An Hour with an Improv Coach - Matt Fear

Disclaimer: Unedited AI Transcript

Announcer (00:06):

You are connected and you are listening to specifically for seniors, the podcast for those in the, remember When Generation, today's podcast is available everywhere you listen to podcasts and with video at specifically for seniors YouTube channel. Now, here's your host, Dr. Larry Barsh.

Larry (00:37):

I ask every guest who visits on specifically for seniors to fill out a guest registration for, oh, this gives me enough information to do a decent introduction and, and maybe a way to start a conversation.

Speaker 3 (00:57):

Yeah, I love that.

Larry (00:58):

So here's what you told me. One, my name is Matt Fear, right? So far. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:06):

So, so far one for one, you're batting a hundred there.

Larry (01:09):

Okay, well done. Number two, Uhhuh <affirmative>. I love improv. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Okay. Yeah. And number three, that

Speaker 3 (01:16):

Goes, that goes back and forth. It's kind of a, you know, like anything that you do you start doing as a passion, and then you start doing for a living, you know, it has its ups and its downs.

Larry (01:29):

And number three, you love ice cream sandwiches.

Speaker 3 (01:34):

Oh my God.

Larry (01:36):

So there's no other way to start a conversation. What is it specifically you love about ice cream sandwiches? The shape, the cookies, the ice cream.

Speaker 3 (01:50):

I mean, Larry, yes. All, all of those things I feel make inherently a good ice cream sandwich. I feel like there's the classic, right? You've got the, the, when you think classic ice cream sandwich, we're thinking the same thing, right? We're thinking those like rectangular shaped things with the chocolate wafer, right. Vanilla ice cream and chocolate wafer. Right. You get it at you know, you had it when you were a kid. I don't care. You know, I don't care what generation you are, you had it as a kid. Like ice cream sandwiches have been around, I believe, since the Bible,

Larry (02:33):

Or 1899, either whichever came first.

Speaker 3 (02:37):

Yeah. Well, if you're, if you're a Mormon, that is the Bible

Larry (02:40):

<Laugh>. And

Speaker 3 (02:44):

But, but then there's like, you know, like everything now they've just made it better. So now there's like, you can get, like, there's a food truck in Boston you can go and you can choose the kind of cookie you want, and you can choose the kind of ice cream you'd like.

Larry (03:06):

Okay. So, you know, <laugh>, that's what I've got for background. And <laugh>,

Speaker 3 (03:12):

I did not do a good job of filling out the survey. I'm sorry, Larry.

Larry (03:14):

Now what do we do? Let, let, let me ask you a question. Yeah. Who and what is Matt Fear?

Speaker 3 (03:22):

Who and what is Matt Fear? That's a, I'm 47 years old, and I'm still trying to figure that out, Larry. I don't, I don't know. I'm,

Speaker 3 (03:35):

I'm a first time dad. I'm a, I'm a, I'm a first time homeowner. You know, I'm just trying to make my way through the world. And I've, I've stumbled upon something I can do that is not like a normal job, right? Like, I've, I've, I kind of threw away the o option of doing like a like just having a regular nine to five so I could do improv for a living so I could figure out how to do improv for a living. And thankfully, my wife is very supportive and she has a stable job. And she supports my, my, my artistic endeavors, I guess. But, you know, bringing improv to people is important to me. And it's, it's become more and more important to me as, you know these last, these last few years, especially now that I have a daughter, right? I'm bringing, like, trying to bring laughter into a world that she's going to inherit. You know?

Larry (04:44):

You know, speaking of your daughter I took your improv course.

Speaker 3 (04:48):

You did. And that's how we met. That's how we met Larry. Tell the people,

Larry (04:52):

The

Speaker 3 (04:52):

People what they wanna know.

Larry (04:53):

One of the games you use is to answer a question with a question.

Speaker 3 (04:58):

Mm-Hmm.

Larry (04:59):

<Affirmative>.

Speaker 3 (04:59):

Now you wanna play it

Larry (05:00):

When your daughter asks you a question,

Speaker 3 (05:03):

Uhhuh <affirmative>,

Larry (05:04):

Do you answer her with a question?

Speaker 3 (05:10):

Sometimes, like, if I'm, if I'm practicing, I use my daughter for improv practice all the time. Like, she, because she's, I can say anything to her, and she's like, yeah, that's great. Let's do it. So I make up song, like, I sing songs to her that like, I'm just making up about things that we're doing, and I'm, you know, I'm trying to be like, okay, this is what I would do in an improv show, so let's, let's work the, let's work the muscle a little bit. And she loves that. She loves, she loves to sing with Dad. And then, yeah, I just talk to her like a person, <laugh>. It's the best thing to do for a two year old is to just talk to 'em. Like, they're a, like, they're a grown, like they're a grown person already and just, you know, have, have conversations with yourself.

Larry (05:59):

Did you always wanna be in theater?

Speaker 3 (06:05):

Yeah, I did. I didn't. Yeah. I, I remember in junior high doing like, like a reading of a play or something. Like, it was just something like we were doing as a class where we were holding our scripts and whatever. And I really wanted to like, I was like, oh, I wanna be the lead. I wanna be the, the like, and I wasn't, and I was heartbroken. And I said, I'll show them. <Laugh>, no, I, I just always wanted to do it, you know? And then I, I got, I got into a I got into the musicals at my high school. And I, you know, I grew up in a very small town, like a very small community. Like the town I grew up in was 3,100 people. It's in this, it's in Illinois. The town is or excuse me, the county I grew up in is the, is the largest county in the state with the smallest population. So it's all, it's all farmland, <laugh> if you ever get a chance to read a book called Across Five Aprils it's about the Civil War, and it takes place in Jasper County.

