D.J. Mausner & David Kaufman take the piss out of pretentious theatre shows with FRINGE: Improvised

With the Montreal Fringe festival in full swing, full of shows of all sorts to entertain the locals and out-of-towners who make it to our city every year just for the event, there might still be a few undecideds out there looking for those Fringe gems that will take them by surprise and leave them trying to recount what made them split their sides laughing.

One of the strongest improv shows at the fest that’s sure to turn the stage onto its head is FRINGE: IMPROVISED, starring two of the most talented improvisers in the last few years, who chiseled their craft in Montreal and have moved on to remarkable big projects with no indication of slowing down.

David Kaufman, an OFF-JFL / Zoofest regular, is amazing at being the straight man in scenes, hanging onto his stage partner’s every word, while acting as the audience’s voice of reason when things seem hard to believe. He makes following while questioning where the funny is going so effortless.

D.J. Mausner came to Montreal to do more improv, while simultaneously working on her standup routine and putting up well-reviewed productions such as Joketown at Theatre Sainte Catherine. While here, she won last year’s Just for Laughs Homegrown award and headlined at JFL42. She’s since moved on to Second City and Bad Dog Theater in Toronto. She’s also written on my favorite nationally acclaimed comedy TV show, the all-female troupe bearing the same name, Baroness Von Sketch (now on Netflix).

I asked these professional buffoons of the improv scene about creating a brand new show every night out of audience suggestions, and more. FRINGE: Improvised continues on June 14th at 9:30 pm, June 16th at 3:30 pm and June 17th at 9:30 pm at Montreal Improv (3697 St-Laurent Blvd). Tickets are $6, $5 for students, QFD members and Montreal Improv students. For tickets and the complete schedule visit the Montreal Fringe festival site. You can follow Fringe: Improvised on Twitter. 

Bad Feeling Mag: How did you both first come together as a duo and what made you two think, “This is an improv partnership in the making?”
D.J. Mausner- David had been at the theatre a for a bit before me, and I remember seeing him perform and thinking he was hilarious. I don’t remember it exactly, but I think some friends put us in a few shows together (Vance Gillis’s The Conventioneers, Alex Brown’s Camp Wanapoke) and our styles matched so we decided to give it a go. I liken Dave and I’s relationship to two twin eight year old brothers that are either wrestling, crying, or asleep on the couch. It was also very quickly apparent that we were massive fucking losers who were obsessed with similar improvisers from UCB, so that helped.

David Kaufman – Ya, we bonded over being obsessed losers, which maybe makes us cool. (It does not.)

In what way would you say your improv styles complement each other/ work against each other?
DK- I think we have gotten to the point where most of the time we know pretty quickly what the other person is going for in a scene. And if we don’t then we can always fight about who was right afterwards, like any functional working relationship. Also D.J. loves making me play characters that fall way outside my comfort zone. Creeps, Jerks, Turds. So that works against me in a good way.

D.J.- David is excellent at grounding scenes and giving sincere reactions to absurd concepts that I throw at him. We love to ghost (when you play a separate character in a scene that you are already in, running back and forth between your original character and the other character you’ve added, playing both at the same time) as each other’s characters and kind of make fun of the way the improviser is playing them too. If that makes sense. Basically we bully each other for our own entertainment and the entertainment of the audience. So we work against each other in a fun way!

D.J., you moved out of Montreal to be in Toronto (and L.A?) last year, and your career has gotten nothing but better. What made the two of you give this another shot?
D.J.- Thank you! Toronto is great but I haven’t found a player in my eight years of improv that I play with as well as Dave. He’s worth the trip!

DK- But in all seriousness, I have D.J.’s entire family hostage and the only way she sees them again is if she does the Montreal Fringe Festival with me.

D.J.- Please help me.

How long have the two of you been improvising? Where are you two now in the comedy scene?
D.J.- Around eight years. And I think around three years together?
I do stand up, sketch, and improv in Toronto. I’m a part of the Featured Players at Bad Dog Theatre, where we do a weekly Saturday show. Sometimes I understudy for the Second City Touring Company. I just finished a stint writing for the Baroness Von Sketch Show. I do stand up around town, but mostly at Comedy Bar. I’m all over the place. Follow me on twitter at @D.J.mausner (or 1-800-FIGHT-ME) if you want up to the minute answers!

DK- I do mostly improv and sketch. I’ve been improvising for about 5 years. I co-produce a show called the Haunt out of Montreal Improv Theater…I also improvise on a lot of other shows around town regularly.

Fringe usually has scripted theater and comedy shows — what made you want to bring improv to the fringe?
D.J.- The idea is kind of a mix of other improv shows we’ve seen that blend theatre and comedy, specifically STRIFE at UCB in New York and Jim Rash’s Improvised One Man at Groundlings in LA. The former is heavy-handed improvised community theatre and the latter is exactly what it sounds like. So we think our format suits the festival perfectly. Plus, we’ve seen a lot of great shows at the Montreal Fringe and have a lot of good friends in the festival this year, there are always a few shows put on by rich white people that are like, ‘I was unemployed for one month. Here is the story of my struggle.’ We think that’s fucking hilarious and wanted a chance to play those kinds of people. Improv allows us to bring the audience in on that joke.

