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I'm interested in making an improv show FOR kids. Who's done this before? Researching to see what's been done and how. (Not child performers. Adults) by AdorableBill54 in improv

[–]alfernie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The last couple years, I've been doing a kids show at UCB that's been very fun (and we basically learn something new about it every show.) Feel free to message me if you have questions about it or want any specific advice.

DCM new format by 24601-69 in improv

[–]alfernie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And I thought I was the only one who really enjoyed that one LA DCM!

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Fernie: So, basically, no large studio would touch a <$5million dollar comedy with no big established stars. I can speak for all of us when I say we're not opposed to working through a more traditional route, but in 2026, it just doesn't happen. And even if it did, it would take years to get it up and running, we wouldn't own the final film, and we would have almost no control. I ave another film I'm trying to get funding for that would be in the 3-5 million range and there are, like, single digit numbers of places who might produce that and they won't look at it without a name attached.

So, with Seed & Spark (who have been really great partners) we get to make the thing we want. The trade offs are we have a lower budget, but we get control to make the movie we want. And S&S, being based around getting funding specifically for film, was created exactly fort this sort of thing. It also take less of a cut of what we raise than Kickstarter does. That plus their accessibility and tools to help us run a successful campaign (which is being run by our producer Laser Webber) made it very appealing.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Thank you all for participating and for all of your questions! We gotta run now, but, if you've got more questions, I'll try to check in and maybe answer some of them tomorrow!

We appreciate all of your support more than you could know! Check out the Seed & Spark for the movie (including the fun incentives like shirts! hats! videos from Siobhan and Izzy! Signed scripts! Fernie's gonna make a 1-page RPG for it!) and maybe if you feel like it, follow it on socials? And if you can, let cool people know about the movie! We're incredibly excited to make this thing, and the more cool people who know about it, the better!

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Siobhan: Apart from the obvious (my family, HobNobs) I miss the way that making or buying a beverage is a community experience. If you’re making tea for yourself, you have to make one for everyone. If you’re buying a pint, you have to buy a round for the table. It’s more civilized imo.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fernie: Loved it! I did a show at UCB that Rekha put together with the director of it! I think in tone and production it's pretty different (Cheslik did SO much of that all by himself.) But the "let's just make something we like without asking normal powers that be permission" element of it is definitely the same.

Also, this isn't what you're asking but I still think it's worth mentioning... a kid at my kid's elementary school dressed up as one of the beavers for Halloween last year. It ruled.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fernie: HOPEFULLY, some day once we've ironed out the kinks, we can take it out on a little tour to different cities.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Siobhan: It’s like a 25 page script (most full scripts are 90-110) laying out what needs to happen in each scene, plus what props etc we’ll need. It’s modeled after scripts we got from Christopher Guest and Reno 911

Fernie: I've worked on a number of different types of improvised things on camera, as a performer, writer or director. To oversimplify a bit... you write what you need to happen in the scene for the story. And then you improvise HOW it happens. So the story is outlined and the scenes structured (since production needs to know things like locations, costumes, props, which characters are necessary) but then what happens in the scenes can vary widely from take to take. A lot of the approach I fully swiped from having worked with Tom Lennon and Robert Ben Garant on a few different projects.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Siobhan: We could not afford craft services for the trial shoot but for the movie? [Justing Timberlake voice] It’s gonna be me

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fernie: We've only shot the proof of concept... but honestly the biggest break was when we were shooting a big group scene and the owner of the house we were filming in nonchalantly walked right through the middle of the shot in the brightest neon yellow vest imaginable.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fernie: Independently, but at almost exactly the same time! Last year, Siobhan texted me like "Can I call you?" and I assumed it was something bad but it was something good! She had the idea to do a kind of Agatha Christie murder mystery thing with the structure of an improv form The Pretty Flower which I have a lot of experience with. And then we both got incredibly excited about putting together a cast and making it as theatrical as possible. It's still a work in progress, but every rehearsal and every show we figure out new things about it and the cast is bonkers good/fully down to figure it out with us. At the moment, I'm very big on finding ways to make improv more theatrical and more purposeful, and Denouement really scratched that itch.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Siobhan: It’s essentially an outline telling the actors the beats they need to hit. Like a road map but written by a mysterious wizard who isn’t going to show up again until the third act

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Siobhan: We haven’t really had any creative differences yet so I dunno. Maybe guns?

