With bad chemistry and personality conflicts, it’s not uncommon for an improv comedy troupe to fold soon after it starts. Add to that the challenge of finding places to perform and keeping a crowd coming week after week and it’s an even more daunting task. That’s why the 10th anniversary of The Sacramento Comedy Spot’s flagship show Anti-Cooperation League is kind of a big deal.

A fixture of the MARRS building on 20th and J, The Comedy Spot’s 90-seat theater has been home to comedy shows and classes ranging from improv, to sketch, to stand-up since 2005. They have the longest running weekly comedy open mic in Sacramento, and have brought in performers ranging from the beautifully awful Neil Hamburger to legendary Kevin McDonald of The Kids in the Hall. However, the improv classes and shows that consistently have proven to be the biggest draw, and none are bigger than Anti-Cooperation League.

Every Saturday at 9 p.m., Comedy Spot founder and head honcho Brian Crall leads a team of gifted comedians in what likens to “Saturday Night Live without a script.” Each show features a guest who’s interviewed on stage about interesting things that have happened in their life. After the interview, the troupe takes over and performs sketches based on what they’ve learned. With no plans in advance, an earlier discussed story can pan out exactly as told or some fringe element of the tale can become the focus. It can get pretty wild, which is the inspiration for the troupe’s slogan, “Welcome to Crazytown!”

I first met Crall and the ACL crew back in 2012 when I was invited to be a featured guest to talk about my website, retroCRUSH. I didn’t know a damn thing about the show, and they got me talking about my thoughts of superheroes having sex, dirty nursery rhymes and breakfast cereal. After the interview on stage, the crew of improv actors turned out an array of sketches loosely and directly based on the discussion, and it was hilarious. One member acted out the complexities of Mr. Fantastic stretching his fingers to become multiple copies of his wife to have sex with. It’s an image that haunts and amuses me to this very day.

So what does the name Anti-Cooperation League even mean?

“When you’re naming an improv group, you want it to sound cool,” said Crall. “Groups that have puns for their name, or they’re too cutesy are … I don’t know. I had a group called The Improv-a-maniacs and I regret that. I wanted to punch myself in the face afterward. We wanted to have a cool sounding name that sounded edgier or anti-establishment, so we ran around trying to find names, and Aaron Cheesman, who was a local guy in different comedy groups, came up with it. I didn’t know what it meant, but it was perfect.”

ACL has roots going back to a group founded in 2001 called The Free Hooch Comedy Troupe, a sketch comedy group that did short form, game-based improv and performed regularly at “shitty bars,” according to Crall. Those venues included The Stony Inn on Del Paso Heights, where the troupe experienced challenges with a noisy koi pond, and the lobby of a hotel on a hooker-populated stretch of Auburn Boulevard. Soon they opened the first Comedy Spot location on Broadway, before moving to their current home at 1050 20th Street in 2009.

Chris Emery is a five-year veteran of ACL and a triple threat at The Comedy Spot, performing in improv, sketch and stand-up comedy shows.

“I really enjoy getting to know the local people, the different professions and celebrities,” explained Emery. “And we get to learn a lot about the city.

“One of our guests had talked about how their mother had holiday traditions from another country that were different, so we did a scene where someone took their date home for the holidays,” said Emery of one of his favorite onstage recollections. “We kept piling on with all of our weird traditions, like incantations, and I was a crow that they weren’t allowed to look at or they’d get their eyes poked out. We had a guy, Brian Reid, who went to the WWE training center to be a pro wrestler and he had a lot of stories about what that was like. He was on the news for leg pressing the most weight. Anything can happen on that stage. I’ve got into many kissing scenes with Brian [Crall]. At least a baker’s dozen, but it’s always consensual!”

With few exceptions, most cast members from ACL are plucked from a Comedy Spot development program that involves taking classes and being chosen to join a Harold team.

