Rob Huebel 5/23/06 Part 3
JF: What in your opinion makes good improv?
RH: I would say definitely listening, probably listening is the biggest thing. By the way, I’m probably one of the last people to be able to preach about improv and the right way or the wrong way to do it. I may know these things in my brain, in theory what the right thing is, but I definitely drop the ball and screw it up all the time. That said, I think what makes good improv is definitely listening and supporting whatever the idea is, whatever the unusual thing is. It’s all about in my mind me not worrying about not being funny, but trying to make sure it’s working as a group. I don’t care if the laughs come from me or Riggle, or Scheer, or Chad. I hope that those guys feel the same way. You’re not going out there and try and be a 3-point shooter. You’re trying to go out there and make the scene work, and support the scene. I think that sort of supportive attitude and the sort of mindset of don’t worry about yourself just make sure that you’re supporting the scene is essential.
I mean there are a lot of things that make good improv. For me personally, I would say just not being afraid, just not being afraid period. Just having the confidence to do something, you know you’re going to look like a jackass or you’re going to feel stupid doing, or maybe you’re not even sure if you can do it, like if it’s a character or some choice, but just not being afraid to fail. We’ve done a million shitball shows. Not just at the UCB, but at random bars and fucking parties and art galleries, sort of inappropriate places where comedy shouldn’t be performed. We’ve done a million crappy improv shows, but hopefully we’ve done more good ones than bad ones, I’m not sure. But I think those are the main things, listening, supporting and not being afraid.
JF: How do you come up with characters? And are there any things that help you get into a character onstage?
RH: I’m not very good at doing characters really. I’m alright, but I feel that a lot of my characters are angry [laughs] If there’s a character that’s going to be either angry or intense or aggressive, I tend to be a sucker for those types of guys. In the middle of an improv show, you can see ‘oh, it’d be funny if this person showed up.’ I don’t know, you don’t really think it out beforehand. You kind of just jump out there and try to do it. I don’t really have too many characters in my pocket that I can throw out there ahead of time. So, if I’m doing a sketch show or something like or some sort of character bit that’s a different thing. You can kind of put more thought into it. But in an improv show, I don’t’ think too much thought into it beforehand. I just jump out there and do it, and hope it’s not something I haven’t done a million times. I’m afraid I end up doing a lot of similar characters.
JF: You and Rob Riggle in particular are pretty aggressive players. You guys seem to play aggressive characters frequently. How do you make being angry or aggressive still funny and not stop a scene?
RH: Riggle and I are big fans of characters that are arrogant, but just really ignorant. We love guys that are cocky, but cocky for no reason. They are so flawed and so wrong. I love playing a guy who thinks he’s so awesome and cool, that you can tell he’s just so stupid and dumb. But what were you saying? How do we do it?
JF: How do you make it funny and not stop a scene?
RH: I think there’s something funny about those kind of guys. I think everybody knows people like that. They’re just blowhards. They’re big. They’re loud and they’re aggressive. And they’re so confident and they’re so fucking dumb. They’re fools. I think it’s just having fun with that type of guy. Having fun with a guy that’s really cocky, but the guy has no reason to be cocky at all. I think it’s showing how flawed they are to the audience. I don’t know that being arrogant is necessarily funny. If you go out and play someone who thinks that he’s the shit, then show the audience that this guy is really a dumbass, I think the audience is laughing at how awesome this guy thinks he is.
JF: What makes a good initiation?
RH: I think what makes a good initiation is making the idea clear to your scene partner, not being vague. If you go out there, you say something that makes your scene partner think ‘wait, wait, wait, what? I have no idea what you just said’ and you confuse your scene partner, that’s the worst. That’s the worst scenario because the other person is just standing there trying to sort out what you just said. The other side of that is that if you go out there and you’re really clear about who you are, who want the other person to be, maybe where you guys are, that’s such a good thing. I think it’s a real gift. Someone comes out, says one line and right away you know ‘ok, that guy’s that person. I’m this person and we are doing this activity.’ If you can make those things clear, who you are to each other, what the relationship is, and where you are, what you’re doing, it’s awesome. It just saves so much time. It’s just really efficient.
