[MUSIC PLAYING] BRAD KEMP: So I saw
the show on Monday for the first time in 16 years. It was really something. Thank you for that. You know, there has been a lot
written about this show now. It has a sort of fabled history. There is a really great
story of Anthony and Lynn getting in trouble, I
believe, with Tommy Kail, for interrupting
our rehearsals-- with freestyle, of course. But you know, let's
skip over that. I think that's been
well chronicled. I would love to really talk
about the present and what's going on now. Because I have this kind
of burning question-- like, 16 years, that's a long
time to invest in something. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Overnight sensation. BRAD KEMP: Overnight sensation. [LAUGHTER] But now, going from that weird
black box theater, where there may be 30 seats,
I think, something like that, now there are
sold-out performances. And I think you
are fundamentally changing the mindset of what
people think is socially acceptable to put on Broadway. So talk to me. Like, what in God's
name were you thinking? No script, no plot, no set. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Jenny's
one of our producers. So I would actually love to
hear from her what she thinks. Because it's a big
question, right? Improv doesn't
happen on Broadway. A fully-improvised show is-- it's like Halley's
comet on Broadway. And the last one was, like,
Mike Nichols and Elaine May, and that's 1962. It's not 76 years
later, but it's close. So yeah, I mean, what are you
thinking putting a improv show on Broadway, Jenny? JENNY STEINGART: We are crazy. Well, I think when
you start anything, although everyone has fantasies
about what it could be, you don't launch into
any project thinking, this is what is going to happen. You have to honor what the
project is in the moment. And in the moment, it was
this brilliant improv show that we found. I'm a co-founder of a
theater called Ars Nova, here in New York City. And we were the first sort of
sit-down home for freestyle. And we worked very
closely for many years, really, developing the show. I mean, all of these guys
had been working and working on the show, and doing
this for a long time. But showing up-- I don't know if we did
eight shows a week, but in the beginning,
we did quite a-- ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Seven. JENNY STEINGART:
--seven shows a week, being able to deliver and
play with the different games within the show, and
see what worked best. It was really a testing
ground in lots of ways. So we watched it develop. I mean, I've seen this show-- I can't begin to
count how many times. It is different every time. I never get tired of seeing
it because it's different every time. And it has become-- over the years, it's
really been like a family. I mean, we've really
all grown up together. And I've had the
honor of watching these guys become extraordinary
performers in their own right. And as I've with my other
partners my husband Jon Steingart and Jill Furman. And we've really grown up as
producers as well, doing this. And so as we went through each
stage, it just seemed right. And the last iteration
of this was off-Broadway. And it was sold out, and
got beautiful reviews. And it felt like
the time was now. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: It
only took 16 years. JENNY STEINGART:
Only took years. That's right,
overnight sensation, 16 years in the making. But it really--
everything aligned. And it's been-- I always think, like, when doors
sort of not just swing open, but get blown off
their hinges, you know that you're
on the right path. And this has really been just
the biggest labor of love, truly. I mean, it's been
extraordinary to watch it happen, and watch all of them. And then to bring in
these fabulous ladies who are the newest
members, and it's just fantastic to have them as well. So it's great. BRAD KEMP: And there's
something about this that you're putting something
on stage where everyone on stage is a maker. They're not vessels,
they're not interpreters, they're really makers. Maybe they're interpreters of
people's lives, a little bit, right? And that must also be unique,
that everyone on stage is a maker. JENNY STEINGART: I think so. I mean, I think that it's-- certainly to watch people
in the moment of creation, really, it's so inspiring. And that's an honor to watch. BRAD KEMP: Who hasn't
seen the show yet? ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Most of the people. BRAD KEMP: Most of the people. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: So
