How have I lived in Bellingham for over 10 years and never once visited this little place?? Oh my gosh. My gal pal took me here. I thought, 8 bucks for a ticket, no loss if the comedy isn't good. WELP. It was really good! We came on a Thursday night. The first half of the evening was improv put on by people who have been taking improv classes. They were so talented already and I laughed a lot. Then for the second half, people who are much more immersed in improv do a show. We were lucky enough to have the one and only Ryan Stiles join the group of the second half. What a treat. Once again there was a lot of laughter. They also have shows on the weekends! And they sell popcorn, candy, beer, cider, and pop for realistic prices, quite unlike the movie theater. They have shows on the weekends as well and you can buy tickets online. I highly recommend it!! read more

Maybe we were here on an off night but wow...this was NOT good. Especially if you're a fan of the og Upfront (starring Ryan Stiles and crew). This one just felt amateur, and not in a good way. There were also no concessions (not even water!), which made for a long, parched evening. The improv "games" they were playing were anything from hard-to-follow to completely over my head. And yes, I've been to a lot of improv. I know improv can be hit and miss, but this was just a big, disappointing miss. read more

The Upfront Theatre - Performing Arts Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

Great little, cozy theatre space. There are snacks and drinks available for sale. Service was great. Cast member checked to ask if we enjoyed ourselves. read more

What a great show (so funny!), venue (just big enough), and service (warm & friendly). Got tickets for a 7:30 show on a Saturday, in the late afternoon (3 or 4 pm). Surprised it was sold out when we arrived at 7 pm. Small but good bar with three types of cider to choose from. Will definitely return! read more

As always the Upfront Theater delivered the laughs and transcended me into the story they were portraying. The new location is definitely smaller, but was almost better because it feels like you are almost part of the performance. They even offered an extra show that is completely done in the dark after the main show. Pretty cool. read more

The Upfront Theatre - a closed door with a sign on it - Performing Arts Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

The Upfront is fun & entertaining! I really enjoyed the entertainers, si quick & funny! read more

The Upfront Theatre - a stage set up for a performance - Performing Arts Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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so fun! Love the relaxed atmosphere. But, they really came through for me when I dropped a wad of cash during a show, and the next day after I called, and left a message, they called me saying they had found it and secured it for me! read more

Voted "Best Date Night" by Whatcom Talk, this live improv theater will get you, your date and your wallet smiling. Tickets can be bought for around $8-30 online based on who is gracing the stage. For a few bucks more, you can arrive early at the box office and buy your tickets at the door...assuming they haven't sold out!. Weekend events or shows with special guests like stand-up comedian Ryan Stiles from Whose Line is it Anyway will cost a bit more and sell out quickly. You'll want to arrive early and queue to ensure you get inside for a good seat. First stop inside is the register for buying or picking up tickets. Cash, Mastercard and Visa are accepted. Second stop is the concessions. Food options are limited to candy bars and packaged chips. You can also buy bottled beer, wine, and soda. Third stop is showing your ticket/reciept and getting your hand stamped for re-entry in case you need to leave the main room. This is your opportunity to find a table near the stage that seats your party. The chairs are movable, so you can cram 5 around a table if needed. There is no table service during the show, but there is usually an intermission so you can load up on snacks, refresh your drink or head to the bathroom to refresh your look. But hey, no one is going to see you anyway. The lights are dimmed low and little electronic candles found on each table emit just enough light for you to see where you placed your drink on the table not enough to see the imperfections in your looks. The shows often involve some audience participation, but nothing too earth shattering. For instance, during the Hellingham mystery thriller show, you get to vote "who dunnit". Other shows, actors will sometimes ask audience members for improv ideas to be written on papers and pulled during the show to add fun dynamics. If you want to give improv a try, you can enroll in the improv classes offered by the theater to hone your craft. If you are good enough, you just might be selected to join the cast some day. There is street parking and a small private lot next to the venue. The bridge construction in front of the theater is finally complete, so you can easily circle the block if needed to find that coveted spot. read more

The Upfront Theatre - Performing Arts Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

My friend and I came here for the Thursday evening GBU show while visiting town and had a nice time! It's far from the funniest or most entertaining improv show I've been to (it seemed like a lot of the players were new and not super confident yet), but we had fun nonetheless. The prices for tickets and drinks are cheap, so that's a plus too! Plan to eat before though because there isn't much around the area that is open that late on a Thursday after the show is done :/ read more

