Kevin Allison's F*** Up

Savvy one-man sketch madness from The State alum.

by Lauren F. Friedman

Even small children know that an "A for effort" is really just a sugar-coated "F for failure." People are celebrated for winning, not for trying — fans don't flood the streets every time the Phillies just do their best. But F*** Up — a one-man sketch show from The State's Kevin Allison — is for the tryers: those who don't succeed, but try, try again. And again. And again.

"There is this comic type that is the character who tries and tries, really puts his nose to the grindstone and makes a noble effort but just keeps failing," Allison says. "What's so poignant about it is that they dust off their clothes and charge right back into the fray."

F*** Up — pronounced "F Up," for the record — features six such characters, including a crotchety sailor with a secret, an octogenarian who used to be a vaudeville performer and a closeted gay Southerner with Richard Simmons aspirations.

Many of the characters originated from improv sessions with director Joe Schiappa. The vaudevillian — whom Allison says is most like himself — was born because he "just wanted to talk like an old Jewish guy," and the sailor is a riff on Quint, an Ahab-like character in Jaws.

While he's in town for F*** Up, Allison will also teach two sketch-writing classes for the Philly Improv Theater, where students will receive feedback on their own jokes and brainstorm improvements to some classics. "It's just fun to sit around laughing together. That's one of the most important parts of the process," Allison says. "If you're not doing that, then it's not working." And — let's be frank — if it's not working, then you're failing.

Comedy show Fri.-Sat., April 10-11, 10 p.m, and Sun., April 12, 7 p.m., $15; workshops Sat., April 11, 2-6 p.m. (beginners), and Sun., April 12, 2-6 p.m. (master class), $75; Shubin Theatre, 407 Bainbridge St., 267-233-1556, phillyimprovtheater.com.