Interviewed for WICF by Contributor Sheila Moeschen
Writer, comic, improviser, and unabashed comedy fan: these are only a few of the labels that sketch writer and Boston native Marty Johnson wears proudly. From her beginnings, trained as an improviser at Boston’s Improv Aslyum, to her successes as a finalist in the 2010 Friars Club Improv and Sketch Competition and her win for “Best Film” in the NBC Short Cuts Film Festival, Johnson has played an integral role in changing the way audiences and fellow artists think about the role of the female comedy writer. I took a few minutes to chat with the accomplished comic/writer, fresh off her successful run at the Charleston Comedy Festival as one half of the sketch team, Somebody’s In the Doghouse.
"Today's Special" is an independent pilot, written and co-created by Marty Johnson and Leah Gotscik, with JetPak Productions.
WICF: Your training is in improvisational comedy. What drew you to sketch writing?
Marty: Actually, I started performing both sketch and improv at the same time with my college comedy group, Charred Goosebeak, at Colgate. I wrote some bizarro sketches and videos for our live shows back then!
Marty Johnson: Writer, Comic, Friend to Funny People Everywhere.
WICF: How you would describe your approach to sketch writing?
Marty: Depends on the idea. If I come up with an idea that’s pretty fully formed and that I’m confident will work, I’ll just start writing and revising it. Sometimes I’ll just outline the beats of an idea to see if there’s enough to it, before scripting it out. If I have the beginning of an idea that I think might work, improvising through it can help to flesh it out or find the right approach. Reading things out loud is always key.
WICF: You mention tapping into your improv skills as a way to help your writing process. Why do you think this is a useful method?
Marty: It can be very helpful in generating ideas and in keeping you flexible and open to changing things up or trying an idea in a new way. That sensibility is also useful in figuring out how to build an idea. The process of looking at something from different angles to find new jokes is something improv trains your brain to do.
WICF: In the last few years, much has been made of the fact that writers’ rooms are evolving, that they’re now less dominated with that boys’ club mentality. How have you found your experience being a female writer collaborating on film and sketch projects?
Marty: I collaborate with both women and men on different projects, and I feel like I know equal amounts of hilarious people [of both genders]. I just work with people whose sensibility I admire, no matter what kind of private parts they have. I perform in a sketch show that is a female duo but we started writing/performing together because we liked each other’s sense of humor. When I do notice and think about the gender imbalance is when I look to the places in this industry I’d like to go. I would love to see more and more women continue to break through and work on that level. It seems like there’s a bit of a disconnection between what’s going on in the comedy communities in cities (in terms of the work being produced) and the next steps that lead to big advancement in the industry.
WICF: As much as you enjoy producing your own work, everyone has people they look up to as fans and inspirations. Who are some current sketch or comedy writers that you admire?
Marty: Oh, man, there are a lot. Tina Fey and Mitch Hurtwitz for sitcom writing; not a second is wasted in those scripts, there are jokes absolutely everywhere. “It’s Always Sunny” has always been a favorite, and “Community” now, too for the same reason – the characters on both those shows are so well-defined that you can just set them loose in any storyline. Sketch-wise I tend to be more a fan of individual sketches from all different places. From stuff I see independent groups performing live, to resident theater casts, to my very talented friends who are constantly producing stuff, to “The State,” “Human Giant,” “SNL,” and all types of Internet sketches.
Leah Gotcsik and Marty Johnson see you.
WICF: Your sketch baby, Somebody’s in The Doghouse, which pairs you with comic Leah Gotcsik, just came off a successful appearance at the Charleston Comedy Festival, kudos! What’s next for this duo? What’s next for you?
Marty: We are writing new material at the moment, it’s great to be in that mode, messing around with new ideas. Since we’ve been working together for a while it’s fun to see what’s changing, what we find interesting now that we didn’t before, etc. Personally, I’ve been concentrating on writing longer scripts for a while, so churning out sketches and brainstorming ideas for short, live theatrical work is a different animal and lots of fun to get back to.
