Jeremy Brothers, Matt Catanzano, Kiley Fitzgerald, Chet Harding, and Norm Laviolette set down their mirrors & cancel their spa treatments so FrISC can investigate their improv beauty.
Who says a life working in comedy can’t be a fairy tale? Boston’s Improv Asylum has played a “fairy godmother” of sorts to numerous performers, taking great care in nurturing and showcasing their performer’s individual style. The company’s well-groomed resident cast, Vanity Project is testament to what can happen when artists are offered the tools they need to grow.
Vanity Project member, Matt Catanzano, reflects on his journey up the improv ladder, “I met and developed relationships by coming up through the ranks at Improv Asylum. I started in the Training Center and then moved on to performing in student shows and eventually made a resident cast. Kind of a Cinderella story… ”
Harding and Laviolette are Improv Asylum founders and original cast members, while Brothers, Catanzano and Fitzgerald serve as main stage regulars, each improvising their way to their own personal happily ever after.
FrISC: What is the significance of or story behind your team's name? Speaking of vanity, which cast member takes the longest time to get ready before a show? We won’t judge.
Vanity Project: As owners of Improv Asylum, Vanity Project started as Chet’s & Norm’s vanity project to stay on stage and keep exploring different forms of improvisation.
It’s definitely not Kiley [who takes the longest time to get ready]. She’s a beast!
Matt: I probably take the longest. Or maybe Norm, he seems to put in a lot of thought into his wardrobe. I own extensive amounts of hair and face products. I just like to be clean…
FrISC: Chet and Norm: You are both co-founders of the Improv Asylum. What compelled you to start your own improv company?
Vanity Project: We were both big fans of Second City and that type of comedy. We knew that Boston was a big comedy town and at the time had nothing quite like what we do. We also both believed that we could succeed both artistically and as a business. So we took the plunge and started Improv Asylum.
FrISC: Improv Asylum is one of the few theatres in the country that pays their improv and sketch performers. Tell us about the shows you put on there and across the country through your touring company.
Vanity Project: Improv Asylum has its own theater in Boston’s North End. We have 2 resident casts who perform all of our shows. Our shows are a blend of improvisation and sketch comedy. When we get booked for a corporate performance (here at our theater or anywhere around the country) it is a customized, improvised show unique to that company or college. We pay our actors because we consider them our main product. As actors themselves, Norm & Chet appreciate the work that goes into it and always wanted to be able to be in a position to compensate people for their work. Oddly enough, Vanity Project does not pay its actors.
FrISC: Since you all perform so frequently, what’s your secret to keeping your work “fresh”? Are there ever moments where you hit a creative road block? If so, how do you move beyond it?
Vanity Project: The fun thing about Vanity Project is we typically break any creative roadblocks we come across by making up weird structures and testing them out in front of the audience. The excitement that comes with trying something new that we’re not sure how to do (or if it will bomb or not) keeps things from getting stale. I show up to that show and never know what we’re going to do.
FrISC: What do you love most about improv?
Vanity Project: I love the ability to use everything I’ve ever learned. All those little things in life that you’ve picked up can come in handy when you’re in a scene and out of nowhere it calls for that knowledge.
FrISC: For each of you: What is your advice for beginning improv performers?
Vanity Project: Be nice to everyone. Show up on time, do the work, and enjoy it. Few things in life are more fun than what we do, so if you’re not having fun something is wrong. Get on stage wherever you can, as much as you can. Be open to direction. Find people whose work you like and you want to play with. Get as many teachers/directors as you can.
FrISC: If, for a day, your group could get away with making outrageous, diva-like demands – what would they be?
Vanity Project: I would want to be taken to the theater through Boston on a large sailboat on wheels while a speaker system plays the score to The Goonies on a constant loop. I would also really like a nice fruit plate in the green room. A hyperbaric chamber where I could take a nice long nap prior to shows. Starbucks when I want it. I would like The Monkees to open for us.
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