![]() Was there any reason in particular why you were watching these when you did? You could tell that they really trusted each other. They seem like good buddies as far as I can tell. Okay, so it was on a major streaming service. Okay, I think I heard someone say they watched improv? I watched some improv specials on Netflix! Is there anyone here who did anything interesting the past few weeks? While no two personas they create onstage are exactly alike, the comedians find themselves returning to the same wells every now and then.I watched the new Middleditch & Schwartz improv specials on Netflix recently, and I decided to collect my thoughts on them in the form of the question-and-answer information-gathering segment that typically kicks off a long-form improv session. Creating a variety of characters under such pressure can be stressful. The sets are even more impressive considering that they were filmed only over the span of two days, with a pair of shows being recorded each night. He’s got a voice like an angel.”ĭespite their lack of copyrighted songs, the three specials each showcase their talents effectively. “It’ll be a very famous song and I will not know it at all and then he’ll just keep on singing away. “We can’t really so much in the Netflix specials because everything is copywritten and oh my god, legalese, but on the live shows he’s always having a nice old song, and they’ll be actual songs and he’ll point to me to finish the line, I’m like, ‘I-I do not know.’ ” the Canadian actor explains. Middleditch, on the other hand, finds himself out of his depths compared to Schwartz’s wide knowledge base and musical talent. If I establish a character, I can handle my own crappy accent, but if Thomas-Thomas is so good at these characters that he’ll come in with a perfect French accent and then when I try to do it, I’m trying so hard to match it so the joke isn’t that I’m terrible at it.” ![]() “I don’t know if it’s because he grew up in Canada next to all these accents… or if he’s just an incredible mimic, but I do not have the skillset where I’m very good at accents, so if I establish a character, it’s great, it’s fine for me because we play each other’s characters. “Thomas is, like, very good at accents,” Schwartz explains when I ask about what strengths the other possesses that they find hard to match. Though they make their freewheeling storytelling look easy, it’s anything but. In execution, though, you can’t help but admire the fact that both comedians (mostly) keep multiple characters straight throughout the set and make you laugh aloud. It’s a fairly straightforward concept: using a prompt, they create a story together-it just goes on for a lot more time (about 45 minutes) than your average improv scene. Middleditch and Schwartz are now expanding Netflix’s already bursting comedy special section to include long form improv. Meanwhile, Schwartz initially claims that they met when they were meant to meet on top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day. “We met in New York City through UCB, we became friends while eating Two Dudes Boots Pizza,” Middleditch tells me. ![]() Both members are familiar thanks to their popular television roles-Thomas Middleditch as the nitpicky coder Richard Hendricks on Silicon Valley, and Ben Schwartz as Parks and Rec’s most obnoxious yet beloved eccentric, Jean-Ralphio-and have been performing long form improv together for about a decade. Here to change any improv skeptic’s mind is the inimitable duo of Middleditch and Schwartz. Honestly, though, the artform (I use this term loosely) gets a bad rap. Even if you’ve never been to a terrible improv show (lucky you), there are plenty of representations in media: the horribly unfunny troupe member Ilana Wexler dates on Broad City, The Office’s harrowing look at Michael Scott’s improv attempts, yes and, yes and. Improv may be the easiest form of comedy to mock, giving shitty open mics a much needed break from being the subject of ridicule.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |