High-Status Characters: How The Upright Citizens Brigade Stormed A City, Started A Scene, And Changed Comedy Forever

by Brian Raftery

Oral history of the Upright Citizens Brigade.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Theatre, History, Comedy, Memoir

Nook

First published June 7, 2013

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really quick read (like 1.5 hours) and kind of an interesting look at the origins of some of my favorite comedians. And not just the 4 founders; at least 3/4 of the people interviewed are people whose work I enjoy from various podcasts and other comedy nerdery. Anytime you talk about comedy it's a little "you had to be there"--unlike Live From New York, very few of us have seen the works referenced. So it suffers a little for that, but it's still worthwhile.

[Justin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book about the history and philosophy of the Upright Citizens Brigade. It's told through a collection of interviews with the main four members as well as dozens of comedians and actors who have called the UCB Theatre their home.

[waytoobook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good little read about improv and the history of the UCB. I learned a lot, but I think this needs another pass through with editing. The typos/grammatical issues really took me out of it each time I’d read one

[Jaime Soria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB) from its beginnings on 6th St in New York, through current day, now with thousands of students on both coasts enrolled in their classes. The story is told via interviews with the four founders - Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Amy Poehler, and Matt Besser, along with interviews with countless writers, performers, and directors, who frequented the stages of UCB. The interviews are broken down into quotes or small paragraphs, which makes the book feel disjointed, and difficult to read. I also gave up about two chapters in, and stopped googling every name I didn't recognize. That got tiresome, and I stopped caring who people were or what they've been in. There is a directory in the back of the book, that I probably would have flipped back to frequently, had I been reading a physical copy, but I didn't discover it until after I finished the book on my kindle. I enjoyed the stories about some of their wilder shows, and my opinion of Chevy Chase has been further ingrained, from previous stories I have heard and/or read. So far I have only taken improv classes at other schools, but I will probably try a UCB class in the future, I like that they greet everyone with open arms, and they are completing accepting of anyone who would like to join in the fun!

[Nick Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great first-person stories from the founders and other members of UCB. Not a lot about how the classes worked in the years after the founders were running everything, but great stories about early classes, performances, and sketch/improv groups. As a beginning improv student, I was glad to read about how my comedic heroes had their ups and downs and bad days and times when they were so far away from the impressive talents they are now.

[Andrew Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

High-Status Characters is a brief (137 pages) but surprisingly in-depth oral history of the Upright Citizens Brigade, the comedy troupe that took over New York City in the late 90s. Raftery interviewed many of today’s top names in comedy for this ebook-only release, including Amy Poehler, Conan O’Brien, Ed Helms, Seth Meyers, Andy Richter, and Aziz Ansari. For comedy fans, the book is a steal at $1.99. Seriously, you might be arrested.

[Tommy Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, once again, reads like the SNL or ESPN book. It is a short book. I liked how the book focused on the avant gardeness of UCB approach to live shows and sketches. Really strange stuff. You also are surprised at the amount of people that are in comedy now that were members of UCB. It ended badly. Could have ended better. That is why it is 4 stars. If you are into comedy you will like this book.

[Denny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for improvisers and comedy fans

A fascinating oral history of the UCB that also contains some real gems of advice that will be useful info or great reinforcement for improvisers. It's amazing to see the list of well-known actors, comedians, and writers who got their start at the UCB. A funny read, and a useful lesson in trying crazy things and not worrying about potential failure.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read, with an interesting "inside baseball" approach to the UCB. As someone who has admired from afar, some of the content went over my head. But I always enjoy learning how people in different industries approach their craft, and this oral history serves the purpose.

[Ben Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at a world i'd love to have known but sadly was several thousand miles away for. Shame the UCB series for Comedy Central is a bit skipped over but more than enough other good stories make up for it.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great read for fans of comedy and improv, I liked that this book mostly allowed the performers to tell the stories instead 1of relying too heavily on narration. Great stories from Amy Poehler, Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, etc. etc.

[Shaun Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the UCB and the people associated with it then you will love this book. I breezed through it.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read. Individual recounts about the improv world.

[Kellog Mcpussy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly fun and interesting. Next, Keith Johnstone.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and fun read. Turns out that everyone you think is funny went through UCB. More 3.5 than 4 but well worth it for how cheap it is on Amazon.