Brightest Young Things

Brooke Bagnall is a member of the Second City Touring Company, who performed March 13th and 14th at the Barns at Wolf Trap for a set of special 50th Anniversary shows.

If you don't know of Second City, you definitely know some of it's illustrious alumni.  We asked Aparna Nancharla, Bentzen Ball comic and local BYT hero, to sit down with Brooke for a little one on one chat about what it's like to come up through the most world's most well respected Comedy theater.  We've interspersed this interview with pictures of well-known SC alumni so you can get an idea of how fruitful a proving grounds this place really is.

Aparna Nancharla: I actually perform with Washington Improv Theater here in D.C. so I picked [other improvisers'] brains about things they would want to ask so it's a mishmash of random questions.

Brooke Bagnall: I love it.

AN: Ok, great! How did you get into improv? Also, how many times did you have to audition to join the Second City Touring Company?

BB: I got into improv in college. I went to Washington University in St. Louis and I just fell into it. I had always known what it was and loved it, but then I got into my college group and was beyond myself. It became a real part of what I loved to do. So then eventually, I moved to Chicago for comedy—for sketch, improv, and all of the above.

In Chicago, I auditioned four times for Second City over four years. And yeah, you go into it never assuming you'll make it the first time around. Some people do, but there is a bit of growing pains—feeling it out and getting comfortable in your own craft. The fourth time I auditioned, I actually got a callback and got hired, so I was really excited about that. They definitely wouldn't have hired me based on my first audition.

AN: Is the audition process scary? Is there anything about it that you wouldn't expect?

BB: It's pretty basic. In fact, it's so basic that it can be intimidating. Everyone in our company has performed in a bunch of different groups in Chicago and many still do. Touring is our job and our main company, but I perform at the Annoyance Theater as well as at [Improv Olympic]. But so you have that experience and then you get to the audition, and it's basically just simple improv scenes. It's showing how you play as a player. They want to see give-and-take and listening, but also taking initiative and being confident. It's that real balance. The only way you can prepare for it is just by improving and getting more comfortable in your own improvisation. Then you just have to give it up, get in there, and do it. Also it just depends on what they're looking for that year. Our company is an ensemble of different people and styles and we all work together, but it's nice that not everybody plays the same way. We complement each other. So there's a little of that involved in the audition too. You could have a great audition, but there just might not be a spot for you that time around.

AN: Since the Touring Company is kind of large, how do they plan which group goes to which gig?
 
BB: It might be confusing looking at everybody bunched together on the website, but we all have a specific company. There are three companies in total. The nice thing is that once you're placed, that's who you perform with. Sometimes people move on and we get new members, but there's not a lot of switching around. That makes it so we have a solid show because most of what we actually do is pre-written material. Everything in Second City has its roots in improvisation, but our show that we take on the road is mostly scripted material with some improvisation in there as well. Between the three companies, we don't really have any say on where we go, but our company managers and producers look at the calendar and then just split it up evenly between everybody.

AN: Do you have any crazy stories from touring, or any gigs that stick out in your mind?

BB: In general, touring teaches you a lot about being a professional and being prepared for anything. You're kind of asking for disaster sometimes when you're on the road and you can't control things like airplanes and weather and all kinds of stuff. So you have to learn to go with the flow and just be ready to do your full-out show no matter what the circumstances. You might have a delay and then show up at the theater right before the show's supposed to start, and you still have to tech. Also we perform in a bunch of different styles of theaters. So we could find out the stage has a giant set piece off to the left that you're going to run into if you're not careful. It's little things like that.

I've been touring with this company for two years now, but one of the more fun touring experiences for me was close to when I started. A month or two after I started, my company was going to Vienna, Austria. I didn't expect that. It was funny to be hired and then asked "Do you have a passport?" I was like "Oh my God! I gotta update it!" and got all excited. Most of the touring we do is national, but every now and then, there's an international opportunity. Doing a comedy show in a foreign country was a really awesome and interesting experience. We were worried about whether the jokes would hit and if they would understand the show because usually comedy is so quick. Well, it turns out the audiences were super savvy and very intelligent and knew about American politics. All we had to do was talk slower just to make sure that they picked up on all the jokes. Because if we went too fast, then they were translating in their heads and would miss something. It felt very unnatural and everybody was like "I don't know how this is going to work" but all we had to do was literally talk at half-speed and enunciate, and it got great reactions.

Some references we had to take out because something was too internal and American, and just wasn't relevant. But we were snobs for thinking "Are they even going to get this?" Of course they knew what was going on, probably even better than we knew it, so that ws really cool.

AN: Do you guys do any pre-show rituals or is there any special thing you might do to help you prep for a show?

BB: Everyone might have their own individual thing that they need to do. Some of it is the same things you would do for a theater show, which is vocally warming up. There's some singing in our show. I notice if I don't focus on vocally warming up, then in the middle of the show I'm thinking "Shoulda done that. Ouch."

 
The one thing we definitely do before each show together is just check in with each other. We'll circle up and look in each other's eyes. It's a nice little focusing activity. I've been a part of a bunch of different improv groups so I've seen crazy warmups and going wacko. It just depends on what the group needs because sometimes you need that. For this group, it's just making sure that we're all checking in with each other and ready because we know the show, it's a lot of fun for us, and we find those moments to be brand-new every time we're doing it. It's nice to check in with these people who've pretty much become your family every time before you go onstage, especially if you've been on an airplane or driving in a car all day.

AN: Sorry, I'm jumping all over the place.

BB: No, please, totally! It's actually really crappy weather here so I'm fine. I'm just sitting here looking outside waiting for it to stop raining.

AN: If you weren't in Second City, what would you be doing with your life to pay the bills?

BB: Chicago, like anywhere else where there's improv, is a working person's town. Most people have a day job that pays the bills and then you find time to do that other stuff. Second City just happens to be one of those rare things that is your job, but it's also super hard to get into. I had it all planned out in my head like "I'm never going to get this. It just doesn't make sense that this would work out for me, you know? Why am I so damn special?"

But it does happen. You just trust, and hope that it works out. But I didn't have a specific game plan, though there are other things that I am interested in. Before I started touring, I was working as an administrative assistant for a social service project. I loved that and it paid the bills, but what I was doing wasn't specifically changing the world. I also love teaching and that kind of stuff plus I have my degree in drama and psychology from college.
You learn to re-evaluate so if I didn't make the Touring Company and start doing this, then I'd probably try to go back to grad school for something else. I'd figure it out. We're all hoping to continue to do this kind of work, but you never know. I might be asking myself that question in a year or two. There's a shelf life to touring. I've done it for two years, and it's different for everybody, but you can't do it forever. After that, you have to figure out what's next. But I've become much more flexible in that I live very simply so I don't need a lot of things, so as long as I can cover my bills and take care of myself, I'm happy.

AN: This is a philosophical question, but is sketch an art?

BB:  It's a weird thing. I appreciate that the work that we do. To do good comedy, I honestly think you need to be a good actor. The jokes are there, but to really sell the jokes, you need to really play them, believe in what you're saying, and be a good actor, or the audience doesn't believe it. It just seems hack or jokey. In that way, if it's treated well, I think sketch is an art because there's a lot of technical aspects to it where you really craft that joke and see what hits. The beautiful thing about Second City and their whole philosophy is that there are two resident stages in Chicago and they both write their own shows. And the Touring Company performs the archived material from all the resident stages from the past 50 years. And we have some of our own original material but it's mostly a "Best Of" show that we take on the road.

AN: Right because the show that's coming to D.C. is a 50th Anniversary show.

BB: Exactly, so this year's special because it's the 50th Anniversary. We always do a "Best Of" show, but the one we're touring right now is a "Best Of Best Of" show. We pay special attention to hitting all the decades and making sure it's some of the heavy-hitters, the scenes we know people really love. But in Chicago and in Toronto where they have resident stages, they create brand new revues all the time all year so, for that, it really is an art. You're working on these scenes every night—trying out a new way of doing it, tweaking little things and seeing how the audience reacts, until you get this solid scene that we then end up touring for years. I really do think it's an art. But like any art, it depends on how you treat it. It can be lessened or cheapened if someone goes into it with the wrong attitude. If you treat it as important, then it's definitely an art, but you have to respect it. But also, it's a silly art.

AN: Chicago is a special place, but in the larger scheme of things, do you think with YouTube, etc., improv and sketch have invaded the mainstream and become a lot more accessible to people?

