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❗️ALL SHOWS CANCELLED UNTIL APRIL 22ND ❗️

Dear CCB Community,

It is with a heavy heart that we have made the decision to cancel all shows effective immediately through April 22nd, 2020.
This was not an easy decision for us to make, but with the increasing spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus the risks are simply too high and we need to think of the safety and health of our performers and audience. Given the closure of state-run theaters and the advice of Berlin Amtsärzte to prohibit all events, this seems to us the best course of action to take.

What happens next?

We will do our best to reschedule any out-of-town acts, and it is our hope that regular weekly/monthly shows will pick back up next month as soon as it is safe to do so.

REFUNDS: If you have purchased a ticket online, we will begin initiating automatic refunds this weekend. If you would prefer a ticket voucher, please let us know by tomorrow (Friday, March 13th) and we will convert your ticket(s) to an online ticket voucher of equal value.

How can I support CCB while it’s closed?

Our gift certificates are a great way to support us financially during the closure AND you can redeem them as soon as we’re open! You can also leave us a positive review on TripAdvisor, Google or Facebook, and tell your friends to visit the theater when we open back up!

If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact us.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding. We hope you all stay safe and healthy, and hope to see you soon!

Love and laughter,
The CCB Team

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The CCB State of the Union

The CCB State of the Union

In many ways this summer has been very challenging for us at CCB. Weathering the storm of the Ordnungsamt was just the tip of the iceberg, it was immediately followed by beautiful scaffolding engulfing our building (everywhere is a bike rack!) plus stupid EURO2016 distracting our audiences, oh, and it just being summer and hot and nice outside (GAAWD) and YES we get that our air conditioner isn’t most well functioning device for the theater. AND YES, we knowthat the neighbor situation sucks! No one hates the “quiet outdoors after 10pm” situation more than us. The list goes on.

Though we are indeed weathering the storm, they feel at times like pyrrhic victories (victories won at too high a cost — I’ve been watching lots of Jeopardy lately).

BUT all the stress and uncertainty vanish when I see the crowds file in through the door to watch a show. I hate to say I’m proud because I’m part German and pride is a shameful thing — but something inside me ticks and I feel like somehow the struggles and challenges have been and are worth it.

Here’s what I mean:

The past two weeks we’ve held host to some of the world’s finest comedians as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Previews. Amazing! A tip of the hat to all the performers and especially to Damien of the Plague of iDiOTs. And just a week week before that I hosted the monthly CCB Improv Jam, where anyone can sign up to perform improv on stage with other complete strangers. Roughly 50 people attended with 35 signed up to play. On a Sunday. In July. That. Is. Humbling. Period. There were new faces and familiar faces, there were family and friends. It was so great to see, especially after the last 2 months. AND then there was that week prior when 2 improv teams, Hot Box and Guillotine, and The Weird Show a sketch group, all formed from Hive classes, packed the house with their first shows ever. Gosh dangit.

Like a little oasis in the desert.

The CCB State of the Union is strengthening and our resolve is strong. We’ll keep trudging on; providing a stage for this growing scene.

So now what?

We’re back to semi-regular programming with some exciting new SCHTUFF! New shows and new programming and, of course, Berlin’s very first improv cage match tournament, The August Offensive! 8 teams, 3 Saturdays, 1 winner.

We’re excited to see you there, being a part of it all!

– Noah

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Oh my gosh we’re back again.

Good news everyone! We’re back as a fully licensed “event place”. Which means we can have events like other places. Exciting times.

What’s new?

We spent the last two weeks making small improvements here and there while we had the time. You most likely won’t notice them except for the fact that we have AIR CONDITIONING in the theater now. AAwww yis!

What’s in the works?

While we are super pleased with our modular theater seating, we do realize some people like to ‘lean back’ rather than ‘lean in’ during shows. We’re looking at a modular bench solution so we can keep our seating but provide some additional comfort.

Furthermore! Because we were forced to re-test our soundproofing we learned that it’s better than we thought and almost good enough to carry on shows past 10pm. We’re looking into small fixes to be able to do this – then we’re in real good shape! 

In the meantime…

Continue coming to see shows and laughing your nuts off. 

 

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Berlin Regulatory Agency cares deeply about CCB inventory.

