Hello! This is Philip Markle, the AD and co-creator of the new Brooklyn Comedy Collective. The BCC is a new Williamsburg-based comedy theater, producing shows Thursday to Saturday nights, and school, featuring six-week improv classes, in residency at The Brick Theater beginning this March. I'm happy to answer any questions you have today about the BCC!

I'm copying and pasting the press release to give you an overview of what we are up to. And feel free to AMA!

Artistic Director Philip Markle and Programming Director Annie Donley are excited to announce The Brooklyn Comedy Collective, a new comedy theater and school producing live shows, Thursday to Saturday nights, and six-week improv classes in residency at The Brick Theater in Williamsburg from March 8 - April 16, 2018 - with an option to extend past that date.

The BCC’s mission is to create a welcome space for artistic experimentation and operate a model of financially supporting producers and performers. Producers of shows at the BCC earn a significant percentage of the box office (50% of box after the first $55 in ticket sales), which can then be passed along to performers in each show. The BCC looks to program shows that demonstrate a strong point of view or sense of self and is accepting show submissions of all types thru Feb. 20 at www.brooklyncc.com/shows and our March/April line-up will be announced soon afterwards.

The BCC also teaches an original improvisation curriculum focusing on three core concepts: individual empowerment, ensemble support, and professional performance. The BCC is launching with a Level 1 class (taught by instructor Jared Jeffries and open to all) and two Level 2 classes (taught by Markle and Donley and open to those with significant prior improv experience). All instructors at the BCC bring years of teaching experience to the table and are frequent performers in the NY comedy scene. There is a free preview class on Sat, Feb. 24th from 2:30-4:30pm for anyone to try-out the BCC’s approach. For more info on the school, visit: www.brooklyncc.com/classes

Markle and Donley, who collaboratively helped launch and run the Annoyance Theater’s Brooklyn branch between 2014-2016, are excited to be working together in this new venture. “It’s been almost a year since the Annoyance NY closed, and we’ve watched fellow artists and friends produce shows at a myriad of locations all over the place,” Markle says. “We are so excited to invite that community, and the NY comedy scene, as a whole to play together under a new roof in Brooklyn and under a new model that offers financial payment to the creators of the shows. And, we are excited to challenge students with a curriculum that pairs personal empowerment with a focus on being a strong team player...and ultimately teaches each student how to get out of the classroom and performing in the NY comedy scene by celebrating what you and only you can do onstage.”

The BCC is thrilled to build a new comedy community that financially rewards its performers, fosters and encourages risk-taking and new talent, and inspires students to approach make-em-ups from a place of joy and fierceness. Tickets for shows run $5-10 and classes cost $275 for a six-week session.

For more info, visit www.brooklyncc.com