they probably don't even know what we're talking about. [LAUGHTER] They're like, oh,
great, they did a thing. What is the thing that
they're talking about? Should we, maybe? BRAD KEMP: Maybe. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: All right. Well, why don't we do a little,
like, sample of what we do? [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] Do you want to tee it up? BRAD KEMP: It just so
happened that we've been collecting some words
as people came in, just how they're arriving today. So might I just pass this over? ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Actually,
no, you hold onto it. Because we haven't seen
these words yet, yeah? BRAD KEMP: No, that's true. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: OK. It's a little bit
like a magic trick. You have to set up
the frame for it. So we haven't seen
these words yet. They've been written
as you were entering. And we're going to do
a little setting up. Because we have to
have a beat first. So let's start with a beat. KAILA MULLADY:
[MAKING ROBOTIC MACHINE NOISES] [PITTER PATTER] [WOBBLING FLIGHT NOISE] CHRIS SULLIVAN: [SUCTION NOISE] [BEATING HEART NOISE] [SNORTING] [MUFFLED BEATING HEART, AS IF
HEART HAS BEEN SWALLOWED] [AUDIENCE CHUCKLING] [BEATBOXING WITH HEARTBEAT
RHYTHM] KAILA MULLADY:
[SNORTING SUCTION SOUNDS] [BEATBOXING CONTEMPORARY
DANCE BEAT SUGGESTING HEART HAS BEEN FREED] [BOTH BEATBOXING] [MOUTH TRUMPET] [BRIEFLY IMITATING MONOPHONIC
SYNTHESIZER] [MOUTH TRUMPET] [PRE DROP CLIMAX, AS IN DANCE
MUSIC] ANTHONY VENEZIALE: So
that's what we start with. [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] CHRIS SULLIVAN: [BEATBOXING LAID
BACK HIP HOP BEAT] ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
We start with a beat. And then, Brad, why don't you
give, like, one word at a time. And Young Nees will start
by doing a little something we call ciphering. So any time you're ready. [HIP-HOP BEAT CONTINUES] And the word is "pooping." ANEESA FOLDS: (RAPPING)
And I'm just a stoop kid, sitting on a toilet. Yes, I am pooping. This just got a little personal. But it's OK, we going
to do it anyway, because I'm doing the flow. We do the show. And here we go. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Proto. ANEESA FOLDS:
What's the protocol? Tell me, baby,
what's on your mind? Tell me what's going on,
because you look fine. Walking down the street,
gonna get some food. Yeah, I'm really going to
ask, because I'm in the mood. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Last
word for Nees is Tourette's. ANEESA FOLDS: (RAPPING)
Yeah, Tourette's. Yeah, I say what's on my mind. It just comes out I don't know
what I'm saying all the time. Yeah, I'm saying words but
what, what am I saying? Yeah, yeah, Febreze,
yeah, you know, I am spraying it
every-- everywhere, because you know it smells nice. It's winter, it's
going to be ice. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Great. Let's now have
Arthur The Geniuses sing a hook of some kind. Uber stock. ARTHUR LEWIS:
(SINGING IN R&B STYLE) Oh, man, I don't know
what I was thinking. I bought some Uber stock, and
now my portfolio is sinking. Actually, I don't know
what's going on with them. That was a cheap shot. I will not pretend. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
And last word is kale. ARTHUR LEWIS: (SINGING) Kale,
that's a vegetable you eat. Kail, that's also our
director on the street. Like Kail. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Great, and then I'll take a couple of words. Go ahead and throw
anything you want. Give me some Google words. Give me some good
old Google words. [HIP-HOP BEAT CONTINUES] ANEESA FOLDS: (SINGING)
Google words, Google words. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: (SINGING)
Google words, Google words. "Defining the relationship." All right, yes. [LAUGHTER] Obviously you're
in some deep ish. (RAPPING) I have just a project
that needs some management to come correct. But where my PMs, where my
ATMs, where my [INAUDIBLE] crew? What you going to do? I think some few of you to
come and move some things. Because I can't do it
without all of these. Bring, in, yes, we've
got a lot of heart. Thank you so much
for doing your part. Nooglers, to Googlers, to
TVCs, we going to do some FTEs, and part-time, too. And anyway, I just
went to La Place to get a gorgeous
Asian salad, what? [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] [BEAT STOPS, ROBOTIC MACHINE
