Amphibian Stage Productions Announces Lineup for 2017 Comedy Series

Amphibian Stage Productions announces the comedian lineup for its second annual Phib Comedy Series, featuring Baron Vaughn, star of Grace and Frankie and Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return, as well as Emily Heller, series regular on TBS' Ground Floor.

Baron and Emily will each perform for a week at Amphibian, giving the audience a unique chance to see how the comedians' work evolves as they use feedback to develop their routines throughout the week. Emily performs August 22-26, and Baron performs September 4-9.

"The typical process for comedians to develop new material is quite brutal," said Kathleen Culebro, Amphibian Stage Productions Artistic Director. "They write in isolation and then try the jokes in front of audiences who are frequently more interested in drinking than what the performers have to say. We provide comedians the same environment we offer playwrights: a safe, nurturing environment to take risks and try new ideas. By the end of their residencies they have polished sets that are ready for national television and Comedy Clubs around the country."

Each night features different opening acts by DFW comedians including Latrice Allen, Scott Crisp, De De T, Paulos Feerow, ChristIan Hughes, Shahyan Jahani, Sheridi Lester, Monna, Alvin Newsome, and Linda Stogner; weekend nights feature two opening acts. Performance dates are on the website.

Baron Vaughn is known for an act as energetic as it is intelligent, with finely-crafted ramblings that shoot off into pop culture references. Currently he can be seen playing Nwabudike "Bud" Bergstein on the Netflix television series Grace and Frankie with Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen, and Lily Tomlin; he is also the voice of Tom Servo on the recent revival of MST3K.

Emily Heller is a comedian and writer for Fox, NBC, HBO, and TBS. She is a series regular on the TBS show Ground Floor, and she has appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Conan, The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show, Maron, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Chelsea Lately, as well as her own half hour special for Comedy Central.

Dreamy Life Records, a Fort Worth based label and record store, will be spinning vinyl in the lobby at the weekend performances. They are partnering with Amphibian to host Emily Heller's after-party on Friday, August 25 at Republic, with live music featuring Jesse Gage, I Happy Am, Loafers, and Sealion, as well as Baron Vaughn's after-party on September 8 at MASS, featuring Young Valley, Toy Gun, and War Party.

Amphibian will also partner with Art Tooth for a special art installation in the lobby that will be showcased during the Fort Worth Art Dealer's Association (FWADA) Gallery Night on Saturday, September 9.

The 2017 Phib Comedy Series is sponsored in part by Hilton Garden Inn Fort Worth/Medical Center and Homewood Suites by Hilton.

Visit www.amphibianstage.com/plays/comedy-series for more information. For high-resolution images, please visit www.amphibianstage.com/2017-phib-comedy-series-press-kit

Ticket Information

Tickets for individual nights range from $12 to $25, and festival passes for each comedian are available for $32. A discount of $5 is available with the purchase of tickets for two or more individual nights for either of the comedians. Emily Heller performs August 22-26, and Baron Vaughn performs September 4-9.

To purchase tickets, call 817-923-3012, email boxoffice@amphibianstage.com, or visit www.amphibianstage.com. The theater is located at 120 S. Main Street, Fort Worth, TX 76104.

About Amphibian Stage Productions

Amphibian Stage Productions is a non-profit theatre company founded in 2000 by three alumni of TCU's Department of Theatre who strive to produce innovative and engaging theatre that inspires new ideas, opens new doors, and increases our understanding of the vast world around us. Now in its eighteenth season, Amphibian has produced numerous groundbreaking and challenging plays (some regional premieres, others U.S. or world premieres) that foster a deeper understanding of ourselves as members of the global community. The company is widely recognized for its stylistically and thematically varied scripts.

Committed to nurturing young and diverse audiences, Amphibian has developed a strong internship program, a summer acting workshop for teens, and a dynamic outreach project, Tad-Poles, that is steadily increasing the company's visibility and following. The group travels to schools and community centers, performing and spreading a message of multicultural collaboration and tolerance.

Amphibian is generously funded by the American Theatre Wing, Amon G. Carter Foundation, Ann L. and Carol Greene Rhodes Charitable Trust, Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Dramatists Guild Fund, Fifth Avenue Foundation, Fort Worth Promotion and Development Fund, Mary Potishman Lard Trust, Pangburn Foundation, Thomas M., Helen McKee & John P. Ryan Foundation, Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Smallwood Foundation, Southwest Bank, Texas Commission on the Arts, Wells Fargo Bank, William E. Scott Foundation, and the Devonian Society, a group of Amphibian's devoted donors who are proud to be the force behind nurturing the next generation of artists and audiences.

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