Monday, June 21, 2010

FrISC Finalist Spotlight Series: The Stepfathers

Michael Delaney, Chris Gethard, Will Hines, Shannon “SPO” O'Neill, Silvija Ozols, Andrew Secunda, and Zach Woods make FrISC feel like one of the family.

The Swarm was once a lively team, young and full of hope - until a portion of the members split for LA, leaving the remaining members alone. But, like a savvy divorcee, they regrouped and found a vibrant replacement to fill their empty time slot: Enter The Stepfathers to take their place as the new house team at the UCB New York.

“Our goal was to have the best, funniest, smartest players and shows,” said Delaney. “We were young and foolish.”

The Stepfathers has been going strong for over a decade now, and can boast that many of the cast members it “raised” have gone on to perform or write for shows including SNL, The Office, The Onion News Network, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and You’re Welcome America: A Night with George W. Bush.

FrISC: What do you love most about improv?

SPO: The Danger.

Chris: The endless streams of women throwing themselves at me.

Secunda: Hoping I'll someday get to hear about the women throwing themselves at Chris.

FrISC: What is your most memorable show moment together?

Chris: The Chinese New Year show was one where we played a Chinese dragon chain of people in a Chinese New Year's parade and made a wrong turn that led us to marching or teleporting throughout all of America, encountering strange locals in every locale we wound up in.

We have some epic shows — a recent favorite was a completely dysfunctional family racing against a perfect family in the basket of a hot air balloon.

FrISC: Chris was a guest writer for SNL. Andrew wrote for Late Night with Conan O’Brien, notably contributing to the famous Triumph Star Wars remote. What role does improv play in your writing process?

Chris: Just so you know, being a guest writer involved two weeks of writing at SNL. Not exactly a series altering run. But one of the great honors of my life, nonetheless. Improv and writing go hand in hand. In many ways, improvising is a combination of writing and acting on your feet all at once. Being familiar with improv allows you to identify what's funny about you writing quickly, and is particularly useful in allowing you to jump in and out of different characters' voices.

Secunda: Where I was most surprised that an improv background came in handy was in a writer's room. In retrospect I realized that I had already been solving comedy problems onstage with a bunch of other comedy minds. I had basically been in a writer's room in front of an audience for years.

FrISC: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned while pursuing your career?

Silvija: Work hard and be respectful to everyone.

Will: Be nice to yourself after bad shows. Most people don't work hard, including me.

SPO: If you give your all and you fail, that is okay, but if you half-ass it and fail, well, you should be shot in the face.

Chris: Work as hard as you can at all times, because if you're not, someone else is. Also, be kind and don't burn bridges. Try to do something unique. I have shit the bed on many writing submissions trying to write in the show's voice instead of putting my own on display.

Secunda: Don't let show business define you. I've learned this intellectually, but emotionally I'd still like to pal around with George Clooney.

Delaney: It's a cliché, but "love the art, not yourself in the art." This is a collaborative business. If you focus on the self too much you miss out on the big picture. Serving the big picture and doing one's part is what makes good art - which is the true measure of success.

FrISC: What is your advice for beginning improv performers?

Chris: Try as hard as you can to remind yourself how fun this stuff is. Your job is to make other people laugh, which is to make other people feel happier than they felt before you were performing for them. That's something you want to get right, but don't become so obsessed with doing it right that you put your own ego ahead of the greater good.

Delaney: Stay relaxed and enjoy the process. Don't worry about being funny, be truthful and stay connected to your fellow players. If you set out to be funny you limit yourself and your ensemble. If you set out to make discoveries together you expand the work for everyone.

FrISC: Improvise a question of your choice!

SPO: When will you stop improvising?

Never, I'm going to die and haunt the UCB Theatre and ghost fart during every 101 level grad show.

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