Speaker 3 (07:19):

I was forced to read it many times when I was a kid. 'cause, You know, it's like, Hey, there's not much local history. Here you go. But yeah. So at my high school, didn't do much in the way of we did one musical a year, but we also had band and choir. So I did both of those. And my choir director did the musicals, and she, she was, she was very much a a very brash and brazen woman. And she inspired me a lot and really kind of pushed me. And, you know, I, I took voice lessons from her, and we did, you know, she was like, you're doing the musicals. If I'm working this hard with you, you're doing these musicals. So I just, and I just kind of got bit by it. And then when I got to college, it was over. I was like, oh, I can just be in theater all the time and not really do classes. Sure. <laugh>. And that's why I was in college for six years. <Laugh>

Larry (08:17):

What <laugh> you sort of improved your courses? Oh my

Speaker 3 (08:23):

God, Larry, that's a whole nother podcast, is me talking about my college experience. I, I had a great time in college. I was not a great, I was not a great college student. I wasn't a good student at all. You know,

Larry (08:40):

Why, why improv as opposed to theater, standup scripts sets

Speaker 3 (08:50):

Oh, don't get me wrong. I love, I love what we would call the quote unquote legitimate theater. . Love it. Love it, love it. I haven't done it in a while because it's, that's one of those things, like, it's, it's hard to get into if you're not, like, you have to like, you know, really, really put in the work if you want to be a working, a working like actor, actor, like a you know, a like a, what is it? What's the union that they have?

Larry (09:25):

SAG actor.

Speaker 3 (09:26):

Yeah. Do you wanna be a sag? Like I know a lot of SAG actors and the stage union equity actor's, equity, that's what it's called. Thank you. Sorry. Don't, don't hate me friends. Like they, that's a lot of, that's a lot of work. Improv, just kind of like, I, I found that I could do it. I found that it was like, it's very accessible to me. I don't have to memorize lines, which is great. I just kind of have to like, know what it all means in my head. And I, and I do, and I've done it so much that it, it just kind of sticks. And, you know, I know when I go into a, a workshop, I know I know what I'm doing. I, I know what the workshop is, I know who the people are, and I know how improv is going to help them because it's pretty standard across the board.

Speaker 3 (10:18):

So it was just, it just kind of was the path of kind of least resistance, I guess. But I'm getting back into theater a little bit. I'm directing I started a new job as a high school drama instructor, not instructor, but like a, like a I'm the director of the club. They have a drama club. They don't have a drama class at a local high school. That's about five minutes from my house. It's great. We're doing The Lightning Thief, which is a, per the Percy Jackson musical. It's all Olympians and Gods and goddesses and mythology, and it's pretty fun.

Larry (10:59):

And you're also lead producer of Improv Boston. Yep. And an improv instructor there as well.

Speaker 3 (11:08):

Yeah,

Larry (11:09):

I've been teaching improv for a while. Yeah. Yeah. You didn't tell me that. I had to look it up on LinkedIn. That's how much back, yeah, that's how much background work I did on you

Speaker 3 (11:18):

<Laugh>. See, Larry, I knew you do the work, so I didn't have to. Yeah,

Larry (11:23):

I did a whole, I did a whole line, right?

Speaker 3 (11:26):

Yeah. Your, your listeners, your watcher, your viewers are, are gonna be like, who, who is this guy?

Larry (11:32):

<Laugh>. So, so tell me more about being lead producer of Improv Boston. What's improv Boston?

Speaker 3 (11:40):

Well, improv, Boston's a 40 year old improv theater based in Cambridge Massachusetts of all places. And it was in Inman Square for a while. And then it moved to Central Square. And I came into improv Boston back in 2014. And immediately started taking classes and went through all the, went through all the classes. I believe it was a seven level course like seven level program. And each class is like eight weeks. And I went up through the ranks. I, I worked as an intern. I was a <laugh>. I was a 37 year old intern, Larry. I had bosses that were 22 and fresh outta college, or sometime one, a couple still in college that were my, that were my bosses as as an intern. I felt like Robert De Niro in that movie that he did with Anne Hathaway, where he is a, plays an intern to her.

Speaker 3 (12:52):

But I became a house manager and kind of worked my way up. I got on the touring company and started doing out gigs and shows, and then and then the pandemic hit and everything shut down, and we lost our space. We've lo I lost countless amount of work, <laugh>, you know. And then once we kind of started on the upswing after the, the worst of it was over and we started coming back out of our, out of our shells a little bit. They were like, Matt, would you like to, would you like to like, help improv Boston? Come outta the pandemic? And I'm like, sure, let's give it a, let's give it a go. So we're, you know just trying to make our way now, <laugh>, you know, but we still have classes. We still we have a comedy school which I'm now in charge of since that's a little nugget you don't have off of LinkedIn. I just got that gig and haven't updated my LinkedIn yet. So there you go. I'm, I'm lead producer and managing of the comedy school. So I manage about seven or eight instructors that, that do classes like four nights a week.

Larry (14:18):

Okay. For, for personal information. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. I have a granddaughter

Speaker 3 (14:23):

Yeah.

Larry (14:24):

Who did her first standup set just out of the blue. And she's planning to do more. What advice do you have for her?

