Ask Paul!

[Paul F. Tompkins 736]

Hi Paul, thanks for all that your teams do and for how well you do it. Here's a dumb question:

 

Are you generally ok if a rascally guest proposes that the location be something a little edgy,

like Fat Camp, Jesus Camp, or maybe Homosexuality Cure Camp? I could imagine a lot of

strange places that might get uncomfortable. I suppose you trust these folks to be a little better

than that, right? Or do I underestimate your group's sensitivities? Quite possibly...

 

Not a dumb question! I am happy to go wherever my guests take us. I doubt I'd have a guest who would actively try to put us in an uncomfortable situation, but who knows what the future holds?

 

Also, the fun challenge of the show is to take whatever we're given and make the best of it. There was a moment on Ep 16 with Aaron Abrams where he suggested an intergalactic performing arts school, not knowing that we had already had a performing arts school as a location on the show before (Ep 10 with Justin Kirk). For a moment, I thought of asking him for another location, but quickly realized, Well, duplicate locations are a possibility, so let's just make this as different as we can. Which I think we did? There were definitely similarities-- in both episodes, there is a play performed-- but at least only one had multiple murders.

[souprman 10477]

For a moment, I thought of asking him for another location, but quickly realized, Well, duplicate locations are a possibility, so let's just make this as different as we can. Which I think we did?

 

Oh yeah, totally different stories, way different tone and characters. #10 is much darker and feels tighter, and gave us the breakout character of Myles Gooeyduk. #16 was so chaotic but much more sweet in sentiment.

 

Both of these ep's lost me several times along the way, and I think you guys were losing the thread bit too, but were surprisingly solid in the second listen. Many of the last several episodes have felt equally chaotic. That's not a complaint, I love it when you guys push it into crazy-land.

 

But it made me wonder; Is there a standard of quality control that you judge the episodes by, or is that more an attitude applied to scripted material? I guess I'm wondering would you ever not release a show because you felt it was lacking in some respect? Or, is your general mode of operation to trust the material to stand or fall on it's own, judgments be damned?

 

So:

1. Is there any reason you wouldn't release a show? and,

2. Do you have a contingency for such an occurrence?

[LizBradley 144]

I'm curious about visual cues the improvisers may be using, that the listening audience is not privy to.

 

Since you all play multiple characters in each episode, does anyone ever do something different with their physicality to help fellow players tell who's who, if a change in voice is not quite enough?

 

Do you signal other players when you're coming up on a break or wrapping up at the end? If you like something and want to continue in that direction, do you signal for more of that?

[Paul F. Tompkins 736]

Is there a standard of quality control that you judge the episodes by, or is that more an attitude applied to scripted material? I guess I'm wondering would you ever not release a show because you felt it was lacking in some respect? Or, is your general mode of operation to trust the material to stand or fall on it's own, judgments be damned?

 

So:

1. Is there any reason you wouldn't release a show? and,

2. Do you have a contingency for such an occurrence?

 

Something I've learned from years of performing is that my opinion of my performance may not be the audience's opinion. I've had well-received shows that have felt terrible to me while they were happening and I've had performances where I know I was performing to the best of my ability yet were received with a shrug. Hopefully, the audience and I will be on the same page more often than not.

[JacobCrites 4977]

Have you and your guests ever reached a sort of mutual agreement/realization that nothing's really working, or that a scene isn't going anywhere, and have to start over as a result? Or maybe the scene initiation just kind of flops and nobody knows what to do with it? In long-form you can edit, move on and just do another scene, but it feels like that would be tough to do in the narrative format.

 

I certainly haven't heard that on the show to lead me to believe this has happened, and obviously you have seasoned professionals on every episode, but since chemistry is such a huge thing for a show like this I always wonder if that's a potential problem?

[Paul F. Tompkins 736]

Have you and your guests ever reached a sort of mutual agreement/realization that nothing's really working, or that a scene isn't going anywhere, and have to start over as a result? Or maybe the scene initiation just kind of flops and nobody knows what to do with it? In long-form you can edit, move on and just do another scene, but it feels like that would be tough to do in the narrative format.

 

I certainly haven't heard that on the show to lead me to believe this has happened, and obviously you have seasoned professionals on every episode, but since chemistry is such a huge thing for a show like this I always wonder if that's a potential problem?

 

Nope!

[orphan yachts 217]

did you direct England v Great Britan, the long running show that was in this venue before this piece of junk took over? (this show is garbage)!!!

 

HAHAHAHA!!!!!! and are you Jordan Nestors? or Justin Norders?

