Phillyist Interviews... Meg and Rob

How would you describe your point-of-view as writers?
Meg: A big thing for me is being funny without being offensive. This isn't to say that our comedy is always clean; it's not. And we definitely do satire, and we occasionally might offend people whether we mean to or not. But I'm not a big fan of shock humor where you say the dirtiest or meanest thing you can to get a rise out of people, or making fun of people through stereotypes. After saying this, though, it seems like a strange thing for me to point out -- because it's not like it's a conscious decision to me to not be offensive for offensive's sake. That's just not the type of humor I get off on. The stuff that amuses me is more the twisting of something familiar into something ridiculous.

Rob: I would probably say in general I’m a very sexually obsessed and socially angry and anxious person. So anything I write eventually goes through those filters be it worldly or everyday life. And though Meg reins me in (probably for good reason) I also have an urge to be combative and challenging in an Andy Kaufman sort of way.

Go with us here: what "gets you off" in your writing; that is, what do you love to write -- what excites you?
Rob: Doing something original. I know probably that isn’t possible but I get excited about something if I can’t mentally trace what influenced the idea or premise. Eventually it comes out, or someone shows me something similar, but that’s the goal – do something that has some aspect of newness to it. General weirdness and unfamiliarity excites me.

Meg: Like I said before, I really like twisting the familiar into the ridiculous. One of my favorite ways of doing this is writing fake facts and presenting them through characters who think these facts are real. Like my medieval scholar character; she talks about the existence of things like goat babies and cyclopses in the 1100's. It's a lot of fun.

Your short "Dinner with Mischa" appeared in the Boston Comedy Festival. Is there any possibility of more video down the road?
Rob: Yes! Our next show will feature some video.

Meg: We have a big backlog of scripts waiting to be filmed, too. We've just been concentrating more on our live work lately.

Why do you think it's taken so long for sketch and improv to grab hold in Philly?
Meg: Philly's a strange beast for comedy. It seems like a lot of people will scoff at local shows but then flip their gourds over Mr. Show on DVD or Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter coming to the TLA. They don't seem to understand that those people started small, and that in Philadelphia there are great local comedy shows going on all the time.

Rob: Philly will also only love you if you absolutely deserve it. Hype doesn't carry well here. Paul F. Tompkins pretty perfectly nails the climate of this city when he talks about his early stand-up days when he was interviewed for the Sound of Young America. He talks about how you have to have a thick skin, because Philly is a city that let's you know it if they don't like what you're doing and how you have to be on your toes to succeed here. And hopefully it's true that it makes going to other cities a lot easier.

Also, there weren’t many outlets before and it took some pretty persistent individuals like Greg Maughn, Gregg Gethard and yourself to really create showcases as touchstones to what’s going on. Now that DIE ACTOR DIE!, Philly Improv Theater, and Bedtime Stories are in place, it’s a matter of getting the word out. I feel like every show we do is better than the last, and that there’s definitely a market and interest for comedy in Philly and we’re in the early stages of creating a “scene” as much as I hate that word. I think we'll get bigger crowds if we just start calling our sketch shows "Cocaine-Sex-Jams-80s Dance Party."

Meg: Or if we said we had an ex-member of a seminal punk band. Speaking of: have you seen the sketches Fred Armisen is doing with Carrie Brownstein from Sleater-Kinney? I nearly had palpitations when I saw they were working together. It's so awesome.

Meg, you have written for The Big Jewel and McSweeney's and you write for uwishunu, Not for Tourists and 23/6. Are you still at QVC or do you make your living as a freelance writer?
Meg: Man oh man, I wish I could say that I was a full-time freelancer, but I'm not, at least not yet. I actually work as a college marketing writer these days. QVC was fun, but driving an hour-and-a-half each way to work every day was terrible. I don't know how Rob does it.

Mmm, hmm. Mmm, hmm. Mmm, hmm. Rob, do you do anything extra-curricular like Meg or is she the successful one?
Rob: I still work at QVC. I make promotions for a billion dollar corporation. So, yeah – she’s the successful one.

Meg: You write for Not for Tourists too.

Do you think we are in a new "golden age of comedy"?
Rob: No – because I feel like that term is appropriate for periods of innovation that sort of sets the standard for the future. Last time that happened was in the 70s, and we’re still using those standards today. Technology changed and is bringing sketch and stand-up to more people, but it’s still familiar material. It’s still to a point where we’re trying to meet the standards of that era.