NOISES] BRAD KEMP: That was close,
because the next one was-- ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Ooh, Settlers of Catan. (VAGUELY EASTERN
EUROPEAN ACCENT) I give you wheat for lamb. [LAUGHTER] BRAD KEMP: Beautiful. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
(RHYTHMICALLY) Settlers of Catan, wheat for lamb. Anyway. ANEESA FOLDS: There we go. BRAD KEMP: So in the show,
there is this moment when-- ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
So that's what we do. Yeah, that's-- KAILA MULLADY: They
still don't get it. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: That's
basically the show is. KAILA MULLADY:
What is happening? ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
In a nutshell. [APPLAUSE] BRAD KEMP: In this show,
there's this moment-- there's this define. I'm going to throw
some Google terms here. Well, first of all, I guess this
would be defined a moonshot. That's what we would
call this kind of-- ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Ooh, are
we at X all of a sudden? [SELF-CONTENTED CHORTLE] [LAUGHTER] BRAD KEMP: No one told you
you're a secret project. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Oh, wow. "Freestyle Love Su-loon Preme." [CHUCKLES] [LAUGHTER] BRAD KEMP: There's this very
uncomfortable, unnerving-- to me, maybe--
moment of ambiguity, which is after you
come out and you first started seating the audience. Unlike any other Broadway show-- well, most of them, at least-- there is this other
character that isn't planned. You don't know who's
going to show up. Right? What-- and Nees,
I'd love to hear, what's going through your mind? As you're hearing
these words come out, you're not really
sure where anything is going to be going with this. ANEESA FOLDS: Nope. And Anthony likes to pick
some crazy things sometimes. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Settlers of Catan. ANEESA FOLDS: Sometimes words I
don't even know what they mean. But yeah, I mean,
when that's happening, I'm just thinking,
please be something good, please be something good,
please be something I relate to and understand. And I mean, sometimes
it's not that. And you just have to
take it and go, and use yourself to make up something. But-- ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Pooping. ANEESA FOLDS: Pooping, exactly. I mean, some things you
relate to more than others. So I mean, there are parts
in the show where we are able to choose for ourselves. And it's really satisfying
when you get something that you understand and
can actually riff off of. BRAD KEMP: Have you ever
done just, you know, you've heard the word
before, you know how to what you're
going to do with it? or no? ANTHONY VENEZIALE: We
have pretty high standards of not repeating ourselves. ANEESA FOLDS: Yeah. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: So
we've done a lot of shows. We've done, since the
beginning, close to 1,500 shows. And we try very much not to
pick the same word, ever, twice. JENNY STEINGART:
You're not going to hear impeach being
done these days. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: That's right. JENNY STEINGART: Everyone
throws that one out. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: That's
the first word we got. BRAD KEMP: Or
surprisingly, cheese? ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Cheese, yeah. ANEESA FOLDS: Lots of
cheese, lots of cheese. Lots of cilantro, too. People don't like cilantro. KAILA MULLADY: Defenestrate
has been the word that everyone calls
out to be like, oh, no one's ever
said this word before. I think it's the most called-out
word of our trip so far. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah. KAILA MULLADY: Like, why? ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
And we call that the "look how smart I am" moment. KAILA MULLADY: Yeah. JENNY STEINGART: We
get masticate a lot. ANEESA FOLDS: Yes. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: We do. JENNY STEINGART: I love that. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: We have to
chew that one over a while, but we generally get through it. [LAUGHTER] BRAD KEMP: So there
is this a sort of guiding principle, the
certain standard, as you as also emcee are trying to
bring to the table as well. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Yeah, definitely. It's a curation process. I mean, I don't know if
anyone's familiar with a show that Derren Brown is doing
right now, called "Secret." But if you go to see
