Lmst

Maria Bamford coming up #SFSketchfest

Pic of the stage at the Sidney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco before the show

SF Sketchfest alien sticker 👽🛸

#SFSketchfest #sfsketchfest2026

SF Sketchfest - Riffapalooza: Night of the Shorts!

Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Bill Corbett, John Hodgman, Kevin Murphy, Cole Stratton, and Janet Varney

- Great Star Theater in Chinatown, San Francisco, California 💜

#TraceBeaulieu #FrankConniff #BillCorbett #JohnHodgman #KevinMurphy #ColeStratton #JanetVarney #MST3K #RiffTrax #SF #SanFrancisco #SFSketchFest #SFSketchfest2026 #Riffapalooza #GreatStarTheater #Chinatown

Interior pre-show photo from the rear seats of the Great Star Theater. SF Sketchfest logos (alien saucer) illuminate either side of the stage in a green and yellow glow. The screen displays a rotating montage of previous acts, and currently displaysa photo of Bill Frisell and Bill Irwin from 2017. The theater seats and walls are covered in red fabric. Loosely hung strings of warm white lights illuminate the walls

Promotional poster for Riffapalooza: Night of the Shorts! It shows headshots of Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Bill Corbett, John Hodgman, Kevin Murphy, Cole Stratton, and Janet Varney.
Subtitle reads "live improvised shorts riffing with mst3k & rifftrax alumni".

The headshots are arranged in a row on a stage with red curtains and a glowing green background. Silhouettes of a few people are shown seated in the front row.

Exterior evening photo of the Great Star Theater. It's a Chinese theater. It's signs are red with white Chinese characters. It's illuminated brightly. The second story has a pagoda

Interior photo of a display of Chinese crafts. From left to right: a decorative dragon head with mouth open and a golden ball inside; a decorative Chinese ladder dressed in formal robes; and a cute red snake. The wall behind is red.

After that the crowd started chanting "TWO POINTS!" (see? audiences can do callbacks too), Nicole was given two points, and then Vic gave all their points to Nicole as well (surely an official act as Dropout President), and Lily declared that it is now canon in Dirty Laundry that singing "Defying Gravity" is worth two points.

It was an amazing finish; I loved it so much!

https://sfsketchfest2026.sched.com/event/2BQv8/dropout-and-sf-sketchfest-present-dirty-laundry-sold-out

#Dropout #SFSketchfest #DropoutTV

Nicole had performed as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway and at one point Grant (charmingly) derailed the show with a question about the procedure when the flying harness doesn't work for "Defying Gravity"—Nicole shared details on the procedure and that she had actually done it once! The performers all lie on the floor downstage on the rake with Elphaba upstage and everyone engages their suspension of disbelief.

At the end of the show Vic was in the lead and Nicole had scored only one point—she jokingly suggested that she could sing "Defying Gravity" for an extra point to avoid the shame of a single-point score. This quickly snowballed into the entire cast lying down and Nicole standing above them on a chair singing an excerpt from the song. The crowd went wild and I swear it's the best theater moment I've ever experienced.

<continued> 🧵

#Dropout #DropoutTV #SFSketchfest

Vic and Griffin were able to riff repeatedly on a John Goodman bit and Eugene's desire for "two points" had an incredible payoff. Lily Du shared that she didn't have Paul Robalino keeping track of players' scores like she does for the in-studio production but she seemed to do really well juggling both point tracking and pacing the show well. I think it was Lily who pointed out that Eugene on studio Dirty Laundry was all about crimes while live Eugene (who had been out until 5am gambling the night before??) had some of the sweetest most heartfelt secrets to share.

But the big deal for this show? You may have seen it on Instagram stories already (unfortunately I can't find anywhere to link to it) — first, some setup:

<continued> 🧵

#Dropout #DropoutTV #SFSketchfest

Third #Dropout #SFSketchfest review: Dirty Laundry!

I don't know whether it was intentional, but this show was a STELLAR finale for the "Dropout weekend" of shows.

