COMEDY MONTH, The Philadelphia Comedy Festival
The Philadelphia comedy community is proud to announce the first annual PHILLY SKETCHFEST, a collaborative festival featuring the best comedic sketch acts in Philadelphia, was a success!! PHILLY SKETCHFEST is the brainchild of Animosity Pierre manager Ben Maher and Pierre members Matt Lally and Dave Terruso. As active members of the Philadelphia sketch scene, these comedians have experienced the growth of comedy in the city firsthand. "There are dozens of talented sketch performers in Philadelphia and their fan base is growing," said Terruso. "The festival brought them together like never before, and gave audiences the opportunity to see the great comedic talent this city has to offer." PHILLY SKETCHFEST made a donation of $2183.00 to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Thank you to everyone who came out to the festival and sponsored us in the walk!
The groundbreaking first PHILLY SKETCHFEST ran June 6 – 7, 2008, at the Painted Bride Arts Center at 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia.
The sketch groups that performed in PHILLY SKETCHFEST have been entertaining Philadelphia audiences for years.
PHILLY SKETCHFEST marked the first time eight of these premier sketch groups will perform on the same stage. Each sketch group brought its own style to the festival, creating a collaboration certain to keep audiences on their toes. Utilizing live music, multimedia, and a roster of ridiculous yet relatable characters, the groups turned a spotlight on the absurdity of life.
PHILLY SKETCHFEST PRODUCERS
Jessica Ciaramella- A freelance theatre practitioner, Jessica has worked as a director, choreographer, vocal director, and stage manager for numerous productions throughout the
Matt Lally- Matt is a founding member of ANIMOSITY PIERRE, Matt is responsible for creating most of the group's signs and handmade props (a bomb made of duct tape, for instance). He is also the director and editor of the group's video skits and short films, and draws all the pictures for their "animations". ANIMOSITY PIERRE's shorts earned them the third place prize in the 2007 Project Breakout Comedy Competition. Their pilot for their animated series The Inventionors was a finalist in the 2007 XBox Live Originals Contest , and was screened at the New York Television Festival.
Ben Maher: A comedy veteran of well over a decade, Ben has managed COBB's Comedy Club in San Francisco, and HELIUM Comedy Club in Philadelphia. He now has his own talent management company, SUNSET ENTERTAINMENT, and his clients include Roger Weaver and PSF performers ANIMOSITY PIERRE & CHIP CHANTRY. He is supported in PHILLY SKETCHFEST and life in general by his beautiful wife Julie, awesome son David and precious new daughter Eliza.
Dave Terruso: A founding member of ANIMOSITY PIERRE, Dave pens most of the group's skits and plays Pierre himself onstage. In addition to his work with Pierre, Dave is also a novelist and screenwriter who was a finalist in the 2006 Set In Philadelphia Screenplay Contest. He is currently working on a novel called Cube Sleuth.