that show, you walk out and you're like, nope, the world
is not what I thought it was. Magic is real, and that
person can read minds. And it's a filtering process
that is built into a show. And so for us, because
we've done so many shows, there's a lot of thin
slicing that's going on. Well, someone also looks like
Malcolm Gladwell on our stage, so it works out well for us. [LAUGHTER] But there's a lot of using your
gut and that neural network that you've built over many
moons of doing this to say, what's going to be the most
fruitful word, or words, or story to take, and how
can we keep building them up? Our whole show is about
making our audience feel the best version of themselves
by the time they walk out. And so we have to kind of be
the best version of ourselves as well. BRAD KEMP: So for instance,
if you get "poop," you might do something
different with it. Oh, that just did not
sound right when it-- ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah, no,
that's a good question, right? So I think there's
some implications here around innovation
and creativity. But how do we
digest information? Ha, pooping. [LAUGHTER] There's a lot there, right? So P-O-O-P, and then the
I-N-G, the gerund of it all. So you know, you don't have to
just hear a word in one way. You can hear, (RAPPING)
oh, man, I took the O out and my pop can't stand. (SPEAKING) Right? So I can attack that in
lots of different ways. It doesn't have to be
a scatological joke. It can be something about the
desire to (CHANTING) pop poop and take the O out, scoop like
an ice cream shop. (SPEAKING) You know? Like, there's just
lots of ways that you can take these things apart. It doesn't have to be so
straightforward all the time. BRAD KEMP: So let me
pivot a little bit. And love to hear from
maybe Chris over there, because you're involved in the
Freestyle Love Supreme Academy as well, right? And it makes me think
of this other question, which is it sounds like they're
a bunch of mental models going on, a lot of things that
you're shifting around in y'all's minds. And in lieu of a script, a
plot, et cetera, a score, that there is this habit of
practice, this discipline, this ability to go into details. How are you all
thinking about that? CHRIS SULLIVAN: Well, we set
up the Freestyle Love Supreme Academy-- people are like
wow, he has a voice. [LAUGHTER] ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
[MAKING DESCENDING SERIES OF BEEPS AND BOOPS] ARTHUR LEWIS: I never
heard him speak before. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: I won't
beatbox translate for you. CHRIS SULLIVAN: [BEATBOXING] ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Oh,
he set up the academy. CHRIS SULLIVAN: Yeah. [LAUGHTER] Freestyle Love Supreme Academy
is a schooling process that isn't necessarily schooling. It's not from the top down. It's helping to create an
environment in our classroom to let people feel heard,
and comfortable to speak their own voice, to
tell their own stories. And the idea behind what
we do onstage mirrors that. We know all the words already
because they're our lives or they're your lives. So we're retelling those
stories or telling our own. And the rhymes, and the
rhyming, and the beatboxing, and the skill set that you
see comes with practice, and comes with doing
the show for 15 years, or being a battle
rapper for 10 years, or being a beat boxer
for 20, or whatever. You know, the practice
is what makes it happen. But when we're on stage and
when we're in the academy, we're essentially
funneling or channeling things that already exist. And it's about then
fostering the community or the environment
on stage where we feel heard and comfortable
to empower each other. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah,
invest, don't invent. That's something
that Shockwave really is adamant about inside of the
academy, and on stage as well. I love that. I love, invest, don't invent. CHRIS SULLIVAN: You invest,
you already know it. You don't have to invent. You don't have to tell a story
about dragons If you've never met a dragon. ANEESA FOLDS: Well I have. CHRIS SULLIVAN: [WOBBLY WHISTLE] ANEESA FOLDS: [LAUGHS] CHRIS SULLIVAN: Dragons. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Let
we tell you about Smaug. BRAD KEMP: So and of
course we have a graduate of the academy with us as well. What was that experience like? Because it sounds like,
oh, well, here's the book, here's the pamphlet, and now
