Famed Comedy Theater UCB to Reopen

Jimmy Miller, founder of talent management company Mosaic and Mike McAvoy, former CEO/Owner of The Onion, with financial support from Elysian Park Ventures, have acquired Upright Citizens Brigade, one of the most well-known comedy brands in the entertainment business. As part of the acquisition, they plan on reopening theaters in the coming months as well as completely rebuilding the business, including providing additional support and opportunities for comedic talent and continuing UCB’s efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive environment.

“We are pleased to be handing over the reins to Jimmy and Mike in the hopes the theater and school will continue to be a thriving environment for all who want to learn and perform comedy.” said the UCB 4’s Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. “We look forward to the ways they will commit to increasing diversity and ensure the continued existence of an organization we have loved and dedicated ourselves to for over 20 years.”

“We are very excited to reopen theaters and get back to putting improvisers of all walks of life on stage,” said Jimmy Miller. “I look forward to helping Mike and the team with their efforts – I look at the UCB theater and school as another great client. To be clear about my interest in this – I love comedy, I love improv, and I love UCB. I want to be sure that this business continues and thrives for 20 more years, and beyond. While this will be a separate business from Mosaic, it is my hope that synergies will be found that provide overall value, support and stage time to as many performers as possible, regardless of representation.”

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to help lead one of the most respected and influential comedy institutions through its next set of challenges and opportunities,” said Mike McAvoy. “We have many great plans we can’t yet talk about in detail, but our first priority is to reopen theaters and training centers in Los Angeles and New York with diversity, equality and inclusion front and center. The additional resources at our disposal will enable us to pay performers for stage time and enhance The UCB 4 Scholarship Program which will continue to aid underprivileged students.”

Miller will serve as chairman and McAvoy will serve as CEO, with Miller bringing a long history of success in the comedy world, having represented some of the biggest names in comedy.

New management of UCB will also work with Arts Consulting Group, a third party firm that has been in consultation with members of the UCB community on a variety of diversity initiatives, including HR department creation and the formation of a special committee to oversee and execute clear, ongoing and actionable diversity, equity and inclusion plans.

Further details around what this acquisition means for the UCB community will be shared in the coming months, as well as general updates. For more information, please visit https://ucbcomedy.com/.

About Upright Citizens Brigade

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre was founded by Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh in 1999 in New York City and has since expanded to Los Angeles. The UCB Theatre offers comedy in the form of improv, stand-up, and sketch comedy, and includes the Upright Citizens Brigade Improvisational and Sketch Comedy Training Center. UCB’s highly trained faculty represents the best writers and performers working in comedy today. Over the last 20 years, the Upright Citizens Brigade have developed a unique unified curriculum that is constantly updated and improved by the best improvisers in the world.

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Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.