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| Crack Team of Sketch Comedians 'Punch Up' Lives of Ordinary Canadians in Punched Up |
| Posted
on Friday, October 27, 2006 - 10:10 AM |
Could your average, predictable, everyday life truly be a lot funnier? What if a team of comedy professionals could step up to the plate and 'punch up' the lives of ordinary Canadians? Punched Up is a new hybrid comedy series that blurs the lines between what's real and what's funny.
Part improvised sitcom, part makeover spoof and part reality TV satire, this new 13-part, half-hour series features a team of seven comedy writers-turned-makeover-artists who 'punch up' lives with a healthy dose of comic relief. Punched Up premieres Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, beginning November 15, exclusively on The Comedy Network.
Punched Up stars seven 2006 Canadian Comedy Award-nominees including Second City vets Lauren Ash, Matt Baram, John Catucci, Scott Montgomery, Naomi Snieckus and members of Toronto's cult hit comedy troupe, The Sketchersons, Shannon Beckner and Pat Thornton. The laugh-packed series also features celebrity guest stars John Avery (Toronto Argos), Lisa Benton (Naked News), Mark Holmes (former Platinum Blonde rock star), Jeff Hutcheson (Canada AM), Michael Landsberg (Off The Record), Tanya Kim and Ben Mulroney (etalk), and professional wrestlers Rowdy Roddy Piper and current WWE champ Edge, among others.
In each of the unscripted episodes, a revolving team of four comedy writers enters a regular Joe's world, following them at home, work and play, to observe, probe, comment on and coach them through their daily lives. Their missions range from bolstering the confidence of a beleaguered intern to assisting a 20-year-old with his garage-based internet talk show, to helping a dreamer realize aspirations of becoming a professional wrestler.
In Episode 1 Naked News weather girl Lisa Benton is blonde and beautiful but her interview skills need a little polishing. The team, led by Pat Thornton and Matt Baram are only too eager to help and Canada AM Anchor Jeff Hutcheson pitches in with an interview workshop. In Episode 2, Toronto Argo Running Back John Avery is looking to lay the groundwork for a post-football career by developing a sitcom about his life but encounters difficulty breaking into the television industry. The team, led by Scott Montgomery, attempts to take Avery to another level with disastrous results.
Meet the team behind the punch ups:
Lauren Ash, a native of Belleville, is currently performing in her second Second City Toronto main stage revue, Bird Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Prior to main stage, Lauren performed with The Second City Touring Company, Tony & Tina's Wedding and in her one-woman show Why Jerry Orbach Won't Let Me Be a Feminist. Ash is one-half of the sketch duo CORY!, named one of the best comedy discoveries of 2004 by Now Magazine. Recent television credits include T.O. Laughs, The Wilkinsons: House Raising and Sketch with Kevin McDonald.
Matt Baram is currently a member of Toronto's acclaimed Second City Main Stage Company, performing in his sixth main stage revue, Bird Flu Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Select film and TV credits include Ace Lightning, Veritas, Soul Food, Train 48, The Newsroom and Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium. A graduate of the University of Alberta's acting program, Baram has performed extensively in theatres across the country.
Shannon Beckner is a Thunder Bay native who divides her time between Toronto and Los Angeles.
A member of the popular and critically acclaimed Toronto comedy troupe, The Sketchersons, she produces, directs, writes and performs new sketches for live audiences every week. The troupe received two consecutive Canadian Comedy Award nominations for best sketch troupe in 2004 and 2005. Beckner is a regular at comedy showcases, festivals and tours.
John Catucci is an actor, singer and comedian. This Toronto homeboy is one-half of the musical comedy duo The Doo Wops. In 2001, the duo won the prestigious Homegrown Comedy Competition at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. Since then, they have become regulars at the Festival and on Just For Laughs Comedy Tours. Catucci is also a member of The Second City Touring Company as well as a founding member of The Minnesota Wrecking Crew, the 2003 and 2004 Canadian Comedy Award winners for best sketch troupe. TV and film credits include Liocracy (Comedy Network), The Toronto Show (Toronto 1) and The Tuxedo.
Scott Montgomery, originally from Winnipeg, is a member of Toronto's Second City Main Stage. Montgomery has also appeared in several reviews with the Touring Company and performed in and around Toronto in Monkey Toast (winner of a 2004 Canadian Comedy Award for best improve troupe), Catch 23, Sass in the City and The Late, Late Horror Show. Additional TV credits include The Blobheads, Tilt and the 'C.N. Tower' on Late Nite With Conan O'Brien. Look for him in the upcoming feature Hooked On Speedman.
Naomi Snieckus, originally from Kitchener-Waterloo, has appeared in ReGenesis, Train 48 and The Dead Zone and in the features Lie With Me, Let it Snow and A Woman Scorned. Snieckus has been a member of Toronto's Second City Main Stage Company for nearly three years. A graduate from Ryerson Theatre School, she has worked in theatres across Canada including CanStage, Buddies in Bad Times, and YPT.
Pat Thornton is a founding member of the sketch troupes Todd's Lunch, Gorilla Sketch, The Amazings and Toronto's newest critically acclaimed weekly showcase for cutting edge comedy, Sunday Night Live. Last year, Thornton was nominated for the Tim Sims Encouragement Award, presented to Canada's brightest new comedic star. This Mississauga, Ontario, native also has extensive experience writing for theatre and film, having written, performed, directed and produced four plays, two independent features and multiple short films including the multi-award winning short film, When Urine Love, airing on The Comedy Network.
Gemini Award-winner Allan Novak is the Executive Producer and Founder of Indivisual Productions, a production company specializing in innovative comedy, documentary, reality and lifestyle programming. Credits include the Gemini-nominated, critically acclaimed Comedy Network special, The Joe Blow Show, and the 90-minute special The Joke's on Us: 50 Years of CBC Satire, which earned Novak a Gemini nomination for best director. Indivisual also produced W Network's lifestyle series Second Time Around and the Gemini Award-winning Loving Spoonfuls, currently seen on CBC and also airing in Finland, Italy, Israel and the U.K.
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