Speaker 3 (14:34):

Oh, man, keep doing it. Like, if it's, if you can do it and you're into it and you're excited about it, keep doing it. Because it gets easier the more you do it, right? Like, I don't do standup. I mean, I did, I I've done standup before. But that being alone on stage and having to have it be like material that I know that I've written and like, worked on, and having that much judgment come at me from an audience, like, when you do improv, they, like, the, the audience knows you're making it up. So they are like, okay, sure. Anything you say I'm into, right? But when you, if you're doing standup, the audience is like, well, they wrote that, they thought about that, and that's what they came up with. <Laugh>, no, thank you. So if your granddaughter is into it and has already done one open mic and wants to do another one, ride that momentum as, as long as you can, like, keep going and know that it's gonna suck for a while, but that's okay because it gets, like, it does get better. Like once you, once you hit it, it's great. It's those nights that you miss that make it hard to do all the time. You know,

Larry (15:53):

You, you mentioned before I think you said something about the importance of improv and why people should learn how to improvise off the cuff. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>.

Speaker 3 (16:10):

Well, I think it makes us better. It just makes us better communicators, right? Like improv is about being kind of in the moment and, and you know, living in the present. And I feel like if, if people would do that with each other more, they would, they would listen better to each other and, and maybe, you know, communicate, communication wouldn't break down as, as quickly as it does sometimes. You know, if, if people would just listen, re listen, respond, react, <laugh>, right? Which is what we, we tell people to do in improv scenes. Just take a breath and, and, and go with it and accept what the, what, accept the ideas that are being handed to you, and then add your own stuff to them. You know? It's just a true form of collaboration. And I feel like, you know, collaboration's where it's at. Why do a project by myself when I can work with other amazing people? And then we're all proud of what we did, and then I have people to share it with when we're done. Right? It's not just me sitting in a room going, yes, I did that <laugh>, I am amazing. That's that, that can get lonely.

Larry (17:24):

So how do we do that on a podcast?

Speaker 3 (17:28):

How do we do it on a podcast? We're do, we're doing it right now, Larry. We're, we're living in the moment. We're, we're two guys having a conversation. This is great. 

Larry (17:39):

That sort of ended the conversation. Yeah,

Speaker 3 (17:41):

That did, didn't it once I called it out.

Larry (17:43):

Yeah.

Speaker 3 (17:44):

Great. Great job, Matt. Great job.

Larry (17:46):

All right. I'm just gonna have some coffee and we'll go on. 

Speaker 3 (17:48):

Yeah, let's just have some coffee. What kind of coffee? What's your, let me interview you for a second Larry, what kind of coffee do you like to drink?

Larry (17:56):

Brown.

Speaker 3 (17:57):

Brown?

Larry (17:58):

Yeah. It's

Speaker 3 (17:59):

Are you just are you a straight, are you a straight shooter when it comes to coffee? Like, put it in the cup, nothing else? Yeah.

Larry (18:05):

Well, that happened when I was interning because I was working the ER for a year, and the coffee condiments one looked like an oil slick you know, on a, a boat that had capsized somewhere. Yeah. And the sugar moved.

Speaker 3 (18:31):

<Laugh>, condiments can, like, condiments are either, that's the true, I think tell of a classy joint is if they're, if is, if they're like sweeteners and creams and everything are, are all like, it's clean and nice, and I feel good about putting things in my coffee. Right? And, but I've definitely seen that

Larry (18:54):

And not with the milk products expired several centuries earlier. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (19:00):

Yeah. Yeah. I've definitely, I've definitely been, I've definitely been there. That's actually been my fridge. I remember clearing out, you know, we've all done that, right? Where we clean out our fridge and we're like, Hey, I haven't used this mustard in 12 years,

Larry (19:17):

<Laugh>. I, I recently, I haven't even

Speaker 3 (19:20):

Lived here for 12 years. Larry, where did the mustard come from? <Laugh>. That's the question.

Larry (19:25):

You brought it from the last place. Obviously I brought <laugh>.

Speaker 3 (19:28):

I obviously, just like when you pack, you just put, you just throw stuff in a box. You don't actually like, I dunno, my wife is very different when I pack. I, I do, I just take everything and just shove it into a box and then go and then sort it out later. She sorts it now, and then it makes it a lot easier to unpack. Do you have a brand of coffee that you go for? Sorry, I'm still on coffee. I'm a big, I was a barista for a while, so coffee is kind of my thing. Okay. I

Larry (19:54):

Enjoy it. Oh, you want to talk coffee? Let's I have been tempted to try Death Wish Coffee.

Speaker 3 (20:02):

You know what? I see ads for them all the time. I don't do you have a sponsorship for them? Do they sponsor your, your podcast? Because then you could get Free Death Wish Coffee.

Larry (20:11):

Well, let's find out. Hey, death, just say their name. Hey. Death Wish. If you listening, we can arrange a sponsorship program that will fill all your needs.

Speaker 3 (20:24):

All your needs,

Larry (20:24):

And it will probably add oh, one or two people

Speaker 3 (20:31):

Yeah.

Larry (20:32):

To your subscriber list.

Speaker 3 (20:35):

I you're from Canton, right? Do you live in, you live in Canton now, right? No,

Larry (20:39):

I don't.

Speaker 3 (20:40):

Yeah. No. Have you had Red Barn coffee?

Larry (20:43):

No.

Speaker 3 (20:45):

That is a coffee You should try. Like, if we're talking, that's a lo it's a local it's a local brand that I used to work for. And they're I live in Upton now. My wife and I, and, and baby just moved to Upton. And this is where their, their roastery is in Hopton, which is just the town next to us. So I feel good like plugging them on your podcast because it, like, it's coffee that people could get. And they're really cool. And they're a nice, like mom and pop shop that started a, a long time ago, literally out of a red barn, and now they're Red Barn coffee.

Larry (21:21):

So, you know, this area.

Speaker 3 (21:24):

I, a little bit, not a lot. I mean, I've lived, I've lived a, I've, I've lived, only lived in the Massachusetts for almost like, just over 10 years. I moved here in 24, almost 10 years. Yeah, 2014.

