spurn news
August 2011... A huge milestone for acclaimed stand-up comedian and spurn staff writer/elder statesman, Rob Paravonian just occurred. Rob’s YouTube posting, Pachelbel Rant, has achieved over TEN MILLION HITS! Holy crap! Go Rob, congrats from your spurn family!
February 2011... The impossible has occurred. Notoriously grumpy curmudgeon and all-around “bad cop” co-producer, co-writer and cast member Ross A. McIntyre recently exhibited signs of… kindness? Caring? Empathy! Mr. McIntyre and his lovely and far more appealing wife Jessica just had their first child, a girl they named Rider Annabelle McIntyre. Will these disgusting waves of goodwill currently emanating from Mac continue into the future? Not likely, but it is nice to see for a little while. Inevitably, one of our cast of hotheads will show up late to rehearsal, or flub a line, and then the McIntyre we know and love will return with a vengeance. And seriously, three baby announcements in one year? We are getting older and fatter.
October 2010... spurn returns with an all-new, limited-run engagement! This time, we tackle the horror that is growing older. spurn: Older & Fatter features a not-so-slimmed-down cast of veterans and brings back infamous director Neil Turitz! If, like us, your midsection has increased exponentially in the last ten years, you have new hair growing everywhere but the top of your head and your 20’s were long, long ago, come see spurn this month! Advance tickets are available here.
September 2010... More spurn-related offspring have been brought into the world! Samantha Paige Libenson was born to regular cast member Bethany Sacks Libenson and her seemingly nice, likely murdering sociopath husband Chris was born on September 4th. Both mother and daughter are healthy, though the cast and crew of spurn are incredibly displeased, as this means we lose Bethany for spurn’s all-new run next month. Wait, two baby-centric posts in a row? Really?
February 2010... Quite foolishly, Neil and Richelle Trivedi were hoodwinked into having a second child. Steven Gregg Hart Trivedi (yes, we’re those people, the ones who insist on multiple names for their children) was born on Feb. 15th and is a healthy and seemingly happy little creature, who we have affectionately nicknamed “Brisket”, because really, he’s not that little. Hoodwinked how? Alcohol, plain and simple.
June 2009... The recent all-new, Financial-Meltdown-themed production of spurn has come and gone, selling out every one of its performances. We are quite pleased with the trimmed down, cast of veterans and returning director, the lovely Sam Tella, and are happy that you all came out in droves. Look for us to return with a new show and a new theme in 2010!
April 2009... Just popping in to remind everyone that spurn returns for our lucky 13th production next month to the Peoples Improv Theater! All cast members remain intact from our previous production in December 2008, and this time spurn tackles the worldwide financial crisis in ways only spurn can! Don’t forget to purchase tickets in advance!
march 2009... Hello all! Just wanted to let everyone know that spurn staff writer and comedian extraordinaire Rob Paravonian has written a one-act, Blowing Bubbles, that just made it to the final round of The Network One-Act Festival at the Barrow Street Theater. Better still, the play features spurn regulars Matt Klan and Jennifer Spragg! Congrats to all of you! Oh, and check back here soon - we'll have new info on the upcoming production of spurn this spring.
december 2008... The recent all-new production of spurn has come and gone, selling out every one of its performances. We are quite pleased with both the wonderful reception to our first "themed" show - all the sketches related in some way to the Holidays - as well as our newest cast member, Chris Enright. Look for us to return with a new show and a new theme in spring 2009!
november 2008... Despite all evidence to the contrary that it would never, ever happen, spurn original cast member and current co-writer and co-producer, Ross A. McIntyre, officially tied the knot with his lovely better half of - wait for it - 14 years, Jessica Rider! Our deepest sympathies go out to poor, poor Jessica. Keep in mind that when they first got together, W. had just been elected Governor of Texas, Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed in the knees, Schindler's List won the Best Picture Oscar, Kurt Cobain killed himself, and Dakota Fanning was born. Yes, their relationship is as old as Dakota Fanning, proving that its never too late to make a horrible mistake, Rider.
july 2008... The June 2008 production of spurn has come to end, and it was a smashing success! The production sold out every one of its performances throughout the month, and even went so far as to turn away up to a dozen unlucky souls the last three weeks. To those folks who didn't get to see the show, sorry! Check back here for new productions in 2008 and beyond. In the meantime, feel free to check out our latest piece of video goodness, "Why, Mattel, Why?", available at Sony's Crackle site, Veoh, the iTunes Store and spurn's MySpace page.
june 2008... Whoa! spurn has been selling out like hell! There's only one more performance left in spurn's current run, this Friday, June 27th at 9:30 pm, and if you haven't seen us yet and plan to, we highly recommend that you purchase tickets in advance online. We've been over-capacity for the last two weeks now, turning up to a dozen people away each performance. Also, check out our two newest videos, "America's Favorite Pastime" and "Here's To The Fathers", now available on Sony's Crackle site, Veoh, the iTunes Store and even spurn's very own MySpace page!
june 2008... spurn returns! Our annual summer season opened on June 11 at the Peoples Improv Theater with a returning favorite director, two new cast members, and of course your returning cast of freaks. Come on out to enjoy some hiiiii-larious comedy on a hot summer night in an air-conditioned, alcohol-serving theater! Head over to our schedule page for further details.
