Cellar Dwellers OnDemand

This year is the tenth anniversary of the Cellar Dwellers, the sketch comedy and improv troupe that I joined when I was but 12 years old. In the past ten years, we've performed countless shows, written thousands of skits, and wasted countless hours around a bubble hockey machine. Now, as we wrap-up our latest sketch comedy show, a new door has opened up for us: we're on TV.

A few months back, we were approached by an old friend who now works for a video production company in Pittsburgh. He works alongside Comcast's local OnDemand channel, and wanted to film one of our FN'Improv workshops (the FN' stands for Friday Night, of course). So last July, we filmed a kickin' two hour show to a standing-room-only crowd in our workshop space at the Beaver Valley Bowl. Months passed without us really hearing too much. Then November rolled around and the next thing we new, our pal was showing us rough cuts and having us approve intros for the show.

Now, as of last week, we are officially on Comcast OnDemand. The FN'Improv workshop is normally a two-hour show, filled with lots of audience participation, experimental games, and old standbys. All of that was edited down into a neat 45-minute package that shows off some great improvisation scenes and games.

After our stellar final performance of "A Legend, Indeed" last night, we all gathered to watch the OnDemand final product. Not only is it hilarious, but it's very well produced. Our friend and his film crew did a fantastic job capturing the show with their three-camera setup, and it's edited together in a very professional package. Comcast is able to track the statistics of how many people actually watch the thing, so hopefully it will get so many hits that they'll ask us to film another one.

The show is being broadcast, I believe, to all Comcast subscribers in the Western Pennsylvania area. So if you have Comcast cable with OnDemand, give it a tumble. You can access it by clicking Your Town > Entertainment > Comedy Spotlight > Cellar Dwellers 1. I guess the "1" implies that there will someday be a "2." The video should be available on Comcast for the next 6-12 months.

We will eventually be uploading clips of the show to YouTube, as well as producing a DVD of the uncut 2-hour performance... and we just might record a commentary track for it.