#58: Pat May
The Magnet Theater Podcast triumphantly returns from a late-summer respite with a glorious episode featuring Magnet performer, gamer, Training Center House Manager, and boy made of metal, PAT MAY. He sits down with host Louis Kornfeld for a sweaty conversation all about going to comedy camp, his approach to improv scenes, and how he seeks to create shows that are truly for the audience. He also discusses writing and performing sketch comedy, TV Party Tonight, and his incessant self-deprecation.
Louis begins this episode by asking Pat about his summers spent at Buck's Rock Performing & Creative Arts Camp and doing comedy for the first time at age 16. At Buck's Rock, Pat met a lot of folks now in the comedy world like Rebecca Drysdale, Louie Pearlman, Griffin Newman, and Sam Rogal. He grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, which allowed him to do some open mics in NYC as a teenager, but the stand-up environment soon turned him off. Pat believes that the open mics he went to were like YouTube commenters in a circle jerk, which is a beautiful analogy.
It didn't sit well with him that people simply wanted to be funny, or simply to be funny to themselves. When performing or putting up a show, Pat always tries to think: "What would make someone get off their couch and come out to the theater?" He loves to make things that people genuinely enjoy. Pat tells of a recent show he put up to which zero people showed up and gets into the topic of failure. Even on his team Metal Boy, which is a successful team, Pat knows that he's still going to have mess ups. It can be frustrating to know that you're not in control of the whole show or team, but part of that is also what's exciting about improv.
Talking about improv mechanics, Pat has never really cared about labeling from inside the scene. It's all about the present dynamic for him. "Who cares about labeling?" he asks. "Just improv nerds!" What does Pat think about before a show or do to prepare for it? To describe his style, Pat says that he's not a thinker, which you might have already known if you saw his recent show where he repeatedly fell out of a window. Among the different members of Metal Boy, Louis takes particular interest in exploring Pat's relationship with Sam Rogal, his frequent collaborate, former roommate, and longtime friend. Louis observes that Sam doesn't let things go and Pat won't give up on any small thing he's doing, which often allows them to continue scenes forever. Breaking the rules of improv is one of Pat's most favorite things. Louis thinks that if a team says they're going to follow the fun that night, they're doomed to fail. Pat weighs in on The Spokane as a form. Spoiler alert: He doesn't like it.
Paying him a compliment, Louis says that Pat's characters are always very clear and have obvious wants. What kinds of choices really click with Pat? He relates to a lot of the teaching he received from Louis and Rachel Hamilton.
Pat talks about his farts. For real. He also burps a lot. Powering through his bodily functions, Pat and Louis discuss being in the moment and having needs, wants, and drives in scenes. Both guys comment on big characters. Plus, you will learn Pat May's improv cure-all. It's really dumb!
Louis finally cuts through the heavy self-deprecation and asks Pat why he craps on himself all the time? Laughing at being called out, Pat claims he's just trying to check himself and reign in his ego. He holds himself to a high standard and needs to be reminded of that.
Finally, they talk about Pat's show TV Party Tonight and how he loves to create shows that the audience can feel a part of. TV Party Tonight is a show where Pat, his friends, and special guests watch TV and make jokes, talk to the audience, and give out free beers. For real though, Pat cannot stop burping and farting. Louis asks about translating the experience of hanging out with friends to a show meant for an audience. Pay says that performing can often be selfish, but a show like this is one that the audience too can get involved in. He really wants to make shows for other people.
Plus, these important topics:
- Do you ever feel truly great about what you're doing in comedy? Or is ownership the best we can do?
- Pat talks about Sketch Jesus!
- Louis vamps a whole lot!
Go see TV Party Tonight on Friday, September 25th at 11:30pm!
Check out Pat's video game podcast "Game Boyz" on his SoundCloud page!
