Premier purveyors of short, scripted comedy in Madison, WI
Lucid Dreaming Sketch:
Saturated Facts
Lucid Dreaming Sketch will be returning to the Bartell Theater with Saturated Facts, another night of surreal sketch comedy written and performed by local Madison artists. Whether you’re into high-brow, low-brow, no-brow, puppets, or clowns- there’s going to be something for everyone. We’re also joined by the incomparable Magical Lying Hour and their traveling show, a unique fusion of scripted and improvised theater.
- Performances are 11/14 at 7pm, 11/15 at 5pm, and 11/16 at 3pm.
- Buy tickets on a sliding scale from $15 to $30.
Improv and sketch writing workshops from Pronoia Theater
Sign-up for some of these workshops from some of the talented folks at Pronoia Theater!
Do you have an idea for a sketch but don’t know how to get it out of your head? Do you want to create collaboratively, but feel stuck in the moment? Are you interested in dipping your toe into sketch comedy but don’t know where to start? Improv-to-Sketch is for you! This workshop will be a feet-on-stage exploration of time-tested techniques to use improvisation to help further written or intended-to-be-repeated material. You will learn how to leverage diverse perspectives to make a more compelling piece, how to be intentional in your revisions, and how to use the abundance of the human mind to generate far more opportunities than you would alone at your computer. Whether you’re a writer looking for new inspiration or an improviser seeking new challenges, learning how to analyze and refine your ideas will bring your work to the next level.
Reserve Tickets here for $30
11/15 from 12pm-3pm at Aubergine, 1226 Williamson St.
The Bat is a mysterious and occult improvisational form invented by Joe Bill of the Annoyance Theater, which is performed exclusively in the dark. More than just an improvised radio play or “Harold in the Dark”, The Bat is a surrealist, often macabre, performance art piece that transforms both players and audience members.
Reserve Tickets here for $30
11/16 from 11am-1pm at Aubergine, 1226 Williamson St.
Check us out on youtube!
We’re highlighting sketches from previous shows on our youtube channel.
What we do
We’re committed to teaching and producing sketch comedy in Madison, WI.
Classes
We offer courses in comedy writing in collaboration with Monkey Business Institute improv. Through in-class exercises, at-home assignments, class discussion, and candid feedback you’ll learn the basic skills necessary to create short comedy sketches. See the MBI website for details on upcoming classes.
Workshops
We’ll regularly offer free writing workshops with exercises, draft-reading, and feedback sessions. These are typically held at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center.
Shows
The group regularly puts together a set of pieces for a show. We’ll pull work from local writers with a preference for getting work from the same people performing, directing, and running tech.
Previous Shows
Check out some of our previous shows.
Lucid Dreaming: Raisinable Doubt
The end of 2024 brought the Lucid Dreaming Sketch team to the Bartell Theater’s Drury stage, one of the staples of the Madison theater community. The new space brought exciting challenges and opportunities as well as new friends- including partnerships with hosting org Madison Shakespeare Company and prop/costume support from the Madison Theatre Guild, contributions from 4 new-to-us writers, and enthusiastic support from fellow theater group Are We Delicious.
- Winter 2024
- Bartell Theater Drury stage
- Coordinator: Ben Seidensticker
- Writers: Ben Seidensticker, Shauna Jungdahl, Finn Gallagher, Christian Neuhaus, Mary Wallin, Maddie O’Keefe, Bryce Baker, and Tara Ptasnik.
- Directors: Ben Seidensticker, Miranda Miller, Tara Ptasnik, Annie Jay, Matt Korda, and Stacey Garbarski
- Stage Manager: Miranda Miller
- Lighting and Tech: Jay Seevers
- Props/Costumes: Miranda Miller
- Graphics and promo: Claire Kannapell
- Ensemble: Ben Seidensticker, Annie Jay, Shauna Jungdahl, Mary Wallin, Tara Ptasnik, Matt Korda, Jackson Rosenberry, Maddie O’Keefe, Stacey Garbarski, and Mitch Taylor
Lucid Dreaming: Stockholm Syndream
In the summer of 2024, Lucid Dreaming (literally) took the show on the road and made their debut fringe performance at the Green Bay Fringe Festival! Due to the success of the premier (and because we all enjoyed being together so much!!), we then brought the show back to Madison for friends and family to enjoy. This show was a uniquely creative endeavor due to a sneaky twist – characters crossed over from one sketch to the next, making it an endlessly looping magical mystery of silliness! It also had the added excitement and gratitude of being a first for so many who took part – first time writing, first time directing, first time coordinating, and definitely first time fringe festing. One fringe fest down, however many more to go!
- Summer 2024
- Green Bay Fringe Festival
- Coordinator: Shauna Jungdahl
- Writers: Matthew Thompson, Bryce Baker, Ben Rush, Shauna Jungdahl, Ben Seidensticker, Brian LaCarrubba, Noah Abrahamson, and Will Koebke
- Directors: Shauna Jungdahl, Bryce Baker, and Will Koebke
- Tech: Noah Abrahamson
- Props/Costumes: Lish St Pierre
- Graphics and promo: Shauna Jungdahl
- Ensemble: Erika Gallagher, Chè Emilio, Julia Fure, Matthew Thompson, Eliza Howard, Will Koebke, Lish St Pierre, Josh Gibbons, and Noah Abrahamson
Lucid Dreaming: Stockholm Syndream
After several years of who-knows-what Lucid Dreaming came back to Broom Street Theater for another production. This time around featured many talented new faces in the ensemble including some memorable clown work from our friends at Madison Circus Space. Some of the most impressive work (as usual) took place backstage. Laurie Everitt custom-built a squirrel puppet for us (RIP Sherman) and Mitch Taylor learned how to hang and focus lights from YouTube to make sure we could be seen.
- Fall 2022
- Broom Street Theater
- Coordinator: Ben Seidensticker
- Writers: Amanda Gatewood, Shauna Jungdahl, Claire Kannapell, Christian Neuhaus, Ben Seidensticker, Mary Wallin
- Directors: Jason Compton, Annie Jay, Ben Seidenstiker, Mary Wallin
- Tech: Mitch Taylor, Laurie Everitt
- Graphic arts: Claire Kannapell
- Ensemble: Alex Devaux, Amanda Gatewood, Annie Jay, Shauna Jungdahl, Matthew Korda, Jackson Rosenberry, Ben Seidensticker, Mary Wallin
Lucid Dreaming: United by Cows
Lucid Dreaming returned to Broom Street Theater for the second time in 2018 by doing a collaboration with Pronoia Theater based in Houston, TX. The writing process was much more tailored to the show this time around. Members of the ensemble wrote (and rewrote) some scenes pitting James Madison head-to-head with Sam Houston. We also wrote some good-natured scenes lampooning Wisconsin’s deadly climate and the everything about Texas. Pronoia Theater brought their Magical Lying Hour show- a unique blend of scripted and improvised work that left both audiences and first-time participants marveling.
- Fall 2018
- Broom Street Theater
- Coordinator: Ben Seidensticker
- Writers: Josh Bass, Dennis Budde, Samantha Centerbar, Aaron Garrett, Christian Neuhaus, Bree Prehn, Ben Seidensticker, Mary Wallin
- Directors: Ben Seidensticker, Turner Smith, Mary Wallin
- Tech: Brandon Hartman, Laurie Everitt
- Graphic arts: Claire Kannapell
- Photo Credit: Aaron Garrett
- Ensemble: Sean Cairns, Nina Davis, Desmond Hawkins, Stacey Garbarski, Annie Jay, Joe Molloy, Turner Smith, Ben Seidensticker, Mary Wallin
Lucid Dreaming: Detoxing Masculinity
Lucid Dreaming’s first show was put on mid-week during some dark nights in collaboration with a Left of Left Center production run at Broom Street Theater. Many of the writers saw the work performed on stage for the first time.
- Spring 2018
- Broom Street Theater
- Coordinator: Ben Seidensticker
- Writers: Laurie Everitt, Marian Hall, Sameul Hansen, Claire Kannapell, Joe Molloy, Ned O’Reilly, Bree Prehn, Ben Seidensticker
- Directors: Bree Prehn, Ben Seidenstiker, Mary Wallin
- Tech: Elayne Juten
- Graphic arts: Claire Kannapell
- Sound composition: Claire Kannapell
- Ensemble: Sean Cairns, Nina Davis, Samuel Hansen, Stacey Garbarski, Bree Prehn, Ben Seidensticker, Mary Wallin
Lucid Dreaming Sketch Comedy 