If laughter is the best medicine than The Upfront is your prescription for funny! I have never had less than a 5-star experience over several years. My first visit was Hellingham followed by themed shows, GBU and being surprised by Ryan Stiles popping in unannounced...fun, fun, fun at The Upfront!! The tables and candlelight have the feel of a small club Los Angeles style. My niece was in town from Phoenix over Thanksgiving weekend (also her birthday) and we included a show as part of our celebration. She chose a table right next to the stage. I hid under the table from the host, she bravely went on stage to participate in one of the sketches. We also were chosen to be judges and hold score cards for the performers during their Backyard Brawl show. Audience participates throughout and does make for a unique night out. Voted best date night in Bellingham Alive. Come early for best seating and to support your local theatre. Stand-up comedy first Thurs. monthly, new talent welcome $5.00 general admission/ Students $3.00 W/ ID -Private parties & fundraisers -Improv classes for individuals and businesses -Special New Year's Eve show w/ Champagne toast -Snacks/beer/wine served read more

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Awesome, first time being here but looking forward to the night should be an emtertainin Had a great time watching these amazing individuals they made us laugh and entertained us the entire time. Very talented, and entertaining, Thank You YELP and Jen read more

The Upfront Theatre - Performing Arts Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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Such a great show! I wish I lived closer so I could go every week. Very funny and the audience feels like they are part of the show!

Really great place. Great price for a entertaining few hours. The people are funny and keep the crowd laughing. The venue is big enough for a large crowd. They have a great selection of beverages to quench your thirst of different types. The popcorn is freshly popped and they have different candies to snack on during the show. read more

First visit, enjoyed Hellingham show with 7 improv actors who drew their characters and roles (killer, victim, other) at random. Performances overall were good to very good, and the 75-min show moved along well. Venue was not bad, 4 seats per small table, and visibility seemed good. Set was plain, not that improv needs much. No mics were used, avoiding tech problems and relying on actors to project, which 6 of 7 did well. We look forward to returning for a different production in the future! read more

The Upfront Theatre - View from 3/4 of the way back from the stage. - Performing Arts Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

A good activity for an evening. $18 for two people on a Thursday night. Upgrade for the second show was $3 more per person. Cozy atmosphere with plenty of tables. I was expecting a little more audience participation for the improv. The first part of the show was weak, possibly due to newer talent. It was difficult to follow, weak scene setup. The second half, which included Ryan Stiles, was very enjoyable. The second half talent seemed to be more seasoned. No parking available at the theater but plenty of street parking available. read more

16 years that I have been in Bellingham and I have not gone out too often. Teacher and traveler excuses, but I decided to take the plunge. I walked up to the counter at 9:30 and was able to buy a ticket for the 10pm show. What I did not know was that Saturday was the last night of their "special" show (not Improve) because I didn't really plan my outing. Good surprises can happen when decisions are taken last minute. The beer/wine options were reasonably priced and the counter staff were quite welcoming when i mentioned it was my first time in. The comedy was local humor and talent. I appreciate their work and know that we all have to start somewhere. The short video clips were solid. I plan to return when there is Improv as I have never seen that live. read more

From the mouth of my sister, a Bellingham resident, "Bham is a sleepy, creepy place." And it is! Of course it can also be lovely and picturesque for people looking to escape the chaos and noise of Seattle. But this town can be a little... err... boring at times. I'll visit her 10-15x a year and we can only go to Rumors, to Mallards, or go bowling so many times. One night we discovered Upfront Theatre and caught an improv show. What an awesome event! Totally packed with happy, howling people, this theatre features awesome entertainment that's different each night. No one show is exactly the same so it's a great opportunity for locals and visitors to check out something unique and fun. Definitely a favorite place of mine in Bellingham! read more

Not really impressed with the local improv staff. We have been to the Upfront Theater a few times, some for their regular improv shows, and other times for private parties. The best show I have seen there was put on by an improv group visiting from Seattle. Perhaps I am spoiled after seeing some really great improv in Vancouver BC. After several visits there has been no sighting of Ryan Stiles. The show may be completely different when he is there. They boast the longest running improv theater in Bellingham. That is probably true, but that claim has nothing to say about the quality of the show. It is certainly the best improv show in Bellingham. As others have pointed out improv can be very hit and miss. Perhaps I have just missed the best performances. I will probably go back, but so far its just OK. If I happen to hit a spectacular show, I will update my posting with additional details. read more

Clean,cute little place for a bit of entertainment. A nice place to kill some time/date night. I was a little bummed it wasn't a longer show (just over an hour). Hubby and I were in town for a 25th Anniversary getaway, we had dinner and then Uber'ed over to the theater. The wine and drinks were decently priced. Popcorn is always fun! We watched an improv show which we decided wasn't really our thing. We are more into stand up comedy but had we not gone we never would have known,right!? We bought our tickets online for $12 a ticket, unfortunately there was a $4 ticket charge inaddition to the ticket price. Next we will just buy the tickets in person. The show was no where near sold out. Oh and no assigned seats. So that's nice, you can sit where ya want. read more

