Matt Besser
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Matt Besser was born on September 22, 1967, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is probably best known for his work on the Comedy Central sketch comedy show, Upright Citizens Brigade. The Upright Citizens Brigade, which started out as a Chicago sketch and improv comedy group in 1991, earned a cult following from the start.
In 1997, the Upright Citizens Brigade relocated to New York City. It was here where they produced their three seasons of Upright Citizens Brigade on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2001. The cast consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, and was originally directed by Del Close. Although highly influential, the show could be considered just too far ahead of its time.
Since then Matt Besser, along with the rest of the UCB crew, has moved on to other projects. He was the creator of the MTV hidden camera show, Stung, and created and starred in his second Comedy Central show, Crossballs, mocking news debate shows by pitting fake experts against real people. He has also appeared in films such as Martin & Orloff (written by UCB cohorts Roberts and Walsh) and Junebug, in addition to a number of sitcoms. In 2005 the UCB improvised a movie together, Wild Girls Gone, and performed their signature brand of longform improv (ASSSSCAT) in a special on Bravo.
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres are located in Chelsea, Manhattan and Los Angeles, California. Besser performs several times a week at the Los Angeles theater.
[edit] External links
- Matt Besser at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Matt Besser Site
- Official Upright Citizens Brigade Website
- The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
- Matt Besser Myspace site
- Salon article on Matt Besser's prank call CD
- Matt Besser in the Chicago Improviser Directory
- Audio Interview on The Sound of Young America: MP3 Link
- Audio Interview on Liberadio(!): MP3 Link
- March 2007 interview in The Coming