 

execution 100/100

[JacobCrites 4977]

 

Nope!

Asked and answered! Thank you!

[Jug Bandit 133]

Hi Paul,

 

You mentioned at some point (I think) that you're recording more than one episode at a time - does this mean you're way ahead on recorded episodes, or are you recording more episodes but with less frequency?

 

What I'm really getting at is, when do we get to hear the cast from this week's CBB pictures? *rubs little hands together*

 

Thanks

[VajayjayLeno 336]

Paul, do you think bowties are at risk of becoming passe? I've been wearing them (among other neck accessories) for a while, but I feel like their sudden popularity has grown at a pace that suggests a precipitous bowtie crash in the near future.

[Paul F. Tompkins 736]

I'm curious about visual cues the improvisers may be using, that the listening audience is not privy to.

 

Since you all play multiple characters in each episode, does anyone ever do something different with their physicality to help fellow players tell who's who, if a change in voice is not quite enough?

 

Do you signal other players when you're coming up on a break or wrapping up at the end? If you like something and want to continue in that direction, do you signal for more of that?

 

I'd rather not answer! I think the more you're picturing us sitting in a studio the less you are in the theater of your own mind! I will say that a thing I keep forgetting to do is visually signal that we are going into a break, because every once in a while an improviser does not realize that I am not speaking as a character in the story and will start to respond to me saying "What's gonna happen next?" or whatever.

[Paul F. Tompkins 736]

You mentioned at some point (I think) that you're recording more than one episode at a time - does this mean you're way ahead on recorded episodes, or are you recording more episodes but with less frequency?

 

We've been recording twice a week almost every week since we started recording, and as of today, we will have episodes to release through mid-October.

 

 

What I'm really getting at is, when do we get to hear the cast from this week's CBB pictures? *rubs little hands together*

 

 

You'll hear that particular episode in September!

[souprman 10477]

 

We've been recording twice a week almost every week since we started recording, and as of today, we will have episodes to release through mid-October.

 

 

Very happy about this answer!

[LizBradley 144]

 

I'd rather not answer! I think the more you're picturing us sitting in a studio the less you are in the theater of your own mind! I will say that a thing I keep forgetting to do is visually signal that we are going into a break, because every once in a while an improviser does not realize that I am not speaking as a character in the story and will start to respond to me saying "What's gonna happen next?" or whatever.

Thanks for answering / not answering! Little misunderstandings like that are part of what make Spont so special. Smooth transitions be damned!

 

I will be at the live show at LA PodFest, so I guess that's the closest I'll get to satisfying this particular curiosity. Can't wait!

[Razor Boy 152]

Hi Paul,

 

Back in the spring, you did a Reddit AMA to help promote NYSU. I was reading through some of your answers (while sitting in this very same cubicle), and one of the things you had to say really struck me: Someone asked what kept you heading in a positive direction when you first broke into showbusiness. You said something along the lines of, "Therapy, it really helped."

 

That was sort of a last-straw situation for me, and I finally sought out a therapist. We've been at it since April, and I've made some serious progress with some looooongstanding problems. I've always played music, and now I'm starting to generate reliable income doing something creative. I'm booking shows in- and out-of-town, taking classes, and actually approaching that quit-your-day-job threshold. I'm giving you some credit for that, thank you.

 

My question for you is:

 

How often do people call you Paulf?

[Paul F. Tompkins 736]

Hi Paul,

 

Back in the spring, you did a Reddit AMA to help promote NYSU. I was reading through some of your answers (while sitting in this very same cubicle), and one of the things you had to say really struck me: Someone asked what kept you heading in a positive direction when you first broke into showbusiness. You said something along the lines of, "Therapy, it really helped."

 

That was sort of a last-straw situation for me, and I finally sought out a therapist. We've been at it since April, and I've made some serious progress with some looooongstanding problems. I've always played music, and now I'm starting to generate reliable income doing something creative. I'm booking shows in- and out-of-town, taking classes, and actually approaching that quit-your-day-job threshold. I'm giving you some credit for that, thank you.

 

My question for you is:

 

How often do people call you Paulf?

 

None of the above is about the show, but I am replying to say one thing: I did not start going to therapy when I first broke into show business. I went in my late thirties. I make that clarification in order to let people know if you want to work on yourself, it is never too late.

 

Thanks for your post and congratulations!

[Kickpuncher 5012]

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-why-you-might-start-hearing-happy-birthday-you-tv-soon-180956109/?no-ist

 

If "Happy Birthday" is freed from the bony clutches of those miserly old crones Mildred and Patty Hill, can we expect it to be regularly woven into Spontaneanation tales?