The Upfront Theater is one of those places that makes you proud to be from Bellingham. I've been to improv spots in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, but we are so lucky that live improv of this caliber is available in a city of our size. It's not the fanciest, or the glitziest, but you can always count on a fun time, generally for ten bucks or less. I've laughed myself silly to Hellingham and The Good, Bad, and the Ugly, but my favorite events are the Thursday nights, which are the most interactive of the improv shows, involving a lot of audience participation. At only five bucks to get in, you've got a better than even chance of an appearance by Ryan Stiles (one of the founders of The Upfront) if he's in town. They don't have much in the way of food (snacks, chips, and candy), but they do have beer and wine at reasonable prices. Whether you're just passing through Bellingham, or a long time resident, the Upfront Theater is the best entertainment value in town! read more

Comedy improv shows are hit and miss! Sometimes it's hilarious and others it's crickets . . . . it's pretty easy to determine how good it will be by who the actors are for that night. It's a lot of fun and I recommend going as great way to support local talent, and for something different from your usual scene. read more

This is an interesting little improv theatre in Bellingham. We caught a show here on a lazy Saturday night, and for $12 it wasn't bad. It was a little different from other improv shows I've seen. There was very little audience participation. At the start of each half of the show, they got a suggestion from the audience, and ran with that for 40 min or so with the players switching out every couple min. read more

The Upfront Theatre experience is fantastic. We went for two shows on the same night - their GBU show (Good, Bad, and the Ugly), and their "Project" show. The GBU show was hilarious. The show started with some of their students (by the way, the Upfront Theatre also serves as an improv school). It then continued with some of the regulars. Finally, ended with the pros.. including Ryan Stiles! It's great that he is staying involved with this place and he really does seem like a cool guy. Absolutely hilarious improv. The second "Project" show included stand-up comedy from a handful of performers. For me, this wasn't nearly as good as the improv part - the subjects were primarily marijuana and sex... fine, but the incessant raunchiness got old after awhile. I must say, for the price, the whole experience is an absolute steal and makes for a good cheap date. Tickets for GBU were $7, Project, $4. They have a variety of snacks and drinks (beer, wine, energy drinks, sodas, etc.) that are all very reasonably priced. As far as the venue itself, it's not huge, and it fills up quickly - get there early if you want a close seat! The good news is, no seat is particularly bad, even if you are further back. The place is very clean and the photography on the walls give it a nice cozy vibe. Overall, it's a great place for some very good and clever entertainment. Well worth the price of admission. Looking forward to coming back for another show! read more

This is my favorite spot to start off the weekend!! It's only $10.00 ($8.00 for students with I.D.) for an hour and a half of live improv! I would much rather spend my $10 here than at a movie Theatre. I have been here numerous times and yes some shows are better then others (It IS improv here people) yet there has never been a time that I have not thoroughly enjoyed myself. There are many different performers and yes some are better than others but I feel like they always try to pair some of the better performers with the newbies which makes for a great show! The performers also always try to get the crowd involved which makes it even more fun for the audience. They have 2 shows every Thur, Fri, and Sat at 8 and 10. Just a word of advice the 10 PM shows can sometimes be a little more explicit than the 8 PM shows. Also, be sure to check the website if you want to know what the show format will be like and that way you can check out what they will be doing for the night. Oh YES, and one last thing, they DO serve drinks and snacks up at the front. They do serve alcohol and have a small selection of beer, mikes hard lemonade, and you can also order a cup of wine or a bottle of wine which makes the show that much better !! read more

What?! No one's Yelped The Upfront? Okay. I'll bite. I visited the theatre just yesterday and I absolutely loved it. Unlike the grimy comedy clubs in Seattle that vainly attempt coolness, the Upfront Theatre is a clean and classy joint with great comedy. I was impressed with the attention to detail and the wonderful staff. I went on a poetry night. I could have done without the poetry but the improv was so great (and the poetry inspired the improv) that I didn't mind the awkward bits of poetry. My fiancee and I are certainly likely to come back the next time we're in town. I really wish there was a place like this down in Seattle. read more

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This is a must when looking for a good time in B'ham! They have a small offering of beer and wine. But if you don't like their choices, bring your own bottle of wine for a $5 corking fee. Don't bring the kids either. The humor is defiantly adult. read more

