About

With ‘Really Good News’ sketch group New Excitement brings their blend of upbeat writing, physical comedy and vivid theatricality to the stage. With backgrounds in improv (Second City, The PIT, UCB), television writing (NBC, Comedy Central) and clown (Kill Me Loudly) the group aims to bring all of these forms to the audience within each piece. This show has been described as Saturday Night Live meets the Marx Brothers.

Mary Grill

Mary Grill writes and performs sketch comedy with New Excitement. She is an improviser, and has performed her solo comedy show “Mary Grill Scary Thrill” throughout New York and Chicago. Originally from Chicago, Mary improvised with “The Second City House Ensemble,” and was a sketch comedy writer/performer with “Self Centered Girl” at The Second City. She holds a BFA in acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University, and has trained with Paul Sills, The SITI Company, The Second City Conservatory, The Peoples Improv Theatre, and Upright Citizens Brigade.

Chris Roberti

Chris Roberti writes and performs sketch comedy with New Excitement. He is a member of a house team at the People’s Improv Theate and performs clown and dance throughout the city. Chris teaches theater and creative writing in NYC public schools.

Matt Hobby

Matt Hobby is a writer and performer in New York City, currently creating sketch comedy with “New Exc!tement” and improv with “Halfbear”. He was featured in the indie comedy The Cult of Sincerity and the promotional campaign for Spike TV’s “Guys Choice Awards” in 2008. Matt previously wrote and performed sketch with “Totally Awesome Victory” and “Finger”, and performed on improv teams “Rimbombo” and “Knifestorm”. He has trained in improv and comedy writing at the UCB, the PIT and Magnet theaters in New York and graduated from Florida State with a degree in Theatre.

Chris Manley

Chris Manley is a writer and performer with New Excitement. He also performs with a house improv team at the People’s Improv Theater. He is a founding member of the theater company, Fools on Fire and is a writer/creator/performer with their devised play, “Kill Me Loudly: A Clown Noir”. Other NYC credits include reading at the series, Paper Beats Rock.

Randy Pearlstein

Randy Pearlstein lives in New York City and can currently be seen in “New Exc!tement: Really Good News” which he also directed. He was a regular on the series Chappelle’s Show and is now a cast member on the new Comedy Central show Michael and Michael Have Issues. He teaches writing at Rutgers University, The PIT and at colleges across the country. Randy’s writing credits include the Lionsgate film Cabin Fever.