WICF: You are currently the Director of the Sketch-Writing Program at Improv Asylum, what artistic/creative trends have you noticed in your students?
Marty: I’m not sure if I’ve noticed trends as much as I think writing style or interest breaks down along personality lines. Some people are really interested in writing topical or satirical sketches, and others have very absurd senses of humor and don’t care about politics or pop culture.
WICF: What kind of gender breakdown have you noticed in your class?
Marty: The gender breakdown tends to be fairly balanced in most first level classes, but I’ve found that fewer women stick with it and continue on. I’m not sure why the dudes tend to keep writing when women don’t always. I will ask them!
WICF: What’s one of your greatest sketch-writing pet peeves?
Marty: Laziness.
WICF: This is the part where you impart your amazing advice/wisdom for sketch writers just starting out. Go!
Marty: Get your idea straight before trying to write all the dialogue. Try to have distance enough from your own ideas to judge them fairly, and then push for the ones you know are good!
WICF: This is the other part where you shamelessly plug your work. Go!
Marty: Come check out Somebody’s in the Doghouse at the Women in Comedy Festival in Boston this March! If you’re interested in giving sketch writing a try, visit our sketch-writing class offerings at Improv Asylum, www.improvasylum.com.
About Marty: Marty Johnson is a WGA comedy writer/performer who often produces her own work. Her recent credits include writing a sitcom pilot for NBC Universal and creating a children’s comedy webseries pilot. Her sketch comedy duo, Somebody’s in the Doghouse, was a finalist in the 2010 Friars Club Improv and Sketch Competition and has toured nationally to festivals including the Charleston Comedy Festival, as well as the SF, LA, DC & Chicago Sketchfests. In addition, Marty has performed improv and sketch comedy with Improv Asylum (Mainstage), The Second City at Sea, at ImprovBoston (Harold Teams), as well as in many independent shows. Marty has experience in television production at CBS and PBS. Her film and Web projects have been official selections of the New York Television Festival (2x), LA Independent Television Festival (2x), LA Comedy Shorts Festival (2x), and Austin Film Festival, among others. She was also awarded “Best Film” in the NBC Short Cuts Film Festival. Marty’s writing was commissioned for the theater production, “PS Page Me Later,” which won a Boston Theater Critic’s Award. She resides in Boston.
Sheila Moeschen holds a PhD in Gender and Theatre Studies from Northwestern University. She is an academic, writer, freelance editor, and performer. Her work has been published in scholarly journals as well as online at Yahoo Associated Content, Open Salon, and Girl w/Pen. Follow Sheila on Twitter: twitter.com/SheChats or contact her at: dktrshe@citizendame.com. She resides in Boston.
I thought, maybe [write] a group therapy thing with different couples from Shakespeare, which made me think of who the therapist would be. I thought a sassy, gay guy would give it to the ladies straight, so to speak. — Brian Gallivan
Brian Gallivan, known to millions as his character “Sassy Gay Friend,” will appear for three nights next week at Improv Asylum, in Boston’s North End. Each show includes 60 minutes of Brian’s live Sassy Gay Friend stage show, followed by 30 minutes of improv featuring Brian and IA group Vanity Project.
Brian was kind enough to answer the metric shit-ton of questions we directed his way — the interview starts beneath his photo!
ImprovAsylum – In the Beginning:
WICF: Can you detail some of your involvement with Improv Asylum?
Brian: I started taking classes there in 1999. I joined their first touring company in 2000, and I think I joined their Mainstage cast in early 2001. I loved it there. I learned so much, and I worked with a ton of REALLY talented people.
WICF: Which cast(s) were you in?
Brian: I was not in the original cast, but I worked with a lot of people who were: Brian Frates, Norm [Laviolette], Chet [Harding], Leah Gotcsik, Amy Roeder, Lori Salmeri, Eddie Mejia, Paul D’Amato, Kristen D’Amato. I also worked with Lisa Schurga and Ryan Gaul who joined before I did. Both of them live in LA now and are Groundlings. It’s great to get to hang out with them in LA and to be able to go see their shows. As people left, I got to work with lots of amazing folks: Cathleen Carr, Marty Johnson, Jimmy Owens, Brandon Sornberger, Harry Gordon, Kiley Fitzgerald, Sara Adelman, Travis Thomas, Tim Douglas. I could go on and on. I’m sure I’m forgetting someone amazing.
WICF: For how many years were you a performer at IA?
Brian: I performed there until summer of 2003, so almost three years total.
WICF: Did you jump right from improv classes to the cast, or do you have a “toiling away in the trenches” story?
Brian: I auditioned for the Mainstage cast in summer 1999. I got a callback, and I thought it went well, and then I had an interview. Norm Laviolette still makes fun of me for how awkward I was at the interview. He basically told me that I had no experience, and I should keep taking classes. I was SO disappointed. I figured if I didn’t get hired right away, I shouldn’t be doing improv. It wasn’t meant to be. But I started taking classes there, and after another six months, they had auditions for their new touring company, and I got hired.
WICF: Can you tell us what it felt like to go on your first audition?
Brian: My first improv audition happened years before. I saw an ad in the Boston Phoenix, and I auditioned for an improv group even though I’d never taken any improv classes. I remember getting laughs and wondering why they didn’t cast me. After I took some classes, I realized that I broke almost every improv rule possible at that audition. I think I actually said, after someone else declared we were on a cruise ship, “No. We’re not on a cruise ship.”
Sassy Gay Friend: Hamlet
ImprovAsylum – The Return:
WICF: How often have you returned to IA since you moved away from Boston?
Brian: I’ve been back to see shows since I moved away in 2003. It’s always fun to come back. I perform with a group called Ditka in LA, and we came to the Asylum to do a show and some workshops in 2008. I did the midnight show when I was home for Christmas last year.
WICF: You performed your stage show there pretty recently, right? How did it feel to come back?
Brian: It was a blast. It’s such a great space and performing in the round is really fun. Plus, lots of friends and family were able to come.
WICF: Have you gotten to perform with any of your former castmembers?
Brian: Cathleen Carr is performing a few scenes in the show with me, and we do some improv after my show, so I got to improvise with Norm and Chet and Jeremy Brothers. I think Marty Johnson will be doing some improv in the December shows.
WICF: Have you seen any of your former students or colleagues at your shows?
Brian: Yes. Which has been great.
Brian Gallivan
The Life and Times of Brian Gallivan:
WICF: Where are you from, originally?
Brian: I grew up in Dedham, MA.
WICF: Did you teach up until the time you left Boston?
Brian: No, I took a leave of absence my last two years in Boston, and I just never went back.
WICF: At what middle school did you teach?
Brian: I taught at the Chenery Middle School in Belmont. Before that, I taught at St. Anthony’s in Allston.
WICF: What prompted you to become a teacher?
Brian: My father was a teacher, and three of my siblings are still teachers. It seemed like a pretty good option at the time.
WICF: How did you first realize that you wanted to take an improv class?
Brian: I cannot remember when I thought I would like improv. I think I used to watch the British “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” on Comedy Central in the mid-90s. My family likes to joke around, so I’ve always enjoyed verbal humor.
WICF: A lot of comedians talk about picking up and moving to one of the big three comedy cities — Chicago, LA, and NY — but not everyone follows through. How did you decide that you were going to head to Chicago?
Brian: I had flown to Chicago to audition for their [Second City’s] touring company, and I totally bombed. When I went back there for a festival, another improviser told me that even if I had done well, they wouldn’t have hired me because I didn’t live in Chicago. That fact combined with the reality that I was becoming a “veteran” at the Asylum, made me want to try the move to Chicago. I remember the very night I decided. I was reading a book called Everything is Illuminated. Which seemed weird.
