From On Patrol #92: Done With The Seeds
April 6th, 2015

Towards the end of our run, the show fell into a standard format: songs at the beginning, followed by a monologue and some banter with Intern Will; then we’d perform the bit, and end with a guest – I certainly tried other methods, but after four years I’d figured out how best to structure the program. But that made for about twenty minutes off the top where I just talked – for better or worse – and after improvising alone for so long I’d really found my niche. I’m sure it was the audience’s least favorite part of the show, but for me it was important to cement the program’s narrative voice and ramp up to the absurdity later on. There was discussion about making the show only an hour, but I knew the thing had to be long-form and able to breathe around the edges: that monologue was so important to the overall arrangement. I could really go on for as long as necessary – and you can really hear my comfort, making myself laugh more than anything else. Most of these monologues were unscripted: occasionally I’d have an outline or a couple of points I wanted to hit, but primarily I was just free-associating and letting it go. I find this one particularly funny, even if no one else does: even before Bill Cosby’s was accused of sexual assault, I remember thinking it was super off-putting how he wore a sweat suit on stage.