Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
“…one of the best young groups in the country... an enviable gift for the absurd, the Animals sell their hilarious scenes and characters without a whiff of desperation to get a laugh.”
- Beth Lisick/ San Francisco Chronicle: SFGate.com
"Animal Club is really just great, goofy sketch.”
- Alex Zalben Quoted in Gelf Magazine
“…a giddy sense of humor, the kind you might see on Nickelodeon, if it were geared toward adults… Animal Club uses political humor, slapstick, and an improv style that demonstrates a talent for suggesting that they’re making it up as they go along.”
- Sharmila Venkatasubban/ Pittsburgh City Paper
The Animal Club named in “10 Really Cool Things To Do” in December
- Chicago Sun Times
“…a funny, eclectic mix of improv-based sketches, songs, and physical humor… its video is getting play at the Austin Film Festival and the analog humans are looking forward to a return to Caroline's in New York…You can see why Pittsburgh can be proud of them as they try out new stuff at tonight's 7:30 gig at The Funny Bone at Station Square.”
- Chris Rawson/ Pittsburgh Post Gazette
“This fast-paced, random comedy was a delight… Switching back and forth between music, sketch, and film kept the audience on their toes.”
- Janet Park/ Carnegie Mellon University/ The Tartan
“…The Animal Club has created a whirlwind of hype through sketch festivals, club shows and contests. They won “Best Dolphin Empowerment Sketch” at Sketchfest Seattle, and were chosen to represent The Second City at the Austin Film Festival. They’ve grown from a group of class clowns in Point Park’s drama department to a respected national act, and they’re not even 30 yet… The shows combine original films with live-action sketch routines, occasionally throwing in song-and-dance numbers for a comedy-blitzkrieg the audience is helpless to resist. Ranging from postmodern vaudeville to grownup slapstick, the sketches are fast paced and leave little room for recovery. Like a cartoon for adults, The Animal Club is upbeat and goofy without losing in intelligent writing and razor-sharp witticisms.”
- Nikki Trader/ Pittsburgh City Paper
"As the Director of New Talent for Carolines on Broadway, I have produced dozens of sketch and improv groups at Carolines. The Animal Club stands out for their professionalism and most importantly, the quality of their work. It is a pleasure to work with them, in fact, myself and the staff always look forward to their performances." - Andy Engel/ Carolines on Broadway
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The Animal Club unleashes a refreshing brand of clever, intelligent, and in the same breath, ridiculous humor culled from both theatre and improv training. The Animal Club’s universal humor has drawn comparisons to Kids In The Hall, Monty Python, and The Muppets (sans felt). They capitalize on other influences like the vaudevillian antics of Chaplin and the Marx Brothers and the absurdism of modern sketch comedians like the Upright Citizens Brigade. Mixing them equally, they create a comedy casserole that you could eat with either fork or spoon-or both if you so desire. Their shows are a deft mix of music, physical clowning, and clever wordplay, jumping from the stage to film in a multimedia show that appeals to a modern audience with a taste for classic comedy.
The Animal Club is also a group of friends who met while studying theatre and musical theatre at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. Since its conception in 2000, they have amassed a library of over 200 sketches. In the fall of 2003 the group relocated from Pittsburgh to Chicago to live under one roof and train with the masters at The Second City and Improv Olympic.
The Animal Club has enjoyed touring many nationwide venues including Caroline’s on Broadway (NYC) and the Chris Farley Chari-thon (St. Louis). After sold out performances of their first run at The Second City’s Donny’s Skybox, they were invited to return for a three month extended run. The Second City awarded Meet The Animal Club with a record four Donny Awards including “Best Sketch Show”.
In 2005, they premiered their current show at the Chicago Sketchfest and took it on the road to more packed houses at the Miami Improv Festival, and the New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle Sketchfests, as well as The Funny Bone in Pittsburgh and a second appearance at Caroline’s on Broadway. Their films have been critically acclaimed and one of their short films was recently chosen to represent The Second City at The Austin International Film Festival.
This year, they we already a part of the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival and just returned from the First Annual Sketchingham Festival in April in Bellingham, Washington. The Animal Club is currently writing an all-silent sketch comedy show that will debut at Chicago’s iO Theatre in the summer.
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