january 2008... Happy New Year from spurn! Just wanted to let you all know that, after only 15 days on podshow, spurn video "Blood Shall Clot As White-Out" has garnered 100,000 views! Thanks to everyone who visits podshow, and to illustrious spurn elder statesman Matt Klan for writing and starring in the piece. Nice work!
december 2007... Our latest, tenth live stage production, which closed on December 14th, was a huge success! With 3 of 4 shows sold out (the last of which being standing room only), we sincerely hope you were one of the lucky masses who got to enjoy spurn's latest round of signature humor, which The L Magazine says is "too funny to be properly capitalized." Check back often for fresh video podcast uploads, news on future live shows and, as always, happy holidays from spurn!
october 2007... spurn's tenth live stage production is nearly upon us! That's right, in six years of performing in NYC, spurn has managed to stay together long enough to get to its hallowed 10th show. Even better, its the first show comprised of entirely all-new material in over a year! We open at the Peoples Improv Theater on Friday night, November 16th with a new director, a new cast member, and a even a returning favorite. Don't miss it folks, its gonna be a great one.
september 2007... Thoroughly disgusting spurn cast member Matt Klan recently entered the world of competitive eating. At New York's annual San Gennaro Festival Cannoli eating contest, Klan ate 12 large cannolis in six minutes, placing 4th. This translates to 13,464 calories, i.e., 942% of his daily fat intake. Once again, this all took place in a total of six minutes. Matt's blushing bride and fellow cast member Jen must be overwhelmed with pride.
august 2007... Prodigal cast member Kristen Rozanski scores big! Along with... well, some other group, our illustrious Mizz Ro starred in a YouTube video sketch that has been viewed nearly 2 million times! Congratulations, Kristen!
july 2007... This past Saturday, July 7th, spurn sold out the opening night of its current production at the Peoples Improv Theater! It could have something to do with our friends at TimeOut NY magazine, who, for the third consecutive spurn production have us listed as a Critic's Pick of the week. Thanks TimeOut!
july 2007... Ross A. McIntyre, co-producer, writer and original castmember for spurn, was recently interviewed by BlogChelsea (scroll down to the July 5th posting). Our illustrious Mac discusses all things spurn including the new show, opening this weekend at the Peoples Improv Theater here in NYC.
june 2007... Despite the best efforts of spurn's producers to the contrary, cast members Jennifer Spragg and Matt Klan tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in Ithaca, New York on June 23rd, 2007. Let's not mention the irony of two people meeting, falling in love and getting married while acting together on a production entitled "spurn". Whoops, too late. Regardless, congratulations to the happy couple!
june 2007... In preparation for a new live production this July at the PIT, spurn picks up a few new members! We welcome to the cast Ashley Diane Currie and Gabriel Seth Hudson, as well as new director Gary Upton Schwartz! Um... isn't there an old saying about people with three names and serial killers? Well, that would make them a perfect fit for spurn.
may 2007... Jarett Bellucci, cinematographer of every one of spurn's lovely video podcast episodes, is a contestant on the Spielberg/Burnett co-production On The Lot! The highly-anticipated reality series focuses on discovering burgeoning young directors, with the winner receiving a guaranteed $1 million budget and production deal. Tune in Tuesdays at 9:00 pm EST on Fox, and check out an interview with Jarett in "NY's hometown paper", the Daily News.
april 2007... Another day, another triumph! Today, April 24th, spurn is the featured podcast at Grouper, Sony's online video cache. Thanks, Grouper!
april 2007... spurn finally achieves 500,000 hits! That's right, since the very first posting in January of 2006, over half a million of you sick, twisted webfans have viewed or downloaded one of our 22 video podcast episodes. Even better, over half of all those hits have occurred since just this past New Year, which means that a lot of you have been spreading the word in a very short amount of time. Bravo!
march 2007... spurn had a great run at the PIT last month, selling out 3 of 4 weekends to a very vocal, happy, laughing (and very likely inebriated) crowd. Our favorite kind! Couple of good reviews too, including this one from the illustrious BlogChelsea. We look forward to returning for another run at the PIT sometime soon.
february 2007... spurn's video podcast feed is currently the featured comedy selection at the iTunes Store, which could explain why we might very well achieve that hallowed 500,000 hits milestone sooner than we thought! Thanks to all of you viewers out there!
february 2007... spurn friend and collaborator Rob Paravonian's ongoing videography, Life As A Comic, is the current featured comedy podcast on YouTube, which means that he's getting an assload of traffic his way. A little more won't hurt... nice going, Rob!
january 2007... spurn returns! The renowned Peoples Improv Theater has bequeathed upon us an upcoming late night, one-hour timeslot. So, every Saturday this February at 11:00 pm you can now find yourself enjoying your favorite twisted carnival of pathos and whimsy live... and the PIT even serves alcohol! What more could you possibly want? Head to our schedule page for further details.
january 2007... Happy New Year from spurn! Just wanted to let everyone know that we've hit yet another spurn milestone... over 200,000 hits to our video podcast feed in less than a year! Woo hoo!
