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Now consider the New York-born comedy group STELLA. They
would be at the opposite end of the spectrum. The group made its
Chicago debut July 11 at the Logan Square Auditorium, above the
Boulevard Café (3137 W. Logan Blvd.). STELLA, which consists of
former MTV’s The State members Michael Showalter, David Wain and
Michael Ian Black, is the comedic equivalent of a jam band or, more
precisely, a sort of comedic jazz. There are no “bits,” pauses for
applause (except for when it drowns them out), awkward transitions
or any of the characteristics attributable to typical stand-up
comedy. STELLA is a perfectly choreographed comedic show, where
seemingly unrelated subjects transition smoothly from one to the
other.
Credit it to the comedic minds of Showalter, Wain and Black. The
trio has been performing STELLA for seven years now in New York and,
prior to that, wrote, directed, edited and performed on the
early-‘90s counter-culture sketch comedy hit, MTV’s The State.
Before that, they did the same for the short-lived MTV show, “You
Wrote It, You Watch It.” Most recently, they wrote, directed and
acted in the highly acclaimed, but not-widely-seen, Wet Hot American
Summer. Black also has a co-starring role on the NBC comedy,
“Ed.”
Upon entering the auditorium for the show, the first thing that
struck you was its starkness: there were no chairs (except for a few
around the periphery), only a stage with a small movie screen
behind. The crowd instinctively sat on the floor in front of the
stage. In twenty minutes, the auditorium filled from front to
back.
The show began late, thanks mainly to the auditorium’s
abysmal sound and lighting system, but, when it did finally begin,
it started off like a rock concert. The lights dimmed and music
began to blare, causing the crowd to jump to its feet. The comedy
trio made its entrance, running through the crowd and up to the
stage, where they performed a bad dance routine. The crowd swelled
and cheered. This definitely was not traditional stand-up
comedy.
At this point, reporting on their edgy material and their edgier
delivery becomes impossible, because of the nature of the trio’s
comedy. What follows is a listing of the subjects of their comedy
routine, in order: the perfect summer day into the Grammy awards
into trying to convince the audience to join a volunteer group to
beautify Wicker Park into making Wain the focal point of a gangbang
into the song “David Wain is a Super Fag” into a group of Goth guys
(complete with masks and capes) into an emotional, pivotal scene
from “Breakfast Club” into senseless violence into personal
encounter groups and forgiveness into an audience sing-along of The
Police’s “Every Little Thing She Does.”
After the show, it was nearly 1:30 a.m. and everyone was either
drunk or tired. To call what follows an “interview” is probably an
insult to serious journalists everywhere. Nevertheless, here are a
couple excerpts from the conversation I had with the guys from
STELLA:
KK: I realize you are going down in history as comedic legends
and geniuses in your own time. What’s next?
DW: Next we’re going
to explore space.
MIB: The government pays for the
training.
DW: We just pay for the fuel.
MS: And the
towels.
DW: When are the joke questions over?
KK: The what
questions?
MIB: Your funny joke questions.
KK: There are no
funny joke questions.
MS: So far, I’ve loved every question
you’ve asked.
KK: Well, thank you, I appreciate it.
MIB: I’ve
loved about half.
DW: I’ve loved most of them.
MS: But I spell
“love” “l-o-p-h-e-d,” so you need to look it up and see what it
means because it doesn’t mean what it sounded like it meant.
KK: Okay, Wet Hot American Summer came out last year, and it’s
become an underground hit. What’s in the future as far as
movies?
DW: Well, we’re making STELLA into a movie.
MS: In the
immediate future, we’re going to make a feature based on our short
films and we’re going to keep touring.
KK: Are you going to try
and make the show, you know, funny?
MS: I have to answer that
question with a question to you: could our show BE any
funnier?
KK: I think so, maybe if you threw in some jokes on
occasion.
MS: Right now, on a scale of 1 to 10, we’re about a 4.
And we’re happy with that.
KK: As far as your comedy goes, it seems to flow seamlessly from
start to finish, not like typical stand-up comedy. Is there anyone
out there who you think is doing anything?
MIB: What do you
think?
KK: I would say nobody.
DW (to MS): Who “flows” as well
as we do?
MS: Dom Herera.
DW: Bobcat, of course.
MS: Need I
say more?
KK: If you work hard enough, you might make it up to
Carrot Top’s level.
MS: Oh god, don’t say that, I’ll jizz in my
pants.
KK: Michael [Ian Black], you look like this is killing
you.
MIB: No, I’m just exhausted.
MS: Mike’s kind of…
MIB:
I’m tired.
MS: No, I was going to say an asshole.
MIB: That’s
fair too.
DW: A tremendous asshole.
MIB: He’s an asshole but
what I want people to know is that they should take that exactly as
it sounds.
KK: What did you guys think of your performance tonight?
MS:
It was good. I think we had the crowd moving along. |
