The ACME Comedy Theatre is an American

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

and

improvisational Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

located near

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, Los Angeles,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, on La Brea near Wilshire's "Miracle Mile".Bronstad, Amanda (2002)
Laughing matter: M.D. Sweeney has turned a bug for comedy from his college days into a theater where aspiring comics hone their skills preparing for bigger stages.
, ''

Los Angeles Business Journal The ''Los Angeles Business Journal'', established in 1979, is a weekly newspaper and online news source in Los Angeles, California, which provides coverage of local business news. According to the ''Journals website, it has a weekly print circul ...

'', February 25, 2002, retrieved 2010-12-15 ACME was started by M.D. Sweeney as "The Two Roads Theater" in Studio City in 1989 with Cynthia Szigeti. The players known as the Two Roads Players and later the Tujunga Group. Sweeney changed the name to Acme a few years later, a reference to

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

cartoons (Sweeney assisted with some Tiny Toons scripts to help his writer girlfriend out) around the same time he moved the theater to North Hollywood. Eventually, he brought it to La Brea Boulevard near Los Angeles's "Miracle Mile", where it quickly rose to prominence in the world of sketch comedy. Sweeney was inspired by the

Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniques ...

, and throughout the 1990s, a rivalry developed between ACME and the famous Groundlings, with both theaters vying for the best sketch comedians in Los Angeles. (Sweeney's girlfriend—the mother of his children,

Sherri Stoner Sherri Lynn Stoner is an American actress, animator, and writer. She also voiced Slappy in the children’s television series ''Animaniacs''. Biography She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animat ...

—is a former Groundling. The name "Acme" was selected after Stoner's career in animation writing at Warner Brothers had started to take off.) In 2004, Sweeney decided to retire from directing and sold ACME to

Travis Oates Travis Oates is an American voice actor. He continued the role of Piglet in ''My Friends Tigger & Pooh'' and other ''Winnie the Pooh''-related media after the passing of John Fiedler in 2005. He and Jim Cummings were the only two voice actors to ...

, then a member of ACME's main sketch company. Oates embarked on a renovation of the theater that made ACME the most technically advanced 99-seat theater in Los Angeles. In the first quarter of 2007 ACME underwent a second major renovation, which saw the installation of broadcast equipment and effectively turned ACME into a television soundstage. ACME is now the only sketch comedy theater to broadcast all its shows live on the internet. After a period of inactivity, ACME began hosting a sketch night on Sunday evenings. Beginning in March 2018, ACME hosted the house sketch teams from the recently closed iO West Theatre, as well as the long running current events show Top Story Weekly.

Notable alumni

Cecily Adams Cecily April Adams (February 6, 1958 – March 3, 2004) was an American actress, casting director, and lyricist. Early life Adams was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, the daughter of comic actor Don Adams and singer Adelaide Efantis. H ...

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cast member *

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Loynd, Ray (1994)
Refreshing Laughs on Tap: 'Acme Genuine Draft' features successfully written and delivered sketches
, ''

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'', July 15, 1994, retrieved 2010-12-15 *

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cast member * Jerry Lambert * Jeff Lewis *

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Paul Rugg Paul Kevin Rugg (born October 21, 1960) is an American screenwriter, producer, voice actor, and puppeteer. Biography Rugg has worked extensively in the field of animation. His list of credits include writing for, co-producing, and playing th ...

Wil Wheaton Richard William Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', Joey Trotta in '' ...

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.acmecomedy.com/ Improvisational theatre Comedy clubs in California Theatres in Hollywood, Los Angeles 1989 establishments in California