Rails Comedy

All good things must come to an end. After 5 years and 500 shows, Rails Comedy’s final season is here. Whether you’ve been with us since day 1 or attended your first Rails show last weekend, thank you for letting us be a part of the DC community. Join us for our last regular season at The DC Arts Center! Tickets are on sale now at railscomedy.com. 🧡

🍎Short-Form Improv Workshop with Caitlin Brady🍎

Short-form improv consists of fast-paced, structured games and scenes that prioritize quick thinking, audience interaction, and punchline-driven humor. The form is all about rapid-fire laughs, big characters, and team chemistry, similar to the style of Whose Line is it Anyway?, ComedySportz, and Dropout TV’s Game Changer.

This new workshop builds on participants’ prior experience in long-form improv, leveraging long-form skills for short-form games. These games are a great way to deepen skills like listening, heightening, emotional memory, creativity, collaboration, and confidence. You’ll leave with tools to be a better improviser and scene partner.

This workshop is useful for experienced improvisers who want to translate their skills to short-form, experimenting with character, pace, and heightening. Short-form is a team-based structure, so participants are expected to work together.

📋 Register in bio!

Introducing your nominees for the 2026 Walker Green Memorial Award for Sketch Excellence 🏆🏅

This is THE sketch award of all sketch comedy awards and goes to someone in the DC sketch community who is always stepping up and supporting the scene.

🏆The Academy has spoken! Here are your official 2026 Bobbys Nominees!🏆

Attend The Bobbys Award Show and Pre-Show Mixer on Wednesday, March 11 @ The DC Arts Center to find out the winners! Tix in bio 🎟️

🏆NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2026 BOBBYS AWARDS ARE NOW OPEN🏆

The Bobbys is Rails Comedy’s 3rd annual sketch comedy awards show and celebration held at its March Etch A Sketch show. Started by Bobby Cohoat in 2024, this show celebrates achievements in sketch comedy at The DC Arts Center, where winners win a “Bobby,” and the audience joins in on the celebration.

This year, we are opening nominations to members of the sketch comedy community! Please nominate performers from eligible shows for any of the award categories listed below.

THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT NOMINATIONS IS BY MONDAY, MARCH 2. Nomination form in bio!

Tonight! Come get cozy with comedy and magic tonight before the snow falls! ❄️

Down the Rabbit Hole is an intimate night of live magic and illusion performed by a rotating lineup of magicians. Featuring sleight of hand, mind reading, and the power of suggestion, the show delivers an evening of surprise, wonder, and genuine impossibility. 🪄

Our winter season is here! ❄️ get tickets in bio!

Throwback to one of our favorite moments of 2025 with Kevin McDonald in DC

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DAMN JAM! (CLOWN IMPROV) comes to Rails on Wednesday, January 7th @ DCAC! This clown improv jam is for performers of all experience levels who are guilty of being curious about clowning. With live direction from performer/teaching artist Daniel Maseda, participants will take the stage to improvise around prompts that are equal parts delicious and preposterous. You’re destined for failure—and that’s where the fun starts.

DAMN JAM! is a supportive space to do your worst while trying your damn best. A great way to get your reps if you’re looking to deepen your sense of play, take your improv habits off the rails, work on performing solo, or explore the freaky joys of not knowing what you’re doing onstage, all in good company.

All are welcome, no experience or prep required! This isn’t a class (no lesson plan) and this also isn’t a show (no public audience), so if you come, come ready to play! Sign up to jam in bio!

Facilitated by Daniel Maseda .nee.ell

Are you hungry for something weird? Are you starving for some alt-comedy? Is your stomach rumbling for you to eat a delicious meal of experimental clown performance?

Well, look NO further - on Wednesday, January 7 @ DCAC, join the creators of DC’s hit alt-comedy show, Cupboard’s Cabaret, for an exclusively experimental night - Cupboard’s Laboratory 🔬🧪🥼🧫. Sit comfortably in the audience for FREE, or sign up to perform for a SMALL FEE of $152 (just kidding - this is free too, unless you develop Stockholm syndrome backstage and feel compelled to donate to us).

Sign up to perform at Cupboard’s Laboratory at the ticket link in bio.

Sign-ups close January 6th, acceptances will go out on a rolling basis!