Interview with Stephen Kearin

Stephen Kearin is widely known as one of the most talented improvisers in the world. He is master of space object work and physical comedy. He is an all-around gentleman.  FuseBox Theatre was lucky enough to catch up with Stephen for an interview.  You won’t want to miss this!

About Stephen Kearin

STEPHEN KEARIN began improvising in 1986. He was a founding member of both Improv Theatre and True Fiction Magazine and performed with BATS Improv for 14 years. Stephen is currently a member of Impro Theatre in Los Angeles and a founding member of 3ForAll.

He has appeared in numerous stage productions, including the stilt-walking Iago in San Francisco Opera’s Otello, as Sally-Sue Weber in A Weber Family Christmas and originated the role of Blaine Bustier in An Evening With Dirk & Blaine. Stephen is the co-creator of “Simlish” and was the principal male voice of The Sims and Sims 2.0 . He is currently featured in the Dreamworks Animation films Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar 2 and Monsters Vs. Aliens. Stephen is a visiting instructor at Stanford University and Cirque Du Soleil.

FuseBox Theatre’s Interview With Stephen Kearin

• 1. You are well known for the high quality of your space object work. Can you talk about what led you to focus on that particular skill set? Is there anything that you still struggle with in your space work?
• Well, for me, I gravitated toward the space object as a way to cope with feelings of great insecurity when I was starting out. I began as a student in San Francisco in 1986, and the level of talent at that time was exceedingly high. I was watching the likes of Mike McShane, Rafe Chase, Barbara Scott, Regina Saisi and Brian Lohmann just to name a few of The Monsters Of Rock at that time.
• I felt like I didn’t belong among those ranks and never would…mostly, I just didn’t think I was smart enough, let alone fast or funny enough to ever consider myself an improviser. That alone is very revealing as to what I thought improv was; I thought it was about being smart and fast and funny, basically outrunning and outgunning your so called partners. So, it is easy to see why I felt the need to cope at all, given such a naïve understanding of the whole scene, and so, I began to create a world I could live in on stage, that is; I began to force myself to “see” things and ask myself over and over where I was, what I was seeing, what I was wearing and if anything “physical” was established in a scene, I had an almost obsessive need to lock it in and use it somehow…or at least know it was there and could return to it if I needed it. Does that make sense?
• It was the only language I could speak at that time, coming from a very physical background of playing sports and a very visual background of drawing and cartooning, which I discovered very young because my father, a civil engineer, lived in a world of pens, pencils and acres and acres of paper. I would say that for me, the space object is the perfect fusion of the physical and the visual.
• To answer your second question, incorporating the space object into my work as an improviser is a constant challenge. I watch game tape as much as I can, and always see where I could have gone deeper or stayed focused on a particular element of the physical world, or most often where I could have slowed down…I would say that remains my biggest challenge: slowing down. The story doesn’t disappear when we stop talking, so I must continually commit to the ethic that the space object is not something you do until you return to the story…it iS story.
• 2. In your workshops you seem to adopt a “less is more” philosophy, often instructing players to focus carefully on one physical detail of a scene rather than frantically trying to show every element of a scene. Can you talk your point of view on that issue?
• In a workshop situation, I don’t want to overwhelm students when it comes to visualizing space object elements and so I encourage them to slow down and just relate to one small piece of the picture. It could be a button on their space object sweater or a tea cup and saucer, just so they can begin to incorporate simple elements of the space object physicality without losing character or story lines.
• Beginning improvisers, on the whole, are trying to do too much and this encourages the actor to play within himself or herself as they gently strengthen the habit of asking themselves what inhabits the world they find themselves in. Sometimes I will use this technique to find out more about my character. If I slow down enough, often the simple handling of space objects will inform my understanding of who I am…almost like I am receiving offers from these objects.
• Recently, I noticed a space object fork lead me to understand just how fearful a particular character was, in the way I kept picking at the food and rearranging it on the plate, so in that way, I sometimes pick up information like a radio antennae by experimenting with pace and basically let my body lead me in. Over time, all of this becomes automatic and unconscious.

