.jpg)
Mark Bringhurst and Dan Stabb of CUBED.
Since the first three-paneled, cloth-covered cubicle was created, the plight of the office worker has been parodied. Over the last few years it has taken form in
television shows like The Office and movies like Office Space. Therefore, it was a logical conclusion that two local performers have taken the drudgery of the 9-to-5 workday and given it the Improv treatment.
Those performers are Dan Stabb and Mark Bringhurst -- two alumni of Delaware Comedy
Theatre's Wilmington chapter. Together, they have put together a two-man show simply named CUBED. With just a set of cubicle walls, Dan and Mark have created a 30-minute show that keeps the audiences laughing and thinking about their own workplaces at the same time.
The idea for CUBED came about after the two watched a number of two-person Improv groups at a comedy festival. "After a few months of throwing some loose concepts back and forth, the idea hit me for an office setting," says Bringhurst. After performing a number of scenes where characters spoke to each other behind imaginary cubicle walls, Mark thought it would be fun to create an actual set consisting of two adjoining cubicles so that the audience could truly get the visual.
For Dan, it was the uniqueness of the idea that got his attention. "In a typical long form show, a group will get an audience suggestion in the beginning, and that's it for the next half hour. But for us, we just thought it would be cool and different to be interactive with the audience throughout the set. We're certainly not the first to do it, but I think that's been one of the key ingredients to us being relatively
successful thus far."
The show works like this: before starting, the audience writes "From Management" memos for Dan and Mark's characters. These memos are then tacked to the cubicle walls used in their stage set. After that, the emcee takes suggestions for the company's product and name. Over the last three dozen shows the duo has gotten some imaginative names. "The Bare Bottom (toilet paper); Oops, Inc. (pregnancy tests); Holy Wieners (hot dogs)," listed Mark.
Sometimes, Mark and Dan have gotten services instead of products. "I think our most unusual suggestion was Jell-O tasters for bears," said Dan. "If I remember right, our company name was GrizzlyCo or something along those lines." It's when those suggestions are given that Dan and Mark wonder how they’re going to pull the scene off. "That was definitely one of those times, but I think we were both happy with how it turned out in the end."
For both men, the spontaneity of Improv is what drives them to do their best during their CUBED performances. "It's a great feeling to know that any laughs that you get doing Improv came from something you came up with, not from something that was scripted for you," said Mark.
For Dan, Improv is a motivator. "I truly love owning what I do. For me, it's like being a kid again," he said. "You just create this little make-believe world onstage and the possibilities are absolutely endless."
To see what CUBED is all about, stop by the Latvian Society of Philadelphia (531 North 7th Street) on Saturday, January 30th, for a performance by Dan and Mark. They'll be joined by the short-form Improv group The N Crowd. Tickets for the 10:00PM show are $10 and can be purchased via Brown Paper Tickets.
For more information on CUBED, visit their website at cubedimprovcomedy.com.
Comments