Introducing... Marvin Berry

By Jeff Kreisler on 10/20/2009

Welcome to the second in our "Introducing..." series.

See this post for a little background on "Introducing..." and, as always, email me or comment about your thoughts on the group, the series, of if you want to get your funny team involved.

Group Name: Marvin Berry

Group Members: Andie Bolt, Harrison Brown, Justin Donaldson, Jordan Morris, Hal Rudnick, and Tim Saccardo. (NB: Justin provided the answers below for the group)

Website: ucbcomedy.com/groups/view/112

Where Can You Be Seen: We do a new sketch show the second Thursday of every month at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in LA

Links to some videos of which you're proud:
Pizza Shapes
Hitler & The Bear
Security Signs

Shiny credits:
Our members have worked in front of the camera and behind the scenes on the shows Reno 911! and 10 Items or Less, as on air talent and writers for Fuel TV, created exclusive content for Funny or Die, AOL, The Black Eyed Peas dipdive.com, and The National Lampoon.

How did your sketch group start, when, where, under what inspiration, and how as it evolved?

The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles constructed Marvin Berry from the ranks of their best writer/performers as a house sketch group. Our lineup has remained constant, but our shows have evolved from a collection of individual sketches to more of a collective piece.

Do you and/or the group have any comedic inspirations, like Monty Python or SNL, and, if so, how have they impacted you?

Mr. Show was a big influence on Marvin Berry because of the way sketches flow together creating a continuous show that never stops. The 1988 - 94, era of Saturday Night Live was influential because of its grounded, believable characters, outstanding actors, and smart conceptual sketches. Human Giant is our biggest modern influence because of the way they've merged traditional television sketch with the fast internet video style.

How have you maintained the group dynamic? Is there one person who decides if a sketch makes it into a show, or a line into a sketch - or do you come to a consensus?

As Marvin Berry has evolved, our dynamic has evolved from individual writers writing individual sketches to more of a group writing process. Our director Kevin Pedersen decides final sketch lineup for each show, and really helps guide us in the writers room during the pitching and rewriting process.

What do you think of contemporary sketch comedy? Do you have favorite groups or shows? Who makes you laugh?

There's not much sketch on TV at the moment. Human Giant is probably our favorite group because of their fast-paced and edgy style. The sketches on Conan O'Brien's late night shows have always been a favorite because of how they manage to be both smart and stupid at the same time.

What's the sketch comedy scene like in your city?

Los Angeles is home to every type of comedy you could fathom -- improv, sketch, stand-up, characters, variety shows, bizarre performance art, and things that just defy explanation. Sketch is a big part of the LA comedy scene and is definitely influenced by all of the other styles floating around out there, making it (for our money) the best, most innovative, unique sketch comedy in the country. Most venues house all styles of comedy, including sketch.

How does your group use video - either in live shows or posting online?

Since Marvin Berry's primary focus is on live shows rather than on an internet presence, our videos tend to act more as show components rather than stand alone pieces. Some of our best videos could never work online because they only work in the context of an entire show, depending on the live sketches that came before and after them. We do, however, have some internet friendly self-contained sketches.

Do you have specific goals for your group, or the individuals in it?

First and foremost, Marvin Berry's major goal is to keep doing good sketch shows month to month, pushing ourselves to try new things and continue to build our group identity. Long term, we'd all like to continue advancing our careers within the comedy entertainment industry.

How has sketch comedy impacted your career and life?

Sketch comedy is both our career and our life. It's impossible to separate the two because being involved in the comedy community is a lifestyle within itself. The majority of our friends do comedy, the majority of parties we go to are filled with comedy people, and after a Marvin Berry show, we tend to relax by watching other shows.

photo: Marvin Berry Facebook