SF Sketchfest returns with Cheech & Chong, Laraine Newman, David Alan Grier, many more
Tributes to Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, original “Saturday Night Live” cast member and comedian Laraine Newman and actor David Alan Grier, a roast of “Evil Dead” star Bruce Campbell, dozen of sketch and band-up comics and numerous podcast tapings were announced as part of the initial lineup for the 20th annual SF Sketchfest, which will be held in January.
Following a virtual season last winter due to the pandemic, the city’s independent comedy and arts festival will return from Jan. 7 to 23 to venues across San Francisco. Tickets go on sale Sunday at 10 a.m.
SF Sketchfest will host both well known and up-and-coming acts in sketch and stand-up comedy, improv and film. Performances will include tributes and podcast recordings. The initial lineup also includes a 35th anniversary tribute to “Perfect Strangers” with Mark Linn-Baker and Bronson Pinchot; Comedy Central series “Viva Variety” 25th anniversary tribute with Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Michael Ian Black in conversation with Ken Marino; and Let’s Make a Poop! With Triumph the Insult Comic Dog with “Weird Al” Yankovic and much more
To celebrate its 20th year, SF Sketchfest partnered with animator and cartoonist Bill Plympton, who’s worked with Madonna and Kanye West, on the festival’s art and design elements.
Visit sfsketchfest.com for the complete lineup.
- SF Sketchfest Tribute to Cheech & Chong. 50th Anniversary Celebration with Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong in conversatio
- SF Sketchfest Tribute to Laraine Newman with friends Dana Gould, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maurice LaMarche and Rob Paulse
- SF Sketchfest Tribute to David Alan Grier in conversation
- SF Sketchfest Roast of Bruce Campbell with guests Jeffrey Combs, Sharon Gless, David Alan Grier, Kane Hodder, Cassandra Peterson (AKA Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Jennifer Tilly and roastmaster Dana Gould
- “Perfect Strangers” 35th Anniversary with Mark Linn-Baker and Bronson Pinchot
- “Viva Variety” 25th Anniversary Tribute. A Very Special Evening with Mr. and the former Mrs. Laupin and Johnny Blue Jeans, aka Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Michael Ian Black, in conversation with Ken Marino
- “Role Models” Live Read with David Cross, Beth Dover, Nyima Funk, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Phil LaMarr, Joe Lo Truglio, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, A.D. Miles, Adam Scott, Bobb’e J. Thompson, David Wain, Matt Walsh and more, with live music by the Red Room Orchestra
- The 5 Year Anniversary of the 10 Year Anniversary of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival with Eugene Mirman and friends Janeane Garofalo, Kristen Schaal, Sarah Vowell, Reggie Watts, and more
- Let’s Make a Poop! With Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Game show podcast with celebrity panelists including “Weird Al” Yankovic and more
- The 1491s
- Asian AF with Jason Choi, Will Choi, Miss Golightly, Misha Han, Mic Nguyen and more
- Maria Bamford with Jenny Yang Live at the Sydney Goldstein Theater
- The Black Version with Jordan Black, Nyima Funk, Daniele Gaither, Phil LaMarr, Karen Maruyama, Gary Anthony Williams and Cedric Yarbrough