“Harold is the industry standard for longform improv,” explained Crall. “Every theater like ours across the country usually has a Harold team. So we have Harold teams, then you perform on 8 p.m. shows, then you graduate to ACL. It can take a couple of years, but everyone’s learned the same method, and everyone’s on board with how we construct these scenes. And I want to be clear, I want you to mention to DJ Sandhu [Sacramento stand-up comedian] that we don’t have pre-planned bits. A lot of times when you watch short form improv, there’s devices that you know are going to work every time because you play the same games every time.”

Justine Lopez joined the cast of ACL in 2016 after serving as an intern at The Comedy Spot, and honing her skills in improv classes and the Harold Team.

“I was online searching for theater internships so I could get my foot in the door,” recalled Lopez. “The funny thing is that they denied me the first time. I tried one more time and a spot opened up and that’s how I got in. Before that, we had started a theater troupe in summer 2014 and put on free shows at bookstores and the schools. We were practicing in backyards and parking lots. Then The Comedy Spot happened and I was full-time from then on.”

Lopez also writes sketch comedy for the weekly 9 p.m. Friday show called The Friday Show, which mixes stand-up, sketch and improv. She stresses that the thrill of performing improv in ACL is unique and unlike sketch where you can reuse bits that work.

“We never return to these scenes, so they just come out,” said Lopez. “It’s hard because right after that scene’s done, you have to throw it out of your head and make something new. Once I did a scene where we were Tetris blocks and we were morphing into different pieces on stage along with a song. That’s part of the group dynamic that makes ACL special.”

The teamwork and anything-goes atmosphere of the ACL shows are what make every show different and exciting.

“You really have to be in the moment with listening and going on what the person did before you,” said Crall. “I like longform because it’s more grounded. It’s not just getting on stage and yelling, selling people out and going for the cheap joke. It’s a style that builds on itself. Then it gets super funny. We always talk about going to Crazytown by taking a simple idea that the audience can sink their teeth into and taking it to a weird, strange place.”

In the last 10 years, Crall estimates that they’ve had more than 30 people in the ACL cast. The current roster is comprised of the aforementioned Lopez (not pictured) and Emery, along with Corky McDonnell, Greg Sabin, Jason Casey, Jesse Jones, Mel Gelbart, Michelle Daubner and Ryan King.

“We’ve had a ton of really good shows through the years,” reminisced Crall. “Becca Habegger from ABC10 is going to be our guest for the 10-Year Anniversary show, and she’s been on before. She’s a really great guest. We’ve had some good shows with Mark S. Allen, but it was for different reasons. He was really fun because he talks with celebrities, and he got arrested so we can talk with him about going to jail and his friend ‘Outlaw’ he met there that would protect him. We had the Sudz by Studz guys, who are two married guys who make soap. They’re just everyday fun people.

“We tend to have better shows when it’s just regular folks that aren’t trying to make people laugh. We always tell our guests during our pre-interviews, just show up, and tell us some stories about your past, that’s all you need.”

Though, sometimes the irregular guests are equally entertaining. When recalling the time when Sacramento Bounty Hunter Leonard Padilla was a guest, Crall said, “He came out with a long black trench coat and his signature hat. Then on stage he actually whipped out guns. He was fully ready to roll!”

The 10th Anniversary Anti-Cooperation League Show will be held at The Comedy Spot Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017, at 9 p.m., and runs every Saturday at 9. You can also check out their calendar for a wide variety of classes and events focusing on improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy as well at Saccomedyspot.com.