Meg: I do think that comedy is in an upswing, though. It might not be as radical as what was happening in the 70's, I agree with you on that. They broke a lot of societal taboos. But what else do we have to break? I don't feel like performing naked. Comedy is more in the public eye right now. And thanks to the internet, you don't have to live in New York, Chicago, or LA to get noticed. People are excited about humor again, and in turn, people are creating more comedy in more places. I think that's what's important.

Who are your influences, both individually and as a sketch group?
Rob: I would say our biggest shared influences as a sketch group are Mr. Show, Kids in the Hall, and SNL. Meg turned me on to Kids in the Hall which was really eye-opening, and I’m catching her up now on The State. One of our first bonding experiences was over the TV show Arrested Development so I feel like that show is a really good blanket example of where our tastes meet.

Meg: I like how you specifically say "The TV show Arrested Development" so people don't think we mean the band.

Rob: Well the song "Tennessee" was a huge inspiration for me because it taught me how to move to the music. Personally though, I was hugely influenced by the late 80s, early 90s block of programming FOX presented when they first came out. The Simpsons, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, The Ben Stiller Show, Married With Children and even Herman’s Head were so weird and experimental because FOX was just trying to find its voice. But it was the only thing I’d obsessively watch. You watch something like Get a Life now you wonder how Chris Elliot got that on network television. It was so absurd and weird.

Meg: Steve Martin was a huge influence for me. I didn't watch much comedy when growing up, but my dad introduced me to The Jerk when I was pretty young. On the sketch end of things, Kids in the Hall, as Rob already mentioned. That was the first sketch show I ever watched, and it's still my favorite. I grew up in a relatively rural area where I didn't really connect with a lot of my peers, and as cheesy as it sounds now, watching Kids in the Hall was eye-opening for me. I can still remember the first sketch I saw, where Bruce McCulloch has a businessman as a pet. It was so funny, and remember sitting there thinking, "Wait, there are people out there who have the same sense of humor as me?" It was amazing.

For us as a group, I think corporate culture is a big influence too. We both hate that sort of bloated, self-important vibe that permeates the world of business, and that comes out in a lot of our sketches.

Who are some of your favorite comedians/comic performers on the scene today?
Meg: Oh gosh. For stand-up, I like Doogie Horner and Kent Haines locally and Eugene Mirman, Zach Galifianakis, and Maria Bamford nationally. I'm not a huge fan of the "Let me tell you about my wife!" school of stand-up, where everything has to either be true or sound true. I'm much more attracted to ridiculousness, and I appreciate performers who are a bit more absurd. I like your stuff a lot, Don, because you do freaking everything (AUTHOR'S NOTE: Blush). I'm kind of also obsessed with this Canadian group Picnicface right now, which makes ridiculous videos. And I think there are some good folks on TV at the moment. SNL still isn't always great, but the vast majority of comedians on there are amazing, like Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. And of course, Tina Fey.

Rob: Yeah, I’d probably agree that my favorite “now” stand-up is Eugene Mirman and I love all the post State stuff, like Stella and Wet Hot American Summer. They put out the stupidest ideas in the absolutely smartest ways. I’m also a huge fan of Ricky Gervais. Again, I'm a purist with the whole awkward humor genre - so I love the British Office. I’m also amazed at how consistently good South Park is. Locally we love our brothers and sisters in sketch from Bedtime Stories -- Animosity Pierre, Secret Pants, and The Sixth Borough. Because they're all easy on the eyes, and hilarious.

Meg: Yes! And Rowan and Hastings.

What can we expect to see in "This Modern World" (did I get the name right)?
Meg: It's actually the much more awkwardly named "These Modern Worlds."

Rob: And you can expect some awkward moments.

Meg: And some dystopian visions.

Dystopia, yes. What do you have coming up in the future?
Meg: So much! In April there's "Welcome to the Terrordome," a showcase of five Philly sketch groups at the M-Room. In May we're performing a play we wrote as part of a short play festival called Fresh Fish at the Walking Fish Theater. And this summer we're doing the Minnesota Fringe, like I said, and Philly Fringe as well.

Rob: I'll probably have a nervous breakdown or develop a really rough drug habit – I'm thinking meth. Meg will probably settle down in the suburbs and have 2.5 kids.

Meg: No, I think we're both heading for a nervous breakdown. And your breakdown will let loose a rush of testosterone, leaving you crazy but finally able to grow a beard.

Meg, Rob…sorry. Rob, Meg. Thank you so much.
Meg: Thank you!

You can see Meg and Rob in THESE MODERN WORLDS as part of Philly Improv Theater's Project H.O.M.E. Fundraiser on Friday, March 7th at 8PM and Saturday, March 8th at 10PM. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online or at the door.