The Sound of Young America is a proud sponsor of Sketchfest NYC, and for the rest of the week, we’ll be featuring some brief interviews with groups performing in the festival.
Ten West are a Los Angeles-based duo who perform a hybrid of sketch comedy and old-fashioned vaudeville clowning. Their show is hilarious, sad and remarkable in it’s raw craft. They’ve made a name for themselves in the sketch comedy world in the past year or two with accomplished, genre-destroying performances. I spoke with Jon Monastero about where the group stands in the sketch comedy firmament.
10 West seems to have one foot in the comedy world and one foot in the theater world. What do your theater backgrounds bring to your work?
I don’t think the two worlds are mutually exclusive. Theater demands an empathy and understanding of one’s audience, and an attention to staging and story telling that definitely complements and enhances our comedic work.
10 West’s act stands out from the sketch comedy pack for it’s physicality. Where does that come from?
It’s just easier for us to express ourselves artistically in a physical manner. At least our first impulse is to go in that direction. It’s probably part nature and part personal preference.
There’s a lot of pathos in your work. Is that a choice? Why?
It’s definitely not a deliberate choice. I don’t think Stephen & I try to bring pathos to our material. We just write and collaborate and it just sort of shows up in a “Hello! I’m Mr. Pitiful and I’m going to be in your show! sort of way.
What have you learned working so closely with Stephen Simon, who has such extensive clown training, that you may not have learned at the Improv Olympic, where you trained?
Aside from how to juggle and do hat tricks, I’ve learned that clowning is more than just funny wigs, red noses and balloon animals. In fact, that is a less than desirable stereotype. That’s why every time I write a “clown” sketch I include funny wigs, red noses and balloon animals. As long as I mime the balloon animal part Stephen is OK with it.
Both of you also work in children’s theater… what are the commonalities and differences between the work you do for adults and for kids?
We don’t change too much of what we do for the different age groups. We try to create shows that everybody can enjoy – young and old. That eliminates some word choices, of course, but our style and material lends itself to an all-ages type show anyway. The biggest difference in working in children’s theater is that a youth show is a lot more interactive, whether you want it to be or not. Kids will talk to us mid-sketch, ask questions, get up and leave to use the restroom & sometimes join us on stage!
How does working with a single director, Bryan Coffee shape your work?
Ten West perform Friday at nine PM at Sketchfest NYC. More info or tickets here.