Feel Good Fridays: Mon Frere Sketch Comedy Group

Mon Frere is a six-man comedy sketch troupe from Greensboro, North Carolina. Founded in 2008, Mon Frere originally consisted of its co-founders and partners in crime, John McIntosh, an actor with a talent for the hilarious, and AJ Schraeder, a member of the acclaimed Idiot Box improv comedy troupe in Greensboro. The two began writing short sketches and performing them at local comedy clubs and open mic nights, and the group soon expanded to include Bob Beshere, an English professor and another member of the Idiot Box troupe, Mat Schantz, a lawyer with a secret past involving community theater, Al-don Schraeder, AJ’s brother; and John Chenoweth, their our oldest ever member, and secret trivia weapon because he has seen sports before.

How did Mon Frere first get started?
We got started cause your mid-20s are a rough time for a man. They’re confusing, scary and strange. We fought those feelings with camaraderie comedy, and Bud Light Lime. After the first few months, Mon Frere was born.
How would you define your comedy style?
O god, our comedy style? Thats hard…..we’re so many dudes. I’d say we’re like a blend of …..I just typed like 15 comics and comedy groups, as if we were somehow a mix of all popular comedy from the past 30 years. We’re the pop/nerd culture of the 90s wrapped up in 20/20 hindsight from 30 year old brains….with occasional romps into the absurd.
What is Unstoppable Failure and Alter ID?
They are both extensions of the Mon Frere Umbrella Corp.

AlterID is a one man show by our member Bob Beshere. Clayton Carter attends an upper-middle class Episcopal private school, Clayton’s alter ego wants him to quit school and live. Clayton is a mega-geek who’s looked over thirty since he was twelve. Clayton’s alter ego wants him to use this power to buy alcohol and score with older women. Clayton seems content with his life. Clayton’s alter ego is convinced that he is not. Clayton is a high school sophomore. Clayton’s alter ego is a gangsta rapper. It’s a battle to see who wins.

Unstoppable Failure is both a podcast and a sketch comedy group.
The podcast stars Al-don and AJ Schraeder. They record a podcast that delves into the minds themselves and occasional guests and then weave in sketches inspired by the topics of the talk.

The sketch group of the same name adds in John McIntosh to perform sketches from the podcast live.

We also have a third group:
Thunderstood is AJ’s multimedia one man sketch show that has been performed at comedy festivals across the country. Armed with a projector and a truly odd point of view AJ Schraeder takes you through a stream of conscious presentation of how he sees reality. In 2012 Thunderstood was awarded the title of “Best Sketch Group” at Shadowbox live’s 4^th annual Sketch Contest judged by original SNL cast Member Garrett Morris.
Where can we see you performing next? (editor’s note: cough, cough. . . . don’t forget to mention that thing in October).
That last question was long….let’s make this one short and sweet.

We perform the 2nd Friday of every month at 9(or 9:30 sometimes) at Upstage(previously WineUp) in NODA(Charlotte).

And we’re incredibly excited and honored to be part of this years’s Geek Gala on October 26 at 2pm, we don’t actually perform at 2, but that’s when the party starts. I assume we perform sometime after sunset. (Editor’s note: Yes, they are part of the main programming that starts at 7 PM).
So the theme of the Geek Gala is Alien Invasion. If Aliens were to invade – what would Mon Frere do?
Pretty sure we run to the beach and hide in the giant empty houses near where my dad lives. We’d each get golf carts and run around fighting off aliens on golf carts while also surfing and fishing to survive. Its gonna actually probably be the best life. When I asked Al-don, he said he’d be cool with the aliens though, and go hang out with them.