Paul F. Tompkins

A location is, I think, the fastest was to get into a story. I also just like it the best. I believe this has been asked and answered IN THIS VERY THREAD!

Switching up the order of introductions/conversations has less to do with it than the live factor, I think. We've had plenty of studio eps that include lots of details form the interviews,but they don't necessarily have the same impact. Live shows are just a whole different thing. Also, the location that Tom came up with that night came from a conversation we had in the dressing room before the show even started, so there's no guarantee that any segments need to be closer together for memory's sake. I am glad you love the show! Thank you!

Hi! I am happy to fill in the gaps for you, since you perhaps skimmed a tweet and never listen to the ads! Our show will be part of the 2015 Los Angeles Podcast Festival next weekend. Saturday, September 19th, at 9pm Pacific, we will perform the studio version of Spontaneanation in front of an audience at The Sofitel Hotel in West Hollywood, CA. We will also be live-streaming it! Our improviser are Craig Cackowski, Matt Gourley and Janet Varney, and our interview guest is Andy Daly. For tickets and/or streaming passes, go to lapodfest.com and use the promo code PFT to get a few bucks off. It must have been a pain for you to come here to the forum and ask me a question rather than look up the information yourself, so if it saves you some time, check out my tumblr or my Instagram (or the descriptions of the episodes here) for incor about any live events we do. The info is always there, I promise!

It is unlikely.

I loved Bob's question! I think it was a really positive one. I liked that it asks the answerer to acknowledge that they did something difficult and should be proud. And as tough as it may seem to answer that question immediately-- I certainly would have needed a moment-- I was glad Derek talked about his experience in that tank. The show all happens in the moment, and to do followups with guests would be contrary to that idea, and also would be a pain. I would hope that if the listener is intrigued by the guests' thought processes, perhaps they'd look into what the guest has done prior to appearing on my show, because I think all of my guests are interesting people. And if you want to find out Dave Foley's answer to the question, "Where were you when you realized God is a wholly implausible lie," I have ZERO DOUBT that information is already out there somewhere.

I assumed people would be smart enough to figure it out.

The time will definitely come when stuff about SE:FC can be knowledgeably adressed, but that time is not now! Glad you like the show-- we really enjoyed making it.

It would be weird to interview my wife. I can't even handle Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael asking each other "How are you?" on their show.

Not yet. But IT WILL.

I met Eban in 1994 or 1995 and we started working together pretty quickly. He did the music for a sketch show I did with Jay Johnston around that time that led to my getting hired at Mr. Show. Since then I've worked with Eban whenever it was possible. When I started doing a live variety show at Largo in 2002, Eban was my musical director and would play as I did the thank-yous at the end of the show, which always turned into a long improvised ramble. When it came time for me to do my first podcast, I knew I wanted that dynamic to be a part of it. And Eban being Eban, he contributed so much more than just musical accompaniment. When Spontaneanation was taking shape, i knew that after our previous, production-heavy projects, I wanted us to do something we could both just show up to. And that's mostly what happens!

It will be the studio version-- everyone seated around a table!

Maybe? Not right now, but maybe? Eventually?

There are currently no additional SE:FC recordings scheduled, but I would imagine we'll be doing more at some point. I certainly hope so-- it was so much fun to do.

I would love to have Matt Besser on and will definitely be reaching out to him at some point and I hope he will agree to do it!

It's not a matter of rigidity of template, it's purely practical. The smaller the group, the easier the show is to produce. I would LOVE to do a show like the one you're describing, and we could definitely do it at, say, UCB, but recording it would be a whole 'nother fishkettle. I don't think it's impossible though!

This show was not created as a response to TAH ending, but I certainly knew that I wanted to have as many of those people involved as I could possibly get. I love them all and it does indeed help to get to see & play with so many of them on a semi-regular basis. A lot of them I'd only really ever see once a month; now I'm seeing them more than I did before. FOR FUN AND WHIMSY

I would love to do this and I hope we will get there eventually!

I honestly would not know until the moment I was asked! If someone wants to do that, I would absolutely love to see it. I am so very appreciative of fan art and continually amazed that so many incredibly talented artists are also comedy fans. Despite my best efforts early on, "Mr, Powell" in Ep 18 all but fully morphed into Andrew Lloyd Webber. I am ashamed. To keep costs down, I imagine we'd be traveling light, so it'd be me, Eban, the SFX board, and that's it. Luckily, there is no shortage of comedic talent in the United Kingdom. You have one wish left!

That almost happened the other day! Someone was late, but we started anyway. My feeling about the show is: what happens, happens. There will definitely be a day when someone cancels at the last minute or gets held up by traffic or whatever. The show must and indeed will go on! Even if it's just me and Eban, I will make up some goddamned story and play a bunch of characters.

I knew I wanted to express the spirit of the show in a fun way, and just looked online for a Latin translation of "Always in the moment."

One of the things I love about improv, and especially narrative improv, is that you cannot space out. It's all about focus. It's all about holding several things in your head at once and being ready to act and react all the time. I am fully engaged and it is always exciting. Perhaps improv veterans who have many years on me in this game have different experiences, but I'd be surprised to hear that. I can barely remember to bring water into the studio, and even if I do it gets knocked over every other episode.

At this point I should say that I have no desire to discuss the ads. I try to make them entertaining so you don't need to fast forward, but they still fall under the heading of "business" for me, and thus yaaaaaaaaawn. I'M SORRY!

In my personal experience, the one benefit to a very specific place is that it's a tiny bit easier to come up with an opening line. But that's about it, I think. Because you still have to tell a whole story! I am amused by both specificity and extreme broadness in locations. "Savannah, Georgia" will always have a special place in my heart because it allowed all of us to keep repeating "Savannah, Georgia" over and over again. It still pops into my head out of nowhere.

A hope squandered!

What do YOU think? What do YOU think? What do YOU think?