Pridefest may have dominated the news, but it wasn’t the only inspiring event that took place last weekend in New York City. Also on tap was the Del Close Marathon (DCM17). Organized by the folks at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB), the weekend-long fête honors the great Del Close, a pioneer of modern improvisational theater. Kicking off Friday night and concluding Sunday evening, the 56-hour marathon features wall-to-wall improv by troupes from all over the world. The event celebrated its 17th birthday this year.

One of New York City’s most hilarious and uplifting festivals, it’s easy to suffer from FOMO at the Del Close Marathon. There’s just so much going on. The fest takes place across nine stages, two of which, UCBT Chelsea and UCBT East, feature non-stop performances. The Magnet, 4th Street Theatre, Theater for New City Cabaret and Theatre for New City Johnson shut down for a few overnight hours to clean up and recharge batteries. The FIT and SVA host the premium shows, which this year included Broad City, Gravid Water, Nick Kroll & Friends, Silicon Valley, ASSSSCAT 3000 and more.

Three brave souls made it through the entire marathon and lived to tell the tale at the final performance of ASSSSCAT 3000 on Sunday night. Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh and Amy Poehler, who were leading the show, put the poor, sleep-deprieved boys on the spot. They asked the guys if there was a wish the UCB crew could grant them. One of the loopy fellas basically responded that being able to attend the marathon had already made his short-term dreams come true.

We weren’t able to go to as many shows as we would have liked, but what we did witness was amazing. The press conference-cum-performance which kicks off the fest is a great introduction to the antics to come. Every year, press and eager improvisers crowd into the UCBT Chelsea to hear the founders of the marathon (Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh and Amy Poehler) do a ribbon cutting of sorts. But when things kicked off for DCM17, only the three boys appeared. Where’s Amy? A few moments later she joined and was not happy that the festivities had started without her. She was caught in traffic. The crew eventually got back to the business at hand, discussed the Del Close documentary they’ve been involved with, did a few bits and fielded questions from the audience. Gay marriage proved a popular topic, not only at the press conference but at other activities throughout the weekend, and Periscope was bantered about as a way for the founders to show they were still hip. Over halfway through the zaniness, Horatio Sanz crashed the party with a Big Gulp in hand. He was enlisted to demonstrate the egregious act of manspreading on the subway.

Gravid Water, one of the fest’s premium offerings, featured an all-star cast of actors and improvisers. The brainchild of Stephen Ruddy, the show finds actors memorizing scenes and then going on stage with improvisers who have no idea what is going on. Ian Roberts was paired with Julie Sharbutt for a scene from Ivanov, Peter Grosz and Tami Sagher took on Moonstruck, and Maria Dizzia and Thomas Middleditch contended with Anna Christie. Cristin Milioti was carried off by Scott Adsit at the end of their scene together, and Brian Stack professed his love for Becky Drysdale’s character during their moment on stage. However, our favorite part of the evening was the scene between Cady Huffman, Mike Birbiglia and Matt Walsh. They united for All that Jazz. Birbiglia’s face was priceless when Huffman sat him down at the piano and told him to start playing and Walsh’s dance moves were solid.

The UCB’s signature show ASSSSCAT 3000 closed out the weekend with two installments. We had the pleasure of attending the second. The concept of this show involves a monologist who tells a bunch of stories based on a suggestion from the audience. A group of improvisers then use these stories as fodder for their performance. For this special Del Close edition, Poehler, Roberts and Walsh served as the storytellers. They told all sort of tales about their moms, hanging out at the Dunkin Donuts, substitute teachers, and more. The improv crew that accompanied them was incredible. The show is broken into two acts. For the first, the group included: Jon Gabrus, Brett Gelman, John Gemberling, Shannon O’Neill and Anthony Atamanuik. The second half featured Zach Woods, Adam Pally, Betsy Sodaro, Jason Mantzoukas and Gil Ozeri.

We didn’t witness it first hand, but we heard that a proposal occurred during Horatio Sanz’s Hooray Show. Perhaps next year’s marathon will feature the happy couple’s all-improvised wedding.

See below for a few visuals from the weekend. We’re already looking forward to next year.