**This piece first appeared in print on pages 28 – 29 of issue #254 (Dec. 4 – 18, 2017)**

Prepare your cheek muscles because the 2014 Sacramento Comedy Festival is just around the corner, set to take place from Sept. 12–20, 2014, at the Comedy Spot (1050 20th Street, Suite 130), Midtown’s home for all things funny. Started in 2011 by comedian and Comedy Spot owner Brian Crall, Sacramento Comedy Fest hosts improv/sketch comedy groups and dozens of stand-up comedians from far and wide. Just some of this year’s highlights include a performance from the world-famous Cambridge Footlights, a comedy troupe from England with roots all the way back to the 1970s (their show is Sept. 16 at 8 p.m.); a reunion from The Free Hooch Comedy Troupe, a sketch comedy group that performed locally from 2001 to 2005 (their show is Sept. 13 at 9 p.m.); and the main event, a stand-up comedy competition with over $2,000 in cash prizes that features 40 comedians from around the country battling it out through multi-rounds! For a limited time you can snag all-access passes to Sacramento Comedy Festival for just $45, which allows you entry to any of the approximately 30 shows. Or you can always purchase individual tickets to certain shows, too (they range in price from $5 to $12 per show). If nothing else, mark your calendars for the stand-up comp’s final round on Sept. 19 at 9 p.m. That way you get to see the best of the best bring out their A-game material for a shot at the big bucks! Visit Saccomedyfest.com for a full schedule, ticketing info, performer bios and more.

Sacramento Comedy Spot has a jam-packed lineup in store for the second annual 48 Hour Comedy Marathon

The stand-up comics are practicing timed jokes, the improvisers are stretching their minds and the sketch writers are carb-loading (with beer)… Sacramento’s comedy athletes are training for the one of the biggest comedy marathons of the year. The second annual 48 Hour Comedy Marathon will be taking on the challenge to make Sacramento laugh for two days straight at the Comedy Spot.

Comedy Spot owner and comedian, Brian Crall, will make comedy seem more like an endurance sport from March 21 to 23, 2014. More than 100 local comedians will perform stand up, improv, podcasts and sketch comedy. Throughout the day, you can expect the Comedy Spot classic shows such as High Improv, Anti-Cooperation League and The Fresh Five. But as the sun sets, you can expect things to get awkwardly funny with shows like Strip-prov, Comedic Chairs, BroTube, Of Wolves and Lazers and Totally Awesome Radical Morning Aerobics. Prices range from donations to $12, or $30 for a weekend pass.

“We are going to see some very good quality comedy,” said Brian Crall, while petting his scruffy dog, Coach, in his lap. “Not that the other stuff is going to be quality, it’s going to be weirder…. It is just a bunch of comedians that are very funny doing a lot of weird shit over a 48 hour time period.”

To truly express the weirdness of the 48 Hour Comedy Marathoners and with a little bit of inspiration from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Submerge Magazine brings you: The Comedy Spot’s 2014 Yearbook Superlatives.

Most Likely to Have a Heart Attack as a Venue Owner:
Brian Crall

Originally inspired by The Upright Citizen’s Brigade’s comedy marathon, Crall decided to make a solely Sacramento based comedy marathon at The Comedy Spot. And even though Brian didn’t think that the 2013 comedy marathon would actually work, it turned out better than expected. Surprisingly, last year 60 audience members showed up to watch Strip-prov at 2 a.m. “Last year we did a really good job of coming up with shows but this year we went to Sacramento comedians to pitch a show,” Crall explained. And no matter what time slot you choose to sit back in the Comedy Spot you will not be disappointed. “You are spending a dollar to maybe watch a train wreck at 4 o’clock in the morning, so it will be a lot of fun.”

Most Likely to Agree to a Last Minute Show with No Preparation and Knock it Out of the Park:
Sam Bruno

Even though Sam Bruno agrees to last minute shows, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t like to plan ahead and save time. He has been performing music for the past 20 years and comedy for the past five, so he decided why not save time and combine the two? For the past year, instead of running between two different gigs in one weekend, he has combined them together to create a musical comedy show. He will be bringing his musically talented funny friends to star in Acoustic Comedy, a show that will feature all musical comedians making you laugh with their lyrics and notes. “I think it’s a show that everyone should try and go see, even if they aren’t a fan of musical comedy,” said Bruno. “This would be the first time we ever done a group of comedians like this in Sacramento.”

You can catch Acoustic Comedy March 22 at 10:30 p.m. for $5.