WICF: In which year did you move to Chicago?
Brian: 2003.
WICF: Did you teach in Chicago?
Brian: I did some substitute teaching my first year there, and I tutored some high school students as well.
Sassy Gay Friend: Romeo & Juliet
Second City and “Sassy Gay Friend”:
WICF: You were a member of the Second City touring company, and then a Chicago mainstage cast member for three years, is that correct?
Brian: Yes.
WICF: What was it like getting to perform at one of the best-known comedy theaters in the country?
Brian: It was amazing. I can’t even explain how much I loved it. To be able to perform your own material in front of sold out audiences almost every night on the very stage where so many comic geniuses have performed, it was just a thrill.
WICF: Can you compare the comedy audiences in different cities?
Brian: I don’t really notice the differences too much. The Boston audiences are pretty raucous. Which is fun. But that might be the buckets of beer at the Asylum.
WICF: To which cities did you travel with the touring company?
Brian: I remember the states more than the cities. I did a lot of shows that weren’t too far from Chicago: Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan. But we went on some great trips to Florida, Vermont, California, and, best of all, Hawaii, which was really fun.
Sassy Gay Friend: Othello
WICF: Your “Sassy Gay Friend” character started as a stage portrayal. Did you have any idea this character was going to be so big for you?
Brian: It was always a fun character to do at Second City, but when the show it was in (Red Scare) ended, I didn’t expect to do much with the character ever again. But Josh Funk and Mark Kienlen started The Second City Network in early 2010, and my manager had read some of my writing, and those sketches stood out to her, so we filmed the videos, and I was really shocked at the reaction.
WICF: How did you come up with the character?
Brian:Red Scare was the first show I did on the Mainstage at Second City, and our director Mick Napier had given us an assignment to come in with a couple of new ideas. For one of them, I wanted to do something with Shakespeare. I thought maybe a group therapy thing with different couples from Shakespeare, which made me think of who the therapist would be. I thought a sassy, gay guy would give it to the ladies straight, so to speak. And then I dumped the guys and made the therapist just a sassy gay friend.
WICF: Do you have the stats for the number of times your videos have been viewed? Could you give us an estimate?
Brian: Combined, the SGF videos have over 12 million views on YouTube.
Sassy Gay Friend: Eve
WICF: Do any of your other characters draw on your literary background?
Brian: I’ve done a character who hosts a PBS show about Young Adult Literature. He thinks YA Lit can solve any problem. Maribeth Monroe and I did a scene at Second City that was partially scripted and partially improvised based on an audience suggestion where I was a Mr. Darcy-type character, and she was an Elizabeth Bennett character.
WICF: Your “Sassy Gay Friend” character is playing off of some fairly iconic literary figures, but you’ve also set up each scene so that the back story is obvious, regardless of the viewer’s familiarity with the character. Do you ever wonder if some of your audience misses the literary reference entirely?
Brian: I think people who don’t know the stories probably stop watching at a certain point. As I make more of these videos, I’ll eventually have to choose some stories which are not as well known. And I’ll assume that not as many people will want to watch them.
I LOVE “GLEE.” What they’re doing with Kurt is historic. And his relationship with his father is so beautiful. I can’t get enough of that show. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that Kurt doesn’t just get an episode to deal with his struggles. He gets a whole series.
LA and Your Current Projects:
WICF: When did you make the jump to LA?
Brian: I moved here in Fall of 2007.
WICF: Where have you been performing in LA?
Brian: I perform some shows at Second City with Ditka. I perform at IO West on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. with a group called Powerhouse. And I do two shows at UCB. On Mondays I perform with a group called The Smokes at 7 p.m., and on Fridays at 9:30 p.m., I’m part of a show called Soundtrack, where people bring their iPods and iPhones, and our DJ picks songs to play which inspires the improv.
