Hot Tubs and Spas
If you are in the market for a very affordable Hot Tub or Spa. I have found a great source “Click here to see our Hot Tubs at Auction“. Check it out as there are some great deals to be had.
April 8, 2008
April 2, 2008
Hot Tub Variety
This Monday is a very special Hot Tub. So please put on your Sunday best and take off all your hats. All proceeds from the show will be donated to help the children of Darfur. And the show will be hosted by Pete Holmes is a world class entertainer who has been specifically designed to take the helm of Hot Tub and drive it dangerousluy close to rocks but then ultimately avoid them, making for a very exciting, yet ultimately safe, cruise. Enjoy! And Kurt will see you back at Hot Tub on August 26th.
Posted by Kurt
July 30, 2007Our Site Got Hacked!
Our site got hacked while Kristen and I were away in Montreal. Then I wrote this really funny post comparing our site being down to September 11th. Then the post mysteriously disappeared! Like vanished. Poof it was gone by no act of my own. I think God is after bad-taste jokes. Be on the look out shock jocks! Be on the look out insult comics! God is pissed! and He will simply make your jokes go away, and no amount of control-z will get them back. I think God hacked our site. What aasshole. Delete that, God.
Posted by Kurt
June 07, 2007
June 18th is gonna rock I’m seriously excited about the show on the 18th, people. Jon and Brett - you know they are amazing, you feel it when you close your mind. Now open that sucker back up to be sucker punched right in the gullet with a hot dose of the ZOG who will make you cry from laughter. And then we have VERY special guests from Washington State - The Cody Rivers Show. We met these guys last year at sketch fest and they are super weird and really awesome. You should really really really check them out on one of their only TWO New York appearances this year. They are really something to see. And then, we rock out with one of my favorite NYC bands, Tigers and Monkleys. The shows at Piano’s have been super fun and I love ending the show with a band and then partying it up at the bar. Come by for Hot Tub and stick around for Karaoke upstairs. It’s a good time. I’m going to Australia now - so I’ll be doing the show extremely jet lagged. Can’t wait!
Posted by Kurt
June 06, 2007
Sketchfest NYC
Old Business: Thank you to everyone who helped make the last Hot Tub show super fun. I couldn’t stop smiling the whole night. Even in my sleep.
New Business: Kurt and I are about to unload close to an hour of sketch like comedy this Thursday night at 10pm at Sketchfest NYC.
136 East 13th Street
[Btwn. 3rd & 4th Aves.]
We sifted through over three years of sketches and picked a handful that we thought would tickle you the most, to an almost torturous level!
We did Sketchfest last year and easily had the time of our lives. Everyone involved in this festival is extremely cool and very much into sketch comedy. We’re pretty excited about it.
Posted by Kristen
May 29, 2007
The Best Show We Will Ever Do
Is going to happen this Monday, June 4th. Kurt and I visited a psychic in the middle of a desert near a cactus. She had a beard and she called herself “the police,” but I saw right through it. She could see the future. And through her eyes behind those reflective sunglasses I could see myself and Kurt and the show on Monday and it was magnificent. I think you should be there. You have every right to be there. You have the right to remain silent. That’s what the psychic said. Which made no sense! But I guess that’s why she was blessed with the seventh sense and I wasn’t.
Posted by Kristen
May 20, 2007
Hot Tub is on Monday the 21st
Folks! We’ve really turned it on this Monday. We are going to delight you with acts that you have never seen before. We are going to create memories. We are going to feel what it’s like to live for the first time. We will probably cry when it’s over. And feel cheated when we walk back to our homes. But Kurt’s phone number is: 646-591-0148 if you need to talk.
Posted by Kristen
May 04, 2007
Hot Tub moves to Pianos and History is born
Hey everyone, please come to this show if you are lovers of good times. We are going to experiment with comedy and bring it to new unexplored heights. Kurt’s going to cry on stage and feel raw emotion while Kristen slowly undresses layer after layer of her questionable persona. It’s going to have a real party feel.
Posted by Kristen
April 30, 2007
New York Magazine Rates “Penelope” as “Low-Brow-Brilliant”
New York Magazine’s Approval Matrix gives our SuperDeluxe show high marks!
