Chris Principe, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff “Jerf” Solomon, Stefan Lawrence, and Alex Zalben take FrISC for a walk on the wild side, showing that while they won't work for peanuts, they will work for laughs.
New York sketch comedy group, Elephant Larry, met as members of Cornell University’s “Skits-O-Phrenics.” Stefan comments:
“Alex and I auditioned together in the fall of '95, and I believe everybody else came in during the '97-'98 school year. The Skits was one of those big, sprawling college comedy troupes, but we actually had pretty good material and some damn good writers. Since nobody really knew what they were doing, it was a great cauldron of experimentation, with shows often running an hour and a half or more. After Alex and I graduated and left for NYC, Geoff, Jeff and Chris asked us if we all wanted to form a group.”
And the rest is history. In 2003 they won Carolines on Broadway’s “New York City's Best Comedy Writers" at the first-ever Sketch Fights Competition and in 2004 the team received Audience and Jury awards at The Bass Red Triangle Comedy Competition. Not to mention the acclaim they have received from The Onion, Time Out New York and The New York Times, among others.
FrISC: Growing up, how were you drawn into the world of comedy?
Stefan: I think we all came at it in different ways, though we definitely have some common influences, including Monty Python (obviously), The State, Kids in the Hall, Mr. Show and The Muppet Show. Comedy is one of those things that sets in your bones early. Personally, I found Monty Python at a particularly awkward period of middle school, which was helpful and made me feel like there were others out there like me. Also, my father was a huge fan of George Carlin, which played into my love of wordplay and language.
FrISC: Tell us about your day jobs.
Elephant Larry: Day job time!
Stefan: I do freelance graphic design for anybody with money, Chris works at Comedy Central doing something-or-other, Jeff used to make ringtones for Sony, but now does whatever they tell him to, Alex writes blog posts about TV and interviews celebrities, and Geoff writes for The Onion.
FrISC: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned while pursuing your career?
Elephant Larry: Patience and confidence. Very few things happen overnight, so you gotta have the patience to stick with it, and the confidence to know that what you have to offer is good and important. Even if it's not what people are looking for at the moment, there will come a time when the sheer quantity and quality of your work is recognized. Also we've learned that milk smells terrible if you don't wash it out of your props before stuffing them away in a duffel bag.
FrISC: If you could pick a character that you’ve created and trade places with them for a day – who would you choose and why?
Elephant Larry: I would have to choose the proprietors of Baboon Hotel, who are too territorial to let guests stay at their hotel. Though they're eventually going to end up in the poorhouse, they do have a gorgeous hotel in the middle of the jungle, and I happen to love hotels, especially tropical ones. So there we go. I'll be the baboon at the end of the bar sipping a Singapore Sling.
FrISC: What videos do you find yourself watching over and over on the internet?
Stefan: I can't speak for anybody else, but I love Free Love Forum's "Pizza Dabbers" sketch. I think it's brilliant. Also have a fondness for Last Call Cleveland's "Hastily Made Tourism Video."
FrISC: What is your advice for beginning sketch performers?
Elephant Larry: The advice would be twofold:
1) Watch as much sketch comedy as possible (and not just online).
2) Start making videos and writing sketches as soon as you can. Even if you don't have a group, get your friends together and start figuring out how to put it all together. It's all just practice. There's no substitute for doing a thing that you love until you rock it.
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