Pittsburgh Native | Friends Start Sketch Comedy Group in Los Angeles

October 26, 2010
Posted By - Lauren Norris
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I love a good laugh - whether it be going to see a stand-up comedian, watching a comedy, or hanging out with my friends, laughing is good for the soul. When I received the chance to write about a sketch comedy group out in Los Angeles called Cheap Shots, and introduce them to you, the world, I was very excited. 


I was able to catch up with one of the members, Pittsburgh native Bill Harvanek, that gave us a great background of the group. 

Cheap Shots Comedy Group

When did Cheap Shots start? We actually started in the summer of 2008. We all met at our local bar, and decided that instead of sitting around and talking about the great stuff we could write and produce, let's shut up and do it. So four of us - Myself, Corey (Hogan), Gary (Gunter) and our friend Kurt wrote a pilot that we produced with our own money and shot at the bar...it was a disaster. I personally spent all my savings, and we just bit off more than we could chew for our first project. We were producing, acting, doing craft service, buying lunch, EVERYTHING. And it ended up not being what we'd envisioned. We spent so much time with the technical aspects, we didn't have time to do what we do best, which is improv. 

Fast forward to the spring of 2009. After we were done licking our wounds, we decided we didn't need all kinds of equipment, and money to make great comedy. So we borrowed a camera from a friend, and started writing short sketches that were just funny, and most importantly FUN TO SHOOT. The only money we spent was for tapes for the camera (and a new windshield for our friends car). I did a car hit in our first sketch and broke the window with my butt. Since that first sketch (inStar) we've just gotten stronger and stronger, and we're having fun being the "Bad News Bears" of sketch comedy. For us it's just like hanging out with our friends, and there happens to be a camera there. 

Who are the members that make up Cheap Shots? Me - Bill Harvanek: The Pittsburgh Kid. Moved out to Los Angeles on my birthday a little over seven years ago. Started out doing acting and stunts when I first moved to town. Had a really good run for a while doing stunts, but realized that I had some talent, and really enjoyed writing and producing. People always want to book me for the super serious cop or military guy, but my first love has always been comedy. I've written almost all of the sketches so far (except inStar and Full Lohan), and I do the bulk of producing work (getting the camera, bringing in guest actors, acquiring shooting locations, scheduling, etc) 

Corey Hogan: Originally from Long Island, trained with Groundlings, accomplished voice talent, and recently made it to the Final Four on Oxygen's "Dance Your Ass Off" where he lost almost 90 lbs.

Gary Gunter: Quite possibly the only half-colombian that grew up in Idaho. Gary spent some time doing theatre in Portland before moving to Los Angeles and studying with Groundlings. He was a part of other sketch groups around town before finding his home with Cheap Shots. Gary's got the loudest laugh in the biz.

Farah Cabrera: A Seattle native, Farah was the first woman to join the group, and what an addition she was. Farah was a friend of Gary's from Groundlings, and came to us when we were shooting the pilot. We loved her so much we decided to keep her....for the sketch group that is. She brings a much needed feminine balance, but also has been known to say things that make us all blush.

Danielle Kasen: Danielle is the newest addition to the group. We were honored when this accomplished, and supremely talented lady approached US about being in the group. Danielle is a New York native that has been doing sketch comedy for a long time. Her list of accomplishments is way too long to include, but she's done the Vagina Monologues, and written for Saturday Night Live, just for starters. 

How do you come up with content? We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, to do parodies making fun of celebrities. So in that regard, we just sit back and let them be ridiculous, then writing the sketch is about the easiest thing in the world. So far we've targeted: Lindsay Lohan, TMZ, and Brett Favre. We try to do a healthy mix of topical sketches like the celebrity ones, and what we call our "original" stuff, which would include "Accidental Racist", "Fertility Doctor", and the next release "Douche it Forward". These are actually my favorite ones to do, because the concepts usually come to us while we're just hanging out together. Someone will say something stupid, or hilarious, then we all start building on it. The next thing we know we're all laughing so hard we're crying and without a writer's meeting, or brainstorming session.....we've got a sketch.

Accidental Racist was loosely based on my friend Greg who always seems to say things that sound racist, completely innocently. Douche it Forward came from a discussion with a friend about a co-worker she couldn't stand, etc. 

Let's get back to your roots, shall we? Living in Los Angeles is amazing! But I definitely miss the Burgh a lot. I try to represent the hometown as much as I can out here, and there's actually A LOT of fellow Yinzers around, which I love. So far I've found about five different Steelers bars out here. My favorite though is Gabe's on Sepulveda and National's in West Los Angeles. I first found them during our 2005 Super Bowl run. This place is so nuts, they go crazy if they even show Bradshaw on TV during the halftime report. LOVE IT! Sometimes when I'm watching the Steelers games and they show the view from the top of Mt.  Washington, I try to touch the screen and say "Home" like ET. The traffic out here sucks, but ALL THE STREETS ARE MARKED, if you can imagine that. If you make a wrong turn downtown, you won't end up on a bridge heading to the airport. Haha. I'm so glad to see a lot of productions choosing to shoot in Pittsburgh these days...now I'm just hoping to get booked on one so I can come back home to the city that made me who I am. 

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I hope you have all enjoyed your first introduction to the Cheap Shots comedy group! Take a moment to check out their YouTube Channel, Become a Fan of theirs on Facebook, and follow their tweets on Twitter! We will be sure to keep you all updated on any new developments with Cheap Shots! Laugh on...

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