On Background: A Journalism-Improv Mashup w/ Alexandra Petri SOLD OUT

Name: On Background: A Journalism-Improv Mashup w/ Alexandra Petri SOLD OUT
Start: 2026-03-19T19:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-03-19T21:00:00-04:00
Location: 926 N St NW Washington, DC 20001

Schedule

Thu Mar 19 2026 at 07:30 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

926 N St NW Washington, DC 20001 | Washington, DC

Yo Dawg, we heard you like comedy, so we put some Alexandra Petri in your improv comedy so you can laugh while you're laughing!
About this Event

Update: this show is now officially SOLD OUT! Thank you for supporting On Background, DC!

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Our second On Background show pairs some of DC's most talented and versatile improvisational comedians with somone who's, yeah, world-class, byline-tested funny: Alexandra Petri, one of the country's most gifted satirists, now at The Atlantic following a career-making turn at The Washington Post. Our format once again finds improvisors turning the tables on Alexandra, interviewing her while inviting her to pull back the journalistic curtain to discuss her journey toward becoming one of our era's most recognized and prolific (and hilarious) comedic voices.

Cast:
Kate Symes
Eva Lewis
Meredith Garagiola
Paul Detrick
Chris Ulrich
Dan Kois
Shawn Westfall

About Alexandra Petri: Alexandra Petri is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Until 2025, she was a columnist for the Washington Post. Her satire has also appeared in McSweeneys and the New Yorker's Daily Shouts and Murmurs, as well as on the radio, and on TV. She has appeared on a number of podcasts, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and Jeopardy! where she made what was described as the 'worst final Jeopardy! wager of all time.' She was on Rolling Stone's list of The Funniest People Right Now, Forbes 30 Under 30, received the National Press Club's Angele Gingras award for humor writing, was a finalist for the 2022 Thurber Prize, and won a Shorty Award for her parody twitter account.

About On Background: Produced by local DMV improv mainstay Shawn Westfall, local DMV journalist/writer Dan Kois, and NOBODY, one of the most respected social-first communications/ad agencies in the country, On Background pairs some of the DC area's most recognized and renowned journalists and media personalities with some of DC's most talented and versatile improvisational comedians for an unforgettable evening of learning and laughter.