, Katie Compa, Adam Conover, Bryan Cook, Ryan Cronin, Jen D’Angelo, Matt Davis, Joey Devine, Anthony DeVito, David Dineen-Porter, Donny Divanian, Jason Downs, Mike Drucker, Jesse Elias, Kellen Erskine, Ben Feldman, Jesse Fernandez, James Fluty, Chris Garcia, David Gborie, Caitlin Gill, Marga Gomez, Francoise Gordon, Chris Gore, Sara Hennessey, Tom Henry, Ivan Hernandez, Trevor Hill, Julia Hladkowicz, Andrew Holmgren, Joselyn Hughes, Keith Lowell Jensen, Miles K, Ian Karmel, Sean Keane, Conor Kellicutt, Loren Kraut, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Casey Ley, Matt Lieb, Cory Loykasek, Justin Lucas, Levi MacDougall, Duat Mai, Vince Mancini, Tabari Douglas McCoy, Adam McLaughlin, Amy Miller, Hasan Minhaj, Stroy Moyd, Natasha Muse, Adam Newman, Joe Nguyen, Gilli Nissim, Matt O’Brien, Clare O’Kane, Kevin O’Shea, Yogi Paliwal, Danny Palmer, Lydia Popovich, Jules Posner, DJ Real, Jeff Reitman, Phoebe Robinson, Paco Romane, Vance Sanders, Rob Schultz, Red Scott, Anna Seregina, Derek Sheen, Bucky Sinister, Leslie Small, Land Smith, Coree Spencer, Mike Spiegelman, David Studebaker, Jim Tews, Chris Thayer, Dave Thomason, Cara Tramontano, Mary Van Note, Maronzio Vance, Cameron Vannini, Colleen Watson, Jeff Wattenhofer, Blake Wexler and Kate Willett.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen featured Erin Foley, Dan St. Germain, Michelle Buteau, Joe Mande, Sara Benincasa, Jonah Ray, Glenn Wool, Chris Gethard, Jamie Lee, Hari Kondabolu, April Richardson and Duncan Trussell.

2014

The Thirteenth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 23-February 9, 2014) [19] featured a trio of tributes – Alan Arkin, who appeared in conversation with Kevin Pollak with a 35th Anniversary screening of The In-Laws; Tenacious D,[20] in an evening of clips, conversation and song with Jack Black and Kyle Gass, moderated by Paul F. Tompkins; and Key & Peele, with Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele in conversation. The fest also featured a salute to comedy pioneers Coyle and Sharpe, with Mal Sharpe and guests Matt Besser, James Reichmuth and Jesse Thorn.

In-person film events included a Napoleon Dynamite 10th Anniversary screening[21] and conversation with Jon Heder, moderated by Starlee Kine, with a surprise musical appearance by When in Rome’s Clive Farrington performing his hit song “The Promise” as the credits rolled; a 30th Anniversary screening of Revenge of the Nerds with original cast members Curtis Armstrong, Timothy Busfield, Robert Carradine, Andrew Cassese, Julia Montgomery, Larry B. Scott and Brian Tochi, moderated by Chris Hardwick; Top Secret! 30th Anniversary screening[22] with the creative team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, moderated by Paul Scheer; a Cabin Boy 20th anniversary screening with Chris Elliott and Adam Resnick, moderated by Bay Area favorite Peaches Christ; a midnight screening of Broken Lizard's Super Troopers with Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme in attendance; a Footloose 30th Anniversary Dance and Sing-a-Long party; the annual Benson Movie Interruption featured Doug Benson and surprise guests Chris Hardwick, Rob Huebel, Thomas Lennon and Paul Scheer riffing Twilight: New Moon; Shakes the Clown Live-read with original cast members Bobcat Goldthwait, Julie Brown, Tom Kenny, Florence Henderson and Dan Spencer; and live improvised film dubbing from Totally Looped with Dan Castellaneta, Keegan-Michael Key, Deb Lacusta, Joe Liss, Rick Overton, Angela V. Shelton, Vince Waldron and Gary Anthony Williams.

TV events showcased beloved shows old and new. A Salute to Bored to Death[23] had Jonathan Ames, Ted Danson, Zach Galifianakis and Jason Schwartzman in conversation; Becoming Enlightened with Laura Dern, Mike White, Molly Shannon, Timm Sharp, Sarah Burns and David Bernad, in conversation; Inside Inside Amy Schumer with Amy Schumer, Dan Powell, Jessi Klein, Kurt Metzger and Kim Schumer Caramele; Farewell, Futurama with John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Lee Supercinski, Lauren Tom and Billy West, with clips, conversation and episode live-read; Nickelodeon's Sanjay and Craig Live with cast members Chris Hardwick, Maulik Pancholy, John DiMaggio, Matt Jones and Nolan North, co-creators Jim Dirschberger and Jay Howell, and executive producers Chris Viscardi and Will McRobb; An Afternoon with The Venture Bros. with Steven Rattazzi, Michael Sinterniklaas, Dana Snyder and James Urbaniak; The Greatest Event in Festival History brought Adam Scott, Lance Bangs and Jon Glaser together to play off of their special The Greatest Event in Television History; and The Slipnutz Variety Show reunited Late Night with Conan O'Brien scene-stealers Andy Blitz, Jon Glaser and Brian Stack to clown around and slip on nuts.

Theatrical special events included Wits with John Moe and guests including Paget Brewster, Nellie McKay, and Loudon Wainwright III; NPR’s Ask Me Another with Ophira Eisenberg and Jonathan Coulton and special guests Danny Pudi, Adam Savage and New York Times Technology Columnist Farhad Manjoo; StarTalk Live with special guest host Bill Nye the Science Guy and co-host Eugene Mirman and special guests Dave Foley and Seth Shostak of SETI Institute; Celebrity Autobiography: The Music Edition with Pamela Adlon, Rachel Dratch, Florence Henderson, Michael Hitchcock, Laraine Newman, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel and Fred Willard; The Thrilling Adventure Hour with the Workjuice Players and special guests including Karen Gillan, Keegan-Michael Key, Melanie Lynskey, Jason Ritter and more; Wainy Days Live with David Wain and special guests including Zandy Hartig, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott and more; One Star with Thomas Lennon and Matt Mira and guests; Stripped Down Shorts: One Acts by Eugene Pack; Uptown Showdown Debate: Breakfast vs. Dinner with Michael Ian Black, Dana Gould, Myq Kaplan, Arden Myrin, Michael Showalter, David Wain and moderator Bil Dwyer; The Realest Real Housewives with Marc Evan Jackson, Natasha Leggero, June Diane Raphael, Danielle Schneider, Nick Thune, and Morgan Walsh; Natasha Leggero in London! Paris! Costco!; Jamie Kilstein and John Fugelsang Debate the Existence of God, moderated by Rick Overton; Ronna and Beverly with Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo and guests including The Biggest Loser’s Bob Harper; The Midnight Show with host T.J. Miller; and The Andy Daly show, which featured a preview of Review with Forrest MacNeill.

Improv once again played a large part at the festival, with performances from The Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with guest monologist Pamela Adlon; Naked Babies with Rob Corddry, John Ross Bowie, Brian Huskey and Seth Morris; The Improvised Shakespeare Company; Theme Park Improv with Ian Brennan, Rachel Dratch, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jessica Makinson, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney and guest monologist Kevin Pollak; Gravid Water with Tom Lenk, Michael McMillian, Stephen Ruddy and more; Facebook Improv with Owen Burke, Chad Carter, Rob Huebel, Seth Morris and Paul Scheer; The Groundlings: The Black Version with Jordan Black, Daniele Gaither, Keegan-Michael Key, Phil LaMarr, Karen Maruyama, Jordan Peele, Gary Anthony Williams and Cedric Yarbrough; The Groundlings: Personals with Jessica Chaffin, Jamie Denbo, Kevin Kirkpatrick, Michael McDonald, Mitch Silpa and Mindy Sterling, hosted by Brian Palermo; 313 Improv with Keegan-Michael Key, Marc Evan Jackson, Maribeth Monroe and Marc Warzecha; and Shitty Jobs with Sean Clements, Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson and Charlie Sanders.

Sketch comedy was represented by The Birthday Boys; BriTANicK with BOAT; the stateside premiere of Australia's Aunty Donna; a Characters Comedy Night hosted by Seth Morris; Manboobs Comedy featuring Danny Tamberelli; and Bay Area stalwarts Killing My Lobster.

Music was very much incorporated into the festival that year,[24] with Princess with Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum, doing a night of the music of Prince; w00tstock Founders’ Night 3: Day of the Founders with Adam Savage, Paul and Storm and Pat Rothfuss; Nellie McKay with Tom Brosseau; Watkins Family Hour with Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins; Megan Mullally in concert with her band Nancy and Beth, with special guests The Lampshades (Kate Flannery and Scot Robinson); Wheels Off with Rhett Miller and guest John Doe and more; The Girls with Alison Brie, Cyrina Fiallo and Julianna Guill; Heidecker and Wood; Bring the Rock with Greg Behrendt and guest Matt Nathanson and more; and appearances by Eli Braden and Reformed Whores.

Stand-Up & Variety Shows included Big Terrific with Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman and Max Silverstri; Bukkake of Smiles with Matt Braunger and Dana Gould; The Business; The Chris Gethard Show; Crash Test with Huebel & Scheer; Eric Andre: A Night of Stand-up; Guy Branum’s Talk Show the Game Show; Imaginary Radio with Drennon Davis; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale; Iron Comic with Nato Green and Moshe Kasher; Kevin McDonald & Dave Foley; Kurt Tub with Kurt Braunohler; The Meltdown with Kumail Nanjiani and Jonah Ray; Michael Winslow & Rhys Darby’s Sound Effect Summit; Picture This! with Brandie Posey; Prompter; Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher; Set List: Comedy Without a Net; Smug Shift with Moshe Kasher and Brent Weinbach; Stella; Team Coco Live with Andy Richter; Stardumb! with Bil Dwyer and Erica Rhodes; Todd Barry: The Crowdwork Tour; and Totally J/K with Joe Mande and Noah Garfinkel. Guest comics on the above shows included David Koechner, Gilbert Gottfried, April Richardson, Ron Funches, Bridget Everett, Karen Kilgariff, James Adomian, Jon Daly, Brett Gelman, Wil Anderson, Nate Bergatze, Emily Heller, Kate Berlant, Sara Benincasa, Steve Agee, Janine Brito, Caitlin Gill, Todd Glass, Michael McDonald, Aparna Nancherla, Eddie Pepitone, Jackie Kashian, Josh Gondelman, Andy Kindler, Baron Vaughn, Dave Hill, Myq Kaplan, Daniel Sloss, Andres du Bouchet, Ian Karmel, Samm Levine, Brendon Walsh, Daniel Van Kirk and more.

A plethora of podcasts recorded live at the fest, including Accordingly to Jim with Jon Glaser; The Adventures of Danny and Mike with Danny Tamberelli and Michael C. Maronna; Before You Were Funny; Chewin’ It with Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme; Comedy Film Nerds; Dale Radio; The Dana Gould Hour; Dead Authors with Paul F. Tompkins; Deep Shit with Baron Vaughn; Dork Forest with Jackie Kashian; The Fogelnest Files; Gelmania with Brett Gelman; Harmontown with Dan Harmon, Jeff B. Davis and guest Joel Hodgson; I Seem Fun with Jen Kirkman; improv4humans; Jonah Raydio; Jordan, Jesse, Go!; The K Ohle Podcast with Kurt Braunohler; Lady to Lady; The Laughspin Podcast; Nerdist Podcast; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo; Probably Science with Andy Wood and Matt Kirshen; Road Stories; Roderick on the Line with John Roderick and Merlin Mann; Scott Capurro’s Position; Superego; Talkin’ Toons with Rob Paulsen; Terrified with Dave Ross; Throwing Shade; The Tobolowsky Files; The Todd Barry Podcast; Topics with Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter; Vague Stories with Greg Behrendt; The World of Phil Hendrie; and You're The Expert with Chris Duffy.

Storytelling shows included RISK! with Kevin Allison and guest Stephen Tobolowsky and more; Mortified!; Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction with Bryan Cook; and Porchlight with Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte. Workshops were also offered at the festival, taught by Alan Arkin, Kevin McDonald and Kevin Allison.

Showcases for Emerging Sketch, Improv, solo and groups included 3 Woman 1 Woman Show (with three women), Bellevue, The Blank Experience, Bonafide, Chardonnay, Charles, Cheap Smokes, Classy Pants, Colin Mahan’s Ball Trap: A Crock Opera, Cossbysweater, Convoy, Don’t Watch This Show Live!, The Dress Up Gang, Duchess Riot, Endgames Improv, Femikaze, Foil Arms and Hog, Frange & Stern, Hip.Bang!, John Velvet, Ladystache, Lester Milton, Living Impaired, Lost Moon Radio, Matt&Sam, Medium Friends, Miles and Jesse, Mission CTRL, Nephew, The Norwegians of Comedy, Oh Brother!, Oh Theodora, Peter n’ Chris, Robber Barons, Sad Vicious, Speechless, Suspicious Luxury presents REMEMORY, Time Capsule, Tony Ho, Unsuspectingly Sponsored By…, Vagina Jones, Whiskey Tango and Winslow. Emerging Stand-Up performers included Adam Newman, Adam Sokol, Amber Preston, Andrew Holmgren, Anita Drieseberg, Asif Ali, Barbara Gray, Barbara Holm, Ben San Del, Brandie Posey, Brendan Hines, Brendan Lynch, Brian Frange, Cameron Vannini, Carlos Rodriguez, Casey Ley, Clara Bijl, Clare O’Kane, Claire Titelman, Cody Melcher, Colleen Watson, Coree Spencer, Cory Loykasek, Curtis Cook, Danny Jolles, Dave Ross, Dave Thomason, David Angelo, David Drake, David Gborie, David Studebaker, Donny Divanian, Drew Platt, Eloisa Bravo, Emmett Montgomery, Ever Mainard, Gabe Dinger, Irene Tu, Ivan Hernandez, Jarret Berenstein, Jason Downs, Jason Saenz, JC Coccoli, Jeff Cleary, Jen D’Angelo, Jess Saloman, Jesse Elias, Jim Tews, JoAnn Schinderle, Joe Tobin, Joey Devine, Johan Miranda, Johnny Taylor, Jonathan Rowell, Joselyn Hughes, Joseph Scrimshaw, Jules Posner, Julia Hladkowicz, Julie Lofrano, Justin Frahm, Kaseem Bentley, Kate Willett, Katie Crown, Keith D’souza, Keith Lowell Jensen, Kevin Anglin, Land Smith, Lauren Ashley Bishop, Lauri Roggenkamp, Loren Kraut, Luke Lockfeld, Lydia Popovich, Mary Patterson, Matt Ingebretson, Matt Knudsen, Matt Lieb, Matt Morales, Matt O’Brien, Matthew Nouriel, Mike Spiegelman, Miles K, Mo Welch, Moses Storm, Natasha Muse, Nick Flanagan, Nicole Calasich, Nina Manni, Paco Romane, Philip Schallberger, The Puterbaugh Sisters, Ramon Rivas II, Red Scott, Renee Gauthier, Rob Christensen, Rob Schultz, Rob Stern, Ron Babcock, Ronn Vigh, Ryan Schutt, Shanti Charan, Stacey Hallal, Sam Sagheb, Sammy Obeid, Saurin Choski, Scott Vermeire, Steph Tolev, Steve Lee, Stroy Moyd, Tommy Dassalo, Trevor Hill, Xander Deveaux, Yogi Paliwal and Yuri Kagan.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen was Guy Branum, Janine Brito, Dominic Dierkes, Cameron Esposito, Emily Heller, Ian Karmel, Matt Kirshen, Mike Lawrence, Aparna Nancherla, DC Pierson, Phoebe Robinson and Sara Schaefer.

2015

The Fourteenth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 22-February 8, 2015) [25] was packed with tributes to an eclectic collection of performers and shows. Creative collaborators and Spinal Tap stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer were in conversation with Adam Savage; beloved musical comedy genius “Weird Al” Yankovic was in conversation with Chris Hardwick, with musical performances honoring his work by Hard 'n Phirm and Garfunkel & Oates; HBO’s political farce VEEP was honored with cast members Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Hale, Matt Walsh, Timothy Simons, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole and Sam Richardson in conversation with Tim Goodman; Legendary magicians Penn & Teller sat down with Adam Savage for a spirited conversation and performance of some illusions; and Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster of The Best Show on WFMU chatted with Andy Kindler, with musical guests John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats and Bob Mould. Salutes included the 20th Anniversary of NewsRadio with cast members Dave Foley, Stephen Root, Andy Dick, Khandi Alexander and Joe Furey; the comedy team Broken Lizard with Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stohlhanske, moderated by Randy Liedtke; and filmmaker Preston Sturges was celebrated with a screening of The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek with Guest, McKean and Shearer in attendance.

