About the 2021 SCIT Telethon
The SCIT is now a nonprofit organization, and we’re raising money in a fun way this year with the triumphant return of the SCIT Telethon. This year, you will have two ways to see the show either in person (with food and prizes) or streamed live from our stage to the world. We need your help to keep the SCIT thriving as the original home of improv comedy in Pittsburgh!
We have always believed that improv was more than performance art. It’s a way to help people communicate, understand each other, listen, and grow. All things that we could use more of in today’s world.
In order for us to continue developing community programming and education, we’ll need your help. On Saturday, December 4 at 12 PM we will be hosting THE SCIT TELETHON, a fundraiser that will go toward keeping the SCIT operating for the next year.
The show will be in front of a live audience and streamed online over 11 hours in celebration of our 11 years! Tickets to the live show are available for purchase now. In the meantime, you can donate to the campaign HERE!
Who: Local improvisers
What: Improv, characters, food, laughs, community
When: December 4 · 3 segments · 12pm, 4pm, 8pm
Where: Steel City Improv Theater and streamed online here: Twitch, YouTube, Facebook
Why: To help us thrive in our mission to perform and teach long-form improv comedy
Featured Performers and Hosts
Paul Mattingly has been performing and teaching in Las Vegas since 2008. Paul and his creative partner Matt Donnelly let their different styles collide to bring out unique improv performances as a Vegas comedy duo all across the country. Before winning “Best Comedy Show in Vegas,” “Best Comedy Duo,” and “Best Comedian(s) in Vegas” over the last decade, Paul and Matt took very different paths of comedy training and performance. In Kentucky, Paul studied theater at University of Louisville before studying at The Groundlings in LA, and at Second City in Las Vegas where he starred on the Main Stage show at The Flamingo Casino. Today, Matt and Paul host the highly successful Matt and Mattingly’s Ice Cream Social podcast, which comes out twice a week and has nearly 850 episodes and counting! He most recently moved to the Pittsburgh area with his wife and two dogs.
Remy Porter will be bringing his timeless character Poggio Bracciolini to life during the segment of the Telethon that begins at 8pm. This is what Remy had to say about his act for the Telethon: “Poggio Bracciolini is a very real historical figure who wrote one of the first joke books as a tool to sharpen his wits. I find him a fascinating figure, both for his role in history as an early humanist, and for what his comedy represents. In a world where people lament you “can’t say anything anymore,” I like taking 600 year old jokes, some of which are absolutely filthy, and sharing them. I re-envision Poggio as an aspiring stand-up comedian, saying jokes instead of writing them down. I like seeing how the meaning of those jokes has been changed by time, but also how relatable they actually remain, how I can add my own interpretation and modernizations to still make the jokes mine, while respecting Poggio’s original interpretations. It’s exactly the sort of thing that I love to share with the SCIT community, because it’s the kind of space that really celebrates these sorts of unusual ideas.”
Aaron Crutchfield will co-host the segment of the Telethon that begins at 12pm, with Kelly Mariska. With more than 20 years of experience in improv performance and training, Aaron has performed from Boston to San Francisco, in roles ranging from Sergeant Wilkie in A Soldiers Story, to the lead in Othello. Aaron is a teaching artist for the Pittsburgh public schools. He has worked with students from second graders to high schoolers at Brashear, Cranberry, and Perry high schools, under contracts with The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
Here is what Aaron has to say about hosting the Telethon: “I am joyful and proud to be helping SCIT further cement its place in Pittsburgh as the ‘first unusual and exceptional thing’ and place in our Steel City! When I first got here in 2014, I was thrilled to leave the high rural plains behind and rejoin cutting edge comedy and a cool thriving community. Yes, time passes and players roam and play at other venues and become house players here and there but, the stage and quality of commitment to good improv is always in great abundance at SCIT.”
Miguelina Javier will host the segment of the Telethon that begins at 4pm. Miguelina is a transplant from NYC that now calls the Burgh her home. She is a lover of all art forms & mini adventures. This will be her 2nd time hosting segments for the Telethon. She loves hosting the event because she gets to spend time with her adored fellow improvisers while helping the theater she loves.
David Kwiatkowski will host the segment of the Telethon that begins at 8pm. Dave joined Steel City Improv Theater in January 2015 and immediately fell in love with improv comedy. He took SCIT Levels 1 through 3 and made it onto the house team, Vintage Quaid, where he also met his wife. Thanks for the wife, SCIT! Dave joined Classy & Relevant in 2015 and has been with the team ever since. Outside of improv, he is a Steamfitter with the Steamfitters Union 449.