And we just got the offer from Super Deluxe for more episodes! So expect more Penelope in the future!
Posted by Kurt
April 16, 2007
Kurt and Kristen are going to Montreal!
We just found out that we’ve been invited to the “Just for Laughs” Montreal Comedy Festival! It’s in July and we’re excited because we hear the flowers in Montreal in July are like little hot dogs! We can’t wait!
Posted by Kurt
April 16, 2007
Episode 2 up on SuperDeluxe!
Episode two of “Penelope: Princess of Pets.” is now up on If you can’t find it on the main page - check it out here on our artist’ page here: And leave us comments on the site!
Posted by Kurt
April 07, 2007
We made a show for SuperDeluxe!
Premiering now on is our brand new, epic, adevnture-comedy series, “Penelope: Princess of Pets.” Follow Penelope as she talks to animals and saves the world with her orpahn friend, Kyle. First up on the world saving menu - killing Senator Stone. check out our artist’ page here: And check out SuperDeluxe for lots of other awesome shit.
Posted by Kurt
April 06, 2007
Hot Tub Moving to Piano’s in May!
Starting May 7th at 8:00pm Hot Tub will be appaearing at Piano’s every other Monday night until the sun crashes into the earth! Put it in your fucking books! Check out for directions and info.
Posted by Kurt
- Michael Showalter (Stella, Wet Hot American Summer) will make your summer the best ever.
- Bobby Tisdale (Invite Them Up) will read you a lullaby.
- Shayna Ferm (Winner Battle of the Funny Bands) will sing you a story.
- Jack Kukoda (Onion News Network) will pick you up and dust you off.
What is Hot Tub?
Hot Tub is a super hilarious variety show in New York City, awarded “Best New Variety Show in 2005″ by TimeOut NY. Created by Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal, the show features comedy, music, and general weirdness. It’s fun. You’ll like it. Hot Tub was developed at the People’s Improv Theater where Kurt is a senior faculty member and Kristen performs with Big Black Car.
Where is the next Hot Tub?
Piano’s
158 Ludlow St.
at Stanton
New York, NY
Where else can I see Kristen and Kurt perform?
For updated performance schedule check out Kurt’s MySpace Page and Kristen’s My Space Page.
About Us
Kurt Braunohler has been performing improv, sketch comedy, and stand-up in New York for the past 8 years. He traveled to the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen with the Neutrino Video Projects, which he helped create, as well as to the Edinburgh Theater Festival in Scotland, and was awarded “Improv Ensemble of the Year” by the Chicago Improv Festival in 2004. He co-hosts the monthly variety show, Hot Tub, at Comix, which was voted “Best New Variety Show” by Time-Out New York’s readers poll. His creations include: which was voted by the Village Voice as “Best Hilarious Insane Guerilla Theatre”, and which has served as a handy nickname. He teaches improv at New York Film Academy, the PIT, and runs corporate improv workshops; he improvises every Wednesday night in The Faculty with the PIT’s other improv teachers. You can see him on various commercials and TV shows, especially on VH1, where talks about celebrities. He also created a sketch comedy show for kids on the Noggin Network.