Film events included the annual Benson Movie Interruption with Doug Benson and surprise guests Steve Agee, Scott Aukerman, Todd Barry, Chris Hardwick, Matt Kirshen, Arden Myrin, Jonah Ray, Rory Scovel, Brendon Small and Janet Varney live riffing Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2; Bay Area drag legend Peaches Christ presented But I'm a Cheerleader with special guests Natasha Lyonne and Jamie Babbit; the classic comedy Groundhog Day was screened on Groundhog Day with guest Stephen Tobolowsky with a live Tobolowsky Files; the SF premiere of the documentary Misery Loves Comedy by Kevin Pollak with guests Scott Aukerman, Janeane Garofalo, Dana Gould and moderator Kevin Smith; The Princess Bride Quote-Along party screening with special guest Cary Elwes;[26] RiffTrax presents Night of the Shorts V: A Good Day to Riff Hard with Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy & Bill Corbett and guest riffers Todd Barry, John Hodgman, Paul F. Tompkins, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney; 3 Still Standing, an SF documentary premiere with screening and performances by Will Durst, Johnny Steele and Larry “Bubbles” Brown; Shouting at The Screen with Wyatt Cenac and Donwill; The First (and Probably Last) Annual SF Sketchfest Feline Film & Video Festival For Humans; and Totally Looped with Maria Bamford, Joe Liss, Laraine Newman, Oscar Nunez, Rick Overton, Vince Waldron and Gary Anthony Williams.

Television events included An Afternoon with Animaniacs with Jess Harnell, Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille and Randy Rogel; Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Taking Over SF Sketchfest with Dave Willis and Dana Snyder; Dr. Katz Professional Therapist 20th Anniversary Show with Jonathan Katz, Tom Snyder, Jon Benjamin and guest patients Ron Funches, Pete Holmes, Morgan Murphy and Emo Philips; Futurama: Still Canceled with John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Lee Supercinski and Billy West; Silicon Valley: The Pied Piper Panel [27] with Thomas Middleditch, T.J. Miller, Kumail Nanjiani and Zach Woods, moderated by Matt Braunger; spotlights on Comedy Central’s Another Period with Natasha Leggero, Riki Lindhome, Paget Brewster, Jason Ritter, Armen Weitzman and Moshe Kasher and The Hotwives of Orlando with Tymberlee Hill, Angela Kinsey, Dannah Phirman, Andrea Savage, Kristen Schaal, Danielle Schneider and Casey Wilson; and The Venture Bros. with Paul Boocock, Michael Sinterniklaas, Dana Snyder and James Urbaniak.

Theatrical events included a Better Off Dead 30th Anniversary Live Read [28] with original actors Curtis Armstrong, Diane Franklin, Kim Darby and Amanda Wyss and guest understudies Jon Heder, Kevin Pollak, Paul F. Tompkins, Eddie Pepitone, Annie Savage, Paul Brittain, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney; Celebrity Autobiography with John Cho, Micky Dolenz, Janeane Garofalo, Debbie Harry, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Jennifer Tilly and Steven Weber; Julie Brown’s The Homecoming Queen’s Got A Musical; The Thrilling Adventure Hour with the Workjuice Players and guests Scott Adsit, Scott Aukerman, Melanie Lynskey, Mike Phirman, Jason Ritter and Adam Savage; The Groundlings: Charlotte’s Shorts with Jordan Black, Daniele Gaither, Michael Hitchcock, Laraine Newman, Mindy Sterling and Gary Anthony Williams; and The Sharpies: A Staged Reading of a new play by Eugene Pack with Debbie Harry, Dayle Reyfel, Jennifer Tilly and Steven Weber.

The fest featured many improvisational shows, including the yearly Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh and guests Lauren Lapkus, Dannah Phirman, Danielle Schneider and guest monologist Tony Hale; Theme Park Improv with Ian Brennan, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jessica Makinson, Oscar Nunez, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney and monologist Todd Glass; Zamata & Byer with Sasheer Zamata and Nicole Byer; The Improvised Shakespeare Company; Gravid Water with Scott Adsit, Tony Hale, Lauren Lapkus, Kevin Pollak and more; The Groundlings: The Black Version with Jordan Black, Daniele Gaither, Phil LaMarr, Karen Maruyama, Gary Anthony Williams and Cedric Yarbrough; The Groundlings: Personals with Stephnie Weir and more; The Writers of Key & Peele with Colton Dunn, Phil August Jackson, Charlie Sanders and Rich Talarico; Prompter; Speechless; and Shitty Jobs.

Sketch comedy at the fest included Good Neighbor with Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney, Nick Rutherford and Dave McCary; The Birthday Boys; BriTANicK; White Women; Killing My Lobster; Don’t Watch This Show Live!; Charles; Mission CTRL; and Chardonnay.

A bevy of music shows [29] appeared this year including Princess Plays Purple Rain: Maya Rudolph & Gretchen Lieberum in an evening of the music of Prince; w00tstock Founders’ Night with Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton, Paul and Storm, and guests John Roderick, Jason Finn and Rebecca Watson; Wheels Off with Rhett Miller and guests Michael Chabon, Paul F. Tompkins and John Vanderslice; Bring The Rock with Greg Behrendt and guests Garfunkel & Oates, Chris Hardwick, Natasha Leggero, Joe Sib and Brendon Small; Imaginary Radio with Drennon Davis; I Made You A Mix Tape with David Fickas, Brice Beckham, Eli Braden, Liam Kyle Sullivan, Kirk Zipfel and more.

Podcasts played a major part, with live recordings of My Brother, My Brother and Me with Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy; U Talkin’ U2 To Me? with Scott Aukerman and Adam Scott; NPR’s Ask Me Another with Ophira Eisenberg and Jonathan Coulton and guests Brad Bird, Alex Borstein and Dan Savage; StarTalk Live with Bill Nye and Eugene Mirman; Nerdist Podcast with Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira; Judge John Hodgman; The Harland Highway with Harland Williams and Sean Tweedly; Come to Papa with Tom Papa; Dead Authors with Paul F. Tompkins and guest Lauren Lapkus; The Dana Gould Hour; Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher and guests Jay Chandrasekhar, Emily Heller and Rory Scovel; improv4humans; Jonah Raydio; Jordan, Jesse, Go! with guests Maeve Higgins and Roman Mars; Pop My Culture; Roderick on the Line; Sex Nerd Sandra; The Smartest Man in the World with Greg Proops; Superego; The Todd Barry Podcast; The Todd Glass Show; Uhh Yeah Dude with Seth Romatelli and Jonathan Larroquette; Who Charted? with Kulap Vilaysack and Howard Kremer and guests Jason Ritter and Brett Morris; The World of Phil Hendrie; and You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes.

Variety and Stand-Up shows ran rampant with and Edinburgh Fringe International Spotlight with Wil Anderson, Dan Clark, Maeve Higgins, Matt Kirshen, Daniel Sloss and host Janeane Garofalo; Margaret Cho; Aparna Nancherla & Guy Branum: Diversity Quota: A Night of Comedy with an Indian Lady and a Gay Jew; Night Train with Wyatt Cenac; The Meltdown with Kumail Nanjiani and Jonah Ray; Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher; BAKED with Brendon Small and Steve Agee; Brent Weinbach: Appealing the Mainstream; Brian McCann’s Leisure Hour; Jenny Slate & Friends; Come Laugh With Us with Lance Bangs; An Evening with Emo Philips; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale; James Adomian & Friends; Jon Benjamin’s Night Of Not Wanting to Host This Show; Justin Willman with Marcus Monroe; Manboobs Family Showcase with Danny Tamberelli; Maria Bamford with Erin Foley and Ron Chapman; The Onion Past Bedtime; Set List; Smug Shift; The Business: Old Business/New Business; and Van Jam with Jamie Flam and Vanessa Ragland. The aforementioned shows include guest appearances by Emmett Montgomery, Natasha Leggero, Jon Daly, Pete Holmes, Ron Funches, Phoebe Robinson, Nato Green, Chris Garcia, Sean Keane, David Gborie, Derrik Brown, Morgan Murphy, Leo Allen, Max Silvestri, Janine Brito, Sean Donnelly, Todd Glass, T.J. Miller, April Richardson, Harland Williams, Maronzio Vance, Jonathan Katz, Mark Normand, Michelle Wolf, Tom Papa, Rory Scovel, Kevin McDonald, Eddie Pepitone, Arden Myrin, Dan St. Germain, Kaseem Bentley, Beth Stelling, Mike Lawrence, Tony Sam, Casey Ley, Kai Choyce, Caitlin Gill, Natasha Muse, Jules Posner, Anna Seregina, Bucky Sinister and more.

Debates, Game Shows and Interactive Events included The Great Debate — Ferris Bueller: American Hero or the Man Directly Responsible for the Downfall of our Once Great Land? with Matt Price and Ilyse Mimoun; Uptown Showdown: Are We Getting Dumber vs. Are We Getting Smarter with Maria Bamford, Dave Hill, Jared Logan, T.J. Miller, Aparna Nancherla, Greg Proops and moderator Joe Klocek; Point Break Live; Fancy Meeting You Here with Carl Arnheiter and Dave Hill; Stardumb! with Bil Dwyer and Erica Rhodes; Iron Comic with Nato Green and Moshe Kasher; and Cultivated Wit’s Comedy Hack Day Finals with host Baratunde Thurston and judges Scott Aukerman, Veronica Belmont and more.

Storytelling events included Bawdy Storytelling with Dixie de la Tour; Cheaper Than Therapy with Sarah Thyre and Louis Peitzman; Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction with Bryan Cook; Mortified; Porchlight with Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte; and RISK! with Kevin Allison.

Kids and families enjoyed The Groundlings Children’s Show! with Jerry Trainor, Regan Burns and more; and Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Comedians Do Storytime! with Mo Willems and guests. The fest also offered workshops from Kevin McDonald, Kevin Allison and Rob Paulsen.

Showcases for Emerging Stand-Up, Sketch, Solo and Improv performers included Abhay Nadkarni, Adam Pearlstein, Adrian McNair, Alex Falcone, Allison Mick, Amy Miller, Andie Main, Anita Drieseberg, Astrologically Incorrect with Liz Grant, The Avengers of Comedy, Aviva Siegel, Barbara Holm, Ben Kolina, Big Grande, Brendan Lynch, Bri Pruett, Brian Fange, Byron Stamps, Cameron Vannini, Cara Tramontano, Casey Ley, Chase & Stacey’s Joyride, Cheryl Anderson, Chinese Ballroom Improv, Clare O’Kane, Clyde McFly, Colin Mahan, Colleen Watson, The Comic Thread, Curtis Cook, Dale Radio, Dave Thomason, David Dineen-Porter, David Gborie, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Dinah Foley, DJ Faucet, DJ Real, DNA, The Don’t We Boys!, Duchess Riot, Dudes Being Dudes Being Dudes, Duke, Ed Galvez, Eloisa Bravo, Erik Krasner, Erin and Melissa Present: One Night Only!, Kai Choyce, The Flat Earth, Gabe Dinger, Gary Anderson, George Chen, Good Cop Great Cop, The Great Difficulties, The Grind, Hayden Greif-Neill, Hip.Bang!, Hot Thespian Action, Ify Nwadiwe, Imran G., Ivan Hernandez, James Hartnett, Janine Brito, Jason Downs, Jen Seaman, Jeremy Wheat, Jesse Elias, Jesse Hett, Jessica McKenna, Jessica Sele, JoAnne Schinderle, Joe Klocek, Joe Kwaczala, Joe Nguyen, Joey Devine, Johan Miranda, Johnny Taylor, Jon Allen, Jonathan Giles, Jonathan Rowell, Jordan Cohen, Josef Anolin, Joseph Scrimshaw, JR De Guzman, Jules Posner, Kaseem Bentley, Kate Willett, Katie Compa, Keith Lowell Jensen’s Session: A Jazz and Comedy Jam, Kelly Anneken, Kevin O’Shea, Kevin Whittinghill, Krista Fatka, Kristen Studard, Kyle Mizono, Lame and Fortune, Land Smith, Last Slice, Leela’s Armando Company, Living Impaired, Loren Kraut, Lydia Popovich, Marcia Belsky, Marlene Rodriguez, Marty Archibald, Mateen Stewart, Matt Gubser, Matt Lieb, Matt Morales, Matty Litwack, Megan Koester, The Mess, Mike Spiegelman, Misha Trubs, Nancy — Songs in the Key of Life, Natasha Muse, Nick Kaufman, Nico Santos, Nicole Calasich, Nile Seguin, Not Related, Ope, Paco Romane, Paige Weldon, The Paul Thomas Effort, Peet Guercio, Peter ‘n Chris, Rachel McDowell, Red Scott, Richard Sarvate, The Right Now Improv Trio, Rob Schultz, Ron Chapman, The Roughhouse, Ryan Schutt, Sad Vicious, Samantha Gilweit, Santina Muha: That Girl in the Wheelchair, Sarah Kenny, Scoot Herring, Scott Losse, Scott Simpson, Scott Vermiere, Shane Torres, Shanti Charan, Steve Ausberne, Steve Post, Steve Seabrook: Better Than You, Steven Wilber, Stroy Moyd, Stupid Time Machine, Thunderstood, T.J. Chambers, Tom Devenport, Tom Henry, Tony Sam, Torio Van Grol, Trevor Hill, The Understudies, Vagina Jones, Vanessa Gonzalez presents “I Don’t Know Words!”, Walker Glenn, Wendigo, Your F!#&ed Up Relationship and Zach Martina.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen was Sean Donnelly, Chris Garcia, Andy Haynes, Maeve Higgins, Randy Liedtke, Jared Logan, Mark Normand, Christina Pazsitzky, Eliza Skinner, Beth Stelling, Maronzio Vance and Michelle Wolf.

2016

The Fifteenth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 7–24, 2016)[30] was highlighted by seven different Tributes and Awards. They were: A Great Collaborators Tribute to Billy Crystal & Alan Zweibel, who appeared in conversation with Ron Bostwick; a Waiting For Guffman Sesquicentennial + 20 screening[31] with Bob Balaban, Christopher Guest, Parker Posey and Fred Willard, in conversation with Kevin Pollak; Sally Field in conversation with Michael Showalter and a screening of their new film Hello, My Name Is Doris; Actor and sometimes musician Jeff Goldblum in a night of music and conversation, joined by the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra; Longtime SF comic Patton Oswalt in conversation with Boots Riley; the beloved animated show Bob's Burgers was honored with Loren Bouchard, H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, John Roberts & Kristen Schaal, moderated by Tim Goodman; and the Comedy Writing Award went to Dave Barry, in conversation with Kevin Pollak.

Once again the festival featured a ton of film events. Alan Arkin returned with a 50th Anniversary screening of The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming; Hot Shots! celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a screening and Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft in conversation with Henry Mazza; Teen Witch received the Peaches Christ treatment with Robyn Lively, Josh Miller and Mandy Ingber in attendance; RiffTrax returned with Night of the Shorts VI with Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett and guest riffers John Hodgman, Adam Savage, Paul F. Tompkins, Bridget Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney; MST3K vets Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff returned for THE MADS ARE BACK! Live Movie Riffing; Hook had a 25th Anniversary screening with two of the Lost Boys, Dante Basco (Rufio) and James Madio (Don’t Ask), in conversation; Found Footage Festival meets Everything is Terrible!; and a Hey Monster, Hands Off My City screening with Michael Meehan, Johnny Steele and Reggie Steele.

Audiences binged a bunch of TV events at the fest. A Spotlight on Comedy Central’s Drunk History brought creator Derek Waters and friends Steve Berg, Eric Edelstein, Cameron Esposito, Ron Funches and Kyle Kinane for a late night at the Castro Theatre; John Lurie was joined by Parker Posey to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Fishing with John; The Kids in the Hall’s Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald and Scott Thompson came together for Three Outta Five Ain’t Bad; BoJack Horseman with Paul F. Tompkins, Lisa Hanawalt, Mike Hollingsworth and creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Moderated by Mara Wilson; Dr. Katz Professional Therapist Live with Jonathan Katz and guest patients Maria Bamford, Zach Galifianakis, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Kindler and The Sklar Brothers; Futurama: Nothing New To Report with John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom and Billy West, moderated by Lee Supercinski; Galavanting with Galavant with Timothy Omundson, Karen David, Mallory Jansen, Luke Youngblood and showrunners John Hoberg and Kat Likkel; It’s Adventure Time with John DiMaggio, Maria Bamford, Tom Kenny and Kent Osborne; Pete & Pete Forever: The Adventures of Pete and Pete Live with Michael C. Maronna, Danny Tamberelli, Toby Huss, Rick Gomez, Mark Mulcahy, and creators Chris Viscardi and Will McRobb; Sledge Hammer! 30th Hammerversary with stars David Rasche, Anne-Marie Martin and Harrison Page and creator Alan Spencer; and The Chris Gethard Show Presents: Chris Gethard versus Vacation Jason in a Literal Fight to the Death!

Theatrical and Debate events included Celebrity Autobiography with Pamela Adlon, Scott Adsit, Jon Heder, Ricki Lake, Laraine Newman, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel and Michael Urie; Noel Fielding in conversation with Bobcat Goldthwait; Dead Pilots Society with John Ross Bowie, John Hodgman, John Roderick, Joshua Malina, Busy Philipps and more; Workjuice Theater with Paget Brewster, Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Hal Lublin, Busy Philipps, Paul F. Tompkins and more; First Comes Love with Kyle Ayers; Mara Wilson’s What Are You Afraid Of? with guests John Ross Bowie, Sarah Thyre and more; Presidential Debate: The Write-In Candidates with James Adomian, Matt Besser, Paul Gilmartin, Mary Houlihan, Brian Huskey, Daniel Van Kirk and moderator Tom Shillue; The Great Debate: “Donald Trump vs. Don(ald) Draper – Who Will Destroy America?” with Matt Price and IIyse Mimoun; and Uptown Showdown Debate: The Internet vs. Real Life (IRL) with Maria Bamford, Matt Besser, Guy Branum, Janeane Garofalo, Moshe Kasher, Aparna Nancherla and emcee Beth Lisick.