Larry (21:39):

I'm from the Boston area my whole life. I still don't know where. Okay. I still don't know where Canton is.

Speaker 3 (21:46):

<Laugh>

Larry (21:47):

It, it, yeah. One of those towns, they tell me it's next to Stoughton, which doesn't help at all.

Speaker 3 (21:54):

Like, what? Yeah. What's that do? There are, there are 50 towns out here that are within five miles of each other. All of 'em. Like, they're all, that's one thing I really like about this area is that, is that literally you can drive 10 minutes in any direction and you hit a different, you can hit a different town, <laugh>. And it's, and it's cool. They've all got stuff in 'em. And it's, it's really a nice little New England, new England experience, you know, fall is the best time in New England, and we're coming out of it, you know, like the trees are naked now. So it's not as pretty when I look out of my window, but it's still not like New England in the fall and winter is, is when we shine. I think

Larry (22:40):

We older adults prefer You don't use the term fall

Speaker 3 (22:44):

<Laugh>.

Larry (22:47):

Autumn. Autumn would be more a autumn. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's, it's just a little touchy sort of thing. Yeah. As

Speaker 3 (22:52):

Long as you don't say autumn years, because that's, that's also a a, you don't wanna say that either.

Larry (22:58):

Yeah. And you don't wanna listen to September song very much either. No,

Speaker 3 (23:02):

No. <Laugh>, no. A tal I like the word ot. Tal I think that's an interesting, like use of, of, you know, the, the word a a tal. I just like that.

Larry (23:14):

What's it like getting up in front of a crowd? I'm beginning to learn in front of one person with no script, <laugh>, no idea where you're going. When, when I do a usual podcast, I have it pretty well outlined. Yeah. 

Speaker 3 (23:31):

But this is improv. Now, see, Larry, we're improvising. We're, we're, we're just have, yeah. See, this is great. It, it all comes together.

Larry (23:39):

We don't have the hecklers though. We need hecklers.

Speaker 3 (23:42):

No, I tell you what Larry, I've had some, like, people need to know that they can't just talk to people on stage. <Laugh>, it's the worst thing in the world. It is like, you just, like, you, you lose your momentum and you're just like, okay, well I guess we're doing this now. You know?

Speaker 3 (24:09):

Hmm. You were saying you were asking a

Larry (24:11):

Question. What was the question?

Speaker 3 (24:13):

Something about the how, how do I do it? How do you, how do you go out on stage and do it? Yeah. How

Larry (24:18):

Do you go out on stage and do it? Do, do you, do you start with a concept or, or

Speaker 3 (24:26):

It, so what we teach in our classes is we teach you like having a tool. It's like having a tool belt. Okay. So you're familiar with Batman? Yeah. Are you a, are you a, are you a fan of Batman?

Larry (24:42):

Big fan of Batman?

Speaker 3 (24:44):

Big fan of Batman. Me too. And Batman has

Larry (24:47):

This Rob Robin, not so much.

Speaker 3 (24:49):

Well, Robin can, you know, there were so many of, of him. There were, you know, they all died and a different one came in it very, the Robin character, very tragic. But Batman specifically, he has his tool belt. He has his utility belt, and he is always got something like he knows where to, where to go to grab whatever the shark repellent or the, the, the bat orang or the grappling hook or whatever. Right? So if you think about that in terms of improv, like when you take improv classes and you start like just doing improv, you start getting little tricks that you put in your utility belt. You start getting moves and like ideas and concepts and different things that you can do in an improv show, you have different things that you can all put in your, in that utility belt.

Speaker 3 (25:40):

So then when you go out on stage, like, yeah, you don't have anything planned. Like, you don't have anything as far as like, character ideas or plot, or like jokes or anything like that. That's all the stuff that you make up. But everything else, like moves and ideas and concepts and things like that, you have so much of that already, right? So you're not going out empty handed. You've got, you've got all these things that you know, that you can pull from, right? It's like, oh, I know I can do crazy characters. So I know if I, if I hunch my back a little bit and do it in a voice, I have a character and I can do whatever I want now. I could be whoever I want now, but this is the bane part of it. So,

Larry (26:30):

Alright. A serious question,

Speaker 3 (26:34):

Question I, I will give you a serious answer. Alright.

Larry (26:37):

What was Batman's favorite ice cream sandwich?

Speaker 3 (26:42):

That is a great question. I believe it was double Gotham Fudge.

Larry (26:52):

And how did he order it?

Speaker 3 (26:55):

He usually ordered it, like the bad signal would go out and there would the, the the, they would just hold the bag out and he would drive by in the back car and just grab it. They'd have it ready for him. They, because he had to have it whenever he would go out on a, on a mission, like when he'd come back. You know, it's like when you leave, when you're done with the show, or you've just had a surgery, you know, you just had a surgery and you wanna go have a, have a beer with your friends down at the surgeon's pub.

Larry (27:26):

That's a stretch, right? <Laugh>. That, that, that doesn't seem to go. I

Speaker 3 (27:32):

Lost Steve about, I lost Steve about halfway through that. I was like,

Larry (27:35):

Yeah, that one didn't go <laugh>.

Speaker 3 (27:37):

Larry's like, maybe we won't put this one out. Maybe this will be one of those podcasts that I just kind of tuck away into a corner and I'll, I'll replay the one where I interviewed someone more important.

Larry (27:53):

Like who,

Speaker 3 (27:54):

I don't know who, who are some of the people you've had on your show? Have you had any famous people on your show?

Larry (27:59):

Well, I've got one now.

Speaker 3 (28:02):

Oh,

Larry (28:02):

I've got the, I've got the,

Speaker 3 (28:04):

You Flatterer.