DK- Yes and last year my scripted one man show “Month: Unemployed” didn’t do very well, so I figured I’d try something different this year.

So a suggestion is given, and you two will improvise scenes — what is your approach to keeping things funny the whole time without falling flat?
D.J.- We’re hoping to balance comedic moments with sincere moments, so hopefully any quiet moments will stem from enrapturing the audience with our deep on stage emotional work.

DK-We also have a few…let’s just call em “tricks” up … let’s just say our “sleeves”… to ensure the show stays, how should I put this… “fresh”.

D.J.- There’s going to be a lot of rubbing our hands together and snickering.

Do you see your fringe show as different from the rest of the improv shows out there?
DK- Our show will be pretty different. First and foremost. it’s an improvised Fringe Show, not just a run of the mill improv show. So we need to work with the audience to figure a lot of things out; what is the title of the show, what does the set look like, who is the fringe artist putting on this show and what are they like, etc. After that, well we have to do all of those suggestions justice.

D.J.- Yeah, our show lovingly parodies fringe shows, so anyone who loves fringe and independent theatre will pick up on (and hopefully enjoy) the tropes and moments of spectacle we’ve seen over the years in other shows we’re using to enhance moments of our storyline. Monologues, dramatic lighting cues, the whole bit. Not only will we be making up a story on the spot, we’ll be calling on the audience’s knowledge of the fringe and its lovable quirks.

Apart from the random suggestions, how do you keep each night fresh and different from the other performances?
D.J.- We have a loose format but there’s a lot of room for play within it. The only memorized part is our intro, in which we gather the suggestions. Doesn’t get fresher than that, my friend.

DK- D.J., you should put quotes around “fresh” so people know what you are talking about.

D.J.- See, THIS is how we’re going to win a Frankie.

What are the funniest improv and/or fringe tropes to make fun of?
D.J.- I love self seriousness. It’s not that everyone’s Fringe show should be a comedy. But if you truly think your art is airtight in how it’s revolutionary and deep, you’re probably a loser. Pretending to be pretentious and precious is really fun because we can show the insecurity lurking underneath, or the privilege this person has that allows them to feel they know better than everyone else. Also terrible takes on current events. Like, people who have no business acting like an expert on the tragedy of the month, and that thinking their show is gonna offer some golden answer… (chef’s kiss) So funny.

DK : Fringe really forces people to try and do a lot with very limited resources. It’s always fun to see how people can push a limited budget. I’ve definitely been in shows where the effects haven’t quite astonished as much as I originally imagined.

Anything special you were thinking of trying together on the crowd?
D.J.- Oh, you mean like bringing real art to the fringe for the first time?

DK- Yes, together we will try to BLOW THEIR MINDS. Or something along those lines.

Some people may see it as taking the piss out of improv, which isn’t true. What is it about improv that you love so much and keep wanting to come back to?
D.J.- I feel like if anything, it takes the piss out of theatre. The improv in the show will be high quality, as it has to be to sustain a 45 minute plot while still being funny and interesting and cohesive. I like improv because when it’s really good, it’s like magic. The only thing you have on stage is your experiences that created your frame of reference for what you find funny, and your scene partner. You make something on stage that you could only make there in that moment, with that person.

DK- Because improv is different each night it’s always surprising. Everyone in the room knows what they are seeing is only going to happen once. So when it’s good it can feel like a real inside moment that you share with the audience.

Anything else to say about the fringe or your show?
D.J.- It’s going to be very dumb, and very fun, and we’d love for you to come so we can make our $600 deposit back.

DK- You will learn nothing from our show. But if you are nice to the people sitting next to you, you might make a friend. And isn’t that worth 6$ + a small surcharge? I think so. That isn’t too much cash for an entire friend.

You two have been to the Del Close improv marathon before… your fringe show each is almost an hour. Are there any tricks to keep up the improv on stage and not have the dreaded feeling of giving up? Or does it all amount to experience?
D.J.- I think experience definitely plays a part. We’re also telling one long story instead of a series of short scenes, which can get tiring for an audience. They want moments of sincere storytelling so laughter feels more novel when it happens.

DK- Our format will definitely help us keep momentum going a little longer than usual. I personally am just going to ignore any dread-like feelings during the show and I’ll dream about them later.

D.J.- Yeah, I’m going to do that too.

Being a performer at the Fringe for 6 straight nights can feel exhausting but is definitely rewarding. What are you two gonna do after the Fringe?
D.J. – I’m actually getting on a Caribbean cruise to do short form improv for three months ahaha. So no break from improv, but definitely a form of vacation.

DK- I promised James McGee, who also has a show in the Fringe, Scum FM, that we would split a pizza. D.J. you want to join for pizza?

D.J.- You know I’d never say no to Pizza Gio.

FRINGE: Improvised continues on June 14th at 9:30 pm, June 16th at 3:30 pm and June 17th at 9:30 pm at Montreal Improv (3697 St-Laurent Blvd). Tickets are $6, $5 for students, QFD members and Montreal Improv students. For tickets and the complete schedule visit the Montreal Fringe festival site. You can follow Fringe: Improvised on Twitter.