• 3. There seem to be certain space object faux-pas that almost every improviser makes from time to time – the finger gun, the pinky telephone, the unending conveyor belt, etc. Is there a specific thing that you notice that improvisers struggle with on a regular basis?
• For years, I’ve talked about teaching a workshop only on doors and cabinets. That’s what the title of the class would be: “Doors & Cabinets” If Improv is treated like the bastard child of Theatre, then space object work is the bastard child of improv and doors, windows and cabinets are the bastard children of space object work.
• I think that the way an improviser relates to doors, cabinets and windows on stage is a pretty good gauge of how they view the space object world and all too often we blow through doors or tear them off their hinges then we tomahawk them into the air behind us, knobs disintegrate in our hands, they open in then out, then left then right and on and on…whatever gets us back to what we think is important, which is The Talking…God, aren’t you tired of all the talking?
• I try to be as conscious as I can with doors, cabinets and windows and let them serve as mirrors of tone and character. I still blow it all the time. Space object isn’t what we do until we get back to the story…as I said earlier, to me it is the story, I have to remind myself of that…I have to let my character inform how I relate to the physical world.
• Aside from that, it would have to be horses. I think if we could actually see the space object horses that inhabit most improv scenes, we would find them to be about 15 inches tall and 6 inches wide, with a gouge in the middle where you drag your leg through as you “dismount” and they possess the ability to then evaporate into thin air. I have a specific exercise on horses that hopefully helps…those poor, poor horses.
• 4. I’ve seen you perform with 3 For All and An Evening With Dirk & Blaine. In both cases, one night was a series of shorter scenes and the next night was a narrative-style longform, and they were all incredible. What is your favorite kind of performance format and why?
• I would say, that at this point in my career, it is definitely narrative-style longform, because of the luxury of developing characters and inhabiting worlds that we create. Once the genre has been established there is a feeling of such wonderful freedom as we descend into that world and discover it all together.
• The group I am working with in Los Angeles, Impro Theatre, is improvising Jane Austen and it’s amazing how liberating the strict boundaries of that style can be. With regards to the short scenes, at least with 3ForAll, it all feels like a variation of long form anyway, in that we could follow any of those stories for an hour or two if we wanted to…it’s all longform at this stage of the game for me.
• 5. What kind of improv do you really enjoy watching others perform?
• You know, honestly, any improv that really puts the emphasis on ensemble. I love to watch a group sharing One Mind, as they say. Because of the inherent imperfection of what we do, just seeing a group aspire to this is what I love to watch. I also love to see improv presented as theatre, that is, with an eye toward presentation, from start to finish.
• Some shows look like the cast just fell down off of the catwalk, where they were repairing the heating unit or something…actually, that would be pretty interesting now that I say that. If the cast fell off the catwalk and started a show, I would watch that. But you know, I like to see a group that has thought about the whole theatrical experience of the evening, without taking itself too seriously.
• Again, I like those distinct boundaries and then watching the work unfold freely within them. I like a company to have a strong identity.