Most Likely to Get Drunk Before the Show:
Edgar Granados

After spending a summer of drinking boxed wine, Edgar Granados and his comedy partner Bill Wallis became inspired. “It was this really cool time of creativity where we were just coming up with jokes,” explained Granados. What started off as an idea for a local public access TV show has turned into the “brain child” of Wallis and Granados called The Calm Eddy Show. But since airing on Public Access Sacramento didn’t work out, the 21-year-old Granados is ready to unveil his show during the 48 Hour Comedy Marathon. The Calm Eddy Show will be an interview-style talk show featuring comics and improvisers in different characters. “Most of it is going to be improvised, banter between Bill and I,” said Granados. “I don’t know… We are going to be really drunk.”

Catch The Calm Eddy Show on March 23 at 2 a.m., and donations will be accepted as your entrance fee.

Most Likely to Sync Their Periods:
Heather Damon, Teresa Schumacher and Molly Doan

Living in the male-dominated world of comedy can be tough, but these three women seem to have it figured out. Bringing a combination of live performances and video sketches with an incorporation of music, character comedy and psychical humor, they are ready to bring you The Ritz and Triscuit Show.

“There will be a unicycle, there will be kittens, there will be aliens and there will be dancing,” said Damon. But don’t let the adorable kittens keep you distracted from their overall feminist message.

“We really want to get our message out there. We have a social message while making you laugh,” explained Damon.

Roommates and grad students, Schumacher (Ritz) and Damon (Triscuit) are ready to bring their sketch comedy shows from YouTube to the front stage at the Comedy Spot with their most recent member Doan (Cheese Nips).

“I think the audience should be nervous because we are going to knock them all dead,” said Damon.

The Ritz and Triscuit Show happens on March 22 at 3 p.m., also for a donation.

Most Likely to Die Broke:
Carlos Rodriguez

“…Because I live it to the last dollar.” But don’t call Rodriguez penniless just yet. In 2013 he was named Best Comedian in Sacramento by News and Review and has more than 15 years of comedy under his belt. And this year he will be testing his very own show idea at the Comedy Spot called What’s Going On Here? It will be an unscripted show featuring comics making fun of and analyzing commercials, web videos, and numerous pop culture clips.

“Commercials that I want to get into are just ridiculous,” Rodriguez said. “People really sit down in conference and meeting rooms and think these are really good ideas.”

Poking fun and talking about commercials is something that Carlos and his younger brother have always done at home but now he is ready to entertain you in the wee hours of the morning.

Experience What’s Going On Here? March 23 at 3 a.m. for a donation.

Most Likely to Deliver a Baby on Stage:
Charlie Lemcke

Within the past year Charlie Lemcke has been thinking a lot about babes. Not the miniskirt-wearing babes but the dirty diaper-wearing babes. Balancing the life of being a full-time dad of a 2-month-old baby and being a comedian is not an easy task…or is it? Lemcke has found a way to put his two passions together live with his show, Kangaroo Pack Improv. While most comedians would leave their newborn babies at home, this improv team will perform comedy with their babies strapped to them in front-strap baby carriers. “You kind of pretend that they are not there, but if they start talking or crying or anything they could maybe change the mood of the improviser,” Lemcke said. “They could be like the voice that the improviser hears. It will be interesting.”

Lemcke wants to bring back the Zach Galifianakis baby look (from The Hangover) and dress it up with some improv comedy. But no matter how this comedy show will turn out it will definitely be a story for the grandkids.

Kangaroo Pack Improv will hop on stage March 22 at 4 p.m. for $5.

Most likely to Piss Off People:
Nick Coleman

It’s hard to make friends after a comedy show, especially if your set didn’t sit well with people in the audience, but Nick Coleman is trying to look past that. After getting the green light for three months in a row during Test Kitchen, an idea showcase for a regular slot at the Comedy Spot, Coleman finally got his show, Let’s Get Weird, on the schedule. It will showcase video sketches in-between live comedy sketches but with the attempt to try and make it as weird as possible. But as weird as things might get, Coleman treats the Comedy Spot like his second home.