Larry (28:05):

Yeah, I've got the wait a minute. Lead producer of Improv Boston, even if I had to look that up. And

Speaker 3 (28:12):

Also the the drama instructor at the, at at Nip Muck Regional High School in, in Upton, Massachusetts. See my accolades are far and vast.

Larry (28:25):

How do, how do we get people involved in the improv? How do, how do we get people to relax to do stuff like this? Did we screw up? Yeah, maybe. But how do, how do we get people interacting and relaxing? I know the course I took with you was way, way, way too short. Yeah. Four lessons and you just begin to relax a little bit. You just be Oh, that's what I can say. Yeah. And it's all right if I say it in front of this group of people. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> that I didn't think would accept that kind of, sort of off-color comment.

Speaker 3 (29:11):

<Laugh>. Yeah. I feel like, you know, our classes are eight weeks. Like our, our regular classes at Improv Boston are eight weeks long. And I feel like even those can be a little on the short side. I'm teaching a level two class right now, and we've got our last class this coming Monday, and I'm like, I'm a little bummed out about it, <laugh>. I'm like, oh, these guys are really like, I'm just starting to get, get in the groove with these, with these, with these folks. I, I think that one thing that people do when they take our classes is they, they find a group that they like to perform with or they like to like, learn with. And then they'll go off and start practicing on their own outside of class. And then they bring in somebody like me that was like their instructor a couple sessions ago, and I have some free time.

Speaker 3 (30:13):

They have a night that they want to do a rehearsal, and then I'll come in and coach them, right? So I do that with a group right now, and I've been with them for a little over a year, I think. And like, I still see things that they grow. Like, it's like, there's no definitive timeframe. Like yeah, you can get it and, and get ideas and like form connections in a workshop if you're, if you're zoned in, right? Like, it could be a four hour workshop and you could get as much out of it as you could an eight week class. But it's really just doing it over and over again with the same people, people that you like doing improv with. And then it, it gets so much, it gets so much easier. So it's really the advice I would give to people that are like, maybe like, I don't want, I don't want to, like, I'm nervous about it.

Speaker 3 (31:13):

It's like an improv class is the least judgmental place you will ever be in your entire life. Like, it is, you walk into an improv class and it's like everybody there is just as scared as you. Especially if it's an, if it's a beginning improv class, everybody's just as scared as you. They don't know what the heck's going on either. Right? And you just have to, you just have to breathe through it and settle in and realize that nobody's gonna judge you. You can literally say anything. Now that being said, when I say literally say anything, right? Like within reason within the social contract, right? Don't be, you know, don't be a jerk. Don't be a bigot <laugh>. You know, like, we don't ask a lot of people, right? We just ask that people respect other people and that people aren't jerks. I think that's pretty, I think that's pretty easy. And that develops that kind of comradery. Comradery and envi. It's like an environment. It's a safe, I, you know, you hear the word safe space, right? It creates that safe space that people can take creative risks. And improv is about taking creative risks. Because yeah, you're getting up there with no parachute. You're just getting up there. And that's, that's terrifying. Plain and simple. <Laugh>.

Larry (32:54):

Yeah. I hosted a live radio show at one time. Mm-Hmm, <affirmative> two hours on a Sunday morning at Yeah. 7:00 AM when, you know,

Speaker 3 (33:04):

Been there, Larry. Yeah.

Larry (33:05):

Both people listened. My son described it. My son was a TV director for a while, Uhhuh <affirmative>. And he described it as like being on top of a hill in a car with no brakes. The only thing you had was the steering wheel, and there was nothing you could do about it.

Speaker 3 (33:31):

I worked in radio for a while, so Yeah. I, I I, I know that, I know that feeling all too well. I used to do a I used to work at a country music radio station in Mattoon, Illinois. WMCI was the where, where the call letters. I still remember the, yeah. W-M-W-M-C-I. And every Sunday morning from I think five, or maybe like four to six, there was a show called Country Memories. And I had to go get a special stack of CDs. They all had the go. They all had a gold cover on them. 'cause They were sent to the radio station, you know, and these were like the old, like Waylon Jennings Tammy Wynette, like Conway Twitty, Hank Williams like all the, like the, like early Johnny Cash, early you know, early everybody, you know. And there was always one woman that would call every Sunday and request the same song. She wanted me to play it every Sunday. And I did every time she'd call. I don't remember her name now, but I knew her. Like I ex I waited for her call and she would call and she'd be like, hi Matt. And I'd be like, hi, you ready for your song? And she's like, yep, I'm ready. I'm like, okay, it'll be coming up in the next song or two. She's like, thank you. I would never play it until she called, but I'd have it on deck ready to go.

Larry (35:12):

This mine was filling in for a radio callin doc. Oh,

Speaker 3 (35:18):

Wow. So you were taking calls

Larry (35:21):

On WBZ radio in Boston,

Speaker 3 (35:24):

Which is like big Yeah. No, that,

Larry (35:26):

Well, Sunday morning,

Speaker 3 (35:28):

This is like a small town radio. Yeah.

Larry (35:29):

Yeah. It, Sunday morning it, it reached out to Chicago to get a, a listener <laugh>. Right.

Speaker 3 (35:36):

That means you're, that means you're

Larry (35:38):

National. Oh, yeah. I, 26 bucks. Come on, Larry. 26 bucks a month. You're the,

Speaker 3 (35:45):

I should be interviewing you. You're, you've got a way more interesting life than I

Larry (35:49):

<Laugh>. I had one caller we were doing a show. I'm a dentist, so Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So I was playing I am Your Dentist as the lead in from little Shopifys, which I

Speaker 3 (36:03):

Love that. Oh, I love that show so much, Larry. That is one of my favorite <inaudible>.