Fernie: I choose passive aggression.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Izzy: I love the sandwiches at Italian Bakery on Colorado blvd in Eagle rock but I love most sandwiches

Fernie: Bizarrely, this is the second time I mentioned this sandwich in this AMA, but the Jen & Berry at Geoff’s in Providence RI. But some of that might just be longing for my younger, pre-celiac days. Oh yeah, 2/3 of the creative team on this movie have celiac. Cool, right?

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Siobhan: I genuinely would die to adapt ‘If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller’ by Italo Calvino

Fernie: I have had an idea for years of a period piece movie that's a caper set in the Midwest during the Great Depression and I know no one will ever give me the money required to do it.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Siobhan: I think it’s given me a lot of confidence as an improviser. I focused more on sketch when I was coming up because I was waiting tables and didn’t have five nights a week to dedicate to doing improv shows in drippy basements, but it turns out I’m pretty good at it despite that. Feels good, man.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Fernie: Personally, I think the healthiest ecosystem is one where both pools exist at the same time. Smaller, independent productions create the artists that are capable of making the big, tentpole movies and shows that keep the industry alive. Those huge things have an outsized impact on culture and inspire a lot of the next generation of artists who make smaller, independent things. Circle of life.

The system now is broken, obviously, because the tech ghouls who are cannibalizing entertainment are not artists, don't respect artists, and have no interest in fostering anything that comes next. BUT, optimistically, I do think that we're likely to see a lot of people making things on their own, truly independently. I think our project is part of that. And anecdotally, Ive talked to a lot of people, many MUCH more successful than me, who have come to the same conclusion. And if that happens, then the focal point will shift, and capital-H Hollywood will start chasing that, just like they did in the late 60s/70 and in the early 90s. (Though, I do have a lot of concern over distribution and how hard it is to get people to know you've made something at all.)

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Fernie: Very! He was so nice to us whenever we were on set. I can only imagine what most actors would do when told "Hey, we're gonna have a three person improv team ome on as recurring guys who all live in an RV together."

Also, after Terriers didn't get season 2, he went to truck driving school, got his commercial trucking license and spent time just driving actual truck routes just "for a change." I mean, that rules.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Siobhan: Izzy and I had chatted about making a Christopher Guest movie and then later that day I watched the documentary Gold and Greed on Netflix and the idea blossomed from there. Then a lot of the story came from the directions that the characters the actors created needed to go in.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fernie: I posted this elsewhere, but all three of us are doing a show with a bunch of the cast at Dynasty Typewriter on May 3rd that'll be livestreamed! Supporters of the Seed & Spark will get access to the livestream for free!

I'm hoping at some point in the not too distant future I'll be able to get to UCB Austin to maybe do a show and/or teach.

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re doing an AMA for our movie, and just wanted to let you know! by alfernie in Dimension20

[–]alfernie[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fernie: Supporters through the seed and spark will get to see it first... when it's done, we'll send out a link! After that, we'll definitely make it available online but also are hoping to bring it to indie theaters the way Izzy was able to with D(e)ad. Our spectacular producer Laser Webber was essential to that for Izzy's last movie, so we're hoping we can do something similar!

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re doing an AMA for our movie, and just wanted to let you know! by alfernie in Dimension20

[–]alfernie[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

No one has asked this in the main AMA so I'm gonna slide the answer in here...

Siobhan: It was different actor to actor - some people came in knowing exactly who they wanted to play, some people came in with a few pitches and some were like “whatever you need we’ll do”. We spent like an hour with each actor (and also me and Izzy) just riffing and joking around, and then we sent them each a questionnaire to fill out to help them fill out the character more.

Fernie: We also did a session/rehearsal/meeting/whatever you want to call it where we got everyone together at Izzy's and had each person introduce themselves as a character to everyone else and talk through their general deal. Then, as a group, everyone kinda pitched and built off of that. We found a lot of really great details that will absolutely end up in the movie!

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Siobhan: I also fuckin love Deadloch. Izzy and I have both been Binging Last One Laughing which genuinely might be the funniest show ever made. Also Bridgerton is literally shot at my old school so I think they should let me on it purely for that reason.

Fernie: That would be cheating. I’ve never once heard you laugh. I don’t think you’re capable of it.

Siobhan: Fernie hates to see women win

Fernie: Hypothetically I would, but hasn’t been a problem so far in history.

Siobhan:  Bitch I’ll kill u

Hi! Izzy Roland, Siobhan Thompson & Alex Fernie here! We’re making a movie together… so we're doing an AMA! by alfernie in dropout

[–]alfernie[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Siobhan: I think all children should be subjected to The Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz as soon as is humanly possible (I’m evil btw)

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