I was rightfully super excited to see Vic Michaelis and Eugene Cordero live in this show (FOUR Star Trek actors in one weekend!)—I had seen Griffin Newman in 2025 SF Sketchfest version of Um, Actually and knew absolutely nothing about Nicole Parker, but they both had utterly won me over by the end.

The theater's bar had limited pre-mixes of the "Pisco Pink" cocktails that Grant "Anthony Anthony" O'Brien had prepared for the performers which was an *excellent* touch (except for the "limited' part—they probably could've made a good deal of revenue if they'd had more available)

I am thankful that they addressed the "two ferns" stage setup, and speaking of set design, the chairs for this show were better than the chairs for Um, Actually.

<continued> 🧵

3) At a couple points a comedian led the crowd in ironic chants of "U-S-A!" and wow that conjures up some complex feelings these days.

Um, Actually was a joy live, Crowd Control pulled off a show that I wasn't sure would work in a live format; how will Dirty Laundry work live?

https://sfsketchfest2026.sched.com/event/2BQv5/dropout-and-sf-sketchfest-present-crowd-control-sold-out

#Dropout #DropoutTV #SFSketchfest

The Crowd Control performers were all superb—I was only familiar with Paul F. Tompkins but both Aaron Branch and Natasha Vinik were quite adept at the format. However, there were other aspects of the production that have really stuck with me:

1) I didn't notice it at Um, Actually the night before, but Crowd Control had multiple ASL interpreters available at the show and ended up doing crowdwork with some of the ASL table. I'm unsure whether that was specifically a Dropout thing but I really liked that they did that.

2) The person who ran around with the mic to ensure that all the audience members could be heard was a key part of the production, and Jacquis was right to give that person a shout-out at the end of the show (sorry I can't remember the name; the flu demands a price!)

<continued> 🧵

#Dropout #DropoutTV #SFSketchfest

Second #Dropout #SFSketchfest review: Crowd Control!

I'd argue that good improv (and crowd work!) is typically balancing on a razor's edge between crushing disaster and raucous success, and I thought live Crowd Control landed on the successful side of the blade.

I was really curious how they would pull off a live version of Crowd Control—in the #DropoutTV show, audience members wear t-shirts with pithy blurbs about their quirky topics; were they going to hand out t-shirts to everyone in advance?

Instead they provided cardstock paddles that the "front row" tables could fill out with interesting stories they were willing to share with the audience. I thought it was an excellent way to adapt the concept for live performance, and Jacquis Neal commented how Dropout is too cheap to hand out t-shirts to everyone, a fun concession to the challenges involved.

<continued> 🧵

First #Dropout #SFSketchfest review: Um, Actually!

I love voice actors so the contestant roster was right up my alley. Going in I was hoping for something like the voice acting samples in s9e12 (also with Janet Varney!), and they did indeed have a Shiny Question on the topic.

Ify made a big deal at one point how the show wasn't being recorded which allowed him to say things off-the-record. I'm guessing he doesn't want me resharing that story so I'll just take the secret to the grave.

The cast was wonderful and though there were some highly entertaining digressions, they were able to keep the pacing engaging throughout. I had never seen Tawny Newsome live before, so that was a special treat, and Marc Evan Jackson was somehow able to pull off an entire character arc for himself which had me impressed. Janet Varney is an SF Sketchfest pro so she felt like an adept ambassador joining the two worlds.

Thankfully Brian David Gilbert's laptop battery survived the show!

https://sfsketchfest2026.sched.com/event/2BQvB/dropout-and-sf-sketchfest-present-um-actually-sold-out

#DropoutTV

I had hoped to post reviews of the sold-out Dropout SF Sketchfest shows right after seeing them all, but the flu had other plans for me.