Larry (36:12):

Now see, that's,

Speaker 3 (36:15):

He's a good boy. That's, that's improv right there.

Larry (36:18):

Now, usually I cut that out,

Speaker 3 (36:22):

Just leave

Larry (36:23):

It. But I'm leaving it because he saw a friend of his outside and he's been pretty good so far. Anyhow, I had one guy call in. We were talking about dentistry's role in snoring and sleep apnea. And this guy wanted help because his cellmate was ready to kill him because he snored <laugh>.

Speaker 3 (36:45):

So he was you got

Larry (36:46):

A call from the

Speaker 3 (36:47):

Department of Corrections?

Larry (36:48):

Yeah, I, I accepted charges because nobody else was calling that morning.

Speaker 3 (36:54):

Why not? Right. It wasn't your money. It was the radio station's money.

Larry (36:58):

Look, another, another 73 cents shot to hell. It, it, it was, it was sort of fun. I had a friend of mine come in and fill in, because two hours is too long to talk about. That's a lot. Anything. That's a lot. And he showed up in a shirt, tie suit. And I said, what about the concept of radio? Do you not understand <laugh>? Yeah. Like what

Speaker 3 (37:24):

Do you, what do you do? That's one thing I loved about radio so much is I could just, I could just stroll in wearing anything I wanted. I worked the overnight shift. So I was the overnight dj. So I, my, I didn't start until midnight and I went until like six or seven whenever the next person came in. So if they were late, I stayed and usually they were late <laugh>. I've had to call. I had to call and wake them up a few times while I was there. And I was so mad. I got snowed in at the, have you ever been snowed in at a radio station?

Larry (38:00):

No. This was, this was just a part-time.

Speaker 3 (38:03):

Oh, yeah. No, I got snowed in at a radio station once I, I didn't get, well, people got snowed out of the radio station, and I was the only one that agreed to have someone come and pick them up and take them to the radio station to live there until <laugh> they could get somebody else. In back in my back in my college days, I was like, sure, I'll go stay at the radio station for upwards of, you know, 28 hours. <Laugh>.

Larry (38:33):

I always want good, good time. I always wanted to be a dj.

Speaker 3 (38:37):

It was fun. It was fun when I

Larry (38:38):

A kid.

Speaker 3 (38:39):

Yeah. It wasn't like, right. Like I, I worked at one station that was CDs like, you know, playing the, you know I'd have to, I had three CD players and I'd have to cue 'em up and hit play at, after each song. But then the, the the main radio station I worked at was a was one that, it was all computerized. It was all you know, I just hit a button and it would like, I could walk away and leave the building and go wherever I wanted to and come back and the radio station would still be running. I just had to be there, like, you know. So, you know, I, I would have, I would have, we'd have, I'd have friends over, we'd sit and play cards. It was working on an overnight shift. We'd sit and play cards in the studio and like, guys, I gotta go record the weather. I'll be right back. You know?

Larry (39:32):

Yeah. That

Speaker 3 (39:33):

Was it.

Larry (39:34):

I had, we were doing it during the Gulf War. So we had all the cut-ins and

Speaker 3 (39:41):

Yeah.

Larry (39:42):

And but I got to read commercials. Speaking of commercials, let's do a plug for improv Boston. Let's,

Speaker 3 (39:50):

Let's do a plug for improv Boston. Yeah, check us out. Improv Boston dot com. We have classes in, in sketch, standup improv. Musical improv. So yeah, even if you don't want to do improv, if you'd rather do sketch if you're, if you, if you fancy yourself a little bit of aright you could come and, and take a sketch class. We have a, we have a really great sketch instructor. His name's Michael Trainor, and he has some absolutely hilarious things that he's put up on the internet. He's very, very funny man. And he teaches a good sketch class. He's also a really nice guy. So so that's a, that's a fun class. Standup classes are always fun. We have three amazing standup instructors at Improv Boston that are all gifted, gifted standups. One I mean, and they're, they're pretty, like, they work a lot around this, around the area.

Speaker 3 (40:51):

So they're all just really, really fun people. And with our standup classes, you basically work and you develop a five minute set. And then at the end of the class, they do a showcase where they can invite family and friends and they can, they, everybody does their set. And you know, you meet friends, you go to open mics together, all kinds of, all kinds of good stuff. So, you know, if you're looking for like a, like a group, like if you're looking to meet new people, what better place to meet new people than an improv class? Right? You could people have, have met, and I know people that have met their future spouse in an improv class. Or met your, you can meet your new best friend. I mean, that's a good plug right there. Meet your new best friend, improv Boston.

Larry (41:45):

You used the word chloride.

Speaker 3 (41:49):

Did I use the word what?

Larry (41:50):

Chlorite.

Speaker 3 (41:52):

Chlorite? No,

Larry (41:53):

I don't. What, what was the word you used? If you are a Chlorite. Oh, oh,

Speaker 3 (41:58):

Playwright. Playwright.

Larry (42:00):

I just, oh, playwright.

Speaker 3 (42:00):

Playwright. I said ple, right? Yeah.

Larry (42:02):

Playwright. I understand

Speaker 3 (42:04):

Playwright. Yeah. I just said it weird. 'cause Sometimes I pronounce words like that because I hear it pronounced somewhere else like that. And I think it's funny. So I will say it like, that makes no sense. What

Larry (42:17):

<Laugh> sort of like this whole podcast, <laugh>.

Speaker 3 (42:22):

Well, it's specifically for seniors.

Larry (42:24):

Yeah.

Speaker 3 (42:25):

I love your, I love the title.

Larry (42:26):

It is impossible to say. And even more impossible to type <laugh> the words

Speaker 3 (42:35):

That to yourself.