Shows at the Comedy Café Berlin (CCB) will be on a minimum 2 week hiatus as of May 19 after the Berlin ‘Ordnungsamt’ expressed its deep concern for the safety of some stuff stored in the CCB basement. The agency, which enforces rules and regulations for businesses throughout Germany, has told the owners to install an emergency exit in the cellar, for what they can only assume is the safe evacuation of  beer kegs and old signs, since the area is off limits to the public and used solely for storage.

“We’re taking this very, very seriously,” said Noah Telson, co-owner of CCB, “we do not wish to be fined or even worse shut down.” Telson, who struck an oddly positive tone about the recent developments, says he likes to spend extended periods of time in the basement lying amongst the kegs of Vagabund Brauerei beer, and realizes that the Ordnungsamt “has a good point and we should definitely spend exorbitant amounts of money on this door. I’d hate to think what would happen to all this stuff.” Indeed, the Ordnungsamt has threatened CCB with fines of “up to 4 digits” and possible permanent closure if shows continue while regulations aren’t met.

When asked about the countless bars in the neighborhood that most certainly do not have emergency exits in their cellars, Telson said CCB deserves to be treated differently, “I mean, we’re not just a bar, we’re an independent alternative theater space that sells only the finest quality beer and wine. And we’re really thankful that someone is actually thinking about the drinks down there. Not to mention, we attract the kind of people that would definitely lift a 20kg trap door and sequester themselves downwards into a cellar in a mad panic. It just makes sense.”

The Comedy Café Berlin, which opened its doors in Neukölln in October 2015 and boasts itself as the city’s first international alternative comedy stage, bar and café, was also told by the agency that they will need to re-test their soundproofing because, “why not?” While their biggest draw are the comedy shows, owners Noah Telson, Nina Spiri, and Dino Spiri are confident that business won’t be affected too much by this unexpected hiatus, particularly at this most important moment in the growth of their business. “We’ll have drink specials and some non-event events just to make sure we’re attracting people to come out.”

If anyone has any leads on cheap emergency doors and/or knows someone who can do the work please contact the owners at [email protected].

If you’d like to support CCB with a donation, please also send an email.

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Introducing The Komedy Kindergarten!

Comedy Café Berlin is expanding its business into childcare with The Komedy Kindergarten.

Here at CCB we believe that being funny is a skill that can be learned and what better way to ensure an innate and intimate knowledge of humor than learning young? They say children who learn multiple languages grow up speaking fluently and with a greater capacity to absorb more knowledge. Beyond languages, we see a similar phenomenon in physical learning like Karate and gymnastics. And let us not forget the numerous examples of violin and piano virtuosi who began their careers just barely out of the womb. The advantages to young learning are infinite and we’re so excited to apply this same concept to joke-telling. 

Our staff of highly trained comedians have spent the last 6 months researching and fine-tuning joke-telling methods for the young and impressionable mind. From basic humor skills for newborns to more complex joke structures for the 5 year olds.

The Komedy Kindergarten skill module includes:

  • Key dangling for newborns
  • Peekaboo for the uninitiated
  • Poop and fart jokes
  • Dealing with clowns and hecklers
  • The double punchline

Starting this month, CCB will be opening up registration for babies and toddlers between the ages of 6 months to 5 years of age. Registration is limited to just 20 spots. We expect a long list so please act quick as we operate on a first come, first serve basis.

For a full prospectus and pricing information please visit our special Komedy Kindergarten page:

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Bring it on, 2016!

There’s so much to say! But, wow, what an exciting year it’s been so far! Since opening on October 18th we’ve been non-stop boogying with shows, flowing beer and laughing audiences. 

Some stats:

  • 34 shows and 1 movie screening
  • 1,179 tickets sold
  • 6 sold out shows
  • 3 visiting comedians (Hari Kondabolu, John Robertson and Will Hines) 

Considering, after 3 months of being open, we haven’t had a single night where no one showed up, I think we’re doing pretty alright!

But there’s so much to improve and so much more excitement ahead. Starting in January, CCB will be standardizing it’s schedule, hyper focusing on show quality, offering classes and expanding our café and bar offerings.

What’s in store for 2016?

Shows

  • Donnerstags auf Deutsch – Every Thursday will be dedicated to German language comedy linchpinned by “Das Comedy Labor”, an evening for established and newly established comedians to try out new material, hosted by Jonas Imam and Michael Timm.

