THE 3RD FLOOR
From Portland - Performing Saturday @
11:00pm
On
a dark, drizzly day in July of 1996, a group of comic
actors secretly met in a large loft apartment on the 3rd
floor of a converted warehouse in Portland, Oregon. They
discussed the lack of intelligent stage comedy in Portland.
For over a decade, the only form of live comedy available
in Portland was banal improv comedy and stand-up retreads.
So, not unlike your average team of superheroes, these
comics threw their talents on the table, determined to make
a difference. Among them were set builders, make-up
artists, costumers, light & sound designers, directors,
technicians, choreographers, and, most importantly, they
were all writers. They combined these skills to create a
new brand of theatrically driven sketch comedy.
And thus, The 3rd Floor: Maximum Capacity Sketch Comedy was
born. Critics and audiences immediately gravitated towards
the group’s unique brand of dark, intelligent humor.
Shows were sold out, extended, and repeated. Sketch comedy
in Portland no longer consisted of under-rehearsed material
on bare stages with minimal costumes. It was now produced
with the quality of a full-length play.
Over the past eleven years, 37 cast members have come and
gone and come back once more. The 3rd Floor has become a
sanctuary for some of the top comedic actors and writers in
the Northwest. It has also become a pool of talent that
local filmmakers and advertisers draw from on a regular
basis. Since it’s birth The 3rd Floor has written,
directed, produced, and starred in 26 original long-running
hit stage shows, starred in 2 short films (one alongside
sketch comedy pioneers, Firesign Theater), filmed countless
video sketches, recorded a full-length comedy CD (Don't
Laugh, That's My Mom), received standing ovations from
crowds of 500+ at various Northwest colleges and has
performed to enthusiastic crowds at festivals in Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle & Chicago.
We’ve had cast members on E.R., The West Wing,
Mtv’s Undressed, tons of commercials (both local and
national), in short films, feature films, even writing and
starring in cartoons (www.cartoonsrule.com). We even host
our own national sketch festival: The Best Of The Best
Sketch Fest, featuring the best groups in the country.
And this summer, The 3rd Floor turns 11 years old. Our BotB
Festival appearance will feature cast members from all 11
years performing some of our very favorite sketches. It's
gonna be sweet. Seriously, you should come.
the
cast
JORDANA
BARNES
ANDY BUZAN
BRANDON CAMPBELL
BRYAN COFFEE
JASON COFFEY
SPENCER CONWAY
TED DOUGLASS
ANDREW HARRIS
LOREN HOSKINS
JASON KELLER
ANDY LINDBERG
KEVIN-MICHAEL MOORE
DARIA O'NEILL
HEATHER NELSON ROBERTSON
JASON ROUSE
TONY ST.CLAIR
MICHAEL TEUFEL
DAN VHAY
KRIS VERCOUTEREN
DEANNA WELLS
contact
TED DOUGLASS
ANDY BUZAN
T3FPortland@aol.com
THE 3RD FLOOR PRESS STUFF
ALISON
HALLETT – THE PORTLAND MERCURY
“Local
sketch comedy legends the 3rd Floor are clearly amped to be
playing a new show in Portland, and judging by the number
of people lined up in the freezing cold trying to get into
last Saturday's sold-out show, Portland is happy to have
them back. It's hard to write about sketch comedy,
especially good sketch comedy. I want to convince you to
attend this show, without ruining any of the jokes. Let's
just say that of the thousands of minutes I've spent in
Portland theaters, the 90 that I spent with the 3rd Floor
last weekend were some of the sweetest, and I didn't look
at my watch once.”
GRANT
BUTLER – THE OREGONIAN
“The
festival's finale belonged to Portland's The 3rd Floor,
celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a collection of
its greatest hits, featuring 17 current and former members.
Goodness, how lucky we've got it here. Troop! leader Kevin
Chesley introduced our hometown company, noting how it had
rapidly become one of the top sketch comedy groups to watch
on the national scene. And The 3rd Floor's performance
lived up to the introduction.”
CHICAGO
MAGAZINE
“Five
Shows Worth Catching (At Chicago Sketchfest) - #4 The 3rd
Floor: With its past premises involving giants, unicorns
and naked cowboys, this boundary-busting Portland, Oregon
ensemble has become a festival fave. Watch out for
spattering blood.”