“The comedy spot performers are pretty much like my second family and I spend most of my time with them,” he said. “We have almost a whole weekend to support each other’s ideas and see a bunch of different shows.”

Let’s Get Weird takes the stage on March 22 at 1 a.m. for a donation.

Most Likely to Give a Good Face:
Micaela Pettigrew

Southern, ditzy, quirky and stalkers are a few of the characters that Micaela Pettigrew likes to fall back on during an improv show. She likes to think of characters on the spot that are fun and a “heightened version of herself.” So it is no surprise that after a show she will get numerous comments from audience members that they enjoyed her silly faces. Smith has been making silly faces on stage for three years now as a member of the longest running improv troupe at the Comedy spot, The Anti-Cooperation League. The league bases all of their improv ideas from an interview with a special guest for each night.

“From their answers, anything interesting that comes up or even a weird reaction from the audience can inspire a great scene,” Pettigrew explained.

You’ll have two chances to see The Anti-Cooperation League in action. First on March 22 at 9 p.m. for $12, and on March 23 at 7 p.m. for free.

Want a full rundown of the 48 Hour Comedy Marathon? OF COURSE YOU DO. Go to Saccomedyspot.com for all the details!

Organizers hope the second Sacramento Comedy Festival will make California’s capital a destination for comics nationwide

There is only one place where you can see 120 comedians in nine days. And we aren’t asking you to travel to San Francisco, Las Vegas or New York for this epic week. All of the comics are going to make their way to the Capital City to try and make your stomach hurt from laughing. The Sacramento Comedy Festival is ready to make its second appearance in September but this time with a lot more laughs to go around. You can catch local and out-of-town stand-up comedians, improv groups and sketch comics at Luna’s Café (in cooperation with comic Keith Lowell Jensen) and the Sacramento Comedy Spot from Sept. 7 through 15, 2012. The mastermind behind the giant laugh fest is Brian Crall, a veteran comic and owner of the Sacramento Comedy Spot, whose goal is to make Sacramento the next destination for great comedy.

In 2005, Crall created a comedy club that was easily available and affordable for comics in training and audience members. “We decided from early on that we are going to be different from any other club and we are going to be accessible for people,” Crall said over the phone. “They don’t have to spend a lot of money and they are going to get a good quality product.”

The Comedy Spot, located in Midtown, is a hot spot for stand-up comedy, sketch comedy and improv, drawing in big crowds. The club is home of the Anti-Cooperation League Comedy Troupe, In Your Facebook (where comics poke fun at your profile), The Syndicate (a sketch comedy team), Lady Business (an all-women improv team) and a Top 10 podcast who will all be performing at the festival.

“People come from out of town and they love our stage,” Crall explained. “They always compliment us on our professionalism and the quality of the local comedy groups, especially ones that the Comedy Spot produces.”

After more than seven years of running the Comedy Spot, Crall decided to create a comedy festival that can call Sacramento home. One way that Crall is spreading the comedy love is by inviting comics from all across the country to see what Sacramento has to offer.

“If we are going to make Sacramento a destination, we have to have a reason for people to come here in the first place, and people love performing in festivals,” Crall said. “We have people coming to Sacramento to see what we do, then they will start spreading the word and let people know that we have a great scene and that this is the place to do good comedy.”

Not only does the Festival draw comics and audience members to the Capital City for comedy but it’s a great way to put a spotlight on talented local comedians. A few of the performing local acts include Keith Lowell Jensen, Ngaio Bealum, Michael O’Connell, John Ross, Queenie TT, Carlos Rodriguez, Chazz Hawkins, Kristen Frisk and the improv group Mayhem from ComedySportz.

One of the local talents to be featured in the festival is Nick Pettigrew, the co-producer of Critical Hit, a geek-centric comedy variety show that was created at the Comedy Spot.

