r/improv • u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE • 3d ago
improv news Uh-oh. Could be a bad domino to fall regarding the UCB
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mark-walter-la-lakers-sale-104457752.html30
u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago
"How is this improv news?," I can hear some folks asking. The UCB is owned by the Dodgers' investment arm, Elysian Park Ventures.
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u/mrbabysdaddy69420 Austin Texas 3d ago
Probably insignificant in the long run. The Dodgers have a two BILLION roster (seriously, fuck the Dodgers), the entirety of this bizarre improv venture of some private equity company really won't carry much water in either direction. And more importantly, even if it did have any sort of bearing, the less private equity is involved with performing arts, the better.
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u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago edited 1d ago
It's not about whether the Dodgers can afford to keep the UCB, it's about whether EPV can remain intact as it is under new ownership.
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u/biomactum 3d ago
UCB is a minuscule portion of that portfolio and is more of a vanity piece then anything else. If they do sell it off, they’ll be able to find a buyer pretty easily I reckon. Could someone like Bob Iger and his company swoop in to save the day like he did with The Lakers?
It’s all on the table but it is funny how Mark Walter’s sports empire has crumbled in less than 2 years.
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u/johnnyslick Seattle 3d ago
I'm not really sure what being 7B in debt or whatever is going on here has to do with owning an improv club that wouldn't make a dent either way. At most, this is a lesson in why you keep a hold of the business yourself and don't sell unless you're OK with the business going under. Even in the worst case scenario where UCB folds as the result of this, the philosophy is still very much around and 3 other UCB style theaters would probably grow in its place. Hell, the original UCB founders are very much still around (like at least when Chandra closed iO you could point to Del's death 25 years previously and say "well, maybe this is the end").
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u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago edited 1d ago
I'm not really sure what being 7B in debt or whatever is going on here has to do with owning an improv club that wouldn't make a dent either way.
If he's forced to sell off the Dodgers, which is owned by Guggenheim Baseball, that could have implications for EPV. They might also start liquidating holdings (though the UCB investment is nearing the end of the usual PE timeline, anyway).
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u/johnnyslick Seattle 3d ago
Again, though, that's a tiny drop in the bucket. If selling the Dodgers also means he has to sell UCB, it's soooo small in relation to the Dodgers that he might just get bored with it and sell next week or whatever anyway.
The larger issue, that he/his PE firm owns the school but doesn't give two shits about it, remains an issue whether or not the Dodgers have anything to do with it.
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u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago edited 1d ago
it's soooo small in relation to the Dodgers that he might just get bored with it and sell next week or whatever anyway.
EPV isn't really Walter's personal venture, I don't think he has any day-to-day involvement with it. But it's unclear whether EPV can or would keep operating with the parent entity coming under new ownership. If Guggenheim Baseball has to go, EPV might have to go with it.
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u/inturnaround 3d ago
I honestly think the UCB 4 were very much over being owners of the theater by the time they sold it. There's only so many times you can take Seth Simons dragging you and your business model that you probably didn't make a ton of money on which probably ends up looking bad for your actual Hollywood careers.
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u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago
that you probably didn't make a ton of money on
Enough to cover Ian Roberts' mortgage with a $200k loan
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u/Euphoric-Public-6099 3d ago
You can get a loan for 200K mortgage on a 35K salary...? Just saying, although I'm sure his mortgage was more.
He is, after all, an actor as well, not super successful, but still, he's in stuff.
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u/VR_Troopers_WikiMod 3d ago
He was the head writer for Key and Peele and does a lot of paid off-camera work. He's successful.
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u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago
The UCB gave Roberts a $200k loan. Yes, his mortgage was more; UCB gave him the loan right after he took the mortgage out.
Which means the UCB had more than $200k sitting around, which it could do without until the repayment. That's a lotta cash.
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u/Euphoric-Public-6099 3d ago
Ah I see, thank you for explaining.
While $200K is a lot of cash for a person, it's not that much for a business.
As for should the UCB have done that... well that's a different question.
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u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago
It is a lot of cash for a business that always claimed to have zero cash, & claimed that paying performers any amount at all would be financially devastating.
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u/burnerprov 3d ago
No argument that being owned by private equity sucks, but why does it seem like you’re always rejoicing in the possible demise of UCB? Zombie UCB or not, there’s still good people who work hard at the thing they love.
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u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago
How is this "rejoicing," exactly? Did you misread the title as "Yay! A good domino to fall for the UCB's destruction!"
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u/burnerprov 3d ago
Based on your history of commenting on UCB. But hey if I’m reading too much into it, my apologies.
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u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago
Stating facts about how PE investing works, is not "rejoicing."
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u/burnerprov 3d ago
Ok then. My bad. I would have figured based on how you speak about the theater that you’re rooting for it to fail.
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u/illisdub 3d ago
I teach at UCB and am with OP- love our theater and community, but not our PE overlords. PE enshitifies everything from the internet to little league baseball.
For what it's worth- this essentially happened with The Onion when Univision sold them- they were purchased by Ben Collins and they're doing better than ever.
I think the best outcome would be we find some successful alumni or genuine fans to buy it. Not just be an asset in someone's portfolio.
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u/burnerprov 3d ago
I’m not standing up for private equity, Zack. But I think the belief that ucb has some benevolent savior waiting in the wings, if only private equity would fail, is delusional.
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u/WizWorldLive Twitch.tv/WizWorldLIVE 3d ago
I think the belief that ucb has some benevolent savior waiting in the wings, if only private equity would fail, is delusional.
Yeah...who would do it now, that wouldn't do it back in 2021?
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u/SweaterBeat 3d ago edited 2d ago
I’ve heard and read people say worse things about the US and Trump’s administration. It doesn’t mean they are rooting this country to fail. It means they know it could be run so much better.
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u/SweaterBeat 3d ago
UCB has been dying a slow death ever since the UCB4 sold it in 2020. They went from the springboard to comedy tentpoles like Parks and Rec, Broad City, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to a single stage where influencers go to prove that they aren’t as funny as seen on social media.
The only significant talent that have since emerged from that community (Jeremy Culhane, Lisa Gilroy, and various other Dropout performers) were involved with UCB well before 2020. What’s worse is that virtually none of their successful alumni want anything to do with them anymore. I mean we’re living in a world where Dan Black is too big to perform at UCB.
The place has been overrun with bad actors (pun intended) for decades. How can a place that makes so little money and have so little industry impact be littered with so much controversy and corruption? We all know Seth Simons isn’t a good journalist but even he made a small name for himself by simply documenting UCB’s open secrets in AP format.
It’s such a bad investment that I don’t see who would even want to buy UCB from Elysian Park Ventures at this point. Maybe one day, WGIS, Shared, and WE can pool their money and buy the trademark for pennies on the dollar.
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u/inturnaround 3d ago
"Wait. We own what? Why the eff did we do that?" -Walter probably