[HeyNongerman 20]

Don't have a question but hope it is okay to leave a comment about the show.

 

I was thrilled to hear about where the piano takes you during your intro monologues. I'm personally a huge fan of of those! Your free-form musings have a rhythm and melody that's theatrical, hypnotic, and hilarious. They shine a light on the art that spoken word can be; and I do mean art.

 

Or, motherfuckers just wanna talk. Idk. I sure like to.

 

Anyways, please keep up the fantastic, and fantastical, work!

[Jug Bandit 133]

 

We've been recording twice a week almost every week since we started recording, and as of today, we will have episodes to release through mid-October.

 

 

That's great news, thanks!

 

I do have a bit of a follow-up, if you don't mind.

 

OK, it's more like a bunch of follow-ups all mushed together.

When you book guests and improvisors, do you try to build groups that you think will work well together?

 

With such an aggressive recording schedule, does booking guests and improvisors become more challenging?

 

If so, have there been any 'happy accidents', like unexpectedly good chemistry, that have come about as a result?

 

Thanks again.

[Paul F. Tompkins 736]

When you book guests and improvisors, do you try to build groups that you think will work well together?

 

With the first handful of episodes, that's exactly what I tried to do. Book people who knew each other & perform together frequently. Then I started mixing the various troikas with each other to find new combinations of energy & sensibility.

 

With such an aggressive recording schedule, does booking guests and improvisors become more challenging?

 

Surprisingly, it's more difficult to book the guests than the improvisers. You'd think it'd be harder to book three people at once than one, but nope!

 

I

If so, have there been any 'happy accidents', like unexpectedly good chemistry, that have come about as a result?

 

The Cackowski/Chaffin/Tallman combo from Ep 8 was fun to be in the middle of. There are more new combos coming up!

[FisterRoboto 7499]

In today's episode, Lisa Hanawalt gave a comparatively vague location with Malibu. We also had Savannah, GA a while back (which turned into my favorite episode so far). These two stick out because a lot of the others are more specific.

 

My question is: does it make it harder or easier when a guest suggests a place like Malibu/Savannah vs a more specific place like "The Waiting Room in an Oil Place" or "The Annual Ghost Sex Convention"? Or is it one of those "Neither; it's just different"-type scenarios?

[KajusX 1807]

Hi Paul! Due to today's double-dose of PFT video game talk on Spontaneantion and The Indoor Kids, I have a cross-podcast video game question that I hope is not completely off-topic to the podcast as a whole.

 

You enjoy first-person shooters due to the style of gameplay and A-to-B objectives/storytelling, and not so much games with RPG elements such as sandbox worlds and meandering mission objectives. Most FPSs have the player assume the role of a character and a specific storyline to follow. Most RPGs come with an in-depth character maker and then an open world to aimlessly wander around.

 

It does not sound like you jump into the RPG side of games too often, but you mentioned playing Destiny; a FPS with RPG elements (character creation being one of them), and so a question popped into my head:

 

You have played and created so many great characters for the purposes of entertainment, that I was wondering what kind of avatar do you make for yourself when given the opportunity of character creation at the start of a video game? Do you welcome the chance to customize a character's facial features and give him or her a name, or is this process just an unwelcome hurdle you must jump over in order to get right to the action?

[VajayjayLeno 336]

Okay, I have an actual question related to the show, because I screwed up last time:

 

The Cards Against Humanity commercials. I'm dying to know the deal with those. Like, are they actually giving you these suggestions? Is it all just a bit? Because your seeming disdain for the entire commercial is hilarious and ends up being the most memorable commercial in the pack, despite the fact that you have, by far, the best commercials in podcasting.

[Thedge 314]

Hey Paul, Spontaneanation is a roaring good show and has quickly become one of my favourite podcasts! Keep up the good work old sport!

 

A few questions:

 

1. What's with the quick cut to and fros? The ones where the scene only changes for a few seconds and then immediately changes back? Are they they a result of accident or design?

 

2. What is the nature of Dolores and Mitch's relationship?

 

3. How does a person live a meaningful life?

[Paul F. Tompkins 736]

1. What's with the quick cut to and fros? The ones where the scene only changes for a few seconds and then immediately changes back? Are they they a result of accident or design?

 

What do YOU think?

 

2. What is the nature of Dolores and Mitch's relationship?

 

What do YOU think?

 

3. How does a person live a meaningful life?

 

What do YOU think?