- David Cross: I’m From the Future
- The Improvised Shakespeare Company
- Judge John Hodgman with John Hodgman and Jesse Thorn
- Stuff You Should Know with Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant
- Upright Citizens Brigade: ASSSSCAT with Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, D’Arcy Carden, Jessica McKenna, Tim Meadows, Zach Reino and more
- Varietopia with Paul F. Tompkins and more
- The Benson Movie Interruptions: “The Goonies” and “The Lost Boys” with Doug Benson and surprise guests
- “Futurama” vs. COVID-3019! with David X. Cohen, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Lee Supercinski, Lauren Tom and Billy West
- A Narfy Afternoon with “Pinky and the Brain” with Maurice LaMarche & Rob Paulsen, moderated by Cole Stratton
- Riffapalooza with Bill Corbett, Frank Conniff, Kevin Murphy, Mary Jo Pehl, Jonah Ray and J. Elvis Weinstein
- Add to Cart with Kulap Vilaysack and SuChin Pak
- Alchemy This with Kevin Pollak with Chris Alvarado, Craig Cackowski, Joey Greer, James Heaney and Cole Stratton
- The Bechdel Cast with Caitlin Durante and Jamie Loftus
- The Bitchuation Room with Francesca Fiorentini, Nato Green and more
- Community Focused Dynamics with Kaseem Bentley and Murahd Shawkey
- Dead Eyes with Connor Ratliff
- Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson
- The Endless Honeymoon Podcast with Moshe Kasher and Natasha Leggero
- Gettin’ Better with Ron Funches
- The George Lucas Talk Show with Patrick Cotnoir, Connor Ratliff and Griffin Newman
- The Greatest Generation with Adam Pranica and Benjamin Ahr Harrison
- Hello From the Magic Tavern with Arnie Niekamp, Adal Rifai and Matt Young
- Hey Riddle Riddle with Erin Keif, JPC, Adal Rifai and more
- John Hodgman & Adam Savage: Spin-a-Wheel Conversation
- Jordan, Jesse, Go! with Jordan Morris and Jesse Thorn
- Lady to Lady with Tess Barker, Babs Gray and Brandie Posey
- Live Wire with Luke Burbank
- Mission to Zyxx
- Nature Talks to Itself with Jace Armstrong and Justin Michael and guest D’Arcy Carden and more
- Nerd Rage: The Great Debates
- Off Book: The Improvised Musical with Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino
- Pod Yourself a Gun: A Sopranos Podcast with Matt Lieb, Vince Mancini and Brent Flyberg
- Ringheads with Bill Corbett and Sean Thomason
- Talking Simpsons
- Will You Accept This Rose? with Arden Myrin
- Yo, Is This Racist? with Tawny Newsome and Andrew Ti
- BriTANick
- Dinosaur Improv with Owen Burke, Chad Carter, Seth Morris, Charlie Sanders, Paul Scheer and more
- The Groundlings: Cookin’ With GAS
- Killing My Lobster With Cobranauts, Hosted by Mark Smalls
- Naked Babies with John Ross Bowie, Rob Corddry, Brian Huskey and Seth Morris / PalmerTrolls with Ben Palmer
- Please Leave The Bronx and The Great Difficulties Hosted by Matt O’Brien
- SponTourCo with Paul F. Tompkins, Eugene Cordero, Tawny Newsome and Janet Varney
- SuperMarried with John Ross Bowie and Jamie Denbo / Grifter, Hosted by Haley Hoffmeister
- Theme Park Improv with Ian Brennan, Simon Helberg, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jessica Makinson, Oscar Nuñez, Cole Stratton and Janet Varney with guest monologist Wendi McLendon-Covey
- White Women with Ronnie Adrian, Zeke Nicholson, Ify Nwadiwe, Ishmel Sahid, Carl Tart and Lamar Woods
- 3Peat with TSTMRKT, Hosted by Alexandria Love
- Todd Barry with Ever Mainard and Paco Romane
- Janeane Garofalo
- Joel Kim Booster’s Joy F*ck Club
- An Evening with Jeff Garlin: “Use Me” Tour
- Michael Winslow
- RB Butcher with Hayden Kristal
- Beth Stelling with Ever Mainard and Ja-Ron Young
- Sasheer Zamata
- Shane Torres with Mike Carrozza and Jane Harrison
- Atsuko & Friends with Atsuko Okatsuka, Michael Ian Black and more
- Smug Shift with Moshe Kasher and Brent Weinbach and guests Demi Adejuyigbe, Johnny Pemberton, Robin Tran and more
- Everything’s Great! with Demi Adejuyigbe, Nick Kocher and Addie Weyrich and guests Ginny Hogan, Natasha Leggero, Shane Torres and more
- Jay Jurden / Peter Smith. Hosted by Marcus Williams
- The Charm Offensive with Krista Fatka, Paco Romane and David Roth and guests Julie Ash, Dro Knows, Jade Theriault and Marcus Williams
- Comedy Baseball with Steve Ausburne, Matt Baetz, Colin Braun, Greg Gettle, DNA, Andrew Holmgren, Ben Kolina, Robert Omoto, Ivy Vasquez, Natasha Vinik and Mikey Walz
- Cosplay Comedy with Leiroy Abueg, K. Cheng, Kyle Chrise, Jason Cole, April Cowgur, Bryce Druzin, Sarah Giambruno, Janie Hanmaker Gunn, Alexander McAllister, Arturo Raygoza and Hank Romero
- Diversity Hires with Luisa Isbell and Sureni Weerasekera and guests Hayden Kristal, Alvin Kuai, Alexandria Love and Moe Yaqub
- Donde Esta Mi Comedy? with Baruch Porras Hernandez and guests Julian Fernandez, Isa Medina, Jota Mercury and Armando Torres
- DOPE Show with Kaseem Bentley and Murahd Shawkey with guests Ehsan Ahmad, Wally Baram, Ian Levy, Dauood Naimyar, Joshua Stokes and Sureni Weerasekera
- Facial Recognition Comedy with Zahra Ali, Fizaa Dosani, Pallavi Gunalan, Sabeen Sadiq and more
- Femmes The Rules with Mary Jane French, Sammy Mowrey and Bailey Norton and guests Jeena Bloom, Katrina Davis, Tyler Jackson, Drew Lausch, Ever Mainard and Mateen Stewart
- Funnilingus with Dana Donnelly, Pallavi Gunalan and Ellory Smith and guests Blair Dawson, Diana Hong, Leah Rudick, Laura Sanders and Atheer Yacoub
- The Gateway Show with Billy Anderson and guests Scott Eason, Melissa Shoshahi, Billy Sullivan, Armando Torres,
- Interruption Show with Dalia Malek and guests Alex Falcone, Holly Lynnea, Matt Knudsen, Mic Nguyen and Chad Opitz
- Jolli-baes with Andrew Orolfo and guests Marcus Cardona, Aivy Cordova, Andrew Lopez and Wilfred Padua
- Kwaczala-palooza with Joe Kwaczala and guests Luke Craig, Dana Donnelly, Alex Falcone, Ellory Smith and Torio Van Grol
- Lady to Lady and Ladyfriends with Tess Barker, Babs Gray and Brandie Posey and guests Alyssa Al-Dookhi, Nataly Aukar, Katrina Davis, Veronica Kwiatkowski and JoAnn Schinderle
- Locals Only! with Steven Asifo, Hayley Beacon, Justin Careesi, Max Eddy, Geulah Finman, Jesse Hett, Gary Hughes, Nick Leonard, Orion Levine, Jeanette Marin, Melissa McGillicuddy, Annette Mullaney, Luke Soin, Ta’Vi, Jade Theriault, Travis Thielen, Andrew Young and Zorba Jevon Hughes
- Mental Health Comedy Hour with Wonder Dave and Kristee Ono and guests Lola Anthema,Kari Burt and Dan Weber
- The Old School Comedy Masters with Larry “Bubbles” Brown, Mike Meehan and Johnny Steele
- Resistance is Fertile with Brooke Heinichen and Luisa Isbell and guests Darlene Bereznicki, Loren Kraut, Becky Lynn, JoAnn Schinderle and Ally Taylor
- The Setup with Abhay and Richard Sarvate and guests Virginia Jones, Lizzie Martinez, Joe Praino, Steven Rogers and Atheer Yacoub
- Special Release: Dhaya Lakshminarayanan & Karinda Dobbins
- Talkies with George Chen, Aviva Siegel, Land Smith and Nick Stargu and guests Katie-Ellen Humphries, Chad Opitz, Jay Shingle and Jordan Thewlis
- The SF Sketchfest Dozen: Will Miles & Blair SocciMike Drucker & Nori Reed, Amy Miller & Zach Zimmerman, Johnny Pemberton & Jenny Yang, Shalewa Sharpe & Sam Tallent, Fumi Abe & Joyelle Nicole Johnson
- SF Sketchfest Threesomes: Grant Gordon & Hannah Pilkes & Jeff Wright, Katrina Davis & Hanna Dickinson & Mike Merrill
- SF Sketchfest Killer Lineups: Chris Garcia, Kate Willett, Sahib Singh, Jes Tom, Shain Brenden and Seth Allen; Nore Davis, Robin Tran, Andrew Orolfo, Maeve Press, Casey Ley and Nick Sahoyah; Mohanad Elshieky, Yamaneika Saunders, Orlando Leyba, Kenice Mobley, Joe Kwaczala and Laura Sanders
- Bruce and Friend Kevin with Bruce McCulloch and Kevin McDonald
- Celebrity Autobiography with Mario Cantone, Sharon Gless, Tony Hale, Wendi McClendon-Covey, Laraine Newman, Oscar Nuñez, Eugene Pack, and Jennifer Tilly
- The Comedy Pack. An afternoon of short comedies by Eugene Pack starring Tony Hale, Tim Kazurinsky, Oscar Nuñez, Jennifer Tilly, George Wendt, and more
- Fake TED Talks with Jean Grae, Paul & Storm, Adam Savage and more
- Lottie Platchett Took a Hatchet! with Drew Droege, Tom Lenk, Ryan Garcia, Jessica Hanna, Tom DeTrinis, Justin Elizabeth Sayre and Pete Zias
- The Medievalists: a play reading by Bill Corbett with Paget Brewster, Jason Ritter, James Urbaniak and more
- Mortified
- Porchlight: A Storytelling Series with guests David Cross, Chris Garcia, A.D. Miles, Ify Nwadiwe, and Atsuko Okatsuka, hosted by Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte, with music by Marc Capelle
- RISK! with Kevin Allison with guests Mary Jo Pehl, Jonah Ray, Shalewa Sharpe and more
- Selected Shorts: Too Hot for Radio with Tony Hale and more
- Stop Joking for 100 Years And Other Requests From My Kid (Stories of Parenting and Childhood) with Eugene Mirman and friends Nore Davis, Janeane Garofalo, Dana Gould, Natasha Leggero, Bobby Tisdale, Reggie Watts, Jenny Yang, and more
- Choose Your Own Adventure — A Drag Show
- Comedy Psychos with Leiroy Abueg, Holly Annabel Brown, The Advertising Brothers, Joel Jimenez, Chris Riggins and Alyssa Westerlund
- The Crossword Show with Zach Sherwin
- Drennon Davis & DJ Real. Hosted by Darlene Bereznicki
- Filipino AF
- Get It?! with Joe Klocek with Joseph Anolin, Aivy Cordova and Ryan Goodcase
- Jonathan Coulton, Paul & Storm & Friends
- Kyle Gordon / Don’t Watch This Show Live! Hosted by Krista Fatka
- Music Night with The Doubleclicks, DJ Real, Chaki, The Satan Sisters, Ben Visini and Mikey Deadleg
- Play Date with Puddles, Dave Hill and Steve Agee
- Shit Arcade with Mike Drucker
- Tinder Live with Lane Moore and Janeane Garofalo
- Turning Tricks — The Magic Show with Robert Strong and guest magicians Jade, Jay Alexander, Kevin Blake, Andrew Evans and David Gerard
- Uptown Showdown Debate: “In Person vs. Remote” with RB Butcher, Dana Gould, Shane Torres and more
- Vanessa Gonzalez / The Latino Comedy Project Presents: “Gentrif*cked!”
- Wheels Off with Rhett Miller