One of the funniest and most innovative television series of last year, The Joe Schmo Show, turned the reality genre on its head. For those not familiar with the program, several people lived together and competed for a cash prize in a Real World–style show. Nothing new there--but then came the twist. With only one exception (Matt Kennedy Gould, the "Schmo" in question), everyone on the show was an actor, playing out a farce unbeknownst to Gould until the final episode. The good-natured Gould took the deception in stride and has even continued working on-air for Spike TV, the network that produced the elaborate ruse.
Now the twisted minds behind the first season have returned with Joe Schmo 2, which ups the ante by featuring two dupes, Tim and Ingrid, who believe they're appearing on a Bachelor-esque dating program called Last Chance for Love. While it might seem impossible to top the madness of the first program, Joe Schmo 2 has surpassed its predecessor by satirizing some of the biggest reality show cliches. There was the opening day, when the Bachelor and Bachelorette (actors Tim Herzog and Valerie Azlynn) instantly voted off six people who just happened to be minorities. Then there were the innuendo-laced eviction ceremonies: The Bachelor gave women a pearl necklace, the Bachelorette lit the candle wicks of the men she selected. But nothing could top the actors they hired to play the roles of fellow contestants. Their character nicknames say it all: there's "The Stalker," "The Drunk," "The Bitch," "The Gotta-be-gay Guy"... the list goes on.
Embodying these roles is a talented cast of performers with various backgrounds in improvisation and comedy, who are asked to think on their feet to keep everything grounded in reality for the oblivious Tim and Ingrid. It's no easy task, according to Ralph Garman, who plays Last Chance for Love host Derek Newcastle. "The tension and the pressure is enormous, because every time you're in front of these people, the possibility of you being the one that screws up the show is right there in front of you," says Garman. "You have to be at your most believable, your most natural, because your audience is standing 2 feet in front of you."
On the Spot
Garman is unique in that he is the only actor from the first series to return for the second season. However, in case someone might recognize him, he is now hidden under false teeth and a blonde wig and speaks with an erudite English accent to play Newcastle. "I always sort of envied the actors in the first go-around because they got to do such wild characterizations," Garman remarks of the transformation. "As an actor, I said it would be fun to do something like that. So I went to the producers with the Derek Newcastle idea, and they liked it, and we kind of worked on it together."
Garman, who is also known for his work on L.A. radio station KROQ's morning show, Kevin and Bean, is a veteran of the ACME Theatre, where he learned sketch and improv. He says this training helped to improve his overall acting. "It teaches you to trust your instincts, it teaches you confidence in front of an audience," he says. "If you can pull off a scene on your feet, making up the dialogue and the behavior and the characterization as you go, then when someone gives you a script to work with and you know what you're going to say next, that's a piece of cake."
Actor Steve Mallory, who portrays Ernie ("The Heir") on Joe Schmo 2, agrees. "They always talk in 'real acting' about being part of the scene. All of that is endemic to improv," says Mallory, who trained at The Groundlings and spent two years performing in its Sunday Company. "You really are feeling things. You learn to take those feelings and put them into acting. I think if you want to be an actor, you have to know how to improv, because it gives you a very real mirror of those skills." The training came in handy for Mallory on Schmo, particularly as he ended up sharing a room with Tim. "My running joke was that I was actually sleeping in character," says Mallory of being constantly in the role. "Normally I'm a stomach sleeper, but I figured Ernie was a side sleeper."
It also helped when he had to think fast on his feet. When the contestants were supposed to give the Bachelor and Bachelorette a "gift of love," Ernie gave all the other contestants orphans to sponsor and be pen pals with. "Ingrid actually cornered me and really drilled me on the fact that I brought exactly 12 orphans and how did I know how many to bring," recalls Mallory. "That's where your improv skills kind of kick in, and I made up this big spiel about how my family sponsors many orphans, and I brought about 30 just in case. And if she was interested, there were probably 20 more in the producers' office, if she wanted to be pen pals."
Luckily the inquisitive Ingrid didn't call his bluff, but she made a habit of questioning everyone and everything--to the point where producers let her in on the joke and replaced her with a new contestant. Natasha Leggero, a standup comedienne and actor who portrays Rita ("The Drunk"), found herself on the spot when Ingrid barged into her room and saw her reading a Tennessee Williams book--something very un-Rita. "I tried to play it off as I was just bored," recalls Leggero. "I was actually really interested in it, but I said, 'They only have boring books here.'" Ingrid's suspicions also caused Leggero to hold back slightly on her character, who was originally supposed to be so drunk she fell in the pool at the first party and crashed a romantic hot tub date.
Learning Spontaneity
Leggero has studied improv at The Groundlings, Second City, and Improv Olympic in addition to doing standup regularly at The Comedy Store and M Bar, and she believes strongly that improvisation has improved her performance, particularly at auditions. "I've started booking more commercials since I started doing standup, because improv helps you learn how to be funny and flexible and work with people," says Leggero. "You learn that each moment is a chance to make something happen."
Sometimes working in improv and sketch can help actors realize that comedy is their forte. A native of Philadelphia, Garman came to L.A. to pursue becoming "a serious actor actor" before joining ACME. "I was taking classes at the American Film Institute and was doing a bunch of stuff to learn scene study. I just got so bored with classes, I wanted to perform in front of somebody," he recalls. "I ran across an ad for ACME, and that's when I started doing impressions and characters. It really stretched me because, up until that point, I was only doing whatever I could get cast in. But when you're writing your own stuff you can play old men and foreigners and celebrities. You get to really expand, and that's what hooked me."
Agrees Mallory, "Like a lot of people who begin at The Groundlings, I just had a predisposition naturally to be funny--kind of the class clown syndrome. Once you started putting structure to it and learning the ins and outs, it becomes almost a calling. You find that you have ability with it. I always knew I wanted to be funny, but I didn't know I wanted to be a comedic actor until I was introduced to improvisation."
The 'Real' World
One of the factors that sets Joe Schmo 2 apart from other reality shows is that, despite the deception of Tim and Ingrid, the show isn't intended to be cruel or mean-spirited. Leggero hesitated to do the show, until she saw the finale of the first season and realized it was satirizing the genre, not the person. And while other shows such as My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance and American Superstar have copied the formula of having everyone but a few people being in on the joke, Garman believes it's all about intent. "The intent on a show like Fiance and Superstar is to take these people and attack them where they live," he says. "If this family wants to see their daughter married, or if these people have dreams about being a singer, they're taking advantage of that. In our case, it's not personal. They're just along for the ride. And it's not just about fooling, it's about parody. We're doing a satire of the reality genre. The fooling is sort of just a byproduct of that."
Mallory says that Tim and Ingrid seemed to have a great time, as did the actors. "This type of show is an actor's paradise," he raves. "There's not a greater challenge or a bigger thrill than doing something like this and having the freedom to craft your character and make fun and move forward with it. It was a great experience."
It's also sweet revenge for actors feeling the pinch from the glut of reality shows. Says Garman, "We've taken the reality genre, which has stolen so many jobs away from actors on television, and kind of stolen it back, at least for an hour a week." BSW