Improv shows were prevalent once again, with Morzouksnick with Nick Kroll, Jason Mantzoukas and Seth Morris; Facebook Improv with Owen Burke, Jack McBrayer, Seth Morris and Charlie Sanders; Spontaneanation with Paul F. Tompkins, Craig Cackowski, Matt Gourley, Janet Varney and special guest Jon Hamm; Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Jon Gabrus, Mary Holland, Brian Huskey and guest monologists Sally Field and Michael Showalter; Theme Park Improv with Ian Brennan, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jessica Makinson, Oscar Nunez, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney with special guest monologist James Roday; The Improvised Shakespeare Company; Gravid Water with Barrett Foa, Michael McMillian, Ingrid Oliver, Maria Thayer and more; Who is Debbie Powell? with Eric Stonestreet, Dana Powell, Jessica Makinson and Michael Bunin; Each/Other with Scott Adsit and Tami Sagher; The Black Version with Jordan Black, Nyima Funk, Daniele Gaither, Karen Maruyama, Gary Anthony Williams and Cedric Yarbrough; The Groundlings: Crazy Uncle Joe Show and Personals, with Jordan Black, Stephanie Courtney, Roy Jenkins, Brian Palermo, Jim Rash, Colleen Smith, Gary Anthony Williams, Regan Burns, Jamie Denbo and Cole Stratton; BATS: Improvised Game of Thrones; Prompter with Matt Kirshen, Rick Overton and more; and Speechless with Caitlin Gill, Brian Huskey, Andy Kindler, Eliza Skinner and Cedric Yarbrough.

Sketch comedy was presented by Dead Kevin; Paul Brittain: Sex Ed Vincent; The Birthday Boys; BriTANicK; White Women; BOAT; Killing My Lobster; Mission CTRL; Chardonnay; Don't Watch This Show Live!; and Charles.

Music-themed shows included Princess: Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum in an Evening of the Music of Prince; Nerds and Music: A Night with Pat Rothfuss and Paul and Storm; Jonathan Coulton & Friends with Kate Micucci and Lachlan Patterson; Martin Starr and Common Rotation with Liam Kyle Sullivan; Wheels Off with Rhett Miller and guests Paul F. Tompkins, Michael Chabon and John Roderick; BAKED with Brendon Small and Steve Agee; Bring the Rock with Greg Behrendt and guests Dana Gould, Andy Kindler, and Kate Micucci; Imaginary Radio with Drennon Davis; The Undone Sweaters: A Weezer Cover Band with Jim Tews, Reid Faylor, Andrew Short and Danny Tamberelli plus Weezer-themed comedy from Jonah Ray and Jacob Sirof; and Night of Too Many Musical Comedians with Eli Braden, Drennon Davis, Dragon Boy Suede, Eliot Glazer: Haunting Renditions, Allie Goertz, Reformed Whores and DJ Real.

Stand-Up, Variety and Game Shows included Craig Robinson with Janine Brito; Brunches with Funches: Giggles & Nibbles with Ron Funches & Friends with Drennon Davis, Maggie Maye and Joe DeRosa; 2 Dope Queens with Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams and guests Greg Behrendt, Janeane Garofalo, Julian McCullough, Kyle Mizono and Aparna Nancherla; Jeff Garlin and Associates with guests Dan Mintz and Sarah Tiana; Alex Edelman: Millennial; Bluff You with Jimmy Pardo and guests John Ross Bowie, Carla Cackowski and Pat Francis; Baron Vaughn: The Saturdaze Tour; Chris Gethard: Career Suicide; Maria Bamford with Jackie Kashian; Bobcat Goldthwait with Caitlin Gill: The Just Friends Tour; Andy Kindler’s Particular Show; The Grawlix with Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl and Ben Roy; Little Esther Goes Through Your Stuff with Esther Povitsky and guests Tone Bell and Emily Heller; 7 Minutes in Purgatory with Ian Abramson; Billy Wayne Davis; Brandon Wardell; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman & Bobby Tisdale and guests James Adomian, H. Jon Benjamin, Jon Daly, Zach Galifianakis, Jeff Garlin, Dana Gould, Dan Mintz, and Aparna Nancherla; Seeso Presents: Big Jay Oakerson’s What’s Your F@%king Deal?! with guests Ardie Fuqua, Joe DeRosa, and Matt McCarthy; Joe Machi and Lachlan Patterson; Meet Me in the Bathroom and Tell Me All Your Secrets with Dave Hill; Mo Willems’ Writing For Kids for Grown Ups; Picture This! with Brandie Posey; The Ultimate Crowd Work Show: Todd Barry and Big Jay Oakerson and Friends; Iron Comic with Nato Green and Moshe Kasher; The Mission Position; Pound House Live; Put Your Hands Together with Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher; Cool Thanks with Janine Brito and Dave Thomason; Fresh Out with Emily Heller and Adam Conover; Jo Firestone’s Friends of Single People and Incredible Game Show Showcase; Set List with John Fugelsang, Phil Hendrie, Beth Stelling, Alice Wetterlund and more; RoastSF Presents: Comedy Roast of Broke Ass Stuart; Brent Weinbach Presents Spotlight on Andy Kaufman Award winner Brett Davis and finalists Jo Firestone and Ben Kronberg; Quiz-o-Tron with Rebecca Watson; and guest sets on various shows by Solomon Georgio, Alex Koll, Chris Thayer, Irene Tu, Joe Tobin, Jim Tews, Liza Treyger, Josh Androsky, Clare O’Kane, Tom Papa, Matt Lieb, Kate Willett, The Sklar Brothers, John Roberts, Jay Larson, Amy Miller, Anna Seregina, Bucky Sinister, Clay Newman, Matt Kirshen, Tom Shillue, Michelle Buteau, Seaton Smith, Guy Branum Baratunde Thurston, and Barry Rothbart.

Podcasts played an expanded role with live recordings of Stuff You Should Know with Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark; StarTalk Live with Bill Nye the Science Guy and Eugene Mirman and guests Dr. Jim Green, Maeve Higgins and Andy Weir; NPR’s Ask Me Another with Ophira Eisenberg and Jonathan Coulton and guests Phil Johnston, Steve Sansweet and Mo Willems; Come To Papa with Tom Papa; Comedy Nation with John Fugelsang and guests Frank Conniff, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Felicia Michaels, and more; Computer Show Live with Rob Baedeker, Roxana Altamirano, Tony Altamirano, Adam Lisagor and Beth Lisick; The CrabFeast Podcast with Jay Larson and Ryan Sickler and guests Aparna Nancherla and Erica Rhodes; Dale Radio; Dork Forest with Jackie Kashian; Harmontown with Dan Harmon and Jeff B. Davis; Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher and guests Chris Cubas, Sunshine Jones, Kliph Nesteroff, Phoebe Robinson, Ari Shaffir and more; Illogical Contraption; improv4humans with Matt Besser; Mi-Ray and the Highway with Jonah Ray and Matt Mira; Jordan, Jesse, Go!; Judge John Hodgman; The JV Club with Janet Varney and guests Chuck Bryant and Veronica Belmont and musical guest Matt Nathanson; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo, Matt Belknap, Pat Francis and special guest Jon Hamm; Pop My Culture Podcast with Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland and guest Fred Willard; Probably Science with Matt Kirshen and Andy Wood; Rock Solid with Pat Francis, Kyle Dodson, David Wild and special guest Sammy Hagar; Roderick on the Line with John Roderick and Merlin Mann; Ronna and Beverly; SF Barkast with Jeff Cleary and Andrew Lowder; Sklarbro Country with The Sklar Brothers and Daniel Van Kirk; Sup Doc with George Chen and Paco Romane; Superego; The Todd Barry Podcast; Uhh Yeah Dude with Jonathan Larroquette and Seth Romatelli; The Wahlberg Solution with Daniel Van Kirk; Walking the Room with Dave Anthony and Greg Behrendt and guest Dana Gould; We Got This with Mark Gagliardi and Hal Lublin; The World of Phil Hendrie; You’re the Expert with Chris Duffy and guest Kristen Schaal and more.

Kids Events included The Groundlings Children’s Show with Regan Burns, Stephanie Courtney, Beth Littleford, Brian Palermo, Colleen Smith, Janet Varney and Gary Anthony Williams and Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Comedians Do Storytime! with John Cho, Janeane Garofalo, Mary Holland, Brian Huskey, Jonathan Katz, Kate Micucci, Phoebe Robinson and Matt Walsh. Workshops were offered at the fest from Kevin McDonald, Kevin Allison, Craig Cackowski and Rob Paulsen.

The fest also took over the California Academy of Sciences for Nightlife, with comedy events happening all over the museum including riffing by Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff, Fake Ted Talks with Paul and Storm and Adam Savage, Probably Science with Andy Wood and Matt Kirshen, and Competitive Erotic SCIENCE Fan Fiction and stand-up with Bryan Cook and guests Kevin Allison, Josh Androsky, Dave Hill, Trevor Hill, Barbara Holm, Casey Ley, Jules Posner and Irene Tu.

Showcases for Emerging Stand-Up, Sketch, Improv, and Solo performers included 100% Stuff, 2 Hot Dogs, Kelly Anneken, Josef Anolin, Greg Asdourian, Steve Ausburne, Joey Avery, Clara Bajil, Barrio Daze, Big Grande, Big-T, The Blank Experience presents The Idiots, Mac Blake, Boarding Party, Bombardier, Eloisa Bravo, Farah Brook, Nicole Calasich, Cardinal Redbird, Ron Chapman, Shanti Charan, Chinese Ballroom, Saurin Choksi, Kai Choyce, Rob Christensen, Cobranauts, Katie Compa, Dale Radio, JR De Guzman, Tom Devenport, The Don’t We Boys!, Drama 3 / 4 Presents Cue to Cue, Anita Drieseberg, Brett Druck, Efficient Office Practices, Jesse Elias, Fairy Tale Theatre: 18 & Over, Falcon Powder, Krista Fatka, Ben Feldman, Danny Felts, Devin Field, Ash Fisher, Nate Follen, Brian Frange, Imran G, David Gborie, Samantha Gilweit, Walker Glenn, Good Morning Tonight, Chris Gorbos, Grant Gordon, Joe Gorman, The Great Difficulties, Hayden Greif-Neill, Nathan Habib, Hand to Mouth, Jane Harrison, Jesse Hett, Trevor Hill, Barbara Holm, Andrew Holmgren, Kollin Holtz, Mary Houlihan, Ike Night, Christopher John, Sean Jordan, Judith, Jumbo Mumbo, Sara June, Yuri Kagan, Ben Kolina, Erik Krasner, Loren Kraut, Joe Kwaczala, Dash Kwiatkowski, Candy Lawrence, LeMaire Lee, Casey Ley, Matt Lieb, Liss n’ Sams, Living Impaired, Grant Lyon, The Magic Negro and Other Blackness, Jesse McGrath, Jesus U. Bettawork, Andie Main, Sean McKenzie, Andrew Michaan, Allison Mick, Mike Breen, Amy Miller, Mime Com Show, Emmett Montgomery, Natasha Muse, Abhay Nadkarni, Naptime, Neel Nanda, Clay Newman, David Nguyen, Joe Nguyen, Katie Nguyen, Ify Nwadiwe, Lauren O’Brien, John F. O’Donnell, Onassis, Chad Opitz, OSFUG: The Fast Fuckin’ Sketch Show, Outside Dog Gets One Star, Shawn Pearlman, Adam Pearlstein, Dan Perlman, Drew Platt, Gabby Poccia, Lydia Popovich, Jules Posner, Stevie Post, Private Street, Puzzles, RoastSF, Rollin’ in Riches, Paco Romane, The Romane Event, John Ross, Ali Safar, Jason Saenz, Nick Sahoyah, Greg Santos, Richard Sarvate, JoAnn Schinderle, Ryan Schutt, Red Scott, Jessica Sele, Anna Seregina, Aviva Siegel, Scott Simpson, Bucky Sinister, Peggy Sinnott, Land Smith, Squirm and Germ, Ester Steinberg, Stevedore, Mateen Stewart, Brandon Stokes, Straitjacket Society, Streisand and Friends, The Tabernacle, Jeremy Talamantes, Talkies, Taste Better Wit, Dave Thomason, Geoff Tice, Joe Tobin, Richard Toomer, Zach Noe Towers, The Trumpet Boys, Vagina Jones, Emily Van Dyke, Jason Van Glass, Torio Van Grol, Vanessa Gonzalez presents “I Don’t Know Dating,” Cameron Vannini, Vice Principals of Comedy, Virginia’s Harem, We Did A Thing, Jason Webb, Cheryl White, Steven Wilber, Kate Willett, Austin Wolf-Sothern, The Worst and Ceda Xiong.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen was Tone Bell, Chris Cubas, Joe DeRosa, Maggie Maye, Matt McCarthy, Julian McCullough, Esther Povitsky, Erica Rhodes, Sarah Tiana, Liza Treyger, Alice Wetterlund and Joe Zimmerman.

2017

The Sixteenth Annual SF Sketchfest (Jan 12-29, 2017) honored six different acts with Tributes – Comedy Bang! Bang! with Scott Aukerman, Reggie Watts, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Neil Campbell, Dave Ferguson, Mike Hanford, and Tim Kalpakis, moderated by Phil LaMarr; Robert Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans were in conversation with a Hollywood Shuffle 30th Anniversary screening; Fred Willard was in conversation with friends and special guests Christopher Guest, Robert Klein, Laraine Newman and moderator Kevin Pollak; Aisha Tyler in conversation with John Hodgman; Tim and Eric with Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim in conversation with Tennessee Luke; Ricky Jay in conversation with Van Dyke Parks; and Tig Notaro, in conversation with Jen Kirkman.

Film events included a Salute to Peter Bogdanovich, in conversation with Jesse Hawthorn Ficks, with What's Up, Doc? 45th Anniversary and Noises Off 25th Anniversary screenings; The Kentucky Fried Movie 40th Anniversary screening and Q&A with John Landis, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, moderated by Marc Hershon; Grease 2 got the Peaches Christ treatment with special guest Maxwell Caulfield; True Stories 30th Anniversary screening with Stephen Tobolowsky and a special Tobolowsky Files performance; Kung Pow! Enter the Fist 15th Anniversary screening and conversation with Steve Oedekerk, moderated by Cole Stratton; the annual Benson Movie Interruption with Doug Benson and guests riffing Fifty Shades of Grey; Shouting at the Screen with Wyatt Cenac and Donwill; Everything is Terrible! The Live Experience and 2Evertyhing2Terrible: Tokyo Drift; and MST3k vets Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff in THE MADS ARE BACK!

Television events included a King of the Hill 20th Anniversary Reunion and Live Episode Read with Mike Judge, Pamela Adlon, Greg Daniels, Johnny Hardwick, David Herman, Toby Huss, Kathy Najimy, and Stephen Root; truTV presents Adam Ruins Panel Discussions: Inside Adam Ruins Everything with Adam Conover, Emily Axford, executive producer Jon Wolf, and moderator Eliza Skinner; Picture This: The BoJack Horseman Edition with Adam Conover, Emily Heller, April Richardson, Sasheer Zamata, BoJack creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg, BoJack animators Lisa Hanawalt, Mike Hollingsworth, Natasha Kline, Aaron Long, and host Brandie Posey; A Conversation with Daniel Handler: Inside A Series of Unfortunate Events; Dr. Katz Professional Therapist Live with Jonathan Katz, and guest patients Scott Aukerman, Moshe Kasher, Natasha Leggero, Tom Papa, and Kevin Pollak; Futurama: Why Are We Still Doing This? with David X. Cohen, John DiMaggio, David Herman, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Lee Supercinski, and Billy West; Outtake-o-Rama: Famous Celebrity Outtakes featuring the voice talents of Futurama; Dragon Ball Z Live VR Panel with Chris Rager, Monica Rial, Christopher Sabat, Sean Schemmel and Sonny Strait; and An Afternoon with The Venture Bros. with Jackson Publick, Michael Sinterniklaas, Dana Snyder, and James Urbaniak, moderated by Dana Gould.