• 6. Do you have any advice for improvisers who are insecure about space object work, or are afraid to get started? How do you recommend they practice?
• One thing I like to remind students is that, as primates, we are already working at a very high level physically. Just the ability to command your hand to open and close and not crush an egg when you pick it up, hopefully, is very advanced and so I hope to instill confidence in improvisers that they are very gifted when it comes to relating to the physical world, and with just a small degree of mindfulness and slowing down, they can incorporate this very basic skill into their work.
• Stop and think of how extraordinary it is that you are able to control sound and pitch with your breath to the degree that others can understand what you are saying…that alone should give you great confidence in your physical skills, or the ability to write with a pen and create symbols that others can indentify…it goes on and on.
• I’m always amazed when students speak so fearfully about space object work, when they are so advanced already. As far as practice goes, I always say that the best space object class takes place all day long, in your life. If you take a moment and notice, just notice how a spoon rests in your hand, or the way you drive…that mindfulness will spill over into your work and you will find yourself silently noticing these in the so called imaginary world we inhabit on stage. The only thing missing is being consciously aware of what you “see” onstage.
• I want to remind us that the space object work should include all of the senses. Hear things, smell things, taste things and touch them…everything you do as you go about your day, bring into your work. Aside from that, I would say, watch tape of yourself and just take notes where you could go a little deeper next time with the space object. I watch tape and I am always amazed how much more I could be doing with these ideas…especially my horses, doors and cabinets.
• 7. Do you think space object work is a necessary skill for high-level improvisation?
• No, because there are plenty of world class improvisers who don’t put much stock in it overall and they are still wonderful to watch. It’s all just a matter of taste and style. This is just the style that makes sense to me as an improviser, but I would never claim that this style is better or worse than any other.
• For me personally, the space object is necessary for high-level improvisation because it grounds me in the moment and allows me to find a certain amount of repose amidst the uncertainty of this artform.

• 8. I understand you’ve been performing with Rafe Chase and Tim Orr for around 20 years now – can you describe the dynamics of that group? What is it like to perform with the same people for so long?
• Yes, we’ve been working together in various groups for about 23 years now and as 3ForAll a little over ten years. For me, the dynamics of the group have changed over time. I think when we started out, it was lot rougher around the edges and I felt we were almost rebelling against the formality of the whole improv scene in San Francisco at the time. I remember grabbing Tim out of the wings by his tie in one of our early shows and throwing him into a scene…that felt different.
• I think that dynamic is still very much alive in our work together, but it lives now within a shared ethic of commitment to story and character. I trust Rafe and Tim so much out there, that I feel I can go anywhere and they will go with me and vice versa. The last thing we try to do before the very first scene is lock eyes and that says it all to me.
• Performing with them for so long has been one of the greatest joys of my whole life. It is a combination that is made up of a deep familiarity and wild surprises, constant surprises. I am always taken off guard by them both, and that is a wonderful way to work.
• 9. Along those same lines, what are your thoughts on ensemble size?
• It’s all about the company of players in my opinion. There are advantages and disadvantages to working in large and small companies, but I can’t really say that I prefer one over the other…for me, it’s who makes up the ensemble that makes all the difference. If you have the right mix of players, you can make the most out of what you have and play to your strengths.
• Pulp Playhouse and True Fiction Magazine were made up of eight players, the cast of Impro Theatre for the Jane Austen show can swell to 13 believe it or not and I just worked as a two act with Tim late last year, so it runs the gamut. There is something wonderful in having to play multiple characters, like we do quite often in 3ForAll, and then there is a great feeling you get from having the whole 8 or 13 of you working in tandem on the stage, so I would say, whatever size your company is, use that number to your full advantage as an improviser.

• 10. Are there any other exciting projects that you are working on right now?
• Well, 3ForAll is about to travel to Amsterdam to do some shows which we’re all looking forward to. Impro Theatre’s Jane Austen Unscripted show here in Los Angeles is in it’s third extension and reopens next week, which continues to be very challenging and a great deal of fun.
• Also, I’ve been very fortunate to work with Dreamworks Animation for the past two years as a reader and voice talent, which also allows for a fair amount of improvisation depending on the situation. The LA Times just did a feature article on my job which you can read about online if you just search my name and LA Times. (Read the article here)
• The most exciting project of all continues to be improv itself. My dear friend Denise just passed away last week and were it not for her, I may never have found improvisation and so I have to say I am forever grateful to her.
• Thanks for your time, Stepehen! It’s been a real pleasure.
• Please give my best to everyone at FuseBox. Good luck in the coming year and I hope to see you all soon.