The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), a launching pad for some of the biggest names in improv comedy, is closing and selling its Sunset theater location in Los Angeles, the company announced on Wednesday.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Wednesday, founding members Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Matt Besser and Ian Roberts said, “We have been forced to sell our theater on Sunset.”
“We have been unable to make mortgage payments during this extended shutdown,” the statement says. “We know this theater was a home for so many, and so many people were responsible for helping it grow. We want to thank all of those people and the New York community who were also significantly impacted by recent closures.”
The news comes exactly eight months after the closing of the theater and training center in New York City due to its high rent.
The Upright Citizens Brigade was founded in the early 1990s and its alumni include Donald Glover, Kate McKinnon, Aziz Ansari, Kay Cannon, Zach Woods, Ben Schwartz, Ellie Kemper, Paul Scheer, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Kroll, Ed Helms, Adam McKay and Poehler herself.
“We are still working to maintain our Franklin space and look forward to being legally allowed to gather again,” the UCB says about their remaining L.A. theater.
“We are continuing the process of our theater and school becoming nonprofit.” The organization also says in the coming year “we will conclude our search for a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant to work with us Project Rethink as we move forward.”
You can read the full statement here.