ALEXANDER
ZALBEN (PRODUCER OF SKETCHFEST:NYC) – GELF
MAGAZINE
"Third
Floor" I love. They did one of the best sketch shows I've
ever seen, which was their set in Portland Sketchfest last
year. They have really big-budget, high-concept sketch
comedy, while also being really incredible actors."
TRAV
S.D. - TIME OUT NEW YORK
"Standouts
among the visiting companies (to Sketchfest:NYC) include
Portland's The 3rd Floor, whose arsenal includes a knack
for absurd situations like a foaming-at-the-mouth
presentation by a rabid salesman."
JUSTIN SANDERS – THE PORTLAND MERCURY
“The
3rd Floor cast is one of the better acting ensembles to be
found in Portland, and their technical crew recreates
styles and eras with exceptional success…across the
board features great performances and stellar production
values. T3F knows what they’re doing…a
talented, confident and very funny sketch comedy
troupe.”
KEVIN
CHESLEY – PRETTYWITTY.COM
“And certain groups are becoming well-respected in
the sketch community. Portland’s Festival,
unapologetically entitled The Best Of The Best, culls its
line-up from the groups it considers to be innovating the
face of sketch comedy. And where do those groups try
earning that distinction? At the Festivals. With groups
like The 3rd Floor and Hoskins and Breen, Portland itself
is a city whose sketch community is fiercely inventive. The
press and the area audience are learning this year by
year.”
ERIC
LARSON – WILLAMETTE WEEK
“Take some Saturday Night Live, add a splash of audio
and video interludes, a sprinkle of naughty language, a lot
more rehearsal time, and you’ve got a pretty good
grip on The 3rd Floor’s sketch comedy
triumph…inspires true-blue, belly-aching
laughs…The sketches are chaotic but surprisingly
polished, and the communication between these performers is
a rare treat.”
SAM CROW – OUR TOWN
“…well constructed, with elaborate changes of
set and costume throughout…The 3rd Floor is
irreverent, vulgar and very, very funny…deftly
blends slapstick comedy, absurdist …a terrific
evening of comedy”
STEFFEN SILVIS – WILLAMETTE WEEK
“…a number of pieces…which are close to
genius…The 3rd Floor company is strong”
ANDREW SIMPSON – ANODYNE MAGAZINE
“…intelligent, classy and (dare I say)
consistently hilarious…”
BONNIE FAZIO – PORTLANDCITYSEARCH.COM
“…audiences want sketch comedy to make them
laugh, and (The 3rd Floor) provides many opportunities to
do so.”
JENNIFER MCILHENNY – THE OREGONIAN
“…intensely funny, affordable,
mind-blowing…intelligent, often demented extreme
sketch comedy”
BRIAN POSEN – PRODUCER OF THE CHICAGO SKETCHFEST
“They are inspirational. Their work continues to
affect many artists, especially here in Chicago. They
continue to raise the bar with their consistent excellence
they bring to Chicago.”
THE NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NEWSPAPER
“The 3rd Floor boasted a diverse variety of
characters and an incisive eye for social and cultural
commentary that kept the sketches ahead of the audience,
but never quite out of reach…The 3rd Floor
killed.”
TOUSSAINT PERRAULT – THE PORTLAND MERCURY
“The 3rd Floor's newest sketch collection plays like
a rock show, with a series of holiday gags interrupted only
by adoring applause and the busting of guts. The sketch
ensemble seems to have come of age with Holiday, finally
achieving the nearly impossible combination of crass
immaturity and sophisticated speed. It's probably a better
idea to celebrate the holidays with the 3rd Floor than with
your own family, because the comedians are faster, funnier,
and look better in drag. Most importantly, there's not a
scene-stealing drama turd in the whole bunch.”
HOLLY JOHNSON – THE OREGONIAN
“Strong characterizations, sharp timing and
intelligent material at every turn…a must-see for
comedy lovers…the ideas percolating are smart and
funny…These are good brains at work. How much fun
they must have putting this stuff together!”
MASON WEST – WILLAMETTE WEEK
“…laugh-out-loud hilarious…the cast
plays each role with enthusiasm and a variety that gives
each member a shining moment…on the whole,
it’s a gas, and a pleasant alternative to an evening
sitting on your ass in front of the tube.”