Kristen Schaal
Kristen Schaal recently won “Best Alternative Comedian” at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. She is also the winner of the 2nd annual Andy Kaufman Award hosted by the New York Comedy Festival and the winner for Best Female Stand-up at the 2006 Nightlife Awards in New York. In October she was included in New York Magazine’s Ten Funniest New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard Of. She co-hosts the weekly variety show Hot Tub at the People’s Improv Theatre, which was voted “Best Variety Show of 2005” by Time-Out New York’s readers poll. She performs on the P.I.T.’s house team Big Black Car, that was awarded best improv troupe of 2005 at the Emerging Comics of New York awards. Between her improv and comedy shows she’s also the founding member of the theatre company Striking Viking Story Pirates which adapts stories kids write into sketches and songs. Film and television credits include Conviction, Ugly Betty, Cheap Seats, Kate and Leopold, Adam and Steve, Delirious, Law and Order: SVU, The Education of Max Bickford, and Comedy Central’s Contest Searchlight. You can reach Kristen at
Past Guests
Mr. Show, Arrested Development
(Late Night with Conan O’Brien)
(Writers for Saturday Night Live, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend)
(Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents: Todd Barry)
(Stella, Wet Hot American Summer, The State)
(Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend)
(Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents: Mike Birbiglia, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend)
(Comedy Central Presents: Tom Shillue, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, NBC’s Late Friday)
tomshillue.com
VH-1’s Best Week Ever, Stella
(Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend)
(Comedy Central’s Showbiz Show with David Spade, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, VH1’s Best Week Ever, ECNY’s Best Female Standup)
(Stella, Reno 911!, The Baxter, Wet Hot American Summer)
(, New York City Rejection Line, all around talent)
(VH1, Comedy Central’s Stella)
(The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Chappelle’s Show)
(Chapelle’s Show, VH-1’s Awesomely Bad, “Welcome to Our Week)
(Comedy Central’s Premium Blend)
(Senior Writer for The Onion, and current candidate to take over as host for Late Night with Conan O’Brien)
(Comedy Central’s Upright Citizen’s Brigade, Chappelle’s Show, Crossballs)
(Cracked Out, UCB’s Monkeydick, Marijuanalogues)
(Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Last Comic Standing, Late Night with Conan O’Brien)
(Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, How to Kick People)
(Late Night with Conan O’Brien)
(Ham and Cheese, Strangers with Candy, Craft Corner Deathmatch)
(The Rejection Show)
(Burn Manhattan, Centralia, Shadowboxer)
(Late Show with David Letterman, The Bindelstiff Family Circus)
(FM 106.3, WHTG)
(Comedy Central’s Out On the Edge, VH1’s Awesomely Oversexed)
(Happy Hour, Big Apple Circus)
(Late Show with David Letterman)
(HBO US Comedy Arts Festival, VH1’s Most Embarassing Moments, Jesus’ Son)
(MTV’s Boiling Points)
(Happy Hour, Greatest Show on Earth, Late Show with David Letterman)
(Happy Hour, Ringling Bros, Big Apple Circus, Late Show with David Letterman)
(Outre Island)
(HBO US Comedy Arts Festival)
Nick’s Blog!
(The Late Show with David Letterman, The Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus, Slava’s Snowshow)
Fancy Dragon, Poopy Poopy Fart Fart
The Groundlings, Sunday Company
(Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, SpikeTV’s Joe Schmo)
(Conan, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend)
HBO US Comedy Arts Festival,
Premium Blend
(SNL, Conan)
(Former writer for Saturday Night Live, Second City)
(UCB/Comedy Central Stage, LA)
(Mother, Ms Jackson)
Comedy Central’s Premium Blend
Becky’s Blog
(Mother, Ms Jackson)
Mario Queen of the Circus
(Comedy Central’s Premium Blend)
Jessie’s Blog
becky’s blog
VH1’s Best Week Ever margotleitman.com
The Late Late Show
writer SNL
Red Hot Burlesque
Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, VH-1’s Best Week Ever
(MTV2, Conan, US Weekly’s Fashion Police)
Susie’s Blog
(VH-1’s Best Week Ever)
Jordan’s Blog
Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler.
Past Animal Races
Our Past Animal Races
Winner in bold
- Hermit Crabs
“Daddy’s Little Girl” vs “Marco” - Meal Worms
“Zhiang He Two” vs “Fong” - Jade Plants
“Wssssshhhhhhh” vs “Swwwwwwsssssshhhhh” - Horses
“Peaches” vs “Tide” (The Radio Show)
Winner contested by Mark Mays, CEO of Clear Channel Communications - Crickets
“Mao Tse Tung” vs “A Cricket Named Bicycle”
No winner due to escape - Hermit Crab vs Drunk Human
“Daddy’s Little Girl” vs “Vadim Nequist” - Mice
Neither would give their names because of thier involvement with Falun Gong. They both meditated through the whole race. - Sand Worms
“Leggy” and “Really Gross”
press
Some dude from the Boston Herald came down and saw some comedy. ours was a part of it. Secret - he liked it!Full review here:
New York Magazine Loves “Penelope”!
New York Magazine’s Approval Matrix gives our SuperDeluxe show “Low-Brow-Brilliant!”
http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/31242/. And we just got the offer from Super Deluxe for more episodes! So expect more Penelope in the future!