Now, however, is the time for reviews! 🧵

#Dropout #SFSketchfest #DropoutTV

Amazing show tonight by the Red Room Orchestra plus MARK MOTHERSBAUGH playing a few of the over 200 TV & film compositions by Mark Mothersbaugh! Mothersbaugh shared anecdotes about working with Paul Reubens, Wes Anderson and Devo in between songs. It was another great SF Sketchfest show this year. #redroomorchestra #markmothersbaugh #devo #SFSketchfest #sf #WesAnderson

RE: https://mastodon.social/@deadline/115547013393350768

Tickets are on sale today for #SFSketchfest!

SF Sketchfest Unveils 2026 Lineup
#Festivals #News #SFSketchfest

https://deadline.com/2025/11/sf-sketchfest-lineup-2026-unveiled-1236616569/

🧵 (8/17)

🏴‍☠️ Rhys Darby (part 5)

We also got some pictures that broke the fandom for a few days.
(Source: https://www.instagram.com/jimmccambridge/p/DFJVba0S5-w/?img_index=8)

Rhys found D (for Darbs) while out at the show! You can check out the SF Sketchfest BTS he has on his paid substack here: https://rhysiedarby.substack.com/p/bts-sf-sketchfest

#RhysDarby #SFSketchfest #OFMDRecaps

Two more portraits from the same shoot with Rhys sitting at the table. In the top photo, Rhys is slumped forward a little with his right hand on his forehead, his fingertips digging into his hair. He is looking at the camera with his eyebrows drawn together, brow furrowed, and his lips slightly parted. In the bottom image, Rhys is leaning a little to his left with his elbows still on the table but now making a finger gun gesture with his right hand. His eyes are closed and his lips are pursed into an o shape.

Selfie of Rhys Darby. He is standing in front of a sign that reads ‘Area D’ and is smiling at the camera. The photo has been edited to add ‘arbs’ after the D so that the sign reads ‘Area Darbs’.

🧵 (7/17)

🏴‍☠️ Rhys Darby (part 4)

(Source: https://www.instagram.com/jimmccambridge/p/DFJVba0S5-w/?img_index=9)

#RhysDarby #SFSketchfest #OFMDRecaps

Photo from Rhys's stand-up show. His arms are raised above his head, wrists bent so his palms are facing down, and he is standing on one leg with the other bent at the knee and raised to just below hip level. He is looking at the audience with his eyes wide and eyebrows raised. On a stool next to him, there is a beverage can and a glass containing a dark drink and a straw or spoon.

Photo from Rhys's stand-up show. He is standing behind the stool with the drinks now, leaning forward a little with his arms spread wide as he speaks.

Two more photos from Rhys's show. In the one at the top, Rhys's right leg is slightly bent and he is holding his right hand to his chest while reaching out to the left with his other hand. In the bottom picture, he is seen from further away, crouching down a little with both legs bent and his right heel raised while his toes still touch the ground. His hands are raised to about chest height as if to snap his fingers.

Two backstage photos of Rhys. In the one at the top, he is standing in front of a wall in a corridor or small room, leaning forward a little with one hand up near his chest and frowning slightly, probably in concentration as he prepares for his show. The photo at the bottom is in black and white, and we see Rhys from the hip up, leaning against a wall in a more relaxed posture. He is looking down and to the side with a smile on his face.

🧵 (6/17)

🏴‍☠️ Rhys Darby (part 3)

A clip from the 'Airplane!' read! (thank you to :tumblr: @ WastingYourGum for finding it on facebook!)

(Source: https://www.facebook.com/matlockz/posts/pfbid02trpVCDejYe8poLfjP9fYBG4DXmZ9e8JNdEpbbnBhZ8PxAnHxvF52TjWMSnuCwTBDl)

#RhysDarby #SFSketchfest #OFMDRecaps

🧵 (5/17)

🏴‍☠️ Rhys Darby (part 2)

In addition, some pretty cool stuff came out of the SF Sketchfest! Rhys did stand up, but he also participated in the 45th Anniversary Live Read of Airplane!

(Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFI9PdbTrdu/?img_index=3)

#RhysDarby #SFSketchfest #OFMDRecaps