They move between them, switching up who plays who, sometimes in mid-conversation.Ī big advantage of this style is that it allows an improviser to quickly advance their own idea. Like many long-form duos, Middleditch & Schwartz create many characters. When they feel safe, they enjoy the show more. It comes off as a joke, but it’s actually very important in taking care of the audience. He asks the audience members for consent to sit on them. He’s focused on the scene, but also aware of what’s around him, and careful where he steps. Notice how carefully Schwartz works his way through the audience seats. See how Schwartz works his way through the crowd as the alien. See how Middleditch as the Professor looks for an exit from the classroom. “Law School Magic” has nice examples of using the entire space, including the audience. The Skirball Auditorium (where these specials were filmed) is a huge stage for two people on a blank set. IGot ABow Tie And ATie Thomas Middleditch GIF from Igotabowtieandatie GIFs Use the Space Maybe he carries two of everything, in a briefcase and a backpack. Maybe he also wears a belt and suspenders. These visual moments get honest laughs, and you can play with them throughout the set.įor example, with the bow-tie-and-tie, you could explore the double nature of everything that character does. There are great examples in “Parking Lot Wedding”, where Middleditch pulls different musical instruments out of a box, or discovers he’s tying a bow tie AND a tie. Object work gives you ways to play with physicality. He’s more likely to discover objects or explore activities. Physicalityīased on these episodes, Middleditch has the edge in physical instincts. Knowing that he’s in a public office could have let Schwartz play more embarrassment when acting out the gazelle bit. You don’t have to dive into environment or object work, but pay some attention to where the scene is taking place.įor example, at the start of “Dream Job”, where is the computer job interview taking place? We don’t find out until after it’s over. This is okay, but it can help both the crowd and players to know where you are. Opening Beatsįor all three specials, the opening beats are static, without much sense of place. Occasionally they’ll stumble upon something (like the Wal-mart parking lot), but it would be good to ask deliberately. But they miss opportunities to ask about environments and settings, such as places where the characters hang out. In their interviews with audience members, Middleditch & Schwartz ask mostly about characters in the person’s life. It’s good to remember that simple questions can generate sustainable ideas. Either they can’t think of anything at all, or their suggestions tend to be weird and tough to play. Often, the audience isn’t in the headspace to answer the way we want them to. We sometimes get bored with the same questions, and try asking for left-field ideas. It’s a question that draws out situations with potential emotional depth.Īsk-fors don’t have to be “out there”. They ask for something that someone is looking forward to, or dreading. When introducing their set, Middleditch & Schwartz use a very simple prompt to get a starting suggestion. (For a review, along with a great history of improv and its place in the arts world, check out this article on Vulture.) Interviewing the Audience I’ll assume you’ve watched them and will refer only to specific beats and examples. What I’d like to do here is point out what we can learn from these shows. I haven’t seen Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz in person and have no idea how these sets stack up to their usual act. Whether you find the improv funny (or even good) is subjective. ( Whose Line Is It Anyway? still comes up, but it’s been off the air for a long time and becoming harder to find every year.) Long-form improv is almost non-existent on film or TV, so the release of the Middleditch & Schwartz comedy specials on Netflix gives us an exciting opportunity. It’s much harder to write for a larger audience because there aren’t many common sources to refer to. When practicing improv skills, we usually have only our own scenes to talk about. For best results, you should watch the Middleditch & Schwartz comedy specials on Netflix before reading this article. As we all know, describing improv out of context is hard to understand.
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