WICF: What projects are you working on now?
Brian: I wrote a sitcom pilot this year and some treatments for a couple of other sitcoms. I’m performing the live Sassy Gay Friend show at colleges in 2011. I’m hoping to do a few more “Sassy Gay Friend” videos and some other non-SGF videos too.
WICF: What other links would you like us to include?
Brian:Here is a video where I’m not playing “Sassy Gay Friend.” The actress in the clip is the hilarious Claudia Michelle Wallace. She and I originally performed this scene in a Second City Chicago Mainstage show called Iraqtile Dysfunction.
Claudia Michelle Wallace and Brian Gallivan — How To Deal With RACISM At Work
WICF: What is this incarnation of your stage show featuring “Sassy Gay Friend” like?
Brian: The show is approximately 1/3 new “Sassy Gay Friend” stuff (or old SGF stuff with a twist), 1/3 SGF interacting with the audience, and 1/3 Brian Gallivan (me) doing my own material about times in my life when I’ve been a stupid bitch.
WICF: I have to admit, after watching your videos, I experienced a certain amount of cognizant dissonance hearing your natural voice on your voicemail. Have you had any interesting fan experiences once you’ve switched out of character?
Brian: No one’s mentioned it to me. I have to admit, I feel pretty powerful now that you’ve told me I’m capable of causing cognizant dissonance.
WICF: How do you cast the costars of the “Sassy Gay Friend” videos? Who are they, and what should our comedy audience know about them?
Brian: Originally, Jean Villepique, a hilarious lady I performed with at Second City, was going to play Ophelia, but she got sick, so at the last minute, I called my friend Colleen Foy, a friend from an acting class in LA. She’s such a great actress. She played Daniel Day Lewis’ grown up daughter-in-law in There Will Be Blood.
Stephanie Allynne played Juliet. I met her at UCB in LA. She has a great one-woman show, and also made a hilarious video about the movie Precious which I think is called Precious Moments.
I hope I encourage all comedians I come across, but I’m definitely drawn to lady comedy and gay comedy, and when I find some of that, and it’s really good, I am definitely encouraging. But again, I like funny, no matter who’s doing it. If I see someone who’s doing great stuff, no matter who they are, I try to make sure I tell them how much I loved it.
Maribeth Monroe played Desdemona. She played her when we first tried the scene at SC too. Maribeth is blowing up. She had a hilarious childbirth scene in J Lo’s movie The Back Up Plan, and she has a new show on Comedy Central which starts airing next year. She’s also in Ditka with me.
I had never met Milynn Sarley, who played Eve, but a friend recommended her, and she was a delight. She was very easy to get almost naked in front of. She’s also on a show, which I think is called Like Totally Awesome, and it’s about video games. Vince Allen, a student at Second City in LA (and a professional model) played Adam. Perfectly, I might add.
For “The Giving Tree,” Shulie Cowen, an SC alum, voiced the tree. She was wonderful. Rob Janas, a hilarious SC alum played the evil grown up boy, and Scott Narver, an LA SC training center grad, played Boo Radley. He was awesome.
Sassy Gay Friend: The Giving Tree
”Sassy Gay Friend” Has a Wider Impact:
WICF: It’s funny, when we were setting up this interview, you said, “Also, to be honest, my videos and shows do feature some great women in comedy, but they end up playing the straight role and don't get many of the laughs. [F]eel free to ask me the hard questions about that!” Do you think that artists who are fairly well known have a societal responsibility to provide opportunities for, or to help showcase, artists from marginalized groups?
Brian: I don’t know. I feel like comedy is fairly democratic. If someone is funny, they usually get noticed. The way the SGF videos are written, it seems better to have a “straight man” for SGF to bounce off. So the ladies get acting opportunities rather than more laughs. I don’t worry about any of these ladies though because they are all creating their own hilarious material for themselves whether it’s sketch or improv.
