Julie Seabaugh

Actor-singer Colleen Ballinger’s Van Nuys home office is sparse and tidy: silvery gray with white accents, window overlooking the backyard, computer atop a corner desk. The dozen wall frames hold career mementos, including a shiny YouTube plaque and an image capturing her December Tonight Show appearance alongside Jerry Seinfeld. His......

In 2012, The Special Special Special featured Maria Bamford performing in her living room for her parents Joel and Marilyn. Bamford has had a lot on her plate since, between terrific 2013 album Ask Me About My New God!, a breakout role in the fourth season of Arrested Development, formulating a......

“I am the worst comedian on the planet,” Louis C.K. muttered near the top of Sunday’s sold-out performance. Fortunately the Forum crowd thought differently, fans including actor Seth Green, comedian Bo Burnham and One Direction’s Harry Styles cheering in defiance to every blustery “That’s enough of that,” or “Shut your......

Comedy careers no longer depend upon a series of strategic TV or festival credits — they now encompass a wide variety of platforms, be it onstage or online, through earbuds or in writers rooms. In a world where literally anyone can release an album, these Los Angeles multihyphenates prove that......

Welcoming veterans like Maria Bamford, freshmen including Norm Macdonald and two new venues, the fourth annual Riot L.A. comedy festival returns to downtown Los Angeles Jan. 16-18. “I'm really proud of how the fest has grown,” enthuses founder Abbey Londer of the KCRW-sponsored event. “I feel like it's maintained its......

In true Upright Citizens Brigade fashion, once the alcohol started flowing at Saturday’s UCB Sunset grand opening celebration, the groundbreaking sketch and improv troupe traded all pretense of formality for anything-goes ebullience. After a loose reception and red-carpet huddle, founders Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh caught......

As the clock flips from late Tuesday to early Wednesday, the capacity crowd of 125 swells. The Comedy Store's upstairs Belly Room swelters. Roast Battle host Brian Moses takes the stage amid shouts and whoops. "You guys know the rules," he reminds undercard competitors Lance Allen and Jay Mandyam. "No......

The first 40 minutes consisted of artist D’Ette Nogel recapping Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The room was, as host Eric Dadourian put it, 140 degrees. The lineup seemed completely reversed, and performer Eric Andrè failed to materialize as scheduled. Yet Sunday night’s Tragedy Plus Time comedy show......