Larry (42:36):

Larry. The word specifically is just awful,

Speaker 3 (42:40):

Specifically is a hard word. It's, and you put it in big letters, just right there. It

Larry (42:44):

Doesn't type. Well, what, what did we miss? Is there anything we should cover?

Speaker 3 (42:53):

Yeah, I think let's talk about, you talked about little Shop. You talked about musicals. I'm a musical guy. What are your favorite do you have any favorite musicals? Are you a musical guy? Do you like, do you like musicals other, outside of that little stint into Little Shop of Horrors?

Larry (43:12):

Yeah, we, we lucked out. We got to see some really good original musicals. Camelot with Julie Andrews Robert

Speaker 3 (43:26):

Wow. So you saw Julie Andrews on

Larry (43:28):

Broadway. Yeah, Julie Richard. I can, who was

Speaker 3 (43:34):

Burton,

Larry (43:34):

Richard Burton and Robert Gullet. We what? Yeah.

Speaker 3 (43:41):

That's great.

Larry (43:42):

Yeah, we got we got to see the producers, not with the original cast, however,

Speaker 3 (43:51):

I saw producers on Broadway as well. And it was the guy, the guy playing Max was the guy that played the the playwright Hans Lipkin on, in the original cast. He was Hans Lipkin or Franz Lipkin. But now he was playing, when we, when I saw it, he was playing Max. So he had been, he had been promoted.

Larry (44:18):

It was, it was one of those shows where we was standing outside waiting to see if they had any tickets. And the woman came out and said, is there a two out here? And we said, yeah. She said, would you like Seventh Row Center Orchestra? Oh my God. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, we do. Yes, we do.

Speaker 3 (44:37):

Yeah. How much did you pay for those, if you don't mind me asking?

Larry (44:40):

It was, I have no recollection, but it was not a big deal, really. I think it was like 75 bucks. It was a, a

Speaker 3 (44:50):

I'll tell you what theater is. So kind of like, I'm hoping it gets better, and it might be on the upswing of this, but it's so inaccessible for people that can't afford to, like they're doing in Worcester. Matt, which is like half an hour from, I'm actually a little bit closer to Worcester than I am to Boston, where I current, where I currently live, they're doing Beetlejuice great show, really fun. I looked at ticket prices, $500 for a ticket, $500. I'm like, are you kidding me? Who's like, I don't know, maybe I'm not as successful as I think I am. If I don't have just $500 laying around to go see a, a, a show in Worcester, Massachusetts. Not, not saying anything about Worcester Worcester's a great town. The Hanover's a wonderful theater, but $500,

Larry (45:51):

And you can see the original on tv

Speaker 3 (45:54):

<Laugh>. I'll watch Michael Keaton for free.

Larry (45:58):

Speaking of Michael Keaton, the best Batman there was.

Speaker 3 (46:03):

Okay, sure.

Larry (46:06):

And I'm sticking by that.

Speaker 3 (46:08):

I agree. Michael Kee? No. Michael Keeton. Yes. I've got a controversial opinion if, if you'll hear me out. <Laugh>,

Larry (46:16):

As long as you don't say Ben Affleck.

Speaker 3 (46:19):

No, no. Ben Affleck will say Mediocre Batman at best. I will say this Michael Keaton, a hundred percent. He is my Batman. A close second though. Val Kilmer. I enjoyed Val Kilmer's Batman Batman Return, or Batman Forever. The one with Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones. Yeah. is one of my favorite one of my favorite it's my third favorite Batman movie, which is funny because it's the third Batman movie.

Larry (46:53):

It, it's, it's, it's funny you get into talking about superheroes.

Speaker 3 (47:00):

I'm a big, I'm kind of a superhero nerd, Larry. I like, I like all the superhero movies. Yeah.

Larry (47:05):

Dead pooled without a doubt,

Speaker 3 (47:08):

Without hands down the best, the best of the best. Like Ryan Reynolds,

Larry (47:12):

At least the first 20 minutes of the first film, <laugh>,

Speaker 3 (47:17):

I, I think just from start to finish first to second, they're both perfect movies. And I could not be excited, more excited about the third Deadpool movie. Like, I've never been this excited about a superhero trilogy. Like for, well, I would say the Spider-Man the Spider, the the, the Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy has been very good as well. But yeah, no Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds is a, he's a funny dude and he's a good dude. Like, you don't see that a lot in Hollywood. But at least, like, he's really good at like, projecting that good dude energy, you know?

Larry (48:02):

Yeah. I was in a restaurant where I'm living Uhhuh <affirmative>, and one of the waiters was wearing a venom T-shirt.

Speaker 3 (48:16):

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>.

Larry (48:17):

Now see, this is something that people don't understand about old people, especially ones who used to be professionals.

Speaker 3 (48:25):

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>.

Larry (48:27):

I'm supposed to say things like Brahms, Beethoven, I'm supposed to say things like Peloponnesia. And here we are talking about, that's a good word. Yeah. Easy to say than specifically <laugh>. That's natural

Speaker 3 (48:43):

<Laugh>.

Larry (48:44):

It

Speaker 3 (48:44):

Could have been Peloponnesia for Seniors, but that's a different podcast.

Larry (48:50):

See now don't interrupt the senior because it just, anyhow I said, venom, not so much Deadpool and the kid just looked at me. Yeah. Who and what is that? An old guy said, venom <laugh>. So like,

Speaker 3 (49:11):

Y'all enjoy, like, why not? You can let your hair down and enjoy what you want to enjoy. You've, you've, you've put in your professional time, you're like, now it's time to relax and enjoy the world. And it's a, it's, it's, those are good things to enjoy.

