Taran Killam introduced in Amy Poehler's monologue

Amy's anxiety dream has some familiar faces.



Monologue
Amy Poehler
Jimmy Fallon
Justin Timberlake
Rachel Dratch
Tina Fey
Fred Armisen ... security guard
Vanessa Bayer
Paul Brittain
Taran Killam
Seth Meyers
Nasim Pedrad
Jay Pharoah
Kenan Thompson ... Lorne Michaels
Kristen Wiig

Enjoy!

The Groundlings and SNL

What with the addition of Taran Killam (a long-time Groundlings member) to SNL, we wanted to take a deeper-dive look at The Groundlings, and their history with SNL.



The Groundlings are an improvisational comedy troupe based in Los Angeles, California, USA. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin to produce sketches and improvised scenes.

The troupe moved into their current location on Melrose Avenue in 1979.

The Groundlings School holds new sessions every six weeks with over 300 students per session, with over 2,000 students per year going through the program. The competitive program consists of 4 levels (Basic, Intermediate, Writing Lab, and Advanced). Participants must be successfully advanced from each level by the instructor. After completing the Advanced level, one may be voted into the Sunday Company, which performs every Sunday at 7:30pm. Members of the Main Company are selected from members of the Sunday Company.

Current Groundlings main members include...

Taran Killam (signed to SNL for this coming season)
Michaela Watkins (let go from SNL before last season)

Here are SNL members who came from The Groundlings...

Abby Elliott
Jimmy Fallon
Will Ferrell
Will Forte
Ana Gasteyer
Phil Hartman
Jan Hooks
Chris Kattan
Jon Lovitz
Laraine Newman (founding member of The Groundlings & SNL)
Conan O'Brien (writer & non-credited cast)
Cheri Oteri
Chris Parnell
Maya Rudolph
Julia Sweeney
Michaela Watkins
Kristen Wiig

Other famous Groundlings alumni...

Adam Carolla
Jennifer Coolidge
Kathy Griffin (Shrek Forever After)
Cheryl Hines (RV)
Lisa Kudrow (Friends)
Phil LaMarr (MadTV)
Michael McDonald (MadTV)
Pat Morita (Karate Kid & Happy Days)
Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman)
Joe Ranft (voice actor for Pixar)
Dax Shepard (Punk'd & When In Rome)


Note 1: Phil Hartman knew Paul Reubens were friends during their Groundlings days, and Phil encouraged Paul to put together a pilot for Pee Wee Herman. Phil also appeared on Pee Wee Herman as a fisherman, a frequent guest.

Note 2: Will Ferrell's SNL class was composed of a lot of Groundlings alumni. They must have worked so well together in the comedy troop that it was natural for them to work together on SNL. This group included Will Ferrell, Ana Gasteyer, Chris Kattan, Cheri Oteri, and at the tail end of Will's reign on SNL, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Parnell, and Maya Rudolph.

Enjoy!

Taran Killam - Groundlings improv - Oh Mother

Here is Taran doing improv with the Groundlings:



Enjoy!

Is Taran Killam one of three new performers on SNL?

SNL selected three new performers to replace Will Forte. More of my opinions after the news story...



Three comedians — Paul Brittain, Vanessa Bayer, and Taran Killam — are rumored to join the cast of Saturday Night Live for its 36th season.

According to The Comic’s Comic, Brittain is a Chicago-based improviser and sketch comedian, Bayer is a Cleveland native who also performs throughout Chicago, and Killam has been on-air with MADtv and Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘N Out.

FYI: Yesterday, it was announced that Will Forte decided to call it quits after eight seasons on SNL.

Here are video clips of Bayer and Killam…


Vanessa Bayer: Blue Shield of California Commercial





Taran Killam: Scrubs Interns - Webisode 5



Article from:
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2010/08/27/saturday-night-lives-new-hires-revealed/#ixzz0xyPFgMrd
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So Killam is more of a progressive step, since he's already been doing his comedy on TV for awhile (similar to how Amy Poehler and Kenan Thompson both were doing comedy on other shows before SNL). (I'm actually surprised Killam would take this gig, because he would probably be offered his own sitcom otherwise.) And Bayer and Brittain are more of the "finds." So we'll continue to check these three out and let you know what we think.

Brittain and Bayer were both confirmed through their improv organization, the Improv Olympics. Taran has not yet been confirmed through a direct source (SNL, The Groundlings, or Killam).

Enjoy!

Is Taran Killam on Saturday Night Live?

There's a rumor going around that Taran Killam is on Saturday Night Live. If that's the case, then the world needs to watch out. This guy has been on MadTV, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, and he was in Groundlings (like Will Ferrell and others).

SNL would be lucky to have him, because after his Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother performances, they should be handing him his own sitcom.

He's always been funny, but he's been honing his craft these last few years, and he's got a ton of impressions and ideas. He's become an expert at comedy. If he's on SNL, then he will soon be the next Will Ferrell.

Mark my words, America.

- TAE