JF: What are some qualities of a good team? What makes a good team?
RH: I think a good team is a team that gives it up for each other. I think as long as they go out there and have fun and… well, that’s not true, they could have fun and they could suck. But if they go out there and they’re having fun and they’re just giving it up for each other, then that’s awesome. What I mean by that is just really supporting the ideas that are out there. What sucks is when you watch a team and there’s one strong person and they’re driving the whole thing. You want to create this illusion.
I remember when I first went to see ASSSSCAT back at Solo Arts. It seemed like a magic show to me. I was like ‘What!? How are they doing that? I don’t get it.’ I just could not figure out how they were doing that. They seemed so supportive that I couldn’t tell who was starting the scene and who was finishing the scene. I couldn’t tell what was going on. I didn’t seem like anyone was more responsible for the scene than everyone else. Everyone was equally responsible for it. Everyone kept the ball in the air. I think that’s a great thing, when the audience can’t tell where the idea came from. It looks to them that it’s just seamless. It so enjoyable. I think that kind of thing is what a team should strive for.
I think a good team could be anything. It can be 8 people. It can be guys and girls. It can be all guys, all girls. I think as long as the group itself works together and moves together, and makes it seem seamless. If they can make it appear like it’s written. And embracing that idea that there are no mistakes, even if it’s like ‘oh no, what happened. I don’t know what that means. That’s not really in the game.’ It’s your job to make it seem like that is part of it. Now we’re branching out. Now the scene’s changed a little bit and we have new information. I think embracing the idea that there are no mistakes. As long as a team has the idea ‘there are going to be mistakes onstage, but we’re going to make each other look good,’ I think that team’s going to be really good.
JF: Do you have any advice to newer improvisers? People who are just starting up now?
RH: I would say don’t try to be funny. I think one of the big things I noticed in classes, especially in level 1 classes, that you want to prove how funny you are, like ‘oh, look at these crazy characters I can do, and look how wacky they are.’ Stay away from that and just try and keep it simple. Try to remember a few basic things. Yesand is the main thing. Agree, say yes. Always agree and add information. Agreeing doesn’t mean saying yes literally. Just agree on who we are, where we are and what we’re doing. Keep it simple. [It’s important to] stick to those basic tenets of improv, yesand, agreeing, not trying to be funny… that’s a really intimidating thing I think getting into it.
I definitely felt that for a long time. I was so intimidated to do it. I didn’t have any kind of performing background at all. I was getting into it really late in my life. You can’t really help but feel ‘everyone else is way better than me.’ So, I just said ‘as long as there’s one guy that’s worse than me I’ll keep going.’ So, I would say don’t worry about being funny. You’ll develop your voice and your strengths and your style as you go along, but in the beginning it’s just saying yes and support. Try to be the kind of player who people want to play with. Be the kind of person, the kind of improviser that people want to improvise with. Don’t be selfish basically. Say no to drugs.
JF: Do you have anything to say to the improv community that we didn’t get to?
RH: I don’t really think I possess some sort of wealth of knowledge about comedy or improv that people haven’t figured out for themselves, but I just feel really lucky to be a part of that community. I didn’t even know what improv was. I didn’t see improv in college. I had no idea what long-form was. I was just really lucky to get into it when I did. It’s just helped me immensely. It’s just opened up so many doors for me, in terms of performing and writing. It’s such a great way to write. Now, a lot of casting people and producers think ‘oh, we need to cast somebody who can improvise.’ Now it’s becoming very fashionable. They’re just catching onto what we’ve known all along. People who can improvise are writing. They’re writing on their feet. It just provides you with the skill set to make anything funnier. It gives you such a good set of tools.
So, it’s been a great part of my life. I feel really lucky to have been involved with that community, specifically with the UCB community in New York. It gave me a huge foundation of fun and support and friends who I’m sure I’ll have for the rest of my life. As long as I say no to drugs.
RH: I would say definitely listening, probably listening is the biggest thing. By the way, I’m probably one of the last people to be able to preach about improv and the right way or the wrong way to do it. I may know these things in my brain, in theory what the right thing is, but I definitely drop the ball and screw it up all the time. That said, I think what makes good improv is definitely listening and supporting whatever the idea is, whatever the unusual thing is. It’s all about in my mind me not worrying about not being funny, but trying to make sure it’s working as a group. I don’t care if the laughs come from me or Riggle, or Scheer, or Chad. I hope that those guys feel the same way. You’re not going out there and try and be a 3-point shooter. You’re trying to go out there and make the scene work, and support the scene. I think that sort of supportive attitude and the sort of mindset of don’t worry about yourself just make sure that you’re supporting the scene is essential.
I mean there are a lot of things that make good improv. For me personally, I would say just not being afraid, just not being afraid period. Just having the confidence to do something, you know you’re going to look like a jackass or you’re going to feel stupid doing, or maybe you’re not even sure if you can do it, like if it’s a character or some choice, but just not being afraid to fail. We’ve done a million shitball shows. Not just at the UCB, but at random bars and fucking parties and art galleries, sort of inappropriate places where comedy shouldn’t be performed. We’ve done a million crappy improv shows, but hopefully we’ve done more good ones than bad ones, I’m not sure. But I think those are the main things, listening, supporting and not being afraid.
JF: How do you come up with characters? And are there any things that help you get into a character onstage?
RH: I’m not very good at doing characters really. I’m alright, but I feel that a lot of my characters are angry [laughs] If there’s a character that’s going to be either angry or intense or aggressive, I tend to be a sucker for those types of guys. In the middle of an improv show, you can see ‘oh, it’d be funny if this person showed up.’ I don’t know, you don’t really think it out beforehand. You kind of just jump out there and try to do it. I don’t really have too many characters in my pocket that I can throw out there ahead of time. So, if I’m doing a sketch show or something like or some sort of character bit that’s a different thing. You can kind of put more thought into it. But in an improv show, I don’t’ think too much thought into it beforehand. I just jump out there and do it, and hope it’s not something I haven’t done a million times. I’m afraid I end up doing a lot of similar characters.
JF: You and Rob Riggle in particular are pretty aggressive players. You guys seem to play aggressive characters frequently. How do you make being angry or aggressive still funny and not stop a scene?
RH: Riggle and I are big fans of characters that are arrogant, but just really ignorant. We love guys that are cocky, but cocky for no reason. They are so flawed and so wrong. I love playing a guy who thinks he’s so awesome and cool, that you can tell he’s just so stupid and dumb. But what were you saying? How do we do it?
JF: How do you make it funny and not stop a scene?
RH: I think there’s something funny about those kind of guys. I think everybody knows people like that. They’re just blowhards. They’re big. They’re loud and they’re aggressive. And they’re so confident and they’re so fucking dumb. They’re fools. I think it’s just having fun with that type of guy. Having fun with a guy that’s really cocky, but the guy has no reason to be cocky at all. I think it’s showing how flawed they are to the audience. I don’t know that being arrogant is necessarily funny. If you go out and play someone who thinks that he’s the shit, then show the audience that this guy is really a dumbass, I think the audience is laughing at how awesome this guy thinks he is.
JF: What makes a good initiation?
RH: I think what makes a good initiation is making the idea clear to your scene partner, not being vague. If you go out there, you say something that makes your scene partner think ‘wait, wait, wait, what? I have no idea what you just said’ and you confuse your scene partner, that’s the worst. That’s the worst scenario because the other person is just standing there trying to sort out what you just said. The other side of that is that if you go out there and you’re really clear about who you are, who want the other person to be, maybe where you guys are, that’s such a good thing. I think it’s a real gift. Someone comes out, says one line and right away you know ‘ok, that guy’s that person. I’m this person and we are doing this activity.’ If you can make those things clear, who you are to each other, what the relationship is, and where you are, what you’re doing, it’s awesome. It just saves so much time. It’s just really efficient.
JF: What are some qualities of a good team? What makes a good team?
RH: I think a good team is a team that gives it up for each other. I think as long as they go out there and have fun and… well, that’s not true, they could have fun and they could suck. But if they go out there and they’re having fun and they’re just giving it up for each other, then that’s awesome. What I mean by that is just really supporting the ideas that are out there. What sucks is when you watch a team and there’s one strong person and they’re driving the whole thing. You want to create this illusion.
I remember when I first went to see ASSSSCAT back at Solo Arts. It seemed like a magic show to me. I was like ‘What!? How are they doing that? I don’t get it.’ I just could not figure out how they were doing that. They seemed so supportive that I couldn’t tell who was starting the scene and who was finishing the scene. I couldn’t tell what was going on. I didn’t seem like anyone was more responsible for the scene than everyone else. Everyone was equally responsible for it. Everyone kept the ball in the air. I think that’s a great thing, when the audience can’t tell where the idea came from. It looks to them that it’s just seamless. It so enjoyable. I think that kind of thing is what a team should strive for.
I think a good team could be anything. It can be 8 people. It can be guys and girls. It can be all guys, all girls. I think as long as the group itself works together and moves together, and makes it seem seamless. If they can make it appear like it’s written. And embracing that idea that there are no mistakes, even if it’s like ‘oh no, what happened. I don’t know what that means. That’s not really in the game.’ It’s your job to make it seem like that is part of it. Now we’re branching out. Now the scene’s changed a little bit and we have new information. I think embracing the idea that there are no mistakes. As long as a team has the idea ‘there are going to be mistakes onstage, but we’re going to make each other look good,’ I think that team’s going to be really good.
JF: Do you have any advice to newer improvisers? People who are just starting up now?
RH: I would say don’t try to be funny. I think one of the big things I noticed in classes, especially in level 1 classes, that you want to prove how funny you are, like ‘oh, look at these crazy characters I can do, and look how wacky they are.’ Stay away from that and just try and keep it simple. Try to remember a few basic things. Yesand is the main thing. Agree, say yes. Always agree and add information. Agreeing doesn’t mean saying yes literally. Just agree on who we are, where we are and what we’re doing. Keep it simple. [It’s important to] stick to those basic tenets of improv, yesand, agreeing, not trying to be funny… that’s a really intimidating thing I think getting into it.
I definitely felt that for a long time. I was so intimidated to do it. I didn’t have any kind of performing background at all. I was getting into it really late in my life. You can’t really help but feel ‘everyone else is way better than me.’ So, I just said ‘as long as there’s one guy that’s worse than me I’ll keep going.’ So, I would say don’t worry about being funny. You’ll develop your voice and your strengths and your style as you go along, but in the beginning it’s just saying yes and support. Try to be the kind of player who people want to play with. Be the kind of person, the kind of improviser that people want to improvise with. Don’t be selfish basically. Say no to drugs.
JF: Do you have anything to say to the improv community that we didn’t get to?
RH: I don’t really think I possess some sort of wealth of knowledge about comedy or improv that people haven’t figured out for themselves, but I just feel really lucky to be a part of that community. I didn’t even know what improv was. I didn’t see improv in college. I had no idea what long-form was. I was just really lucky to get into it when I did. It’s just helped me immensely. It’s just opened up so many doors for me, in terms of performing and writing. It’s such a great way to write. Now, a lot of casting people and producers think ‘oh, we need to cast somebody who can improvise.’ Now it’s becoming very fashionable. They’re just catching onto what we’ve known all along. People who can improvise are writing. They’re writing on their feet. It just provides you with the skill set to make anything funnier. It gives you such a good set of tools.
So, it’s been a great part of my life. I feel really lucky to have been involved with that community, specifically with the UCB community in New York. It gave me a huge foundation of fun and support and friends who I’m sure I’ll have for the rest of my life. As long as I say no to drugs.
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