Events celebrating improv comedy included the yearly Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Jon Gabrus, Jessica McKenna, and special guest monologist Nathan Fillion; Wild Horses with Stephanie Allynne, Mary Holland and Erin Whitehead and special guest Tig Notaro; Zamata and Byer with Sasheer Zamata and Nicole Byer; Theme Park Improv with Rachel Dratch, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jessica Makinson, Oscar Nunez, Cole Stratton, Janet Varney, and guest monologist Jon Hamm; Dr. God with guest Matthew Lillard; The Black Version with Jordan Black, Nyima Funk, Daniele Gaither, Phil LaMarr, Karen Maruyama, Gary Anthony Williams, and Cedric Yarbrough; The Improvised Shakespeare Company; The Groundlings: Teen Witch The Musical with Jordan Black, Stephanie Courtney, H Michael Croner, Nyima Funk, Tom Lenk, Artemis Pebdani, Amy Procacci, Nicole Sciacca, Colleen Smith and Mike Zara; The Groundlings: Crazy Uncle Joe Show and Personals, with Jordan Black, Regan Burns, Stephanie Courtney, Lyric Lewis, Brian Palermo, Annie Sertich, Phil LaMarr and more; Gravid Water with Suzi Barrett, Lucy Davis, Tom Lenk, Kevin Pollak, Stephen Ruddy, Maria Thayer and Matt Walsh; WorkJuice Players Improv with Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Marc Evan Jackson, Hal Lublin, Annie Savage, Paul F. Tompkins, Janet Varney, and guest monologist Jean Grae; BATS Improvised Game of Thrones; Prompter with Scott Adsit, Adam Conover, Matt Kirshen, Eliza Skinner and more; Speechless with Matt Braunger, Eddie Pepitone and more; and Shitty Jobs with Sean Clements, Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson and Ben Rodgers.

Sketch Comedy events included The Birthday Boys; Charles: Moby Alpha; Dead Kevin with Ahmed Bharoocha, Ryan O’Flanagan and Jack Robichaud; IFC Sketch Comedy Showcase with Blade Brown, Dawson’s Queef, Kasper Hauser, Naptime and The Templeton Philharmonic, hosted by Jamie Denbo and Seth Morris; Kasper Hauser in ZooDangle for Kidz!* *Not For Kids; Killing My Lobster; Matt Barats & John Reynolds; Mission CTRL and Trump Dump with Anthony Atamanuik and John Gemberling.

Several one-of-a-kind Theatrical events populated the festival, including a live performance from Rachel Bloom; The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy Live Staged Reading with Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson; Double Bill: Bill Irwin & Bill Frisell Perform Songs and Scenes from Vaudeville with guests Geoff Hoyle and Kenny Wollesen; Soundtracks Live: Scenes & Songs from a Classic 80s Movie: A Benefit for 826 Valencia with Matt Ballard, Michael Ian Black, Beth Dover, Joe Lo Truglio, Chelsea Peretti, Marisa Ryan, Michael Showalter, Bobby Tisdale, David Wain and music by Amy Miles; Audible presents Bedtime Stories for Cynics with guest host Natasha Leggero, featuring Aisling Bea, Emmy Blotnick, Tony Hale and more; Plan 9 From Outer Space Live Staged Reading with Scott Adsit, Bill Corbett, Jeff B. Davis, Dana Gould, Ron Lynch, Nate Mooney, Kevin Murphy, Arden Myrin, Paco Romane, Eban Schletter and Janet Varney; Kirsten Vangsness: MESS; Laraine Newman: The Audition; The Latino Comedy Project: Gentrif*cked; Celebrity Autobiography with Lucy Davis, Tony Hale, Wendie Malick, Laraine Newman, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Fred Willard, and Cedric Yarbrough; Fake TED Talks with Paul and Storm, Adam Savage, Chuck Bryant, Jonathan Coulton, Samm Levine and Kirsten Vangsness; Audible presents Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency Live with host Caitlin Gill and guests Michael Ian Black, Joel Kim Booster, Jonathan Coulton and Claudia O’Doherty; Reunited with Josh Androsky and Bryan Cook and guests Michael Hitchcock, Jessica Makinson, Gareth Reynolds and Heather Thomson; KISS and Tell with Wayne Federman, Pat Francis, Dave Holmes and Cole Stratton; and Turning Tricks – the magic of Eric Buss, Robert Strong and Christian Cagigal.

Music-based shows included the return of Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra;[32] Nancy & Beth with Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt; The Grawlix Yacht Rock Party with Mustache Harbor with special guests Chris Hardwick, Jessica Kirson, Mike Phirman, hosted by The Grawlix (Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl, and Ben Roy); Imaginary Radio with Drennon Davis; Jonathan Coulton and Paul and Storm with John Roderick; McQueen with DJ Real and JR De Guzman; Turnt Up with Eliza Skinner; and Wheels Off with Rhett Miller and guests Robert Mailer Anderson, Paul F. Tompkins and more.

Podcasts appeared up and down the fest lineup, with live recordings of The West Wing Weekly with Joshua Malina and Hrishikesh Hirway and special guest Bradley Whitford; StarTalk Live with Bill Nye the Science Guy and Eugene Mirman and guests Claudia O’Doherty and Ariel Waldman; Judge John Hodgman with musical guest Sara Watkins; Nerdist Podcast with Chris Hardwick, Matt Mira, and Jonah Ray and guest Nathan Fillion; I Seem Fun: The Diary of Jen Kirkman Podcast; The JV Club with Janet Varney and guests Rachel Dratch, Jon Hamm and musical guest Matt Nathanson; Stuff You Should Know with Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant; Crybabies with Susan Orlean and Sarah Thyre and guest Mary Roach; Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson; How To Be Amazing with Michael Ian Black and guest Grace Helbig; Harmontown with Dan Harmon and Jeff B. Davis; Spontaneanation with Paul F. Tompkins and guests Eugene Cordero, Tawny Newsome, Eban Schletter, Janet Varney, and Busy Philipps; Audible presents Hold On with Eugene Mirman with guests Marina Franklin, Busy Philipps, Andy Richter and Alice Wetterlund; Come To Papa with Tom Papa; Comedy Film Nerds; Doughboys with Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger; Guys We F@#ked: The Experience; Hello From the Magic Tavern; Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher; Illogical Contraption; improv4humans with Matt Besser ; International Waters with Dave Holmes; John Hodgman and Adam Savage: A Spin-A-Wheel Conversation; Jordan, Jesse, Go! with guest Travis McElroy; Kevin McDonald’s Kevin McDonald Show; Kill Tony with Tony Hinchcliffe and Brian Redban; Pop My Culture: The Final Episode with Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland and guests Paul F. Tompkins, Samm Levine, and Rhett Miller; Rock Solid with Pat Francis and special guest “Weird Al” Yankovic; Roderick on the Line with John Roderick and Merlin Mann; Ronna and Beverly with guests Arden Myrin and James Urbaniak; Skull Juice Podcast: “TRENT” Live with Dino Stamatopoulos, Scott Adsit, Dan Harmon, Brian McCann, and musical guest Britta Phillips; Superego; The Wahlberg Solution with Daniel Van Kirk; We Got This with Mark Gagliardi and Hal Lublin; and Who Charted? with Howard Kremer and Kulap Vilaysack.

Tons of Stand-Up and Variety shows populated the schedule, with Phoebe Robinson’s Sooo Many White Guys with guests Maeve Higgins, Andy Kindler, Carmen Lynch, and Dulcé Sloan; Womanhood Live with Aparna Nancherla and Jo Firestone; 7 Minutes in Purgatory with Ian Abramson; Andy Kindler’s Particular Show with guests Sean Cullen, Sasheer Zamata and more; Audible presents Fresh Voices of Stand-Up; The Guest List live TV tapings, presented by Seeso and Audible; Boast Rattle with Kyle Ayers; Chad Daniels; Crabapples with Bobcat Goldthwait and Caitlin Gill; Flula Borg; Friday Forty with Dave Holmes; I’m New Here — Can You Show Me Around? with Jon Ronson and Maeve Higgins with Roman Mars and more; International Spotlight: Aisling Bea and James Acaster, hosted by Josh Johnson; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman & Bobby Tisdale and musical guest Robyn Hitchcock; Jimmy O. Yang; Josie Long: Something Better; Neil Campbell & Mike Hanford; Night Train with Wyatt Cenac and DJ Donwill; Reductress Live with Nicole Calasich, Kai Choyce, Luna Malbroux, Irene Tu, Kate Willett and host Samantha Ruddy; RoastSF Comedy Roast of Pro-Wrestler Broseph Joe Brody; Set List; Sirof/Bentley 2024 with Jacob Sirof and Kaseem Bentley; Stella: The Classic Nightclub Show; Todd Barry: The Crowd Work Tour; Tomorrow! with Ron Lynch and guests Morgan Jay and Pam Severns; and Will Durst and Friends on Inauguration Day: What Now?. These variety shows featured guests sets from Joel Kim Booster, Dave Hill, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Seaton Smith, Brent Weinbach, Ahamed Weinberg, Alice Wetterlund, Marcella Arguello, KC Arora, Greg Behrendt, Emmy Blotnick, Byron Bowers, Adam Cayton-Holland, Chris Cubas, Joe DeVito, Mike Drucker, Shelby Fero, Ron Funches, David Gborie, Todd Glass, Calise Hawkins, Jesse Joyce, Myq Kaplan, Jackie Kashian, Jay Larson, Randy Liedtke, Carmen Lynch, Kyle Mizono, Mark Normand, Henry Phillips, Ramon Rivas, Giulia Rozzi, Derek Sheen, Ryan Singer, Brody Stevens, Jim Tews, Emma Willmann, Hampton Yount, Guy Branum, Josh Gondelman, Emily Heller, DC Pierson, Steve Agee, Wayne Federman, Josie Long, Aparna Nancherla, Natasha Muse, Nato Green, Matt Kirshen, Andrew Orolfo and more.

Storytelling, Game Shows, Debates and Interactive events included Brew HaHa: The Comedy Drinking Game Show; Iron Comic with Nato Green and Moshe Kasher; Quiz-o-Tron with Rebecca Watson and guests Bonnie Burton, Trace Dominguez, Ashley Paramore, Seth Shostak, Ariel Waldman and Justin Robert Young; Stardumb! with Bil Dwyer with Matthew Lillard, Eddie Pepitone, Erica Rhodes and more; Uncalled Four with Jake Browne with Matt Braunger and more; The Great Debate presents “Revenge of the Nerds: An Enlightening Morality Tale or a Terrifying Prophecy of the Collapse of Our Nation?” with Matt Price and Ilyse Mimoun; Uptown Showdown Debate: Childhood vs. Adulthood; Bawdy Storytelling with Dixie de la Tour; Mortified; Porchlight with Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte; and RISK! with Kevin Allison with Heklina and more. The fest also returned to the California Academy of Sciences for the annual Nightlife event, featuring The Grawlix, THE MADS ARE BACK! with Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff, Fake TED Talks, Strangerer Things Improv, Eureka!, This Week in Science, and more.

Kids events included Story Pirates with Scott Adsit, Sasheer Zamata and Mary Holland; and The Groundlings Children’s Show. Workshops were offered by Brian Palermo, Kevin McDonald, Kevin Allison and Carla and Craig Cackowski.

Showcases for Emerging Stand-Up, Sketch, Solo and Improv Performers included Aaron Naylor, Abhay Nadkarni, Adam Pearlstein, Adrian McNair, Ahamed Weinberg, Alex & Jude, Alfonso Portela, Ali Reingold, Allison Mick, Amy Miller, Andie Main, Andrew Holmgren, Andrew Johnston, Andrew Orolfo, Ash Fisher, Austin Wolf-Sothern, Arcade Currency, Aviva Siegel, Barrel Proof podcast, Bear Supply, Ben Feldman, Ben Kolina, Ben Harkins, Billy Anderson, Billy Bonnell, Blade Brown, Boarding Party, Bullen & Olson: Double Vision, Cameron Vannini, Carlie and Doni, Carnal Desire, The Carpet is Lava, Casey Ley, Chad Opitz, Chinese Ballroom, Crescendo, Chris Bryant, Christan Leonard, Christopher John, Clara Bijl, Clay Newman, Cobranauts, Courtney Karwal, Curtis Cook, Dash Kwiatkowski, Dash, David Heti, David Roth, Dawson’s Queef, Death Ray Astray, Deep Night with Dale Seever, Deira Bowie, The DK and Morgan Show, DNA, Dominique Gelin, Drew Harmon, Drew Platt; Duchess Riot, Eddie della Siepe, Efficient Office Practices, Emily Catalano, Emily Van Dyke, Emmett Montgomery, Eric Rubin, Eureka!, The Executives, Kai Choyce, Fickas & Beckham & Friends & Stuff, Francesca Fiorentini, Gabby Poccia, Geoff Tice, George Chen, Golden Girls of Comedy, Granny Cart Gangstas, The Great Difficulties, Greg Santos, Hanna Dickinson, Heyday, Hunks, The Idiot Chimney, Improv Lab, Imran G., Isaac Hirsch, J Names, Jacob Sirof, Jake Mattera, Jane Harrison, Jason Mack, Jeremiah Coughlan, Jesse Elias, Jesse Hett, Jessica Sele, JoAnn Schinderle, Joe Kwaczala, Josef Anolin, JR de Guzman, Jules Posner, Julie Ash, Kaseem Bentley, Kate Willett, Kazu Kusano, Kevin Yee, Krista Fatka, Kristee Ono, Kwasi Mensah, Kyle Clark, Ladies and Gentlemen, Land Smith, Lauren Davis, Learn From Me, Liss n’ Sams, Living Impaired, Liz Stone, Loren Kraut, Luxury Cruise Singles Mixer, Lydia Popovich, Man Haters, Marty Topps, Mary-Kate and Ashtray, Mateen Stewart, Matt Lieb, Matt Morales, Melissa Stephens, The Mess, Mikey Walz, Millennials Ruin Everything, The Mission Position, MooreDevine, Morgan, Morgan Jay, My (Musical) OK Cupid Date, Naptime, Natasha Muse, Nate Follen, Nathan Habib, Nicole Blaine, Nicole Calasich, Nina Manni, Opeyemi Olagbaju, OSFUG: The Fast Fucking Sketch Show; Outside Dog, Outta Towne, Paco Romane, Paige Weldon, Peach Pit, Peter n’ Chris, Phil Griffiths, Philip Schallberger, Picture Show, Prateek Srivastava, Rawdog, Ray Connolly, Rebecca Arthur, The Reckoning, Redford, Red Scott, Rhune Kincaid, Richard Sarvate, The Right Now, Riley Silverman, The Rub, Ryan Schumaker, S.H.I.T. Show Revival, Sam DiSalvo, Samantha Gilweit, Samson Koletkar, Sandra Risser, Sara Hennessey, Sara June, Sasquatch Comedy, Scott Vermeire, Sean Jordan, Sean McKenzie, Sentimental Lady, The Setup, Shades of Grey, Shane Copland, Shanti Charan, Spencer Latham, Straitjacket Society, Succotash Podcast, Sup Doc Podcast, Ta’vi, Talkies, The Templeton Philharmonic, TGIF’d Comedy, Tobin Mic Night, Tommy McNamara, Torio Van Grol, Trevor Hill, TV Guidance Counselor, Unstoppable Failure, Vanessa Gonzalez, Vince Caldera, The Worst, Yum!, Yusef Roach, Zach Martina and Zack Chapaloni.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen was Ahmed Bharoocha, Joel Kim Booster, Rhea Butcher, Marina Franklin, Solomon Georgio, Josh Gondelman, Tony Hinchcliffe, Sam Jay, Annie Lederman, Carmen Lynch, Hampton Yount and Jenny Zigrino.

2018

The Seventeenth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 11–28, 2018)[33] expanded to eight Tributes – Ricky Gervais, in conversation with Christopher Guest; Jane Lynch, in conversation with Ian Brennan, John Michael Higgins and Michael Hitchcock; Dick Cavett: 50th Anniversary of The Dick Cavett Show with Dick Cavett in conversation with guests John Hodgman, Dave Hill and Lance Bangs; Lewis Black, in conversation with Ed Wasserman plus a live recording of Audible’s The Rant is Due; Danny McBride & Jody Hill, in conversation and a screening of The Foot Fist Way; Paul F. Tompkins, in conversation with guests Ben Acker, Rhea Butcher, Matt Gourley, John Hodgman and Eban Schletter; A Twin Peaks Reunion with Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Chrysta Bell, Josh Fadem, Sherilyn Fenn, Harry Goaz, Michael Horse, Sheryl Lee, James Marshall, Kimmy Robertson and Ray Wise, moderated by James Roday; and Lady Dynamite, with Maria Bamford, Pam Brady, Mo Collins and Bruce Smith, moderated by Dana Gould.

Film Events included an Animal House 40th Anniversary screening and reunion with director John Landis, actors Tim Matheson, Bruce McGill, Mark Metcalf, Peter Riegert, Martha Smith and James Widdoes, producer Sean Daniel and costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis, moderated by Paul Myers; the annual Benson Movie Interruption with Doug Benson and guests riffing The Fate of the Furious; the cult-classic Jawbreaker brought Julie Benz and writer/director Darren Stein together with Peaches Christ; and Totally Looped returned with Vince Waldron, Laraine Newman, Maribeth Monroe, Gary Anthony Williams, Joe Liss, Rick Overton and Cole Stratton.

Many special Television events appeared at the fest, including a Spotlight on FX’s Better Things with Pamela Adlon, Diedrich Bader, Greg Cromer, Lucy Davis, Rebecca Metz, Alysia Reiner and Kevin Pollak; a Spotlight on Baskets with Louie Anderson, Zach Galifianakis, Martha Kelly and Jonathan Krisel, moderated by Chuck Bryant; Animaniacs 25th Anniversary Songs and Stories with Rob Paulsen, Randy Rogel and Maurice LaMarche; Audible Presents Dr. Katz: The Audio Files Jonathan Katz and guest patients Paul Feig, Kate Micucci, Scott Thompson, Baron Vaughn and Fred Willard; Comedy Central’s Corporate Retreat with Matt Ingebretson, Jake Weisman, Lance Reddick, Anne Dudek, Adam Lustick, Aparna Nancherla and Pat Bishop, moderated by Joel Kim Booster; Crashing Live with Pete Holmes, Jamie Lee and Steve Agee; Futurama Live from Omicron Persei 8 with David X. Cohen, John DiMaggio, David Herman, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Lee Supercinski and Billy West; Rocko’s Modern Life 25th Anniversary with Charlie Adler, Carlos Alazraqui, Tom Kenny and Doug Lawrence, hosted by Phil LaMarr; and a Spotlight on ABC’s Speechless with Minnie Driver, John Ross Bowie and Cedric Yarbrough.

Theatrical events included An Afternoon with Bill Burr, in conversation with Kevin Pollak; Rachel Bloom and Friends; Audible presents Stinker Lets Loose! with Jon Hamm, Busy Philipps, Paul F. Tompkins, John DiMaggio, Andy Richter, Janet Varney, Kevin Pollak, Steve Agee, Mark Gagliardi, Eric Martin, Justin Michael, Mark Rozzo and Mike Sacks; The Boy in the Plastic Bubble: A Very Special Staged Reading with Dana Gould, Scott Adsit, Deborah Baker, Jr., Maria Bamford, Ron Lynch, Nate Mooney, Steven Ogg, and Janet Varney; Celebrity Autobiography with Peter Asher, Barry Bostwick, Lucy Davis, Gina Gershon, Laraine Newman, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel and Fred Willard; Fake TED Talks with Jonathan Coulton, Jean Grae, Travis McElroy, Paul and Storm, Mike Phirman, and Kirsten Vangsness; Selected Shorts: Too Hot For Radio with David Cross, Jane Kaczmarek, Lance Reddick, David Strathairn and host Aparna Nancherla; Soundtracks Live: Scenes and Songs from a Classic 80s Movie with Fred Armisen, Matt Ballard, Owen Burke, Rachel Dratch, Thomas Lennon, Jack McBrayer, A.D. Miles, Paula Pell, Michael Showalter, Bobby Tisdale, David Wain and music by Amy Miles – A Benefit for 826 Valencia; and Worst First Chapter with Ben Acker, Jean Grae, Tony Hale, Travis McElroy, Paul and Storm and Kirsten Vangsness.

Sketch at the fest included Broken Lizard’s Super Troopers Live: Here and Meow with Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske; a reunion of Olde English with Caleb Bark, Adam Conover, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Ben Popik and Wave Segal; The Birthday Boys; Dead Kevin; Kasper Hauser; Killing My Lobster; White Women; Chardonnay; Don't Watch This Show Live!; Mission CTRL and Charles.

Events focused on Improv Comedy included Morzouksnick with Seth Morris, Jason Mantzoukas and Nick Kroll; Audible presents The Bat: Improv in the Dark with Scott Adsit, John Ross Bowie, Lucy Davis, Cole Stratton, Janet Varney and Gary Anthony Williams; The Black Version with Jordan Black, Nyima Funk, Daniele Gaither, Phil LaMarr, Gary Anthony Williams and Cedric Yarbrough; Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh and Jon Gabrus, Jessica McKenna, Horatio Sanz and guest monologist David Wain; Facebook Improv with Owen Burke, Chad Carter, Jack McBrayer, Seth Morris and Charlie Sanders; Theme Park Improv with Ian Brennan, Rachel Dratch, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Thomas Lennon, Jessica Makinson, Oscar Nunez, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney and guest monologist Paget Brewster; The Improvised Shakespeare Company; Playhouse Masterpieces with Neil Campbell and Paul Rust; Wild Horses with Stephanie Allynne, Mary Holland, Lauren Lapkus and Erin Whitehead and guest Lucy Davis; Spontaneanation with Paul F. Tompkins and guests Eugene Cordero, Tony Hale, Tawny Newsome, Eban Schletter and Janet Varney; Gravid Water with Paget Brewster and more; Workjuice Improv with Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Marc Evan Jackson, Hal Lublin, Busy Philipps, Annie Savage, Paul F. Tompkins and Janet Varney; The Groundlings: Cookin’ with GAS and The Crazy Uncle Joe Show with Jordan Black, Brian Palermo, Edi Patterson, Jim Rash, Jeremy Rowley, Lisa Shurga, Mindy Sterling and Gary Anthony Williams; Speechless SF with Scott Adsit, Mary Holland, and Maribeth Monroe; and UCB East vs. UCB West Harold Competition.

Music and comedy events included Epic Rap Battles of History Live with guest Drennon Davis; Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra; Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, and “Friends”; Kevin McDonald’s Cheaters In Love: A Rock Opera; The Music of Rushmore / The Music of the Royal Tenenbaums: Live Performances of the Soundtracks with Peter Asher, Tom Ayres, Allyson Baker, Andy Cabic, Marc Capelle, Toby Dammit, Bart Davenport, Karina Denike, Roy Loney & Cyril Jordan of Flamin’ Groovies, Ben Goldberg, Tom Griesser, Devin Hoff, Yuka C. Honda, Amber Lamprecht, Jon Langford, Scott Larson, Dina Maccabee, Helen Newby, Thao Nguyen, John Roderick, Todd Roper, Alisa Rose, Irene Sazer and Laura Weinbach; The Music of Twin Peaks with the Red Room Orchestra featuring guest appearances by Twin Peaks cast members; Skinner Box with Eliza Skinner; and Smells Like the 90s: A Night of 90s Music and Comedy with Undone Sweaters (Weezer cover-band) and Chris Garcia’s 1995 Forever.

Live recordings of popular Podcasts once again populated the lineup, including Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend; The Allusionist with Helen Zaltzman and Martin Austwick; Audible Presents Hold On with Eugene Mirman; Blue Woman Group with Aparna Nancherla and Jacqueline Novak; Craig’s List with Craig & Carla Cackowski; Defend Your Movie! with Sean Donnelly and Farah Brook and guest Ehren Kruger; Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson; Doughboys with Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger; Dumb People Town with The Sklar Brothers and Daniel Van Kirk; The Greatest Generation and Friendly Fire Podcast Super Show with Benjamin Ahr Harrison, Adam Pranica and John Roderick; Harmontown with Dan Harmon and Jeff B. Davis; Hopefully We Don’t Break Up with Giulia Rozzi and Will Miles; Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher; Illogical Contraption; improv4humans with Matt Besser; Inside the Closet with Matteo Lane and Emma Willmann; Jordan, Jesse, Go!; Judge John Hodgman; Movie Crush with Chuck Bryant; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo and Matt Belknap; Nostalgia Personified with Michael C. Maronna and Danny Tamberelli; Obsessed with Joseph Scrimshaw; Off Book: The Improvised Musical with Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino; Omnibus with Ken Jennings and John Roderick; One Bad Mother Theresa Thorn and Biz Ellis; Rock Solid with Pat Francis, Kyle Dodson and special guest Rick Springfield; Roderick on the Line with John Roderick and Merlin Mann; Shmanners with Travis McElroy and Theresa McElroy; Stuff You Should Know with Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant; Superego: Forgotten Classics; Talking Simpsons; The Wahlberg Solution with Daniel Van Kirk; Throwing Shade with Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi and guest Dan Savage; We Got This with Mark Gagliardi and Hal Lublin; We’re No Doctors with Steve Agee and Busy Philipps; Weird Adults with Esther Povitsky; The West Wing Weekly: Big Block of Cheese Day with Joshua Malina and Hrishikesh Hirway; Will You Accept This Rose? with Rob Benedict, Alex Bordyukov, Paget Brewster, Erin Foley, Steve Hytner and Arden Myrin; and With Special Guest Lauren Lapkus.

Stand-Up and Variety shows included and IFC Comedy Showcase featuring Fred Armisen and Friends with Marcus Coleman, Samantha Ruddy, Moses Storm, Jim Tews, and Kate Willett, Hosted by Irene Tu; Apres Le Deluge: The Buddy Cole Monologues with Scott Thompson; Asian AF with Will Choi; Audible Presents Fresh Voices and Audible’s Wish List with Marcella Arguello, JB Ball, Ngaio Bealum, Brett Erickson, Francesca Fiorentini, Julia Hladkowicz, Matt Lieb, Natasha Muse, Rick Overton, Bob Rubin, JoAnn Schinderle, Steph Tolev, Taylor Williamson, Mike E. Winfield and Nick Youssef; Best of Edinburgh: International Showcase with Aisling Bea, Maeve Higgins, Josie Long, Daniel Sloss, Phoebe Walsh and Seann Walsh; Butterboy with Aparna Nancherla and Maeve Higgins and guests Joel Kim Booster, David Cross, Jacqueline Novak and DJ Donwill; Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher; Clickhole Live; Cool Thanks with Janine Brito and Dave Thomason; Corinne Fisher and Krystyna Hutchinson present: The Bridget Bishop Tour; Facial Recognition Comedy: A Desi Woman Stand-up Show; The 420 Show with Matt Besser; Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman and Bobby Tisdale; Janeane Garofalo & Friends; Jessimae Peluso’s 7 Deadly Sins; Kiss My Ass… The Show with Josh Fadem and Johnny Pemberton; Little Esther Goes Through Your Stuff with Esther Povitsky; Liz Winstead and Laurie Kilmartin; The New Negroes with Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle with guests Felicia Folkes, Hoodo Hersi, Jak Knight and Will Miles; RoastSF: The Roast of a Drag Queen; Sara Schaefer: Little White Box; Sasheer Zamata Party Time!; Set List; Smug Shift with Moshe Kasher and Brent Weinbach; The Special without Brett Davis; Todd Barry 30th Anniversary Crowd Work Tour; When Puppets are Your Only Friends; Why Johan Miranda Should Be Deported; Will Durst & Friends: Trump One Year Later; and Witch Taint: The Black Metal Dialogues with Dave Hill and Phil Costello.

The variety shows above included guest sets by the following comics: Joel Kim Booster, Andres du Bouchet, Janine Brito, Michelle Buteau, Kevin Camia, Mo Collins, David Cross, Drennon Davis, Sean Donnelly, Naomi Ekperigin, Francesca Fiorentini, Chris Garcia, Solomon Georgio, Dana Gould, Dave Hill, Janelle James, Zainab Johnson, Matteo Lane, Alexandria Love, Ron Lynch, Luna Malbroux, Aparna Nancherla, Clay Newman, Jacqueline Novak, Kevin Pollak, April Richardson, Samantha Ruddy, The Sklar Brothers, Eliza Skinner, Moses Storm, Shane Torres, Irene Tu, Brooke Van Poppelen, Brent Weinbach, Emma Willmann and Sasheer Zamata.

Storytelling, Debates, Interactive and Game Shows included Audible Presents Hot Mic with Dan Savage and musical guest Rachel Lark; Bawdy Storytelling with Dixie De La Tour; Mortified; Porchlight with Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte and guest Mo Willems; RISK! with Kevin Allison; Brew HaHa: The Comedy Drinking Game Show; Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction with Bryan Cook; The Great Debate presents: We’re Friends Again! with Matt Price and Ilyse Mimoun; Playing Games with Jimmy Pardo; Quiz-o-tron with Rebecca Watson; Shit Arcade with Mike Drucker; Talk Show The Game Show with Guy Branum; Uptown Showdown Debate: Indoorsy vs. Outdoorsy with debaters Janelle James, Thomas Lennon, A.D. Miles, Aparna Nancherla and Paula Pell. The fest also returned for Nightlife at the California Academy of Sciences with a Stan Against Evil panel, Talking Simpsons, Thinkers and Drinkers, This Week in Science and stand-up sets in the atrium.

Kids and Family Shows included Audible Presents Story Party Live hosted by Mike Phirman with guests Busy Philipps and Kirsten Vangsness; The Groundlings Children’s Show; and Mo Willems & Friends: Don’t Let the Comedians Do Storytime! Workshops were offered with Kevin McDonald, Kevin Allison and Carla and Craig Cackowski.

Showcases for Emerging Stand-Up, Sketch, Solo and Improv Performers included Abhay Nadkarni, Adam Pearlstein, Adrian McNair, Ahmed Abdelrahman, Alex Rios, Allie Amrien, Allison Hooker, Allison Mick, Alyssa Westerlund, Andie Main, Andrew Orolfo, Anthony Veneziale, Arcade Currency, Arjun Banerjee, Arthur Gaus, Ashton Tate, Aviva Siegel, Azn Pop!, Back Alley Racket Club, Bad Example, Barbara Holm, Basement Party, Becky Braunstein, Ben Feldman, Ben Kolina, Bethany Van Delft, Bhama Roget, Billy Anderson, Blaire Postman, Blake Wexler, Blogologues, Boarding Party, BOC Podcast, The Bridge, Bret Raybould, Brooke Heinichen, Butt, Caitlin Peluffo, Chad Opitz, The Charm Offensive, Chesterfield, Chinese Ballroom, Chris Conatser, Chris Gordon, Chris Storin, The Color Collective, Cooper Van Grol, Dalia Malek, Dash Kwiatkowski, David Roth, Daytime Talk at Night, Death Ray Astray, Deep Night with Dale, DJ Real, DNA, Dominique Gelin, Dopetown 3000, Dr. America, The Dragons, Dragon Viper Cobra, Drew Harmon, Drew Platt, Dro Knows, Ed Hill, Eddie Della Siepe, Efficient Office Practices, Eman El-Husseini, Emily Catalano, Emily Van Dyke, Emily Winter, Emmett Montgomery, Endgames Sketch Company, Eric Rubin, Eureka!, Evan Eggers, Fashion Show at Lunch, Fear the Hypercube, Fitzroy, Fizaa Dosani, Fumi Abe, Gabrielle Poccia, Ginny Hogan, The Great Difficulties, Greg Santos, Gringos presents: El Chisme, Harris Alterman, Hayden Greif-Neill, Hot Raw Fire, I Think I’d Be Good At That, Ify Nwadiwe, Imran G., J.R. DeGuzman, Jackson Soup, Jake Mattera, Jane Harrison, Jennifer Jolly, Jesse Fernandez, Jesse Hett, Jessica Michelle Singleton, Jill Maragos, Joe Kwaczala, Joe Nguyen, Joe Tobin, Joey Avery, Jon Allen, Jordan Thewlis, Josef Anolin, John Novosad, Justin Hicks, The K-Lo Sketch Show, Karate Karate, Kenice Mobley, Kiran Deol, Krista Fatka, Kristee Ono, k3wlAZN420, Lauren Davis, Lewis Sequeira, Liam McEneany, Liss n’ Sams, Literary Pop, Liz Greenwood, Luxury Cruise Singles Mixer, Maddie Fernandez, Maniac Bowl, Marcus Coleman, Marcus Williams, Mark Smalls, Matt Gubser, Matt Hatifield: Perfectly Adequate, Matt Lieb, Matt O’Brien, Megan Simon, Merkyl and Derkyl Do Improv, Mikey Walz, Mission Improvable: Four Old Guys, The Mission Position, Mona and Shara Do Improv, Nameless Numberhead, Naptime, Natasha Muse, Nate Follen, Nathan Brannon, Nerd Rage: The Great Debates, The Next Big Thing, Nice Tan, Nicole Calasich, Nick Aragon, Night School, Odell & DeJong, Outside Dog, Paco Romane, Pallavi Gunalan, Patrick Hastie, Paul Schlesinger, Phil Griffiths, Picture Show, Platonic Monsters, Queen George, Ray Connolly, The Reckoning, Red Scott, Richard Sarvate, The Right Now, Ronn Vigh, Sam DiSalvo, Sam Ike, Samantha Gilweit, San Francisco Tonight, Sean McKenzie, The Set Up, Shanti Charan, Shain Brenden, Shannon Noll, Shelbi Evans, Sid Singh, Spooky Dookie, Squish Mitten, Steve Ausburne, Steve Vanderploeg, Super Serious Postmodern Dance Variety Hour, The Templeton Philharmonic, TGIF’d Comedy, Tiny Muscles, TJ Chambers, Torio Van Grol, The Truce, TSTMRKT, Valerie Vernale, We Did A Thing, Westside Sketch Co., Women & Men, Wonder Dave, Zahra Ali, Zoo Zoo and Zorba Jevon Hughes.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen were Marcella Arguello, Gina Brillon, Naomi Ekperigin, Josh Fadem, Josh Johnson, Jak Knight, Josie Long, Ryan O’Flanagan, Ramon Rivas II, Giulia Rozzi, Dulcé Sloan and Shane Torres.

2019

The Eighteenth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 10–27, 2019)[34] paid Tribute to seven different individuals, movies and TV Shows. Carol Burnett was joined by Wendie Malick for a conversation and clips of her illustrious career; Neil Patrick Harris was in conversation with Janet Varney; Margaret Cho was in conversation with Ben Fong-Torres; an original and frequent performer in the early days of the festival, W. Kamau Bell was in conversation with Hari Kondabolu; Best In Show brought together the bulk of the cast and creators for a giant 20th Anniversary reunion and screening, with Ed Begley, Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Christopher Guest, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, Michael McKean, Catherine O’Hara and producer Karen Murphy, moderated by Kevin Pollak; Julie Klausner was in conversation with Tom Scharpling; and the NBC show Superstore[35] was honored with America Ferrera, Ben Feldman, Mark McKinney, Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nichole Bloom, Nico Santos, Johnny Pemberton and creator Justin Spitzer appearing in conversation at a sold-out Castro Theater. The fest also saluted animator Bill Plympton, with an afternoon of films, live drawing and a Q&A.

