Next At Bat

Guest host, Michael DallaValle, tries to get Samantha Veldhouse, Erin Kennedy, Jeff Kaisershot, Aurora Sandelands, Jay Kistler, Amee Nefzgar Banks, JoJo Franzen, Philip Skretvedt, Erik Nielsen and coach Matt McCould (unfortunately Colin Anderson couldn’t join us (in human form)) to spoil Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Matt talks about forming the group out of an audition by choosing players that would compliment each other based on Billy Merritt’s “Pirate, Robot, Ninja” theory (or is it “Table, Harpoon, Plant”?) They talk about the mechanisms that form their show (Matt doesn’t even want to call it a form). Those mechanisms are a “but…, therefore…, or meanwhile…” edit (they’re still have a problem with buts (or is it butts)) that creates one world in which all the scenes take place, and “group pretty,” a version of Susan Messing’s technique in which players step in to physically represent objects within the scene’s environment.

There’s some chanting, the group discusses the challenges of sharing focus in large group ensembles, Matt talks about not inserting himself as a player/coach (unless there are too few players for a show) and we find out that we’ve been doing sidebars incorrectly this whole time.

We try a new segment, Philip’s Corner, where we discuss name abbreviation etiquette, and check in on the battle between vampires and blood mobiles.

Also, the fart is Colin.

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Andy Katzung, Michael DallaValle, Philip Skretvedt, and Katy McGrath of Wonderful Wonderful (unfortunately Justina Cegelski, Courtney Chesher, Chad Divine, Ali Fisch, John Gebretatose and Ingrid Nuttall couldn’t join us) divulge the identities of secret service personnel in what is surely worse than any wiki-leak.

They talk about how they have evolved from a Brave New Workshop house team into their most recent form; It’s a Wonderful Wonderful Life. They had to figure out how to suddenly have a player-coach (they keep it as democratic as possible) and whether or not to hold auditions to add cast members (they ended up just adding the two people everyone wanted to join in the first place). They also discuss how their La Ronde is a good form to introduce their relationship-based, character-driven scenes, and how how their form allows them to alter characters that they aren’t fully satisfied with.

In a new segment, Philip’s corner, we find out that Philip Skretvedt thinks Philip Simondet is aloof.

Also, we find out that the only thing that can save us from level 4 super hemorrhoids is fecal Jesus.

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Brian Smallbeck, Michael Blomberg, Peter Gilbert, Matt Kelly, Amee Nefzgar Banks, Lizzie Gardner, and Elliot Stevenson of Firefly: The Improvised Continuation (unfortunately Sophie Brossard and Emily Townswick couldn’t make it) come on to spoil Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They discuss the challenges of not only doing a narrative form, but also making well-known, existing characters your own (without having Amee’s friends correct you). To do that, they let the significant event and any B stories dictate the theme of the episode’s hero’s journey. They also have a secret character arc in mind, which allows the drama of the events reflect the drama of the relationships.

Also, Matt and Philip go back in time to watch their parents fuck. Don’t eat Me Ma’s Chicken.

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Will Roberts, Gubby Kubik, Philip Simondet, Alex Collyard and Erik Nielson of THE PAiNTERS (unfortunately Jeff Gyllen and Luke Gonnella couldn’t make it) eplore when callbacks become indulgent, and when joking about misogyny just becomes misogyny. They explain how the form started as a joke while practicing for The Local Music Scene (which is a great group – you should listen to their episode of Next At Bat) because of the group’s belief that if someone tell’s you you can’t do something, you definitely have to do it. They talk about how they’re able to convey emotion even though their forms puts them outside of time and reality, which often leads to meta comedy and the blurring of the line between committing to and commenting on the scene. They talk about how important their friendship is to their group mind, the sharing of the stage, and their fearlessness to experiment within their form.

Matt leads his recurring segment, GOOD GRIEF presents: The Local Music Scene presents: THE PAiNTERS presents: Butts! Butts! Butts!, and guest co-host Abe Vanderbent debuts a new segment, Abe’s Hovel.

Also, THE PAiNTERS paint THE PAiNTERS improvising a set in an improv theater.

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Joe Bozic, improviser extraordinaire (Ferrari McSpeedy, Shiow X, The Mess, KINGS) and author of Tin Robot joins us at the first annual NoisePicnic Podfest to talk about inspiration, editing, and what to cut out of your life so you can do all the writing you ought to be doing. He explains how his book of poetry is divided into 3 sections and how mimicking others’ styles can help you grow as a writer.

Also, Philip treats Joe as a hostile guest and we learn about Matt’s custom shorts.

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and check out other amazing NoisePicnic podcasts.

Transvaginal Mesh (Sally Foster and Leah Isaacson) talk about jumping right and doing everything backwards. They discuss the controversy over their name, the way they communicate, and the challenges of adding guests to a duo form. Matt does his classic segment, Croutons, and Philip tries something new called Philip’s Corner.

Also, we explore the product Holey Croutons and try to convince Philip he needs a new hat.

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Tie, Bow Tie, No Tie, (Andy Hilbrands, Max Leibowitz, and David Kappelhoff) talk about comma placement, their gravitation toward narrative, and how musical accompaniment can not only add songs, but also heighten your emotional choices. They talk about how much you can do in a scene if you just get the who, what and where out of the way quickly, and evaluate each others’ improv styles.

Matt does his long-standing segment Bold Bear (aka Suckadillo, aka Freedom Towers), and Philip tries a new segment, Philip’s Corner.

Also, we have to repeat numbers slowly because Max didn’t learn much about math at Carlton.

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We Have Cats (Kristen Pichette, Anna Tobin, Pat Tracy, and Jordan Bainer) talk about their version of the Armando, and how people are more willing to talk about their pets than themselves. They discuss playing clean-ish, escalating the game, and how to use suggestions both directly and indirectly.

Matt does his staple segment, Deep Dive, and Philip tries a new segment, Philip’s Corner.

Also, Pat forgets to get the granola.

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Kiss Kiss Slap (Mike Trost and Lauren Schwein) talk about waiting until you’re ready, knowing when you’re ready, taking a break if you need one, and when to stop talking and start doing. They discuss where their strong characters come from, how their comedic approaches are complimentary, and how far you can get just being charming.

Also, we we call 311 to talk about The Wire.

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The cast of Wet Hot Minnesota Summer (Jen Van Kaam, Justina Cegelski, Molly Chase, Jonathan Gershberg, Sidney Oxborough, Autumn Burggraff, Michael Renner and co-director/creator Alex Collyard (unfortunately Connor Lane, Sally Franson, Lupe Muraszewski, Kristen Pichette and co-director Hannah Wydeven couldn’t make it)) talk about their improvised adaptation of the cult classic movie, Wet Hot American Summer. On one hand, the absurdity of the film allows for more freedom than most genre shows because it treats reality as fluid, but there’s an added challenge of not just playing character types, but playing characters that were designed to make fun of character types. They balance real moments the audience can relate to with characters so self-centered and ridiculous that they defy traditional improv wisdom.

Also, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers Get a new keyboardist, Donna.

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