Duo Mashups

[Brad Hawkins]

Show idea based on the Mashups thread: Something like Fancy Pants, but instead of twenty individuals, something like five established duos (to give each scene more time)... the duos are split up and paired off with new partners, but have to continue, as best they can, to do whatever format they've previously been doing with their real partner.

For example, Ceej (representing Franz & Dave) is paired off with Kaci (representing Amazon and the Milksop, who have brought their Fitzgeralds format) -- now we have a scene where David Lynch is pitching a movie to a drunken Zelda Fitzgerald. Meanwhile I (as Franz) am paired off with someone else (not Curtis in this case; maybe a rotation kind of thing).

It would, admittedly, be particularly in-jokey, but I think an audience would still like it. What do you think?

[Tim Traini]

On paper it sounds like keeping to the respective format would be the major issue depending on what that format(s) is(are).

Like with your troupe, even though you go in and out of scenework for the movie you're pitching, when you get paired with someone else, you're still Kafka and are left with a choice to either act like Kafka in the fourth wall doing a movie, or another character in a scene (or Kafka as a character in a scene instead of a narrator/creator). At some point if a duo has a specific enough format, one person in the matchup is going to have to decline or step down from doing their format in favor of the other person unless there's some mutual balance or prior understanding of each other's format.

I like the idea a lot though, but also maybe have some kind of audience participation in sending replacements out (or each troupe gets a suggestion?). Someone has to direct who gets swapped out for whom since if it was done organically I think it'd look great but would also look a lot "safer" than what the show concept is.

[B. Tribe]

It also seems like it only 'works' when the duos have a character based format. If Faster, Robot! Kill! Kill! (me and Lisa Jackson) get split with Glamping Trip (Ratliff and Hess) and I went out with Ratliff, then it'd just be a regular two person improvised scene with no real cross-pollination.

[Brad Hawkins]

At some point if a duo has a specific enough format, one person in the matchup is going to have to decline or step down from doing their format in favor of the other person unless there's some mutual balance or prior understanding of each other's format.

That's true. At some point the choice would have to be made of whether (in the example above) it's David Lynch and Zelda Fitzgerald pitching a movie, or being hired as spies. That could either come out organically, or (more likely) be decided on beforehand.

It also seems like it only 'works' when the duos have a character based format. If Faster, Robot! Kill! Kill! (me and Lisa Jackson) get split with Glamping Trip (Ratliff and Hess) and I went out with Ratliff, then it'd just be a regular two person improvised scene with no real cross-pollination.

That's true, and then it wouldn't be different from any other mashups. Duos would have to be encouraged to bring their most specific formats.

[zyrain]

That's a fun idea! There are several ways to go with the format. Especially since some troupes don't have a format, what about taking on the other improvisor's character?

So, if Knuckleball Now and Firth & Arjet did a show, we'd see Ace and Craig being bridesmaids (for 5 minutes), and then see Kristin and Jessica trying to take on Ace and Craig's mannerisms in a montage. After that you could swap the partners, and see Knuckball Firth and Craig & Arjet if you want.

[Pdyx]

Poor Michael Joplin...

[Tim Traini]

Now that I think of it a fair way of doing it would be let a duo start first with their format premise, then after so many minutes one person gets tagged out. The person doing the tagging is the format it switches to since we already saw the last troupes format.

Like a La Ronde but with formats, kinda. Would get pretty insane by the end.