BB: Yeah! I think improv has really taken over a lot more areas of the world. Things like "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" and Saturday Night Live that we all grew up watching. It's different forms of it that reach a wider audience. I'm always delighted when we find out there is a local improv group in the town and you wouldn't assume that to be the case. I think people are hungry for it because it can be so exciting, fulfilling, and spontaneous. I've really noticed that it's blown up like crazy.

AN: Can you tell that audiences have been more receptive in places that you wouldn't expect?

BB: I love people who get geeky for it. The audiences are always great, and super open to what we throw at them. People are still learning about it. There are still times after the show when we had an improvised moment that was too good. Sometimes you don't want improv to go off too well or people don't believe that it was improvised. People, in the same vein, get very excited to see you mess up or stumble a little.

AN: Or break onstage...[Ed. Note: This means cracking up onstage.]

BB: Yeah, I think some of the joy in it comes from the danger. We notice people get excited and they're along for the ride. Nobody wants to see you fail, but there's a chance of failure that's exciting.

AN: What is your biggest improv or sketch pet peeve?

BB: I guess I would say limiting yourself. I don't like when I or other people assume they can't play that kind of character or do that kind of thing. The beautiful thing about improv is you can go in doing anything you want. And maybe because of who you are physically or what you're trying to accomplish, it may be received differently by the audience. If you go in thinking in your head, "I am a 6'5'' Mac trucker with a drinking problem," but then, to the audience, I'm a 5'6'' lady so I'm going to come across totally different. So you have to be open to pushing yourself to do totally ridiculous things that make you and others laugh, but also be open to the fact that it might not be received how you think it will be, and that's just as good.

Sometimes a young inexperienced improviser will go into a scene thinking in their head, "I'm a doctor and I'm this kind of doctor" and then the other person in the scene goes "Oh, thanks so much for coming, I really needed a lawyer right now." And that new improviser is immediately disappointed like "I had all these brilliant ideas! You ruined my scene!" And it's like, "It's not your scene!" It's both your scenes. I've learned over my years of improvisation to give up the control. You bring the stuff you bring into it. You can still play the character the way you had it in your head, but now someone else has informed you about who you are and what you are and that's OK. The funniest thing is when I see people really trying to hamfist their agenda in a scene. You can't do that. The scene went somewhere else. Where are you? The scene is still happening but you're somewhere else still trying to make what you want to work happen, and that doesn't work. I think that's the biggest thing—letting go of that control and going for the ride. That doesn't mean you go in with nothing—you have to bring something to the scene, but you also have to receive as much as you give.

AN: This is a totally random silly question, but maybe that's an appropriate way to end. If you really wanted a pony, who would you call to achieve that?

BB: That makes me laugh because with one of my best friends in college and I, our tag line was always, "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening to you. I was thinking about ponies." That's hilarious. Who would I call? I would probably call a pony farm. I would be super logical about it, and call a farm where they have ponies and ask to speak to the owner.

You know what? I remember two years ago, someone else did an interview, and it was all questions like that. I guess they thought all improvisers are crazy and wacky.

AN: Yeah, I hope nobody's mad I didn't ask more funny questions, but if you ask a performer to do the interview, all I want to know is the nerdy stuff.

BB: Well, you got the one pony question in there.

AN: That's true. Thank you again so much for taking the time to do the interview.

BB: No problem!

Aparna Nancherla is a local stand-up comedian and improviser. Currently, you can see her co-hosting Washington Improv Theater's 2010 Fighting Improv Smackdown (FIST) Tournament, which runs Thursdays thru Saturdays until April 10 at the Source Theater (1835 14th St NW).

Previously in comedy:

• 2/10: Behind The Desk 35: Spotting THE Crazy In the Arts (Vol. 2)
• 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre
• 1/24: LiveDC: Adam Carolla @ Fillmore
• 1/20: Behind The Desk 32: Eddie Brill Is Common
• 1/17: LiveDC: JB Smoove @ 930 Club
• 12/8: Tom Arnold - Up Close & Very Nice
• 12/5: LiveDC: Michael Ian Black @ Sixth and I Synagogue
• 12/5: Lauren Weedman-BUSTED
• 12/1: R.I.P. Patrice O'Neal - brilliant 1969 to 2011
• 11/30: BYT Interview: Michael Ian Black