Adam Gropman

In a world of comedic get-togethers, conventions and hoe-downs, the Big Fire Comedy Festival, happening this weekend a couple hours north of L.A., stands out. For starters, it’s outdoors, on a pristine patch of high-desert property, with the producers strongly encouraging attendees to camp overnight. The aim is forming a spontaneous arts village of sorts, a biosphere in which to create and appreciate performance, as well as just “be.”...

iOWest, which had a generous, custom-outfitted space on Hollywood Boulevard with three theater stages, classrooms and a front bar/lounge, closed suddenly in late February. Since then, the response from a handful of other improv theaters/schools, to make sure that displaced students and teachers felt welcome and immediately integrated, has been heartening — particularly in an industry known to be competitive, at times even somewhat hostile....

iO West, a bedrock of L.A.’s improvisational comedy scene, is scheduled to close this weekend....

"I know what my sweet spot has been," Lewis says. "It's personal stuff, dysfunction, fear of intimacy, family stuff, psychology stuff. I eviscerate myself onstage. Once I started to get really personal about myself, I used hyperbole. I love hyperbole."...

For L.A. stand-up comics, the Open Mic Ordinaire can be a happy revelation. When you arrive to a small rectangular room jammed with wines in a hip strip mall, you wouldn't be mistaken for thinking it's a wrong address. In the back of the store is a semi-hidden staircase. Descend......

There are plenty of L.A. gyms where ripped folks can bro it hard (and whatever the female equivalent is) as they prepare for competitive beach volleyball and topless commercial auditions. By contrast, Everybody is a supremely welcoming gym, for any and all wishing to improve their bodily condition. Founded by......

There's a strong case to be made that the modern stand-up comedy club, a staple of the nightlife landscape, was invented by Budd Friedman when he opened the Improv in Manhattan in 1963, followed by the L.A. outpost in 1975. And like many important inventions, the whole thing practically happened by......

In an age of casually informative, independent-minded, highly entertaining podcasts, it's great to hear such an edifying show on good ol' terrestrial radio. While L.A.'s 90.7 KPFK, part of the Pacifica Radio Network, is not generally known for humor or colorfully exuberant personalities, there are a few exceptions, and the......

Considering the amount of bro energy that can course through the average comedy club, it's no wonder female comedians — especially newer ones — would be on the lookout for a more welcoming space. For plenty of women pursuing their stand-up dreams, Tao Comedy Studio has become a place to......