The Apiary on Our Invite Them Up Appearance
“Kurt and Kristen served up the wildest performance of the night. A tale of survival as the secret twin children of hero Amelia Erhart–a story which delightfully ended with a fierce interpretive dance in costly glowstick bedazzled costumes. If Kurt and Kristen were a movie, that movie would be Just Bring It, because they’re always just bringin’ it and stuff.” link here.
The Apiary is Nice to Us
From the TheApiary.org, regarding our performance in SKetchfest NYC:
“What’s great about Kurt Braunohler & Kristen Schaal is their ability to take a concept and go beyond what anyone would expect. Since each possesses a strong improv background, one wonders how many of their sketches were cultivated in an improv setting–one that’s free of the natural circuit-breakers we have in place in our brains. Their comedy feels like an organic result of two fearless and kinetic minds that know how to play around with any scene and effortlessly smash through things like logic, boundaries, and convention. How else would someone be able to come up with this script:
Kurt: (clapping & stomping wildly) Kristen Schaal is a horse! Look at her now and a look at her go, Kristen Schaal is a horse! (Repeat 15 times while Kristen dances and frolics) ”
End.
”
NYMag and Hot Tub, Sittin’ in a Tree
We just got a really nice write-up on NYMag.com (link here):
“Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal’s variety show certainly values variety. In one night’s worth of entertainment, a lucky audience might get to see a leather daddy unicyclist who juggles to Queen, the latest, deranged cabaret act from Kenny Mellman (Kiki & Herb), an experimental video from David Cross (Mr. Show), and a foul-mouthed robot doing stand-up from a wheelchair. Framing the proceedings each week is an ever-changing screwball narrative. Performed by Braunohler, who’s like a demented defector from Archie comics, and Schaal, the 21st century’s lunatic answer to Gracie Allen, the interrelated interludes would upstage the featured acts if the two comedians weren’t such gracious hosts.”
We love you too, Magazine.
The New York Times Takes Us Out for a Free Meal
Here’s some things to know if you want to take us out for dinner: We’re very entertaining, Kristen really likes Monkfish liver, and we’re good at “blurring the lines between flirtation and horseplay.” Doesn’t that blurriness sound fun to you? Here’s how it went when the Times took us out: NY Times’ Night Out with Kristen (and Kurt!) (Ed Note from Kristen: I just wanted everyone to know that I of course know that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1397, I was never worried about getting my face beat in, just smacked around a little, and that I was high when I said I didn’t smoke pot. Thank you.)
Kristen Wins “Best Alternative Comedian” at Aspen!
Kristen blew them away at Aspen and won the HBO US Comedy Art Festival’s “Best Alternative Comedian” Award! Congratulations Kristen!
David Cross “Heartily Recommends” Hot Tub!
From an article at Film Stew.com -
“Cross remains an avid student of the stand-up comedy genre. In addition to his own DVD Shut Up You F**king Baby!, he regularly takes part in shows in both New York and Los Angeles, and has been cited as a source of performance inspiration by everyone from Artie Lange to Sarah Silverman. Among the recent acts that he caught is the sketch duo Hot Tub (Kristen Schaal, Kurt Braunohler), whom he heartily recommends.”
Aww man! We just crapped our pants.
Time Out Gives Hot Tub a Don’t Miss!
And they made it all cute with the description, too. Hot Tub loves you, too, Time Out. We hope that at sometime in the future your name will not scare children across the nation.
NY Times Mentions Hot Tub! And Does it with Flare!
We got a mention in the NY Times Sunday styles section on their follow up to the Post’s piece on the “alternative comedy scene.” It’s a pretty good article, check the full thing out here: Seinfeld it Ain’t
Hot Tub in NY Post
They did a big article in the “Pulse” section of the Post on all the different “alternative comedy” rooms in the city and Hot Tub was listed - plus we got the Pulse cover shot along with Baron Vaughn, Todd Levin, and Bob Powers. It features the dorkiest “I’m a Comedian! Yuck yuck it up!” face I’ve ever made. I feel shame. It was only in the paper and not online so here’s a scan: Saturday’s NY Post’s Pulse Section cover
Kristen Goes to Aspen!