“I’ve been a geek my whole life and I love doing comedy, but it was hard doing geek-orientated stand-up but not finding an audience for it,” said Pettigrew over the phone. “So I wanted to create a show where I can make my own audience.”

Another great local to be showcased is Cheryl the Soccer Mom, whose style of comedy does not seem to match her innocent name. A few years ago, Cheryl was a legitimate soccer mom who would drop off the kids at practice and lived in the suburbs. But at a comedy club Cheryl has a hilarious and sometimes dirty stand-up routine.

“It depends on the audience. If it’s that kind of show, I can totally go there,” she said. “Not always but pretty often.”

Even though her soccer mom days are nearly over because her oldest child is leaving for college soon, her comedy career is quickly taking off. She has recently filmed a show for Nickelodeon and has been invited to participate in the World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas. Without the support of local Sacramento comics, getting started in the comedy world would have been tough, she said.

“When I started out all of the Sacramento comics were so helpful and so welcoming. I can’t imagine getting a better start in any other city,” she said. “There’s the typical [comedy] politics that you find anywhere but overall the support for new comics is really strong and support for each other, we’re happy for each other’s success.”

The Sacramento Comedy Festival is not holding back support for the out-of-town comedians. Multiple comedians have been invited to perform in the 25-show festival by Crall himself. A few of the traveling comics (improv and stand-up) include Joe Klocek from the Bay Area; Matt Gubser and Priya Prasad from Oakland; Andrew Holmgren from San Francisco; 70-year-old comedian Sandra Risser from Concord, Calif.; and Brent Gill from Denver. Former Comedy Spot cast member Jeff Sloniker will also be performing at the festivities.

Leeman Parker, Sacramento native and member of improv group Bro Squad 5 from Hollywood, Calif., performed at the comedy festival last year and anticipates the upcoming shows. “The place was packed, and it was a really cool atmosphere to do a show,” said Parker about the Comedy Festival last year.

A first time performer in the festival but veteran stand-up comic, Kurt Weitzmann, who has been seen on Comedy Central, MTV and multiple comedy stages in San Francisco is also scheduled to perform for this year’s fest.

“I’ve always loved the Sacramento comedy scene. I’ve always thought it was really good people that came out of there,” said Weitzmann. “I’m just glad they’re doing it. I think it’s a great idea. I think every city should have a comedy festival. It’s not hard to do, everybody loves comedy.”

Everyone does love comedy, but I’m not sure if putting on a comedy festival is as easy as it sounds. Brian Crall along with the help from Mignon Foster, who is in charge of the logistics of the show, has been planning this festival for over a year. They have been working on making the festival bigger and decided to extend the festival to eight days.

“We just started off very simple last year. We did four days, and we tried to pack in as many things as possible but it was a lot of fun,” Crall explained. “We didn’t do a lot of publicity last year, it was just more of a trial run year…but this year we are going all out.” As soon as the 2011 laughs were over, Crall and Foster got straight to work on an encore. They have created an original logo for the festival, a website and have been screening tapes from comics across the country who wanted to participate. After all of this work, Crall is hoping for a big turnout.

“We want as many people to come out and get a good sampling of what we do, and we have put a festival pass together that allows you to see every show at the comedy festival for $55, when we have 20-plus shows that’s a pretty good deal,” he added.

The Sacramento Comedy Festival will kick off opening night with a ribbon cutting ceremony and music from the local rock group Dog Party. After that for eight days, you watch stand-up comics and improv groups from across the country brave the stage, you can geek out with Nick Pettigrew and listen to Cheryl the Soccer Mom’s MILF joke. With every laugh that comes out of the festival, Brian Crall will be one step closer to making his goal a reality in making Sacramento a destination for comedy.

We don’t have the space to list all the acts who will be performing at the Sacramento Comedy Festival. Good thing for you, ticket prices are affordable enough that we won’t have to. You can go see them for yourselves. The fest runs from Sept. 7 through 15, 2012 and for just $55, you can see every show. Go to http://www.saccomedyfest.com/ for more info and to purchase tickets.