How Improv Comedy Helped ‘The Mysterious Benedict Society’ Perfect Its Tone

Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi have some advice for aspiring screenwriters, but it might not be the kind of advice writers are accustomed to hearing.

“All writers would really benefit from trying acting [and] being in an acting class,” Hay says. “[From] talking to their actor friends about their acting approach, because that’s been extremely illuminating for us.”

For the writing duo, whose credits include hit films like “Ride Along” and indie gems like “The Invitation” and “Destroyer,” penning great scripts always comes down to creating great characters, which is precisely what actors are trained to do. So, why no cross-pollinate, creatively speaking?

“The bottom line is if you can create a character on the page, that matters, to me at least, much more than an intricate plot,” Hay says. 

Creating instantly compelling characters is a skill that Hay and Manfredi developed during their college days at Brown when they met doing improv comedy. The pair learned lessons—the importance of precise language, how to really listen, an overall “yes, and…” mindset—that they still apply to their brainstorming and writing sessions. Those core tenets have served them well throughout their film career, and even more so on their most recent project: the Disney+ series “The Mysterious Benedict Society.” 

“So much of the last few years, especially in terms of gathering people around for ’The Mysterious Benedict Society,’ has been about trying to create a family of like-minded, creative people,” Manfredi says. “Not having the same ideas, but the same attitude toward building something together.”

That multidisciplinary, team-first approach couldn’t be more appropriate for a show like “Benedict Society.” Based on the book by Trenton Lee Stewart, their adaptation is set in a vaguely vintage seaside town that’s being plagued by a persistent sense of dread referred to simply as “The Emergency.” Mr. Nicholas Benedict (Tony Hale) believes that his twin brother Ledroptha Curtain (also Hale) is behind the mass panic, and recruits a team of exceptional children to solve the mystery and save the world from imminent destruction. 

The “optimistic formality” of the material—the show takes cues from Wes Anderson, Roald Dahl, and the films of Jaques Tati—helped its writers nail down the series’ whimsical, witty look and tone. Hay and Manfredi also saw the show as an opportunity to delve into more serious subject matter in a way that would speak to children and young adults without talking down to them.

“I mean, it’s obviously so fun, and it’s funny, but I think what spoke to us is the emphasis on empathy, and the fact that the heroes of the story are heroic because of their intellect,” Manfredi reflects. “It seemed like such a great world to work in and to help create.” 

Along with Hale, familiar-faced performers Kristen Schaal, MaameYaa Boafo, and Ryan Hurst round out the project’s adult cast. But it really hinges on the work being done by its young actors, including Mystic Inscho, Emmy DeOliveira, Seth Carr, and Marta Kessler. When it came to working with casting director Lauren Grey to find the right actors, Hay and Manfredi relied on the guiding principle of character to, once again, steer them in the right direction.

“We really were searching for that essence. There is a powerful essence for those characters, and all of our actors, who we did find through a very long process, did embody that.” Hay says.

Turns out, embracing your own essence—that is, finding what makes your work or perspective uniquely yours as an artist—is advice that the duo would give to anyone pursuing a creative life, be it writing, acting, or even assembling a team to save the world.

“Your only job is to create something—whether it’s a script, whether it’s a performance—that exemplifies your voice, and what makes you unique,” Manfredi says. “It’s just about establishing a voice, your voice, because that’s what makes you.”