Likes: I saw "Hellingham" over the weekend, and the format was very interesting. It was long-form improv, that involved about 7 players, who took on a special role for that evening, set in the community of "Hellingham". There were at least 2 players on stage, and a player gets tagged out to get replaced by a different character to be set in a different scene. A character dies mysteriously after a few minutes. During intermission, audience members are to write their name on a piece of paper, and cast their vote on who they think is that evening's "killer". I like how even though it is not as interactive as other improv formats, the audience are still very engaged as they have to determine who the killer is that evening. The players were very committed to their characters, and they had a lot of fun onstage! They were very funny and clever --- I really enjoyed the show! The food and drinks were affordable, and could be brought inside the theatre. You needed a minimum of $10 to use credit/debit. The price was also very affordable. The most you would pay is $10, for adults. Top-notch entertainment! Dislikes: -The "stage" was way less fancy than other theatres. -The website needs to be more user-friendly. I didn't know how long the shows would be. Go to this theatre!!! Support the arts!!! Fall in love with improv. read more

The shows aren't very long - like a movie, but we've been a few times and they are always SO hilarious. It is amazing to me they are just the right amount of funny, not too inappropriate, but pushing audience comfort zone. Different actors each time with all new prompts. We've never been lucky enough to see THE Ryan Stiles, but it's a great date night or evening out with friends. The staff are all really nice too. read more

I thought that this place was a fun place to go on a recent date. It was the format of a Christmas Carol the whole time which was a bit tiring at times and dragged. The improv actors were hilarious and worked well together. The location is great for getting drinks and dessert after the show by walking down Railroad. I have heard that Ryan Stiles owns this place and often shows up at the late show on Thursday nights! read more

Great crew with imaginative audience participation! We were welcomed and made to feel comfortable immediately. The crowd was a nice mix of older and younger people. I echo many others who say this is a great date night spot to kick off a fun evening. read more

Had an awesome night at Lol-apalooza. Ryan Stiles was a great host. There were several skits that were so funny that I was reduced to tears. Would definitely recommend for a great date night or just to go by yourself. read more

I liked visiting this place, tbt. :) The venue's easy to locate, clean, and professional. :) The show, Hodgepodge, on 9/30/11, was hilarious, and free! :) I liked that they wanted students to come give them a try, in a positive, and safe atmosphere. It's a great place to spend the night, to summarize. It's bedtime, now - the roommate's trying to sleep, I think. :) read more

The Upfront is a great local theatre. It's a good idea to check the website to see who is performing or what show there is. Some are more popular than others, which may affect how long the line is and what time you should get there if you want to get a seat. I think the employees are friendly and helpful and seem to really enjoy working there. As a fan of comedy, I'm really glad to see a place like this in our fine city. read more

Fun night! Ordered a bottle o' wine and drank it down with laughter. Fun & affordable! I recommend arriving a bit early to grab the seats near the front...miles of smiles :) read more

Great energy,love the performances. A great place to bring a date. Always feel appreciated by the staff and performers. A professional venue. Highly recommended . read more

What a fun place to go on the weekend! We had a great time. The tickets (and drinks) are reasonably priced and the improve actors were really funny. I especially liked the female in the troupe. Yes, there was only one woman, and in my opinion, she was the funniest of the bunch! read more

It was funny until politics got involved. We saw the 3 stooges but the actors name was changed from Trump to frump and later the main characters wife was dreaming of Obama. So offended ! I am near Bellingham but will not attend or recommend this theatre to anyone ever. It must be a different world these people live in because politics should not be a part of theatre and people should respect the president of our United States whoever is elected read more

The Upfront is a great place for a great laugh, relaxed evening, and meet awesome people. I started going there when I was in high school and still enjoy now after graduating college. It's super affordable ($4 on Thursdays!) and a great way for local comedians to show off their talent. They serve a variety of refreshments, including alcohol. No matter where you sit in the room, you can see and hear perfectly fine. It's a positive environment all around (clean, great photography on the walls, friendly staff). I have been fortunate enough to even see Ryan Stiles there twice (once unexpected) which is great to see him taking pride in his establishment. They also offer improv classes at an affordable rate which is a great opportunity for locals! Overall, it's a fabulous place and you are definitely missing out if you haven't gone! read more

On a whim some friends and I went to the upfront theater just to see what it was all about. What a really pleasant surprise this GBU show was. Several clever funny entertaining people interacting with each other in comical ways. Then an unannounced guest appearance from the Improv master himself. Yes Ryan Stiles!!!! We were blown away lol the whole time. We are going back again with another group. It's just So good to lol and have so much fun. read more