Sketching the Glassworks Universe
young improv group is working on comedy pilot
Eric Christenson, photos by Serena Wagner |
When they’re not touring the country with their improv group, Glassworks, Mack Hastings and Elliot Heinz spend a lot of their time in their office.
It’s basically just a cramped room in the basement of their Randall Park residence with two desks, some artwork, old show posters, empty coffee cups, and a sign on the door that says “No Mia!” – alerting potential visitors that the cat isn’t allowed in.
It’s tiny and cold (and it’s right next to Mia’s litter box), but it’s pretty conducive to a good workflow, and for a couple of dudes who are as busy as they are, they need a space like that.
In addition to formulating the Eau Claire Improv Grounds earlier this month – where the pair teaches long-form improv skills and technique to people of all ages – the dudes have been huddled in their chilly office, plugging away at editing a 22-minute, yet-to-be-named sketch show pilot starring themselves and Alex Raney (Glassworks’ third member) and directed by Los Angeles-via-Eau Claire filmmaker, Peter Eaton.
“It’s a weird thing to explain to people, ‘We’re making video that, like, might not come out, but will you help for free?’ But they were all really good.” – Mack Hastings on getting friends to act in Glassworks’ sketch show pilot
“I think we just wanted to film a sketch or two, then that turned into trying to film a whole piece built up with lots of sketches. And it came together really fast.” Hastings said. “We do the improv stuff so much, it’s cool to have a product, something that’s a thing that doesn’t get thrown away after the show.”
Glassworks recruited a bunch of friends to act in different sketches, which is a risky move because there’s no guarantee your friends can act, much less have the nuance to make jokes land.
Take Dave Power, for example. The prolific drummer for Adelyn Rose, Aero Flynn, and numerous local jazz combos takes a lead role in one of the pilot’s trickiest sketches: a used car commercial parody called “Dave Pahr’s Used Cars.” In it, Power nails the smarmy car commercial spokesperson. A little bit too enthusiastic, he catches a football and throws it off-screen for no reason, grabs a quick testimonial from his teenage son (played by Raney), and ends up in his shirt and tie in a hot tub – all the while exclaiming his amazing deals in that perfect, nasally Wisconsin accent so many of those spokesmen have.
“The sketch with Dave, that’s his thing. He was super down and he memorized his lines and he took it really seriously,” Hastings explained. “It’s a weird thing to explain to people, ‘We’re making a video that, like, might not come out, but will you help for free?’ But they were all really good.”
Friends pop up in almost every sketch, especially in one that lampoons school-spirit-y college PSAs. It shows a bunch of different students earnestly looking at the camera, cheerfully smiling while explaining the ways in which going to college has ruined their lives. But the Glassworks dudes (with Eaton) wrote lines for almost everyone that wasn’t them, not trying to pressure their friends into doing improv.
“It was pretty much written, especially for the people coming in,” Heinz said. “We didn’t want to overwhelm them.”
But the sketches where Hastings, Heinz, and Raney are allowed to improvise their dialogue are where the pilot truly shines. The longest sketch is called “Farley & Farley” – a day in the lives of two simple-minded, dog-loving, khaki-wearing friends brothers roommates weirdos – played by Hastings and Raney – who both happen to be named Farley. Glassworks has been doing improv together for years and years – first at Memorial High School, then as Glassworks – and rattling off completely absurd, improvised dialogue about the different animals at the pet store only works because of their palpable chemistry.
Follow that up with one where Hastings takes center stage in an interview sketch as his character, Matt Pronschinske, the ultimate white flat-brim-cap bro who candidly describes his ideal day (which mainly just consists of ingesting alcohol in a lot of creative ways from the moment he wakes up ’til he crashes after bar close). Hastings is almost unrecognizable in his character, sharply playing him with the correct blend of accuracy and absurdity, not relying on any hard stereotypes.
And the cool thing is, Matt Pronschinske, as well as the Farley & Farley universe were all the manifestations of riffs during some long hours of interstate driving on tour. If you’re trained improvisers, deep in the thick of a three-week East Coast tour and you’re sick of the radio, of course you’re gonna start riffing in character just to pass the time. And Heinz said the pilot is an opportunity to get a lot of those characters and fleeting funny moments in writing.
“(The pilot) was the first time we had a chance to put any of it into physical reality,” Heinz explains.
When Eaton came to town for the holidays, it only allowed the group a handful of days to write and film the whole entire thing, which included coordinating schedules with other actors and crew (the Drunk Drivers’ Jon Olstadt ran sound, FYI). Heinz said ideally, if and when they do another episode, they’ll take their time with it.
“Peter was like, ‘I’m leaving in a week; let’s do it!’ ” Heinz said. “Whatever we do next, we’ll have time and experience behind us.”
Improv is cool and Glassworks is really good at it, but improv and sketch are very different. In trying their hand at sketch comedy, some improvised, some not, Glassworks’ pilot exists as proof that you probably shouldn’t worry; they’re pretty damn good at all of it.
In the coming weeks, Glassworks will release a sketch or two online, and they plan to shop it around to see if their any interest in it. Look for a local screening soon! In the meantime, learn more about the Eau Claire Improv grounds by checking out ecimprovgrounds.tumblr.com and follow Glassworks on Facebook and Twitter for updates about shows and the pilot.