WICF: Do you feel a responsibility to help promote or encourage comedians who don’t fit the “straight, white male” demographic? Should successful gay comedians be cognizant of a responsibility to help promote performers whose opportunities may be limited because of their orientation or race or gender? Or age? Or creed? How about the responsibilities of successful female comedians? Or minority comedians?
Brian: I hope I encourage all comedians I come across, but I’m definitely drawn to lady comedy and gay comedy, and when I find some of that, and it’s really good, I am definitely encouraging. But again, I like funny, no matter who’s doing it. If I see someone who’s doing great stuff, no matter who they are, I try to make sure I tell them how much I loved it.
I have to admit, I feel pretty powerful now that you’ve told me I’m capable of causing cognizant dissonance.
WICF: You recently produced a video for the It Gets Better Project. Why did you get involved?
Brian: I knew that a large percentage of SGF fans were teenagers, so I thought it would be a good idea.
WICF: Since you were a teacher, I felt inspired to ask one of my teachers if she had any questions for you. I asked Deana Tolliver of ImprovBoston, who was one of my sketchwriting instructors, what she would ask you. Deana wanted to know if you’ve heard from anyone who’s been helped by your It Gets Better video.
Brian: Yes. I received a lot of messages from teens and adults about the video. One teen wrote that he was gay and having a really hard time at school, and the video made him feel better. So much of what I do as a writer and actor can start to feel like it’s all about getting somewhere in “the business.” So when he wrote to me, it made me happy that something I did had a positive effect on someone who was suffering. I’m always so grateful for the TV shows and movies that help me when I’m feeling low, so I’m glad I could do the same for someone else.
Sassy Gay Friend: It Gets Better
WICF: She asked, what would “Sassy Gay Friend” say to a bully?
Brian: Girls love guys who are nice to everyone. So if you want to get laid, start being nice to everyone!
WICF: She also asked, where do you get your fabulous scarves?
Brian: I only have the one, and I got it at a costume shop on Hollywood Boulevard.
WICF: In your video, you mention that you weren’t out in middle school, high school, or college because you were trying so hard to fit in. You also said that the reason you didn’t get into acting while you were a student was because you didn’t want anything to think you were gay. How do you see the It Gets Better Project, The Trevor Project, and GLSEN impacting gay youth today? What was available to students when you were a teacher?
Brian: Things are so much better now compared to when I was in school. They’re still hard probably, but a lot better. And I think they’ll keep getting better.
WICF: In your video, you tell viewers to think of their lives as a YA novel, because the protagonists are usually outsiders who find acceptance in the end. What are your favorite YA novels?
Brian: I love all the Judy Blume books. They’re so honest and really make you feel like you’re not the only person going through certain things. I like The Outsiders [by S. E. Hinton] too. Kids enjoy the honesty there too.
WICF: ”Sassy Gay Friend” became a part of the zeitgeist at the same time that the public consciousness of issues affecting gay youth was increasing dramatically. In the same year as an alarming number of teen suicides and Dan Savage’s launching of the It Gets Better Project, we have a hit network TV show, “Glee,” which features a gay teen character who has his own storyline, no longer the best friend, and last week the character sang the duet “Baby It’s Cold Outside” with another gay character — on Fox. What do you think about this character treatment and the affect it might have on “Glee”’s young audience?
Brian: I LOVE “GLEE.” What they’re doing with Kurt is historic. And his relationship with his father is so beautiful. I can’t get enough of that show. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that Kurt doesn’t just get an episode to deal with his struggles. He gets a whole series.
Sassy Gay Friend at Improv Asylum http://www.improvasylum.com/?id=458 for tickets Runs Tues., 12/21; Wed. 12/22; and Thurs., 12/23 $22 Shows at 8 p.m. Tues. and Wed., 10 p.m. Thurs.
