Picture This! Live Animated Comedy at the Lyric Hyperion

Most comedy shows give you one thing to watch. Picture This! gives you two. Comedians do their sets on stage while a row of animators and cartoonists draw along in real time, and the drawings go up on screen as the jokes land. It's one of the odder LA events this weekend, and it costs nothing if you RSVP.

The show comes to the Lyric Hyperion on Sunday, September 27, presented by Animation Block Party. Doors are at 6:40 PM and the show starts at 7.

How the show works

Brandie Posey and Sam Varela started Picture This! more than ten years ago. The setup is simple and a little chaotic. The comics don't know what the artists are drawing, and the artists don't know where the comics are headed. So a throwaway line about a landlord can turn into a full cartoon villain before the punchline arrives, and sometimes the drawing gets the bigger laugh.

The show has run in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Portland, and it's traveled to Toronto, New Zealand and Australia. Brandie Posey hosts this one. The comic and artist lineup was still listed as TBA when we checked, and the organizers note it's subject to change, so go for the format rather than a specific name.

There's an intermission, which gives you a minute to grab a drink from the cafe.

The venue

The Lyric Hyperion has been putting on offbeat comedy, music and performance for decades. It's a small room with a cafe attached, the kind of place where the stage is close enough that you can see the artists' pens moving. If you're keeping a list of weird little Things Happening In Los Angeles that don't need a big budget, this room shows up on it often.

Practical info

• When: Sunday, September 27, 2026. Doors 6:40 PM, show 7 PM, runs about two hours.
• Where: Lyric Hyperion Theater, 2106 Hyperion Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027.
• Price: Free with RSVP through Eventbrite.

Read the fine print before you go. An RSVP doesn't guarantee a seat; entry is first come, first served, so show up close to doors. Late arrivals get turned away 20 minutes after the scheduled start. Street parking along Hyperion fills up on weekend nights, so leave a few extra minutes to circle.

If you like this one, Animation Block Party is bringing Picture This! back to the same stage on December 20 for a winter show, also free with RSVP.

For more free things to do in los angeles, browse the Los Angeles neighborhood page or the full arts and culture calendar.