MAKING IT UP AS THEY GO
Comedians putting improv skills to test
Hide your schooners, hide your salmon-colored shorts. Because comedians Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz are bringing their improv experience to the Nantucket Film Festival in a matter of days, and we’re not sure the island is ready for their level of absurdity.
“It’s sort of evolved, but really we were just in New York and thought each other was funny and wanted to be friends,” Middleditch said of their two-person spectacle. “That’s the sweetest thing Thomas has ever said about me in my entire life,” Schwartz chimed in. “The fact that Thomas has called me his friend for the first time during an interview is unbelievable to me. Unbelievable.”
“I don’t like it, though,” added Middleditch, best known for starring in HBO’s “Silicon Valley.”
When the two comedians first ventured down the improv road together, they only performed for about 10 minutes, piggybacking on other comics’ shows. Little by little, they’ve grown their time slot to the point that they started landing their own hour-plus gigs. And in the process, they’ve only grown closer ... one more so than the other. “When I’m close to Thomas or when I’m near Thomas, it’s almost like twins,” Schwartz said. “Like I can feel his feelings. I know what he’s feeling at all times. It’s almost like osmosis for me now. I understand him so hard on stage that now in life, I feel his pain and I feel his joy.
“And I think Ben, he just moved? Right, you just moved?” Middleditch replied as a fun fact he’s learned about his showmate. “Wow … I just said such nice things about you,” said Schwartz, a “Parks and Recreation” alum. “I literally said that when your heart beats, my heart beats with it.”
We can only hope that when the pair performs their The Improv Takeover at the Siasconset Casino on Friday, their old married couple dynamic will be on full display. Other than the potential for comedy legend and the possibility of their idol, Ben Stiller, sharing the stage with them, they really don’t know what awaits them on Nantucket.
“Truly, the idea that Ben Stiller could be making stuff up with us on stage — I mean, we’re comedy nerds — it would be amazing,” Schwartz added. “We’ve been watching him throughout this whole process of falling in love with comedy. I think he’s going to get on stage with us, but we’re not quite certain what exactly it will be.”
The duo will take the stage for about an hour, leaving them so much room for activities. Schwartz started to say that he wanted to explore some of the Grey Lady’s local spots, before Middleditch cut him off to share his own idea.
“I just want to see where the swingers scene is,” Middleditch joked.
“The very vibrant Nantucket swingers scene?” Schwartz asked.
“Look, man, truth in comedy. That’s all I’m after,” Middleditch replied, jokingly adding, “I want to see where the swingers are at. I want to know what the scene’s like and maybe I want to buy a summer home. … All I’m saying is, I have 2-2.5 mill, looking to invest and looking to broaden my horizons. It’s a life goal, baby.”
And at this point, Schwartz and Middleditch completely commandeered the interview, holding the Track hostage in a never-ending bit, either to flex their improv muscles or catch a certain columnist totally off guard. In five minutes, they managed to invent an imaginary Nantucket eatery owned by a wooden-fingered, granitetoed restaurateur called Jeff Crab, who, despite his surname, exclusively sold lobster and was adamantly against serving any other crustacean.
There was mention of sending Subway sandwiches as a gift, and they wrongfully accused us of being biased against propeller planes, which Middleditch will, in all seriousness, personally fly from Los Angeles to Nantucket.
Maybe it’s the touch of Stockholm syndrome talking, but the interview hi jacking was both ridiculous and ridiculously funny. Bostonians who aren’t heading to this weekend’s film festival and who may suffer from FOMO can still snag tickets to Middleditch and Schwartz’s encore show at The Wilbur on Sunday.