![]() ![]() ![]() As comedians, we’re interested in the way people perform themselves and their relationship with artifice. And each short, visually, has an artificial element to it. Andy suggested that we do 555, which made perfect sense thematically, because 555 is the fake area code you’re required to use in film and TV. JE: Then we thought, what if we did something simple like Five, or just the Roman numeral V. KB: Though me and Andy were saying we could still call it Trilogy, even as five shorts, just to mess with people. We were seriously considering turning down the opportunity to do five shorts just because we loved the title. We were both excited about the grandness of that, that was sexy to us. Because originally, it was going to be three shorts, and we were going to call it Trilogy. I was going through Greek mythology books, like, “What’s gonna stick! This is so hard!” On the smallest level possible - because nothing is a substitute for actually showing up and doing the work - I think comedians can help in their reframing of ideas in a way that’s galvanizing, especially to young people. But I always needed comedians to undercut that, and express things in a way that was angrier. Now we’re seeing why that is, and that’s actually been kind of affirming. I didn’t know why, but it was unsettling. To be honest, patriotism always kind of freaked me out. When I was a kid, I didn’t like to be spoken to in a way that was schmaltzy. JE: And to get a room of people to laugh about it. ![]() KB: To be able to get up there and just rip Trump and the administration apart. JE: It’s been so helpful for us, in this time of utter hell and real dread, to be able to make each other laugh on stage every night during this tour. Even so, we should continue to make art, of course, and I still harbor a little bit of a romantic view on making people laugh, giving people that release. I’m waking up to the reality that we haven’t done enough, and have to do so much more, so maybe that might separate us from the fun of making art. KB: I’ve exhausted my previous romanticism about what it means to “be an artist.” I’ve been on a trajectory of extreme privilege, and talking about things is not the same as doing them. So let’s talk about Trump right off the bat! You’re both politically engaged, and Kate has said that we can’t rely on comedy to save us during this trying time. I guess it’s a weirdly formal thing to ask these days. ![]() Last week, ahead of the 555 premiere, the pair sat down with Vulture to discuss survival in Trump’s America, the tragic hilarity of Shelley Duvall, and Berlant’s brief cameo on Lizzie McGuire. A collection of five shorts, 555 pertains solely to the entertainment industry: One segment features dueling wannabe pop stars another casts Berlant as a trashy stage mom and Early as her grade-school-aged son. They’re attuned to an extremely specific wavelength, and comedy lovers are finally tapping into their frequency.īoth contributed an original half-hour to Netflix’s The Characters last year, Early appeared in the TBS series Search Party, and last Tuesday saw the debut of their new Vimeo series, 555. Comedians John Early and Kate Berlant only met each other five years ago, and yet they seem to have already developed a language of their own: In conversation, they condense entire sentences into single words and convey ideas to one another via theatrical, gesticulating, goofy faces. The term “cryptophasia” refers to the phenomenon of twins who develop a secret code that only they can understand. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |