Crossroads Comedy Theater is so happy to welcome several new performers to the fam! These performers will be the first regular performers added to our newest show, Extree! Extree! Comedy Inspired By the News! If you don’t know the show yet, no worries, it’s brand new! We’ve only had two online performances during Philly Theatre Week and one live show during our June run at Theatre Exile.

Extree is a show inspired by Whirled News Tonight, an old show at iO Chicago created my friend, the late, great Jason Chin. In our version I curate a playlist of video clips of news from the previous week covering a wide variety of topics. It’s not all fluff, but it’s not all political. The cast then uses each video to inspire the smart, funny, and sometimes insanely weird improvised scenes created on the spot. It’s a chance for the audience to get caught up on the news of the week without getting emotionally drained. Even the tougher topics will provide some laughs.

These awesome people were chosen based on their previous work I have observed, in some cases for years, as well as their fantastic performance in the first live Extree show earlier this month. I threw a lot at them from cat shaming to anti-vaxxers claiming the vaccine is magnetic to car pooling with dummies to an alligator wandering into a post office  voting rights and more. Each topic was handled with the weight it deserves, while still keeping things smart and funny throughout. Please welcome to the cast of Extree! Extree! Comedy Inspired By the News:

Ann Beck
Jabari Dortch
Rachel Semigran
Randie Welles
Joe Wendrychowicz

For now, the remaining 3-5 spots will be open to invited local performers and out of town guests. You’ll be able to see these performers live on stage again starting on July 18th @ 7pm and in each Extree show thereafter. You might also see them pop-up in other Crossroads shows such as Study Hall or Not Yet Rated down the line. Unfamiliar with one or all of the above named performers? Check out their bios below and then get tickets to the next Extree Extree – now pay what you can – or visit the new Extree Show Page!

Mike Marbach
Crossroads Comedy Theater

ANN BECK

Ann re-entered the world of performance after a long run as full-time mom to three sons. She has now returned to the joys of her youth – backyard plays and high school musicals. Ann studied voice and psychology at Muhlenberg College and improv and acting at the Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia Improv Theater (PHIT), and the Second City Chicago. Along with opportunities in film, TV, and commercials, Ann is a member of the PHIT house teams Wavelength and High Fashion and the indie team Time Bandits. Ann currently performs with the Crossroads Comedy Theater show Extree! Extree! Comedy Inspired By the News.

JABARI DORTCH

Jabari is a Philadelphia based comedian, writer, & music producer. He was trained at the Philly Improv Theater and has performed with house teams Fan Club and Whiplash. Jabari currently performs with the Crossroads Comedy Theater show Extree! Extree! Comedy Inspired By the News and co-hosts the Free Improv Jam at the Crossroads. Jabari is also a member of ComedySportz Philadelphia and is the creator of the comic strip Failures in Parenting.

RACHEL SEMIGRAN

Rachel Semigran is an improviser, director, producer, and educator with 15+ years of experience ranging from the London stage and Edinburgh Fringe to Philadelphia black boxes and universities. She earned her MA in Applied Theatre from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and is a proud Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholar. By day, Rachel is a marketing and communications professional in higher education. At all other times, she’s at the beck and call of her cat Millie. Rachel currently performs with the Crossroads Comedy Theater show Extree! Extree! Comedy Inspired By the News and co-hosts the Free Improv Jam at the Crossroads.

RANDIE WELLES

Randie Welles is a performer and writer from West Philly. Randie currently performs with the Crossroads Comedy Theater show, Extree! Extree! Comedy Inspired By the news. She has performed with all-POC improv and sketch group NYTEShift, and is a member of short-form improv group The N Crowd. She has been a storyteller at First Person Arts StorySlams, Tell Me A Story, The Moth Philadelphia and hosted her own short-run storytelling show Human Nature.

JOE WENDRYCHOWICZ

Joe began taking improv classes in 2014. He was a longtime performer at the Philly Improv Theater where he was a member of several teams including Channel 77, Neighborhood Watch, Untitled and Dutch. Currently you can catch Joe in the Crossroads Comedy Theater show Extree! Extree! Comedy Inspired By the News. He also hosts the improv podcast Fair Deal: An Improvised Mediation.

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