New York's Finest

Four New York sketch comedy groups take their acts to Toronto's festival this week

By Cristina Merrill / Jester correspondent

Four of New York’s finest sketch comedy troupes are crossing the border to perform in the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (Nov. 2-7). Jester offers brief sketches of the intrepid groups: 

FUCT

The Fordham Underground Comedy Troupe, popularly known as FUCT, originated in 2002 in New York City’s own Fordham University. Since then, the group has been performing consistently throughout the city. Mike Skipper, a Tony Award winning producer, once said, “What I like about FUCT is that it's a brand new genre of comedy--it's something that has never been done before.” FUCT may seem like it is only about raunchy humor, which it does perform, but it also has a knack for the silly. One example is “The Pee-Pee Dance,” in which troupe members wait for a bathroom by dancing around to music from The Nutcracker.

Stone Cold Fox 

Toronto will be lucky to get a taste of Stone Cold Fox, a Maude team from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre [Maude is the UCB’s name for its sketch comedy troupe showcase nights]. Stone Cold Fox mines a range of topics for their humor, such as capitalism and philosophy. In a slumber party skit, three members play Truth or Dare, asking each other questions like “Are people inherently good?” and “Is there such a thing as objective reality?” Another Stone Cold Fox sketch features member D’Arcy Carden getting a “finger boner” whenever a guy catches her eye. The guy in one of the skits is hardly impressed. “Oh come on, you’re just such a good guy,” she tells him.

Ninja Sex Party

Award-winning funnymen Dan Avidan (“Danny Sexbang”) and Brian Wecht (Ninja Brian) will bring their ninja-prowess to the good people of Toronto. Their humor is centered on being cool, virile, tough ninjas who do things like change the course of European history. Wecht spends much of the time with his face covered by his ninja mask, while Avidan chooses to leave little to the imagination by wearing strategic costumes. The musical comedy duo hails from the UCB Theatre and has performed around New York. They have several musical videos and skits posted on YouTube, such as “The Sacred Chalice” and “The Decision.”    

The Upset Triangle

The goofy men of The Upset Triangle will go international this week when they go to Toronto. They broke into the hearts of New Yorkers after getting their start in Jersey City. “They must be the only sunshine that ever splashes on Jersey City,” said Kevin Pereira of Attack of the Show, which featured a piece from the group’s web episode, “The Bear, The Cloud, and God.” They also have a mock travel show called “Lost Cities,” in which they explore cities that no one seems to know anything about, such as their native Jersey City. They have not abandoned their Jersey City roots and continue to perform there.