Film events included Who’s Laughing Now: An Evening with Bruce Campbell and Evil Dead II; Office Space 20th Anniversary screening, conversation and Q&A with Mike Judge, Diedrich Bader, David Herman, Greg Pitts and Stephen Root; the annual Benson Movie Interruption with Doug Benson and friends riffing Fifty Shades Freed; a Local Hero screening and conversation with Peter Riegert; RiffTrax Day of the Shorts with Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, John Hodgman, Bridget Nelson, Mary Jo Pehl, Cole Stratton, John Hodgman, Paul F. Tompkins and Janet Varney; Four Kids, One Dumb Night: Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney & Scott Thompson in conversation with author Paul Myers plus a screening of Brain Candy, with a special appearance by The Guy in A Towel (Paul Bellini); Found Footage Festival vs. Everything Is Terrible!; The Mads Are Back with Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu; On Cinema Live with Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington; Riffer’s Delight: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with Kaseem Bentley, Nato Green, Natasha Muse and Baron Vaughn; and Totally Looped with Joe Liss, Jessica Makinson, Laraine Newman, Oscar Nunez, Rick Overton, Cole Stratton and Vince Waldron.

Television events included Schitt’s Creek: Up Close & Personal with Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Levy, Annie Murphy, Emily Hampshire and Noah Reid; Busy Tonight with Busy Philipps with Marc Evan Jackson and Gillian Jacobs; Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears IRL in the Bay Area with Bobby Moynihan, Eric Edelstein, Cameron Esposito, Daniel Chong, Lauren Sassen, Manny Hernandez and Mikey Heller; Crashing Live with Pete Holmes, Judd Apatow and Madeline Wise; Futurama Live: Mom’s Revenge! with David X. Cohen, John DiMaggio, David Herman, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Tress MacNeille, Lee Supercinski and Billy West; Outtake-o-rama: Infamous Celebrity Outtakes with the voice talents of Futurama; A Spotlight on I’m Sorry with Andrea Savage and Joey Slamon; and a Spotlight on Jon Glaser Loves Gear with Jon Glaser and John Hodgman.

A unique series of theatrical, interactive events was launched this year with SF Sketchfest at The Speakeasy: An Immersive Comedy Experience[36] with six different interactive nights. Main shows appeared on the cabaret mainstage and other performers roamed around the facility engaging patrons. The shows included Dana Gould and Bob Odenkirk, with Steve Agee, Blaine Capatch, Caitlin Gill and more; David Cross & Friends featuring Arden Myrin and Naomi Ekperigin; Improv All-Stars featuring Scott Adsit, Brian Huskey, Tami Sagher and Stephnie Weir and special guest Neil Patrick Harris; Janeane Garofalo with Jen Kirkman and Sabrina Jalees; and John Hodgman & Paul F. Tompkins with Steve Agee, Carla Cackowski, Craig Cackowski, John Dinerstein, Marc Evan Jackson, and Michael Ian Black with Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas. Roaming performers included Mike Drucker, Shawn Felipe, Emma Haney, Harry Moroz, Geneva Rust-Orta, Torio Van Grol, Drennon Davis, Mike Phirman, Paul Conyers, Chris Garcia, Tanael Joachim, Kazu Kusano, Nori Reed, Florentina Tanase, Meredith Axelrod, Natasha Kaluza, Dalia Malek, Natasha Muse, Nori Reed, Leah Rudick, JoAnn Schinderle, Kate Willett, Ruby Gill, Kazu Kusano and Alyssa Westerlund.

Other theatrical events included The Roast of Peaches Christ, in celebration of her 45th birthday with Clea DuVall, Heklina, Heather Matarazzo, Jinkx Monsoon, Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Sister Roma, Mink Stole, Roast Mistress Coco Peru and surprise guest John Waters; Audible presents The Pole Vault Championship of the Entire Universe with Bill Corbett, Lucy Davis, Kevin Murphy, Andy Richter, Eliza Skinner, Paul F. Tompkins, Janet Varney and “Weird Al” Yankovic; Celebrity Autobiography with Cristela Alonzo, Ed Begley, Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Michael Hitchcock, Michael McKean, Laraine Newman, Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel; Fake TED Talks with Jonathan Coulton, Jean Grae, Paul and Storm, Adam Savage and Rebecca Watson; Peaches Christ & Varla Jean Merman in THE WHINING: A drag parody of the Stephen King classic; Selected Shorts: Too Hot For Radio with Hope Davis, Neil Patrick Harris, John Cameron Mitchell and host Aparna Nancherla; Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist with Tom Lenk, Byron Lane, Jayne Entwistle, Mark Jude Sullivan and Tom Detrinis; Audible presents Bad Reception with Mary Holland, Lauren Lapkus, Eric Martin, Jessica McKenna, Justin Michael, Zach Reino and more; and Worst First Chapter with Ben Acker, Jonathan Coulton, Dana Gould, Jean Grae, Christopher Moore, Paul and Storm, Laser Malena-Webber and more (A Benefit for 826 Valencia).

Sketch Comedy at the fest included The Groundlings Mix Tape: Best of Sketch with Lauren Burns, Tony Cavalero, Michael Churven, H. Michael Croner, Chris Eckert, Andrew Leeds, and Deanna Oliver; The Birthday Boys; BriTANicK, with TSTMRKT; Chardonnay with Mission CTRL; Killing My Lobster: A Fray in the Bay; Don't Watch This Show Live!; Charles; and the return of year one sketch group Please Leave The Bronx , with The Great Difficulties.

Improv Comedy events included Audible presents The Hills of Baldwin featuring Wayne Brady with Jordan Black, Nyima Funk, Daniele Gaither, Phil LaMarr, Gary Anthony Williams, Cedric Yarbrough, and special guest monologist Sasheer Zamata and The Black Version (with the same cast); Morzouksnick with Nick Kroll, Jason Mantzoukas and Seth Morris; the annual Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Mary Holland, Lauren Lapkus, Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino and guest monologist Bobcat Goldthwait; The Bat: Improv in the Dark with Cole Stratton and Janet Varney and guest improvisers Scott Adsit, Danny Pudi, James Reichmuth and Gary Anthony Williams; Theme Park Improv with Simon Helberg, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jessica Makinson, Oscar Nunez, Cole Stratton, Janet Varney and monologist Tony Hale; Facebook Improv with Owen Burke, Chad Carter, Phil Jackson, Nick Kroll, Jason Mantzoukas, Seth Morris, Paul Scheer and Charlie Sanders; Wild Horses with Stephanie Allynne, Mary Holland, Lauren Lapkus and Erin Whitehead and guest Jennifer Coolidge; Impro Theatre: Twilight Zone Unscripted with Stephen Kearin, Jo McGinley, Dan O’Connor and Edi Patterson; The Gale: A Ferociously Queer Night of Improv with Brianna Baker, Michael Churven, Navaris Dawson, Chris Eckert, Jimmy Fowlie, Peter Kim, Jason Michael Snow and Pete Zias; The Groundlings: Cookin’ with GAS with Lauren Burns, Tony Cavalero, H. Michael Croner, Kevin Kirkpatrick, Andrew Leeds, Deanna Oliver and Gary Anthony Williams; The Improvised Shakespeare Company; Playhouse Masterpieces with Paul Rust and Neil Campbell; Speechless with Megan Koester, Ian Roberts, Eliza Skinner and guest judge Merrill Markoe; SpontTourCo with Paul F. Tompkins, Eugene Cordero, Tawny Newsome, Eban Schletter, Janet Varney and interview guest Julia Duffy; Super Married with John Ross Bowie and Jamie Denbo; THUNDERBULGE: LA’s Most Electrifying Comedy Male Revue; UCB East (Ice Cold Bev) vs. UCB West (PONY) Harold Competition; White Women presents: Your Token Friend; and Workjuice Improv with Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Hal Lublin, Marc Evan Jackson, Annie Savage, Paul F. Tompkins, Janet Varney and guest monologist Busy Philipps.

Music events included Puddles Pity Party; Wajatta: Reggie Watts & John Tejada with Galen & Solar from Sunset Sound System; Bring the Rock with Greg Behrendt and Electrik Snöfläke with guests Tom Lenk, Matt Nathanson and Cedric Yarbrough; Deep Night with Dale’s Vortex Variety Hour; Don’t Stop or We’ll Die and The Sloppy Boys; Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm and “Friends” with Jean Grae and John Roderick; Jon Daly Kills It with Shannon Shaw and Scott Thompson; Matteo Lane: Streisand at the Bon Soi; Mike Phirman; The Milk Carton Kids Sad Songs Comedy Hour with Andy Kindler, Gaby Moreno and Aparna Nancherla; The Red Room Orchestra play the music of “The Big Lebowski” with Carroll Ashby, Tom Ayres, Allyson Baker, Marc Capelle, Eli Crews, Toby Dammit, Bart Davenport, Karina Denike, Ben Goldberg, Tom Griesser, Jess Ivry, Amber Lambrecht, Scott Larson, Dina Maccabee, Todd Roper, John Schott, Kurt Stevenson, and special guests including Margaret Cho, Kevin McDonald, Eugene S. Robinson, Kelley Stoltz, Stephen Yerkey and more, hosted by “The Stranger” (James Adomian as Sam Elliott); The Red Room Orchestra play the music of “Twin Peaks” Vol. 2: A deeper dive into the musical world of David Lynch with special guests including Chrysta Bell, Margaret Cho, and James Marshall; Skinner Box with Eliza Skinner and Sam Johnides; Wheels Off with Rhett Miller with Dave Hill.

Live Recordings of popular Podcasts at the fest included The Allusionist with Helen Zaltzman; The Bechdel Cast with Jamie Loftus and Caitlin Durante; Bill Corbett’s Fun House with Bill Corbett; Bubble: An all-new episode of the sci-fi comedy podcast with Jordan Morris; Cool Playlist with Eliza Skinner; Couples Therapy with Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckerman; The Daily Zeitgeist; Dead Pilots Society with Ben Blacker; Don’t Say…with Paul and Dave with Dave Foley and Paul Greenberg; Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson; Doughboys with Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger; Dumb People Town with The Sklar Brothers and Daniel Van Kirk; The Greatest Generation with Benjamin Ahr Harrison and Adam Pranica; Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher; improv4humans with Matt Besser; The Indignities of Being a Woman with Merrill Markoe and Megan Koester; The Jackie and Laurie Show with Jackie Kashian and Laurie Kilmartin; Jordan, Jesse, Go!; Judge John Hodgman with musical guest Martin Luther McCoy; The JV Club with Janet Varney; The Kondabolu Brothers Podcast with Hari Kondabolu and Ashok Kondabolu; Lady to Lady with Barbara Gray, Brandie Posey and Tess Barker; Movie Crush with Chuck Bryant; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo and Matt Belknap; Next Big Thing with Courtney & Dara; Not Too Deep with Grace Helbig; Obscure with Michael Ian Black; Obsessed with Joseph Scrimshaw; Off Book: The Improvised Musical with Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino; Oh No, Ross and Carrie!; Omnibus with John Roderick and Ken Jennings; Pardon My Tangent with Janeane Garofalo and Arden Myrin; Probably Science with Matt Kirshen and Andy Wood; Queery with Cameron Esposito; Roderick on the Line with John Roderick and Merlin Mann; Sawbones with Justin McElroy & Sydnee McElroy; Stuff You Should Know with Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant; Sup Doc with George Chen and Paco Romane; Talking Simpsons; This Might Get Weird with Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart; Throwing Shade with Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi; Totally Hosted with Dave Hill; Traumatized with Erin and Jason; Voyage to the Stars with Steve Berg, Felicia Day, Colton Dunn,Tom Lenk, Kirsten Vangsness and Janet Varney; We Got This with Mark Gagliardi and Hal Lublin; Weird Laugh with Dannah Phirman; We’re No Doctors with Steve Agee and Busy Philipps; The West Wing Weekly with Joshua Malina and Hrishikesh Hirway; Will You Accept This Rose with Arden Myrin, Paget Brewster, Bryan Safi, Rob Benedict, Wills Reid, John Graham and Annaliese Puccini; and Yo, Is This Racist? with Alexander Ti and Tawny Newsome.

Stand-Up and Variety shows at the fest included Big Terrific with Jenny Slate, Gabe Liedman and Max Silvestri; Alex Edelman: Just For Us; The Art Critique Comedy Show; Asian AF with Keiko Agena, Alfred Aquino II, Joel Kim Booster, Will Choi, Sarah Claspell, Eugene Cordero, Gilbert Galon, Pallavi Gunalan, JR De Guzman, Andrew Orolfo, Zac Oyama, Dhruv Uday Singh, Andrew Ti, Irene Tu and Jenny Yang; Bad Asians with Imran G and David Nguyen; Best of Edinburgh International Spotlight Series with Jenny Bede, Clara Bijl, Alex Edelman, John Hastings, Matt Kirshen, Chris Turner and Seann Walsh; Best of Edinburgh International Spotlight Series: Gina Yashere, with Karinda Dobbins; Best of Edinburgh Spotlight Series: Natalie Palamides: Nate; Best of Sacramento with Ngaio Bealum and more; Brandon Wardell & Friends; Brent Weinbach with Max & Nicky: A Very Weinbach Opening Night; Brunches with Funches: Giggles & Nibbles with Ron Funches and Friends; Butterboy with Jo Firestone and Aparna Nancherla; Capitol PUNishment with Daniel Humbarger; Charla Lauriston: Live Album Taping; The Charm Offensive with Paco Romane, Krista Fatka and David Roth; CUCK: A Comedy Show (A benefit for Jason Saenz); The Daily Show Writers Stand-Up Show with Matt Koff, Joseph Opio and Kat Radley; Danny Franzese and the House of Glen Coco; Donde esta mi COMEDY? with Baruch Porras Hernandez; The Everything Report with Kevin Camia; Facial Recognition Comedy with Zahra Ali, Shanti Charan, Fizaa Dosani, Pallavi Gunalan, Jennifer Jolly, Neel Nanda and Priyanka Wali; Filipino AF; The 420 Show with Matt Besser; G.O.A.T.$ with Joseph Nguyen and Feel Woods; Harmon Leon Infiltrates Trump’s America; I Think I’d Be Good At That with Drew Harmon; Jak Knight and Zack Fox: Cancelled Comedy Tour; James Adomian and Jerks; Jamie Kennedy; Joel Kim Booster’s Joy F*ck Club; Lady to Lady and Ladyfriends with Tess Barker, Barbara Gray and Brandie Posey; Late Late Breakfast with Tyler Jackson and Danny Maupin; Liz Winstead and Laurie Kilmartin; Man Haters with Irene Tu; Manon Mathews Live; Martha Kelly and Mary Lynn Rajskub, hosted by Dewayne Perkins; The Mission Position; Natasha Leggero & Moshe Kasher: The Endless Honeymoon; Nico Santos; Real Live Comedians with Jason Mack; Reductress Presents Haha…WOW! with Reductress editors Taylor Garron and Eva Victor; Resistance is Fertile with Nicole Calasich, Stef Dag, Wanjiko Eke, Pallavi Gunalan, Brooke Heinichen, Geneva Rust-Orta, Emily Van Dyke, Valerie Vernale and Devon Walker; Rhea Butcher; Sasheer Zamata Party Time! with musical guest LEX the Lexicon Artist; Set List: Stand-Up Without a Net with Nate Craig, Caitlin Gill, Bobcat Goldthwait, Rick Overton, Kevin Pollak and Eliza Skinner; The Sklar Brothers with Daniel Van Kirk; Sudden Pirate: A Comedy Show Benefit for Mikey Walz; Talkies; Todd Barry: The Crowd Work Tour; Troubled Comedy with Moon Choe and Chris Conatser; Vintage Basement with Max & Nicky; Will Durst & Friends: Trump Year Three; and Stand-Up Spotlights and Threesomes featuring Jackie Kashian, Andy Kindler, Kevin Pollak, Guy Branum, Sean Cullen, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Charla Lauriston, Maggie Maye, Alex Koll, Amy Miller, Clare O’Kane and Alice Wetterlund.

Guest set performers on the above shows included Emily Catalano, Sean Cullen, Nore Davis, Kenny DeForest, Anthony Desamito, Karinda Dobbins, Donwill, Naomi Ekperigin, Alex Falcone, Francesca Fiorentini, Jena Friedman, Chris Garcia, Caitlin Gill, Marga Gomez, Nato Green, Hoodo Hersei, Sabrina Jalees, Sean Keane, Langston Kerman, Laurie Kilmartin, Hari Kondabolu, Joe Kwaczala, Keith Lowell Jensen, Casey Ley, Matt Lieb, Andrew Michaan, Natasha Muse, Zach Noe Towers, Jacqueline Novak, Atsuko Okatsuka, Chad Opitz, Andrew Orolfo, Eddie Pepitone, Nori Reed, Chris Sandiford, JoAnn Schinderle, Kiry Shabazz, Johnny Steele, Jesus Trejo, Irene Tu, Kevin Yee and Pete Zias.

