Improv Invades NYC This Week for the Del Close Marathon

This weekend is packed with fun thanks to both the Del Close Marathon and the city’s annual Pride march and related parties. There’s also plenty of other weird, wonderful, and downright amazing comedy happening all week. Here goes:

Wednesday, June 24:

Date Night?: The Creek and the Cave (10-93 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City), 8 p.m., free

Comedians are uniquely qualified to give dating advice that you absolutely ignore. That’s why Date Night? — a show that uses anonymous dating questions from the audience to guide jokes, riffs, and awkward reminiscences — won’t be terribly helpful, but will be hilarious. Married comedians Teresa & Doug Wyckoff host.

Stand-Up on the Spot: The Stand (239 Third Avenue), 8 p.m., $15

Longtime Chelsea Lately contributor Guy Branum brings his quick wit to this show where the performers are at the mercy of audience suggestions and must create all-new, never-before-seen material on the spot.

Thursday, June 25:

Giulia Rozzi Album Taping: New York Comedy Club (241 East 24th Street), 9:30 p.m., $5 with code ROZZI online

Giulia Rozzi is a bicoastal powerhouse who has appeared on everything from Girl Code to This Is Not Happening, won a Moth GrandSLAM, spoken at a TEDx conference, written articles that have appeared on just about every website you read regularly, and mounted two different international touring one-woman shows. If you aren’t tired out from just reading all that, check her out as she slings a hot hour for her upcoming album.

Friday, June 26:

Week at the Creek: Pete Lee: The Creek and the Cave (10-93 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City), 7 p.m., free

Pete Lee is one of the most adorable and charming comedians in New York. He’s appeared on Letterman and is fresh off a cross-country college tour. You can get a full hour of Pete’s Midwestern, aw-shucks humor this week as he works out new material and updated favorites.

Tinder Live: Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn), 8 p.m., $10

We’ve all been there. Frantic swiping leads to horrifying message exchanges, awkward dates, and a few princes among frogs. Host
Lane Moore leads great comedians Guy Branum and Sara Benincasa through a celebration of the ups and downs of online dating, with some fun, interactive segments that may just help you find true love mid-laugh.

The Secret Loft Show: Secret Loft (255 McKibbin Street, Brooklyn), 9 p.m., free

Sean Donnelly and Phil Hanley are the kind of guys you usually have to pay a cover and buy two drinks to see, but the Secret Loft show gives you the chance to catch them for free, with free pizza, cheap drinks, and a DJ’d dance party afterward thrown in for good measure. You’re basically throwing away money if you don’t go.

Saturday, June 27:

Del Close Marathon: UCB (and various locations), all weekend, $35

The Del Close Marathon is an annual tradition honoring improv legend Del Close. And what better way to honor a pioneer of “Yes, and…” than with an insane all-day/all-night, weekend-long marathon of improv performances. The shows range from relative nobodies to award-winning teams from around the country to groups of writers for shows like Comedy Bang! Bang! and The Daily Show going off-script.

Sunday, June 28:

The Underground Cabaret: The Peoples Improv Theater (123 East 24th Street), 9:30 p.m., $10

QueerCom is a weekend-long celebration of Pride in the form of gay-themed and gay-cast improv shows at the PIT. Closing out the weekend is the Underground Cabaret, featuring a parade of comedians showing solidarity by singing their hearts out to gay anthems.

Comedy at the Knitting Factory: Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn), doors 8, show at 9 p.m., $5

Knitting Factory’s Sunday show has been a powerhouse of independent comedy since what feels like forever. And it shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. It still attracts a big crowd and big names, and is one of the few places you’d get to see Big Jay Oakerson and Monroe Martin for this cheap.

Monday, June 29:

Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction: Union Hall (702 Union Street, Brooklyn), 9 p.m., $10

This Los Angeles favorite, which asks comedians to write and present their own erotic fan fiction, then perform on-the-spot pieces based on audience feedback and suggestions, has been touring the country to give everyone a taste of the lusty, hilarious nerdery. This swing through NYC puts Jared Logan and Jim Tews in the hot seat, along with half a dozen other local favorites.

Tuesday, June 30:

Stand Up and Sing
Union Hall (702 Union Street, Brooklyn), 9 p.m., $8 in advance

Liza Treyger is an amazing comedian with incredible stage presence…but can she sing? This is your chance to find out. The king of being clever, Myq Kaplan, and SNL‘s Sasheer Zamata will also take a turn at using the mic for both singing and joking. Given how great they all are, you’re sure to still be laughing harder at the comedy than the attempts to remember all the words to “Love Shack.”