MET's The Comedy Pigs Debut 2016 Sketch Show Tonight

It's Sketch Show Season! The Comedy Pigs and the Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) are bringing you the hottest and most exciting comedy show this side of Santa's workshop!

Since 1992, The Comedy Pigs having been splitting sides and inciting bodily noises out of the Frederick audience and beyond! And this year's crop of sketches will cover all the bases.

"The sketch show is the culmination of everything funny the Pigs have thought of in the past year," says Thomas Scholtes, a Comedy Pig's seven-year veteran. "We have meetings throughout the season to discuss ideas, workshop new characters, and this is where we select the best of the best to rehearse and perform. It's a lot more work than a normal show, and the audience can tell."

Normally, The Comedy Pigs perform all improv shows, getting suggestions from the audience on the spot, and making scenes and stories based on those suggestions. But for the sketch show, all the material is written beforehand, similar in style to Saturday Night Live.

"Writing can be a bit...challenging...for some of our members," says Comedy Pig, Anne Raugh with a smirk. "Luckily we had freshly oiled whips this year thanks to our season sponsors, and have been able to coerce some really great ideas from everyone. When it comes to physically writing things down on a computer, or even on paper, that isn't necessarily an area improvisers excel in...but again, we got the new whips. You can't get a better sketch show than when you throw a bit of fear and torture into the mix!"

The sketch shows are also earlier than a normal Comedy Pigs show, with these once-a-year performances starting at 8pm rather than the normal 9pm, or the late-late 10:30pm shows.

"Our fans really appreciate the earlier shows," adds Laura Stark, the group's self-proclaimed "eye candy." "The 8pm shows allow friends and families to go out downtown, grab some food, grab a few drinks, then sit back and be entertained for a couple hours, and still get home before the kids have overwhelmed the babysitter! All-in-all, our show has something for everyone, and you will be guaranteed to laugh at least one time during the show, otherwise you ticket will cost double."

The Comedy Pigs 2016 Sketch Show is currently billed as having Aliens, Donald Trump, the Summer Equinox and everything in between (and out of tween?). Topics subject to change with each new Republican debate.

Come see the Pigs pour their bacon out for you in the 2016 sketch show tonight, January 23rd, and tomorrow, January 24th, January 30th and 31st at Maryland Ensemble Theatre (31 W Patrick St.), located downtown in the historic FSK Hotel. Tickets are $14 and may be purchased online at marylandensemble.org, by phone at (301) 694-4744 or in person at the MET box office.