Storytelling, Debates and Game shows included Greetings, From Queer Mountain with Micheal Foulk; Mortified; Porchlight with Beth Lisick & Arline Klatt; RISK! with Kevin Allison; The End of the World with Josh Clark, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Humanity; Brew HaHa: The Comedy Drinking Game Show; The Crossword Show with Zach Sherwin; Iron Comic with Moshe Kasher & Nato Green; Playing Games with Jimmy Pardo; Quiz-o-Tron with Rebecca Watson; Shit Arcade with Mike Drucker; and Uptown Showdown Debate: The Future vs The Past with Kevin Allison, Greg Behrendt, Michael Ian Black, Tom Lenk, Aparna Nancherla, Andrea Savage and emcee Kevin Whittinghill.

Kids and Family shows included Audible presents Gustafer Yellowgold LIVE featuring Morgan Taylor and special guest Mike Phirman; Story Pirates with special guest Dave Foley; and The Groundlings Children’s Show with Scott Adsit, Lauren Burns, H Michael Croner, Brian Palermo, Janet Varney, and Gary Anthony Williams. Workshops were offered from Reductress editors Taylor Garron and Eva Victor, Kevin Allison, Kevin McDonald, Brian Palermo and Carla and Craig Cackowski.

Emerging Stand-Up, Sketch, Solo and Improv Performers included Abhay, Adam Quesnell, Alex Price, Alexandria Love, Allison Mick, Alyssa Westerlund, Amy Estes, Andie Main, Andrew Holmgren, Andrew Orolfo, Andy Rider, Annick Adelle, Anthony K, Arjun Banerjee, Arthur Gaus, Aviva Siegel, Back Alley Racket Club, The Ballroom, Basement Party, Bear Supply, Becky Braunstein, Ben Harkins, Ben Kolina, Bethany Van Delft, Billy Anderson, Blair Socci, Brian Bahe, Brooke Heinichen, Bryan Babylon, Butch Escobar, Butt, Caitlin Peluffo, CAMDONyes, Caleb Lush, Cardinal Redbird is So LA, Carly Ballerini, Carter Anderson, Chad Opitz, Chase Brockett, Chelsea London Lloyd, Chris Conatser, Chris Estrada, Chris Gordon, Chris Sandiford, Chris Turner, Claptrap, Clay Newman, Clinton Ware, Cobranauts, Comedy Baseball, The Comic Thread, Conor Kellicut, Corina Lucas, Cory Robinson, The Crazy Str8s present: Focus Group Improv, Dalia Malek, Dammit Carol!, Dan Kapr, Dan Linley, Daniel Humbarger, Danielle Perez, Dauood Naimyar, David Nguyen, David Nihill, Day Job, Daytime Talk at Night, The Deadbeat Improv Party, Death Hammer, Devon Walker, DJ Real, Dominique Gellin, Donnie Sengstack, The Doubleclicks, Dro Knows, The Drunk Theater Company, Dylan Jenkins, Eddie Della Siepe, The El-Salomons (Jess Salomon and Eman El-Husseini), Eloisa Bravo, Emily Van Dyke, Emma Haney, ESC, Femmebot PhD, Florentina Tanase, The Fork! presented by Little Gem, Gabby Poccia, Gary Hughes, The Geek Show, Geneva Rust-Orta, The Get Brown, Grace Thomas, Granny Cart Gangstas, Grant Gordon, Hail to the Queen, Hanna Evensen, Hannah Einbinder, Hayden Greif-Neill, Hayley Benham-Archdeacon, Hope This Helps, Human Amusements, Ify Nwadiwe, Imran G, Irene Tu, J.A.D.E., Janesh Rahlan, Jazmyn W., Jennifer Dronsky, Jesse Hett, Jesus Trejo, Jesus U Bettawork, Joey Avery, Jordan Thewlis, JV presents #ThrowbackFriday, Jules Posner, Julia Shiplett, Julie Ash, Kazu Kusano, Kelly McCarron, Kevin O’Shea, Kid Cactus, Kids These Days, Krista Fatka, Lady Garden, Land Smith-Abbinante, The Laser Comedy Show, Leah Rudick, Liss n’ Sams, Living Impaired, Local Honey presents Real Honeys of SF, Luxury Cruise Singles Mixer, Lydia Popovich, Lynn Stein, Maria Wojciechowski, Mark Smalls, Matt LeGrande, Merrill Davis, Mike Lane: One of the Good Ones, Missed Connections, Molly Sanchez, Naptime, Nasser Khan, Nate Follen, Nice Tan, Nicole Conlan, Nick Sahoya, Nipsey, Normal Show, Opey, Paco Romane, Paige Weldon, Paul Conyers, Pedro Gonzalez, Please Leave the Bronx, Princess Party, “Queer and Now” from Martini Ranch, redDoor, Richard Sarvate, Ronn Vigh, Rosebud Baker, Ruby Gill, Ryan Sudhakaran, Salma Zaky, Samantha Gilweit, Sara DeForest, Sara June, Scott Vermeire, Sean, Secret Family, Shanti Charan, Somebody’s Baby, Spanish Aqui Presents, Spooky Dookie, Spunky Moms, Steve Ausburne, Stuart Thompson, “Swipe Right” from the Unscripted Theater Company, Sureni Weerasekera, Tanael Joachim, The Templeton Philharmonic, Torio Van Grol, The Trifecta, Troy Walker, Valerie Vernale, Very Famous, Wake Up Wyoming!, Walker Glenn, The Westside Sketch Co., Wendy Wroblewski, Whitney Chitwood, William Williams, Your Fucked Up Relationship and Zorba Jevon Hughes.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen was Emmy Blotnick, Nore Davis, Jo Firestone, Caitlin Gill, Zainab Johnson, Dwayne Kennedy, Langston Kerman, Matteo Lane, Jacqueline Novak, Max Silvestri, Kate Willett and Nick Youssef.

2020

The Nineteenth Annual SF Sketchfest (January 9–26, 2020)[37] was headlined by the Bay Area premiere of Freestyle Love Supreme, the Broadway smash of improvisational hip-hop comedy, created by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Veneziale, who did two sold-out shows with the surprise cast of Anthony “Two Touch” Veneziale, Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan, Aneesa Folds, Andrew “Jelly Donut” Bancroft and Wayne Brady. The festival also featured an unprecedented eleven Tributes, including Tony Shalhoub, in conversation with Kevin Pollak with a 20th Anniversary screening of Galaxy Quest; Busy Philipps, in conversation, moderated by Paul F. Tompkins; The Monkees, with Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz, moderated by Paul Myers; George Wallace, in conversation and whatnot with Patton Oswalt; Robert Klein, in conversation with Ben Fong-Torres; Molly Shannon, in conversation with Bruce McCulloch, with a 20th Anniversary Screening of Superstar; Kevin Nealon, in conversation with Marc Hershon; Brian Regan, in conversation with Todd Barry; Phoebe Robinson, in conversation with Favianna Rodriguez; and Crispin Glover, in conversation and performing his Big Slide Show, Part 1 plus a “What Is It” 15th Anniversary screening.

Film events at the festival included The Rocky Horror Picture Show 45th Anniversary screening with Barry Bostwick, Nell Campbell, and Patricia Quinn, hosted by Peaches Christ; It Started as a Joke Bay Area premiere screening with a special introduction by Jon Glaser and Bobcat Goldthwait; Airplane! 40th Anniversary screening with Julie Hagerty, Robert Hays and David Zucker, moderated by Kevin Murphy; Clue 35th Anniversary screening with Colleen Camp, Jonathan Lynn and Jane Wiedlin; Metropolitan 30th Anniversary and Barcelona 25th Anniversary screenings with Whit Stillman, Tushka Bergen, Chris Eigeman, Carolyn Farina, Taylor Nichols and Mira Sorvino, moderated by Jesse Hawthorne Ficks; The Journey of Natty Gann 35th Anniversary screening with Meredith Salenger and Ray Wise in conversation with Patton Oswalt; Just One of the Guys 35th Anniversary screening with Joyce Hyser and Sherilyn Fenn, in conversation with Beth Lisick; Re-Animator 35th Anniversary screening with Jeffrey Combs in conversation with Dana Gould; The annual Benson Movie Interruption with Doug Benson and friends live riffing Fast & Furious presents: Hobbs & Shaw; Found Footage Festival: After Dark; Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Road Show with Kevin Smith; Riffapalooza with MST3k alumni Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, Mary Jo Pehl and Jonah Ray; and Riffer’s Delight: Rambo: First Blood Part II with Curtis Cook, Nato Green and Natasha Muse. The fest also hosted a special post-festival event: Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour featuring Joel Hodgson.

Television events included the World Premiere of NETFLIX’s Medical Police, with Rob Huebel, Erinn Hayes, David Wain, Jonathan Stern and Krister Johnson; SpongeBob SquarePants 20th Anniversary panel, Live Read and episode screening with Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller, moderated by Busy Philipps; A Salute to The Chris Gethard Show, conversations & clips with Chris Gethard, Bethany Hall, Connor Ratliff, David Bluvband (The Human Fish), Riley Soloner (Vacation Jason), Phil Augusta Jackson and more, moderated by Owen Burke; Adult Swim’s Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell with Casper Kelly, Eddie Pepitone, Craig Rowin, Matthew Servito, Dana Snyder, Dave Willis and Henry Zebrowski; An Afternoon with The Venture Bros. with Hal Lublin, Mark Gagliardi, Jackson Publick, Michael Sinterniklaas and Dana Snyder; An Awkward Conversation with Tony Hale with a look at NETFLIX’s Archibald’s Next Big Thing; Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears Go to the Movies with Daniel Chong, Eric Edelstein, Mikey Heller, Bobby Moynihan, Kris Mukai, Charlyne Yi and Louie Zong; and Ernie Kovacs Centennial, with Wayne Federman, Dave Foley, Dana Gould and Josh Mills; Freeform’s Everything's Gonna Be Okay with Josh Thomas, Kayla Cromer, Maeve Press and Adam Faison; Futurama Gets Knocked Up a Notch with David X. Cohen, John DiMaggio, David Herman, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Lee Supercinski, Lauren Tom and Billy West; Outtake-O-Rama: Infamous Celebrity Outtakes with the voice cast of Futurama; and a Pinky and The Brain 25th Anniversary with Maurice LaMarche and Rob Paulsen, moderated by Cole Stratton.

Music and comedy shows were once again a big part of the festival, including a Fred Armisen Residency: Comedy for Guitar Players But Everyone is Welcome, with three nights of different collaborations with Brad Paisley, Bill Frisell and Vicki Peterson; Bill Frisell’s Harmony featuring Petra Haden, Hank Roberts and Luke Bergman; Jonah Ray: You Can’t Call me Al (with full band); Jonathan Coulton & Paul and Storm and “Friends” with Jean Grae and Molly Lewis; Eliot Glazer’s Haunting Renditions; Wheels Off with Rhett Miller and guests Ben Acker, Jean Grae and Dave Hill; Two Red Room Orchestra events—Play the Music of Boogie Nights and Play the Music of Wild at Heart and Twin Peaks 30th Anniversary, with Tom Ayres, Allyson Baker, Evan Capelle, Marc Capelle, Eli Crews, Toby Dammit, Bart Davenport, Karina Denike, Ben Goldberg, Tom Griesser, Scott Larson, Dina Maccabee, Bill Ortiz, Michael Urbano, Beth Vandervennet and special guests Margaret Cho, Beth Lisick, Chris Redd, John Roderick, Kristin Sobditch, Kelley Stoltz and Ray Wise; The Sloppy Boys; The Pun-Off: A Musical About Pun Competitions with Matthew Patrick Davis; and Chaki & DJ Real with Chad Opitz’s Nervous Energy.

Sketch Comedy events included The Valleyfolk with The Chris and Paul Show; Kasper Hauser’s 20th Anniversary Show, with Charles; The Apple Sisters with Kids These Days; Atlantic City with Nick Ciarelli, Brad Evans, Demi Adejuyigbe, Jamie Loftus, Atsuko Okatsuka, Natalie Palamides, Carl Tart and Lou Wilson; The Birthday Boys; BriTANicK & Friends with Alex Edelman and Natalie Palamides; The Groundlings Mix Tape: Best of Sketch with Josh Duvendeck, Chris Eckert, Patty Guggenheim, Kiel Kennedy, Deanna Oliver, Jess Pohley, Leonard Robinson, Jacob Russell-Snyder and Lisa Schurga; Killing My Lobster; Mission CTRL and Chardonnay; and TSTMRKT.

Improv Comedy events included the annual Upright Citizens Brigade ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Ronnie Adrian, Lauren Lapkus, Lennon Parham, Horatio Sanz, Jessica St. Clair and monologists Andy Daly and Deborah Ann Woll; NETFLIX’s Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show: Let’s Talk About Race, Baby!; The Black Version with Jordan Black, Wayne Brady, Nyima Funk, Carnell Harrell, Phil LaMarr, Karen Maruyama, Misty Monroe, Stacey Lamont Sydnor and Cedric Yarbrough; Chicago Reunion Improv with The Second City Alumni Scott Adsit, Rachel Dratch, Jon Glaser and Tami Sagher; Each/Other with Scott Adsit & Tami Sagher; Facebook Improv with Owen Burke, Chad Carter, Phil Augusta Jackson, Jason Mantzoukas, Seth Morris, Charlie Sanders and Paul Scheer; The Groundlings: Cookin’ With Gas with Josh Duvendeck, Chris Eckert, Ryan Gaul, Patty Guggenheim, Kiel Kennedy, Deanna Oliver, Jess Pohly, Leonard Robinson, Jacob Russell-Snyder and Lisa Schurga; Improvised Shakespeare Company with Joey Bland, Ross Bryant, Greg Hess, Thomas Middleditch and Blaine Swen; Naked Babies with John Ross Bowie, Rob Corddry, Brian Huskey and Seth Morris; Speechless with Naomi Ekperigin, Nato Green, Mary Jo Pehl, Eddie Pepitone and Eliza Skinner; Theme Park Improv with Rachel Dratch, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jessica Makinson, Oscar Nunez, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney and guest monologist Eric Edelstein; Trump vs. Bernie with Anthony Atamanuik and James Adomian, moderated by Nick Sahoyah; and White Women: Your Token Friend with special guest Colton Dunn.

Many Podcasts were recorded live at the festival, including Alchemy This with Kevin Pollak; Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend; The Art of Process with Aimee Mann and Ted Leo; The Bechdel Cast with Caitlin Durante and Jamie Loftus; Behind the Bastards; Can I Pet Your Dog? with Renee Colvert and Alexis Preston; Childish with Alison Rosen and Greg Fitzsimmons; Chris Gethard: Beautiful/Anonymous; Couple’s Therapy with Naomi Ekperigin and Andy Beckermann; The Daily Zeitgeist; Dave Hill: History Fluffer; Don’t Say S*@# with Dave Foley and Paul Greenberg; Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson and surprise guests Rob Corddry, Arden Myrin, Jonah Ray and Adam Savage; Doughboys with Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger; Dumb People Town with The Sklar Brothers and Daniel Van Kirk; Endless Honeymoon with Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher; Fitzdog Radio with Greg Fitzsimmons; Friendly Fire with John Roderick, Benjamin Ahr Harrison and Adam Pranica; The Greatest Generation with Benjamin Ahr Harrison and Adam Pranica; Hello From the Magic Tavern; Hey Riddle Riddle with Adal Rifai, Erin Kief and JPC; improv4humans with Matt Besser; James Bonding with Matt Gourley and Matt Mira; Jordan, Jesse, Go! with Jordan Morris and Jesse Thorn; Judge John Hodgman; Malt Couture; The Margaret Cho Podcast; Mortified; Movie Crush with Chuck Bryant; My First Time with Colleen Smith and Mary Jo Smith; Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo and Matt Belknap; Never Thought I’d Say This with Jodie Sweetin and Celia Behar; Night Attack; Nostalgia Personified: "All That" Edition with Danny Tamberelli and Lori Beth Denberg; Oh No, Ross and Carrie; The Patdown Podcast with Ms. Pat; Pier 69 with Joey Avery, Dauood Naimyar, Andrew Orolfo and Mark Smalls; Playing Games with Jimmy Pardo; The Record Store Day Podcast with Paul Myers; RISK! with Kevin Allison; Roderick on the Line with John Roderick and Merlin Mann; The Self-Helpess Podcast with Taylor Tomlinson, Delanie Fischer and Kelsey Cook; The Smartest Man in the World with Greg Proops; Stuff You Should Know with Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant; Superego with Jeremy Carter, Matt Gourley, Mark McConville and Paul F. Tompkins; Talking Simpsons with Henry Gilbert and Bob Mackey; The Three Questions with Andy Richter; Throwing Shade with Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi; Traumatized with Erin and Jason; Two Dykes & A Mic; The Unofficial Expert with Sydnee Washington and Marie Faustin; Voyage to the Stars with Steve Berg, Felicia Day, Colton Dunn, Kirsten Vangsness and Janet Varney; Why Won’t You Date Me? with Nicole Byer; Will You Accept This Rose? with Arden Myrin; Womp It UP with Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair; and Yeah, But Still with Brandon Wardell and Jack Wagner.