Kristen was just informed that she will be going to the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, CO this March as a stand-up! Congratulations to K-Schaal! She’s from Colarado so she knows the scene there. She knows it like butter. Plan on seeing her stand-up cut through Aspen like a hot knife through chicken fat. Yeah!
PaperMag Makes Hot Tub a “Pick of the Week”
“Hot tubs are awesome because they are easy to blame for embarrassing behavior. Steely Dan’s in the CD player? “The hot tub made me do it.” Burning a little Nag Champa to “just relax, and talk?” Actually, just kidding, we would never do that, even if there were an awesome HT involved. Let’s hope that nothing like that happens tonight, either, when Michael Showalter (”The Baxter,” “Stella,” “Wet Hot American Summer,” “The State”) stops by variety show Hot Tub to chat withhosts Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler.”
Kristen Wins Nightlife Award
The 2006 Nightlife Awards recognized Kristen with the award for “Outstanding Female Standup Comedian!”
The Onion Gives Hot Tub Another Shout Out!
It’s kinda the same as the other one - but BETTER! Thanks Onion.
“With her saucer eyes and squeaky voice, Kristin Schaal looks and sounds like she could never play anyone except a little girl. But while there are a number of grade-schoolers in Schaal’s arsenal of comedic alter-egos, most of her characters aren’t so much young as they are dorky (an old vaudevillian, a bird trainer, etc.). They’re also pretty funny. Schaal, a veteran improv performer, and the equally winning Kurt Braunohler (the genius-or Chenius-behind the legendary street-fighting chicken-hybrids Chengwin and Chunk) will preside here over Hot Tub, a fun weekly variety show that features animal races (hermit crabs, mealworms), great guests, and, yes, a hot tub (well, kiddie pool).”
TimeOut NY Votes Hot Tub “Best New Variety Show” in 2005
TimeOut NY’s readers voted Hot Tub “Best New Variety Show” in 2005. Thank you to all the TONY readers who voted and to Malcolm Gladwell for writing “The Tipping Point”. That book is great! [Ed note: We haven’t actually read it. But we hear REALLY good things about it.]
Time Out Critic’s Pick Again!
“Neutrino’s Kurt Braunholer and Big Black Car’s Kristen Schaal host darlings of the alternative-comedy scene in their extra-roomy whirlpool of silly. Ranging from highly-produced to positively bizarre Braunholer and Schaal deliver some of the best performances in the city. ”
Gothamist Gives Hot Tub a Shout Out!
The Gothamist gives us a nice plug here “Hot Tub host Kristen Schaal was just named as one of the Top 10 Funniest New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard of” but we’ve been saying that all along. Kurt Braunohler, the man behind the mythical Chengwin co-hosts.”
The Onion Says: “Pretty Funny!”
From October 14th issue of The Onion: “With her saucer eyes and squeaky voice, Kristen Schaal looks and sounds like she could never play anyone but a little girl. But while there are a number of grade-schoolers in Schaal’s aresenal of comedic alter-egos, most of her characters aren’t so much young as they are dorky (an old vaudevillian, a bird trainer, etc.) They’re also pretty funny. Schaal and the equally winning Kurt Braunohler will preside here over Hot Tub, a long-running weekly show that features animal races (hermit crabs, mealworms), great stand-ups (Patrick Borelli, Todd Barry), and, yes, a hot tub.
New York Magazine Names Kristen as One of the Funniest New Yorkers!
New York Magazine featured Kristen Schaal as one of the “Ten Funniest New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard of.” Come see how funny she is every week in Hot Tub! Forget the Kate and Leopold stuff.
Hot Tub is Time Out New York’s Critic’s Pick and Don’t Miss!
Time Out New York picked Hot Tub as a Critic’s Pick as well as a “Don’t Miss” in the past. We hope they will again in the future. Hot Tub realizes that what seperates the past and the present is merely our dualistic mind.
ECNY Nominates Hot Tub for Best Variety show
The Emerging Comics of New York nominated Hot Tub for Best Variety Show in 2005. We thought that was pretty awesome. And then we found out that a blue whale’s aorta is large enough for a human to crawl through. And we thought that was pretty awesome, too! We’ve been dreaming of a Blue Whale Aorta Waterslide Park (TM) ever since!
Copyright © 2005 Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler.