Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre Los Angeles

Opening (2005)

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre opened its Los Angeles location on 2 July 2005 at 5919 Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, the second UCB venue after the original New York City theatre (opened 1999). The 120-seat Franklin Avenue space presented the Harold and other long-form improv shows alongside a structured training curriculum, establishing the same house team and training pipeline model as UCB New York.

Expansion (2014)

In 2014, UCB opened a second Los Angeles venue at 5419 Sunset Boulevard (UCB Sunset), an 85-seat theatre with a training center, an Inner Sanctum café and performance space, and video production offices.

Closure and New Ownership (2020–2022)

In March and April 2020, both LA locations closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, UCB sold the Sunset Boulevard location, unable to meet mortgage payments during the shutdown. In March 2022, former Onion CEO Mike McAvoy and talent manager Jimmy Miller, backed by Elysian Park Ventures, acquired UCB. UCB Franklin Avenue reopened in September 2022 under the new management.

UCB LA operates in the same Harold-centred tradition as UCB New York, training performers in the long-form ensemble structure developed by Del Close at iO in Chicago. The ASSSSCAT format (long-form improv with a monologist) became the signature show at UCB LA, building a loyal audience for regular sold-out performances. UCB LA's position as the second major Harold training institution in Los Angeles (alongside iO West) shaped the city's long-form improv landscape from 2005 onward.

ASSSSCAT, the flagship longform show featuring UCB founders and celebrity guest monologists (past monologists include Will Ferrell, Mark Hamill, Tina Fey, Robin Williams, and Amy Poehler), has been the theatre's marquee production since the LA opening. Harold Night presents house improv ensembles weekly, with teams including CAKE, Cowboy Mama, Dance Club Remix, and Power of Attorney. Maude Night features house sketch teams performing new material monthly. The Cagematch, hosted by The Pasadena Plague (Mark David Christenson, Ryan Hitchcock, Jane Kim), pits two improv teams head-to-head with audience judging every Wednesday at 11pm. Lloyd teams (Branzino, Hoop Dreams, and others) perform as part of the developmental pipeline.

UCB LA became the primary comedy training ground on the West Coast, producing alumni who reshaped American television comedy. Aubrey Plaza, Nick Kroll, Jason Mantzoukas, and Bowen Yang all performed at the theatre before achieving mainstream careers. Broad City, created by UCB students Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer (who met in UCB classes in 2006), began as a UCB web series before becoming a Comedy Central hit. The Chris Gethard Show originated as a UCB experiment. Kate McKinnon, Ellie Kemper, Donald Glover, and Aziz Ansari all trained in the UCB system. Saturday Night Live has drawn heavily from UCB's talent pipeline, and the theatre's emphasis on free or low-cost performance opportunities created a model that shaped the economics of LA's indie comedy scene.