Nine and Numb: Grand Forks will be holding auditions for our improv comedy troupe on Wednesday, August 28th at 7pm. Come dressed to move and play!
In almost two and a half decades, Nine and Numb has seen, by last count, over 135 players come and go. An amazing number when compared to our humble beginnings back in 2000 when nine college students got together and formed a comedy troupe in Grand Forks, ND in a tiny, one room bar in a building on the dark side of town that doesn't even exist anymore!
It started small with a handful of friends coming to cheer them on and over the weeks and months, word got out and the crowds grew so large that they had to move their now infamous Tuesday night show to the Scott Hansen's Comedy Gallery next door. In 2002, Nine and Numb moved to another venue, Sensations Nightclub, after the Westward Ho Entertainment Complex closed it's doors. There, the troupe experienced its first personnel turnover that led to the birth of the second generation of the team with six new players coming aboard. In 2004, Nine and Numb expanded to create its first satellite team 70 miles away in Fargo, ND that played at Courtney's Comedy Club and thus, for the first time, Nine and Numb was a multi-city phenomenon dominating the comedy scene up and down the North Dakota/Minnesota border for years to come.
In 2005, Nine and Numb moved its base of operations to Tampa, FL and in 2008, with the dissolution of the Fargo and Grand Forks troupes, Nine and Numb took an extended break that would end up lasting for three long years.
In March of 2011, Nine and Numb reformed at Carrollwood Players Theatre in Tampa and began the fourth generation of the troupe with an all new cast at its first show in May of that year. The troupe played a semi monthly show there for the next four years on the mainstage and in the theatre's Black Box space.
In October of 2014, Nine and Numb held auditions for an all new troupe in its hometown of Grand Forks, ND. For the first time in over a decade, Nine and Numb had returned to the city of its birth, playing at the Fire Hall Theatre for a monthly gig. The troupe's fifth generation had begun.
In March of 2016, the main troupe in Florida moved their show from Carrollwood Players to Dreamhouse Theatre, where it performed to regular sold out crowds and in the spring of 2024, Nine and Numb once again returned to Grand Forks with an all new team at the Empire Arts Center. For nearly 25 years, Nine and Numb has entertained audiences around the country and has played for thousands and thousands of people. Whether it's in a 2,000 seat auditorium, a 20,000 seat arena (Yup. We've done it!) or even an intimate, five table bar on a snowy night in the middle of nowhere, Nine and Numb has continued to bring Uncommon Comedy at the speed of thought!