Larry (49:25):

And I think that's one of the problems that we have as a generation have we are expected to act like old people. There are expectations of how someone in their late eighties is supposed to act.

Speaker 3 (49:48):

Yeah.

Larry (49:49):

I I'm supposed to recall the days in high school as being marvelous. I'm supposed to enjoy sitting through a three or four hour concert of the Magic Flute,

Speaker 3 (50:08):

Right?

Larry (50:08):

Yeah. The worst four hours of my life. You know, it's funny,

Speaker 3 (50:12):

Larry, that you say that, because like, that's one thing that I'm also like, we also combat an improv a lot, is like stereotypes. And one of the big ones that I fight people on specifically, ah, I used the word is, is age ageism. You know, you get a lot of, like, improv is not, like improv is a predominantly younger thing. Like a lot of like younger people are into it. But also there are a lot, a lot of seniors involved in improv. There just, there just are, especially in New England. Like, there's a, there's a they just had a big festival called the Vintage Improv Festival up in Maine. And I used to coach a team called the Elderberry Jam that were all, they were all seniors. It was all, it was a 60 plus it was a 60 plus team, and they were, they were hilarious.

Speaker 3 (51:25):

You know, so it's, so when I see a younger improviser go out and play a play a grandfather, and they play him, like, they always play him like the guy from up, right? I stop the scene and I'm like, Hey, that's not cool. You can't do that. Right? Like, you can be a grandpa. Sure, you'd be a grandpa, but you'd be a grandpa that does stuff because grandpas do stuff. Grandpas aren't just a, a, a thing, right? They're not just a a, a caricature of Ed Asner. Right. Like, it, you can be like, just do it. Like don't make the age of the person the defining thing of the person. Right. Make other things that, and make the age just like a ornament on the tree. Right. make it just a, a thing that adds a little something to it, but doesn't focus on it. Right. And it's amazing that you have to, like, obviously there are things, you know, like, you know, you gotta, you, you don't like race and things like that. You have, and, and sexual orientation and things like that. You can't, like, those are all things, but people don't see age as something that can, can do that. But it, you know, you just,

Larry (52:49):

We've had, we've had a, a number of serious conversations on this podcast. I know about ageism. And one of the things that comes out is that we are probably our own worst enemies when it comes to that because Yeah. We tend to start behaving like we're criticizing people for making fun of us behaving like we do.

Speaker 3 (53:20):

Yeah.

Larry (53:21):

So,

Speaker 3 (53:22):

But you've got to, like, you've gotta, like, I guess that's not a reason to not say something, right? I feel like any improviser over the age of 60, if they're in a group with younger people and they see them doing some bss, they just have to be like, Hey, cut it out <laugh> or No, like, don't come at 'em like that. But, you know, have the conversation be like, Hey, I noticed that you did this, and just so you know, like, that's not okay. And give them a chance to be like, you know what, you're a hundred percent right. I'm sorry, it won't happen again. Now if they're like, nah, whatever. It's just like, then you can be like, listen, pal, go sit down <laugh>. You know, like, let the adults do improv.

Larry (54:14):

Yeah. And don't, and don't watch Venom anymore because,

Speaker 3 (54:17):

And, and stop it.

Larry (54:18):

Yeah. Matt, this is this is, see, we,

Speaker 3 (54:23):

We filled an hour. Yeah,

Larry (54:24):

We did.

Speaker 3 (54:24):

It was okay. Not once did I say we're never gonna do it.

Larry (54:29):

Yeah. You sort of implied it

Speaker 3 (54:32):

<Laugh>. I did. Yeah. I was, and honestly, around the 17 minute mark, I was like, I don't know that I'm gonna have enough to say. But we did it. We made it

Larry (54:44):

<Laugh>, there we go, <laugh>,

Speaker 3 (54:45):

And then we freeze

Larry (54:46):

And, and then yeah. And then credit. Then the electric company turns off the lights, and that's about it. Matt, this was great fun.

Speaker 3 (54:55):

Thanks Larry. I had a great time. 

Larry (54:58):

Come back and give more courses.

Speaker 3 (55:01):

Yeah, you, you, you reach out to me and let me know and I will, and I will be there. That goes for anybody watching the podcast. If you are like, Hey I'd like to bring Matt in to talk with me or my friends about improv. Feel free at any point my email is I don't know. You can put it in the, in the comments of the, of the podcast.

Larry (55:28):

Yeah. If you gave it to me. You didn't even do that. You, I didn't do that. My name is Matt Fear. I like my,

Speaker 3 (55:33):

You know, my email. You emailed me stuff, Larry. So I I just assumed you knew my email.

Larry (55:38):

Well, I know it, but they don't know it.

Speaker 3 (55:40):

Right. But you have to tell 'em, I'm not gonna tell you how to do your podcast, Larry. Why? But you need to find guests that fill out your stuff and not these a-holes that don't fill out the things that you give them to fill

Larry (55:53):

Out. Okay. So for anybody who's interested and wants to get in touch with Matt Fear Yes. Look on the side of any good human truck that sells ice cream sandwiches. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And I'm there. And you'll find his email.

Speaker 3 (56:06):

I can't eat him as much as I used to though, so, but that's all right. The occasional one is still good. <Laugh>. Yeah. Email is Matt.fear@improvboston.com.

Larry (56:17):

See, I got him to tell you.

Speaker 3 (56:20):

Yeah.

Larry (56:21):

There you go, Matt. This is good. And Larry's

Speaker 3 (56:23):

Phone number is no, five, five, five.

Larry (56:27):

One two. One two. Yeah. One two. One two. Matt has been great fun. Thanks for coming on. Thanks, Larry. Take care. Yep.

Announcer (56:39):

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