Del Close's tentacles reach out to touch three generations of comedians from Mike Nichols and Elaine May in the 1950s to May to Jason Sudeikis star of today's IT show Ted Lasso. Close met Nichols and May while part of the Compass Players in St. Louis of the late '50s. This was the first comedy troupe (relocated from Chicago) that did a new stage show every night with no formal script taking suggestions from the audience for scenes. Elane and Del hit it off coming up together with the initial rules of the format that featured tenants including take the unpopular choice and always knowing where the objects were on stage. This period resulted in Del's first disappointment when Nichols who could only be funny when working with May changed the deal on plans for New York securing a contract for a nightclub act for only May and himself. Del drifted to San Francisco taking all aspects of the drug culture and landing the job as the director of The Committee Sketch troupe where Howard Hesseman and Peter Bonerz of Bob Newhart fame cut their chops. It's also where Close originated his lifelong work of long-form Improv workshops that he called The Harold.
Director Heather Ross roots the often absurdity of Del's stories with the writing of the comic book Wasteland in the late '80s. D.C. has started to run non-traditional content in titles such as The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. They Hired Close and teamed him with comic book writer John Ostrander and D.C.outside the box editor Mike Gold to pen Wasteland that Del could fill the panels with his stream of consciousness along with some mixed in autobiographical moments. Another effective tool is the use of scrapbook type stop motion animation to display Del's story and the people that drift in and out of the tale. There are clips mixed in from the hit shows and movies of Del's disciples along with spot on sound drops. The narrative is made up mostly of Del's own voice from tape recorded interviews including one conducted by Bob Odenkirk as a student journalist. The rest is by the calm soothing voice of Michela Watkins who can throw in a well placed curse word or jolting turn of a phrase as required.
Close's next big sprout of his comedy tree occurred at Second City in Chicago landing in 1973 as the director. Here he was able to influence the next generation of comics many of whom formed the first cast of Saturday Night Live. He did his long form improv workshops at night but the producer Bernie Sahlins would never let these potential train wrecks hit the main stage. The main stage was reserved for scripted comedy pieces that started with audience suggestions but were crafted through planning and rehearsals. After butting heads with Bernie one time too many he was exiled to Toronto in 1976. Where the cast there went on to start SCTV and beyond. Here Del suffered a clean break ending up in an asylum back in Chicago still phoning in sketch ideas to Toronto. Here again like with Nichols and May Close saw his pupils exploding into film and on stage while he was left behind to toil in obscurity.
The third pivot point was a meeting with Chana Helpern who taught him to make the Harold teachable that kept the art form on the rails and limited catastrophic failures. From here came Tina Fey, Director Adam McKay, John Favreau, Tim Meadows, Chris Farley, and Amy Poehler all graduates of the Improv Olympics.Ross ties four decades of a journey together that finally clicks in the Me generation of the '80s with the counter message of working in a supportive encouraging group. Moss keeps the story moving anchored by a wonderful recreation scenes cast lead by comic James Urbaniak as Close. If you are a fan of comedy on the big or small screen chances ae your favourite comedic actor or creator was directly or indirectly influenced by Mr. Close.
**** Out of 4.
For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close | Heather Ross | U.S.A. | 87 Minutes.
Tags: Improv, Kansas, Suicide, Dr. Dracula, Wasteland, D.C.Comics, The Compass Theatre, St. Louis,Witches, The Committee, Second City, Harold, Teaching Harold, Chicago, Toronto, Cook County Hospital.
No comments:
Post a Comment