  • Friday Night Improv – Every Friday night will feature a regular rotation of short-form and long-form improv comedy, including ComedySportz and Good Luck, Barbara!

  • Stand-Up Saturdays! – Presented by our friends at Egg & Bear, Saturdays are dedicated to the best of the best stand-ups from “homegrown talent to imported celebrities”. It’s comedy for comedy lovers!

  • Sunday Specials – On Sunday evening, you’ll find a mixed bag of live podcast recordings, sketch shows and, something new we’re trying out, Tatort auf englisch – Tatort dubbed into English, live.  
    And to add to it all, you can already start purchasing your tickets online through Eventbrite. #woot

Improv classes

We’ve also teamed up with Hive Improv and will be hosting 4 improv classes every week. If you’re interested, free previews for classes start January 9th! Make sure you sign up!

Food

It’s too soon for us to divulge any details about our plans to kick the kitchen into full gear but just know that in a very short while we’re going to be making mouths water. Watch this space. 

From all of us at CCB, we hope you have a fantastic year ahead and when you don’t, stop by and cheer yourself up. 😀

-Noah
 

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We hit €10,000!!!

Amazing! With 10 days still left, we hit our goal of €10,000!

What now? Well, we announced stretch goals (listed below) last week which allow us some more flexibility in making the space even more super than it already is!  So, if you haven’t contributed and you wanted to, you still can. We even added more rewards (also listed below) so you have more options now.

We even have a surprise reward being announced tomorrow. Stay tuned!

 Trying out signage!
Trying out signage!

New rewards!

€30

Casual drinker. One seasonal cocktail and your name on the ‘Wall of Fame’. 

€1,000

Party on! One private ComedySportz show at CCB for you and your friends and your name on the ‘Wall of Fame’.

Stretch goals!

We’re fairly confident that we’ll reach our initial goal of €10,000 before the end of our campaign, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use some extra cash. Stretch goals will help us cover additional, unforeseen costs (these things happen!) as well as improving and expanding some of our equipment.

Stretch goal #1 – €15,000
We’ll be able to include a projector in the theater and upgrade the sound system.

Stretch goal #2 – €20,000
We’ll extend the kitchen, allowing us to be more versatile as to what we can offer.

SO! Please consider contributing if you haven’t already and at the very least share the campaign with your friends and family.
#KrautfundComedy

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/noahtelson/berlins-first-alternative-comedy-stage

Remember, you can always share it again! 🙂

Neue Belohnungen!

€30

Für Gelegenheits-Trinker. Du bekommst einen Cocktail der Saison und natürlich kommt dein Name auf die ‘Wall of Fame’.

€1,000

Paaarty! Wir spielen eine private ComedySportz Show bei CCB nur für dich und deine Freunde und natürlich kommt dein Name auf die ‘Wall of Fame’.

Erweiterte Ziele!

Wir sind sehr zuversichtlich, dass wir unser ursprüngliches Ziel in Höhe von €10,000 noch vor Ablauf der Kampagne erreichen werden. Das bedeutet aber nicht, dass wir die extra Kohle, die darüber hinaus geht, nicht sehr gut gebrauchen können. Mit den weiteren Finanzierungszielen wollen wir zusätzliche, unerwartete Kosten (ohja, die gibt es!) decken, sowie in eine bessere und umfangreichere Ausstattung investieren.

Ziel #1 – €15,000
Wir können einen Beamer im Theater installieren und das Sound System aufrüsten.

Ziel #2 – €20,000
Hiermit wollen wir die Küche erweitern und besser ausstatten um in Zukunft ein breiteres und vielseitigeres kulinarisches Programm bieten zu können.  

ALSO! Bitte denk’ darüber nach uns zu unterstützen falls du das nicht sowieso schon getan hast und teile unsere Kampagne mit Freunden und Familie.
#KrautfundComedy

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/noahtelson/berlins-first-alternative-comedy-stage

Und denk’ dran, doppelt geteilt hält besser!

Von Herzen,
Nina, Dino and Noah

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And we’re live! Krautfunding on Kickstarter!

We’re crowdfunding this month! Get involved and get some great rewards in return (like a toilet named after you)!

#KrautfundComedy

Please share!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/noahtelson/berlins-first-alternative-comedy-stage