Theatrical and Storytelling events included a return to the theatre at the Speakeasy for an immersive comedy experience with The Thrilling Adventure Hour; Celebrity Autobiography with Scott Adsit, Micky Dolenz, Rachel Dratch, Richard Kind, Laraine Newman, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel and Sherri Shepherd; Fake TED Talks with Paul and Storm, Jonathan Coulton, Rhea Butcher, Matt Gourley, Myq Kaplan, Molly Lewis and Adam Savage; Kevin & Scott: The Reckoning with Kevin McDonald and Scott Thompson; Plan 9 From Outer Space: A Staged Reading with Paget Brewster, Jeffrey Combs, Bill Corbett, Dave Foley, Dana Gould, Tom Kenny, Kevin Murphy, Arden Myrin, Jonah Ray, Eban Schletter, Paul F. Tompkins and Janet Varney; The Internet Read Aloud with Josh Fruhlinger and Conor Lastowka, with guests Bill Corbett, Laser Malena-Webber and Natasha Muse; Greetings from Queen Mountain with Micheal Foulk; Porchlight with Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte; and Deep Night with Dale’s World of Gems with Dale Seever. The fest also did a series of spotlights on Edinburgh performers and shows, including the return of Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craiglist; Tiff Stevenson: Mother; Seann Walsh: After This One I’m Going Home; Jena Friedman: Miscarriage of Justice; Myq Kaplan: All Killing Aside; Tom Lenk is Trash; Jamie Loftus: Boss Whom is Girl; Police Cops in Badass Be Thy Name; and Norwegians of Comedy in Cülture Elitë.

Stand-Up and Variety shows at the fest were many, including a big opening night show with Maria Bamford and opener Nori Reed at The Castro Theater; Adam Cayton-Holland: Happy Place; Adam Conover Does an Hour of Stand-Up; Amazonians with Jackie Keliiaa and Dara M. Wilson; Asian AF with Kimee Jay Balmilero, Will Choi, Kim Cooper, Shilpa Das, JR De Guzman, Pallavi Gunalan, Ruman Kazi, Peter Kim, Jiavani Linayao, Sam O, Allyn Pintal, Nori Reed, Joy Regullano, Christopher Renfro, Saagar Shaikh, Rekha Shankar, South Asian AF, Erich Tamola, Jes Tom and Kathy Yamamoto; Beth Stelling with Salma Hindy and Bo Johnson; Bobcat Goldthwait & Charlyne Yi: A Night of Stand-Up; Brandon Wardell with Jamel Johnson; Brent Weinbach with DJ Real; Brooks Wheelan; Capitol PUNishment with Daniel Humbarger; The Charm Offensive with Krista Fatka, David Roth and Paco Romane; Chris Garcia & Friends; Chris Redd; City Vs. City: San Francisco vs. Los Angeles with Emily Russell; Dark Jeans with JoAnn Schinderle; Desi Comedy Fest with Asif Ali, Samson Koletkar, Abhay, Richard Sarvate, Raj Sivaraman, Kasha Patel and Isha Patnaik; Donde esta mi Comedy? with Baruch Porras Hernandez; Eddie Pepitone with Steve Furey; Everything’s Great with Demi Adejuyigbe, Nick Kocher and Addie Weyrich; Facial Recognition Comedy with Subhah Agarwal, Zahra Ali, Ayanna Dookie, Fizaa Dosani, Pallavi Gunalan, Mahesh Kotagi, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Zahra Noorbakhsh, Vik Pandya, Amamah Sardar, And Sureni Weerasekera; Filipino AF with Jed Alcantara, Alfred Aquino Ii, Kimee Jay Balmilero, Will Choi, JR De Guzman, Daryljim Diaz, Gilbert Galon, Tony Garbanzos, Jiavani Linayao, Rachel Marsh, Melanie Ann Padernal, Allyn Pintal, Joy Regullano, Christopher Renfro, Kevin Rivera, Erich Tamola And Vince Yap; The 420 Show with Matt Besser; I Think I’d Be Good at That with Drew Harmon; Interruption Show with Dalia Malek; Irish As Feck with Katie Boyle, Sean Finnerty, Mark Hayes, Dave Nihill and Ger Staunton; Jermaine Fowler with Kennelia Stradwick; Joel Kim Booster’s The Joy F*ck Club; Jon Glaser is Coming To Town; Josh Gondelman with Molly Ruben-Long; Lakeview: Crowd Working for the Weekend with Kaseem Bentley; Man Haters with Dominique Gellin and Nori Reed; Moshe Kasher: Crowd Surfing Vol. One Album Release Show; Queerdos: An LGBTQIA Showcase with Chey Bell and Max Eddy; Real Live Comedians with Jason Mack; Resistance is Fertile with Brooke Heinichen and Geneva Rust-Orta; Rhea Butcher with Brandon Ash-Mohammed, Set List: Stand-Up Without a Net with Troy Conrad; Some People Like Us with Kaseem Bentley and Casey Ley; Special Release: Andie Main and Torio Van Grol Album Release Show; Todd Barry: The Crowd Work Tour with Reggie Conquest; Troubled Comedy with Alexandria Love and Jim McVeigh; and Women Crush Wednesday (on Saturday) with Marcella Arguello and Lydia Popovich. Threesome shows included Chanel Ali, Reggie Conquest, Kiran Deol, Alex Edelman, Hannah Einbinder, Simon Gibson, Kevin Iso, Jessica Kirson, Erica Rhodes, Matty Ryan, Sara Schaefer, Jes Tom, Shane Torres, Irene Tu and Kate Willett.

Guest set performers for the aforementioned Variety shows included Steve Berg, Adam Cayton-Holland, Emily Catalano, Curtis Cook, Hanna Dickinson, Colton Dunn, Hannah Einbinder; Francesca Fiorentini, Chris Garcia, Caitlin Gill, Grey Griffin, Chloe Hilliard, Myq Kaplan, Alexandria Love, Cash Monet, Seth Morris, Wilfred Padua, MK Paulson, Eddie Pepitone, Greg Proops, Nori Reed, Chris Riggins, JoAnn Schinderle, Shalewa Sharpe, Eliza Skinner, Shane Torres, Daniel Van Kirk and more. The fest returned for Nightlife at the California Academy of Sciences with shows throughout the museum including Paul F. Tompkins Steals the Covers; Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu riffing in the planetarium; This Week in Science, Comedy Psychos and more.

Game Shows and Interactive Shows at the fest included Brew HaHa: The Comedy Drinking Game Show; The Crossword Show with Zach Sherwin; Game Night Variety Show with Joseph Scrimshaw and Laser Malena-Webber; Iron Comic with Moshe Kasher and Nato Green; Late Late Breakfast with Tyler Jackson and Danny Maupin; Let’s Go Atsuko: A (Woke) Japanese Game Show with Atsuko Okatsuka; Quiz-o-Tron with Rebecca Watson; and Shit Arcade with Mike Drucker.

Kids and Family shows included Story Pirates with special guest Patton Oswalt; and The Children’s Show with cast from The Groundlings and guests with Scott Adsit, Rachel Dratch, Oscar Nunez, Brian Palermo, Tami Sagher, Colleen Smith, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney. Workshops are the fest were offered by Kevin McDonald, Kevin Allison and Brian Palermo.

Emerging Stand-Up, Sketch, Improv and Solo performers included Adam Pearlstein, Alex Falcone, Alex Price, Alexandria Love, All Caps, Allison Hooker, Allison Mick, Alyssa Cowan, Alyssa Westerlund, Amy Bugg, Amy Estes, Amy Howerska, Andrea Coleman, Andrew Holmgren, Andrew Orolofo, Andy Iwancio, Annette Mullaney, Annick Adelle, Anthony Zuccaro, Arjun Banerjee, Armando Torres, Arthur Gaus, Austin Blaylock, Aviva Siegel, Baby Sheriff’s Comedy Game Show, Back Alley Racket Club, Bad Medicine, The Ballroom Improv, Basement Party, Batman: The Animated Podcast, Bear Supply, Becky Yamamoto, Ben Kolina, Ben Palmer: Hope This Helps, Bernadette Luckett, Bingewatch, Bo Johnson, Brian Blanco, Butch Escobar, Caboose, Caitlin Cook, Caitlin Reese, Caleb Lush, Carson Pinch, Chad Denick, Chad Opitz, Chey Bell, Chivalry Club, Chloe Hilliard, Chris Riggins, Clapback, Clara Bijl, Classic Diane, Clay Newman, Color Collective, Corey Rodrigues, Cornbread Kitchen, Cory Sklar, The Cosmonauts, Curtis Cook, Dalia Malek, Dara M. Wilson, Dauood Naimyar, Dave Nihill, David Rodriguez, David Roth, Daytime Talk At Night, Death Hammer, Diane, Dick Cannon Wins The Lottery, Django Gold, Donnie Sengstack, The Doubleclicks, Dragon Viper Cobra, Dro Knows, Drunk Theatre, Dylan Mckeever, Elena C. Hayden, Elephant Empire, Emily Van Dyke, Eric Rubin, Fatch, Flash Mob Musical, Florentina Tanase, The Foundation, Frankie Marcos, Friend Club, Gary Hughes, Geoff Plitt, Geulah Finman, Goldbaby, Gracie Caanan, Graham Kay, The Great Difficulties, Happy Medium Improv, Hayley Beacon, Haymaker, Herbeaver, Highwater, Hot Pot Comedy, Hunks, Hunter Duncan, Ian Levy, Jade Theriault, Jake Mattera, Jalisa Robinson, James Mwaura, Janice, Janine Hogan, Jay Shingle, Jeen Yee, Jeff Anaya, Jeff Dean, Jeff Zenisek, Jeneta St. Clair, Jesse Hett, JFLE, Jill Maragos, Joann Schinderle, Joey Avery, John Gallagher, John Hastings, Jon Raymond Fisher, Jordan Thewlis, Joseph Nguyen, Joshua Stokes, K. Cheng, Kai Choyce, Kate Robards, Kevin O’shea, Kirsten Kuppender, Kristal Adams, Kurt Weitzmann, Kwasi Mensah, Ky Krebs, La Spazzatura, Lady Garden, Leiroy Abueg, Lemaire Lee, Leroy, Linda Aarons, Living Impaired, Liz Stone, Luisa Isbell, Luxury Cruise Singles Mixer, Mandal, Marcus Williams, Mark Smalls, Marv N’ Berry, Mary Jane French, The Matriarchy, Matt Curry, Matt Lieb, Max Eddy, Meghana Indurti, Melissa McGillicuddy, Michael Good, Micheal Foulk, Mikey Walz, Missed Connections, Mission Baby, Mk Paulson, Molly Brenner, Molly Lewis, Molly Ruben-Long, Money Ha Ha, Moon Goon, Murahd Shawki, Natasha Vinik, Nate Spears, Nerd Rage: The Great Debates, Nick Sahoyah, Nick Taravella, Obama’s Other Daughters, Odell & Dejong, Paco Romane, Paul Conyers, Pedro Gonzalez, Pete Ballmer, Phil Griffiths, Physically Bold, Queen George, The Recchia, Recroom Improv, Red Scott, Ronn Vigh, Running With Glitter, Ryan Goodcase, Ryan Schumaker, Salma Hindy, Sam Evans, Samantha Gilweit, Sara+Sofia, The Satan Sisters, Schmab, Scott Seiss, Secret Family, Serendipity, Shanti Charan, Sharon Birzer, Solange Castro, Spec Script, Squad Patrol, Sureni Weerasekera, Ta’vi, Tamer Kattan, That’s What She Said, Too Many Asians!, Valerie Vernale, Vicious Cycle, Vik Pandya, Vince Caldera, Westside Sketch Co., Wilfred Padua, Will Burkart, Winslow, The Worst Reviews By Brown Bear, Y’all We Asian, and You’re The Man Now, Dog.

The SF Sketchfest Dozen was Byron Bowers, Kelsey Cook, Jena Friedman, Vanessa Gonzalez, Phil Hanley, Dina Hashem, Yassir Lester, Atsuko Okatsuka, Samantha Ruddy, Tom Thakkar, Whitmer Thomas and Ahamed Weinberg.

References

1. Peter Hartlaub, " SF Sketchfest - now it's all over town", "San Francisco Chronicle", January 20, 2013
2. Michael Ordona, ", "Amy Poehler talks of Upright Citizens Brigade", "San Francisco Chronicle", January 8, 2012
3. Laura Hertzfeld, ", "Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and 'Wet Hot' friends reunite for stage show", "Entertainment Weekly", January 23, 2012
4. Aidin Vaziri, ", "Reggie Watts talks about his comedy", "San Francisco Chronicle", January 29, 2012
5. Benjy Eisen, ", "Death Cab's Ben Gibbard Provides 'Emo Relief' at Comedy Festival", "Rolling Stone", January 22, 2012
6. Chris Trenchard, ", "'The Whitest Kids U'Know Invade SF Sketchfest", "7x7 Magazine", January 24, 2012
7. Kimberly Chun, " "'Rockridge Rat' Moshe Kasher at SF Sketchfest", "San Francisco Chronicle", January 19, 2012
8. Roman Gokhman, ", "Interview: Portlandia's Carrie Brownstein dissects the show's characters", "The Bay Bridged.com", January 24, 2013
9. Brian Janosch, ", "SF Sketchfest: Pete & Pete 20th Anniversary Show", "Vulture.com", January 27, 2013
10. Hillary Busis, "Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, and rest of 'Party Down' cast reunite at SF Sketchfest -- Exclusive", "Entertainment Weekly", February 11, 2013
11. Roman Gokhman, "Billy West brings Futurama Live to SF Sketchfest", "San Francisco Examiner", January 23, 2013
12. Cheryl Eddy, "Triumph of the Wiener Dog", "San Francisco Bay Guardian", January 29, 2013
13. Robin Hardwick, ", "Watching The State's Revival of 'Sex a.k.a. Weiners and Boobs' at San Francisco Sketchfest", "Splitsider.com", February 12, 2013
14. Dakin Hardwick, ", "10 Quick Questions: an Interview with Garfunkel & Oates", "Spinningplatters.com", February 4, 2013
15. Ryan Prendiville, "Harmon's Way", "San Francisco Bay Guardian", January 22, 2013
16. Corey Andrew, ", "RISK! at Sketchfest in SF", "NBCBayarea.com", February 3, 2013 Archived February 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
17. Peter Hartlaub, ", "Greg Proops looks forward to Sketchfest", "San Francisco Chronicle", January 20, 2013
18. Gordon Elgart, ", "SF Sketchfest Review: The Tobolowsky Files at Yoshi's SF", "Spinningplatters.com", January 27, 2013
19. Dino Ray Ramos, ", "Awesome Lineup Announced for the 13th Annual SF Sketchfest", "7x7", December 10, 2013
20. Dave Pehling, ", "Phallusy: Tenacious D's Jack Black and Kyle Gass on Van Halen and Theater Sized Dick Jokes", "SF Weekly", January 22, 2014
21. Stacy Scales, ", "SF Sketchfest Review: Napoleon Dynamite 10th Anniversary with Jon Heder on 1/23/2014", "Spinning Platters", January 25, 2014
22. Sherilyn Connelly, ", "The Lost Spoof: Top Secret! Endures 30 Years as a Misunderstood Classic", "SF Weekly", February 5, 2014
23. Laura Hertzfeld, ", "Bored to Death Cast Reunites at SF Sketchfest -- Photos", "Entertainment Weekly", February 3, 2014
24. Dave Pehling, ", "Music at SF Sketchfest: A Handy Guide", "SF Weekly", January 22, 2014
25. Brock Keeling, ", "7 Reasons Why You Should Go to SF Sketchfest", "7x7", January 7, 2015
26. Roman Gockham, ", "(As You) Wish Fulfillment: Cary Elwes to join fans at Princess Bride screening at SF Sketchfest " "The Bay Bridged", January 28, 2015
27. Eric Johnson, ", "Silicon Valley Cast Learns Where Silicon Valley is", "Vox", February 1, 2015
28. EW Staff, ", "'Better Off Dead' Comes Alive at Cast Reunion: EW Exclusive Photos", "Entertainment Weekly", February 10, 2015
29. Anna Gazdowicz, ", "SF Sketchfest 2015 offers music as well as comedy", "The Bay Bridged", December 19, 2014
30. William Hughes, ", "2016 SF Sketchfest lineup is kinda bananas", "AV Club", November 20, 2015
31. EW Staff, ", "2016 SF Sketchfest lineup is kinda bananas", "Entertainment Weekly", January 11, 2016
32. Quentin Quick, ", "Jeff Goldblum, jazz pianist, plays SF Sketchfest", "San Francisco Examiner", January 11, 2017
33. Zach Ruskin, ", "2018 Sketchfest bring Ricky Gervais, Jane Lynch, Danny McBride and more", "SF Weekly", November 20, 2017
34. Peter Hartlaub, ", "SF Sketchfest returns with Carol Burnett, cast of ‘Best in Show’ and more", "SF Chronicle", January 2, 2019
35. Mike DeWald, ", "REVIEW: SF Sketchfest brings Cloud 9 to SF’s Castro with tribute to ‘Superstore", "Riff Magazine", December 22, 2018
36. Alyssa Pereira, ", "SF Sketchfest is bringing David Cross, Michael Ian Black, others to the Speakeasy for immersive show", "SF Gate", December 22, 2018
37. Rachel Singh, ", "San Francisco Sketchfest Announces Initial 2020 Lineup", "Paste Magazine", November 22, 2019

External links

• SF Sketchfest official website