you know how to freestyle, and certificate. ANEESA FOLDS: Yes,
that's how it went down. Yeah, Chris was my
teacher at the Academy. I took the class back in March. And fast-forward a few months
later, I am now on Broadway living my wildest dream. KAILA MULLADY: You
know how it goes. [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] ANTHONY VENEZIALE: That
is not the trajectory of-- ANEESA FOLDS:
Everybody that takes the class goes to Broadway. So sign up for it. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: That is not-- ARTHUR LEWIS:
Maybe 5% of people. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: That
is not what we're saying. ANEESA FOLDS: No, but I mean,
I was a huge fan of FLS, and these guys. And so I used to
go to the shows. And now working with
them is just incredible. It's just-- it's crazy. And they are very adamant about
having each other's backs. And coming into this,
I was terrified, because I come from a
musical theater background where I have a script, and
I have lines, and blocking. But we don't really
have that here. So I mean, naturally,
you're scared to fail, trying something
for your first time. But everyone has
your back on stage. We're a community,
and we do it together. If I drop something, somebody
is going to pick it up. And-- yeah. CHRIS SULLIVAN: We all have
different skill sets as well, and we're all varying degrees
of the diversity of the talent within that skill set. So for instance, 3/4 of
the way through our show-- Arthur generally
plays the keyboard throughout the whole show. And Arthur will then come
out and then sing the hook. We have not heard his
voice until that moment. So you, as the audience,
are then suddenly-- ANEESA FOLDS: What? CHRIS SULLIVAN: This new
talent is unveiled to you. And then you're like,
whoa, there's a Stevie Wonder/D'Angelo
hybrid on stage also. [LAUGHTER] And he's got a beautiful voice. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Meets Malcolm Gladwell. CHRIS SULLIVAN: Yeah,
meets Malcolm Gladwell. ARTHUR LEWIS: So
that's who I am. KAILA MULLADY: Yeah. [LAUGHTER] BRAD KEMP: Well, let me
play around with that. But let's follow that
up to Arthur and Kaila. The show is named after one
of the greatest improvisers of the world, John Coltrane. So with what you're
saying about mistakes and having that
support system, what is the nature of mistakes
when you are on the stage with improvisers? And improvisers, might I
add, that you trust deeply. ARTHUR LEWIS: That's an
interesting question. There are not really
many mistakes. I mean, it's like
there's this idea when you're starting that
you might make mistakes, you might fall. But the things that feel like
they're going to be mistakes are the best part of the show. So you fall and
pick yourself up. And the coming back up is
the most exciting thing that's happened on stage. And we support that musically. So there are often two
keyboardists in the group. And we will sort
go in a direction that feels like, oh, wait, maybe
we shouldn't have done that. But maybe then someone
picks it up and goes, oh, now I'm dancing. Oh, great. I'm glad I did that. Yeah. KAILA MULLADY: Yeah. And I think that's what's
special about this show. You can go see "Aladdin," where
they're doing magic tricks, and the stage, there's props
flying, and it's amazing. But in the saturated
world that we live in now, where everything is perfect-- we have people who make
millions of dollars, they don't write
their own lyrics, they auto-tune their voice,
they lip sync on stage, and we clap for that,
and we're like, yeah, we're getting a half-show,
it's really amazing to-- ANEESA FOLDS: [LAUGHS] KAILA MULLADY: You
know what I'm saying? Like, come on. Our show proves that all we
need is the power of ourselves and the human instruments. And it is good enough to
go to a show on Broadway where it's just seven people who
are truly passionate about what they love. They're talented, they
worked hard for it, and that's all you need. And it's just as good as a
show as "Wicked," where people are flying through the air. It just shows what
humans are capable of. And when we shed away-- you guys are Google. You have the highest technology,
probably, in this building. But it's you guys
that make that happen. It's not like these lights
go on by themselves, really. We need the human aspect of it. And I think that that is
what the heart of our show. Is it is the human aspect. And it shows where
everything else comes from, all the glitter, and the
glam, and the visual effects, and the cool sound effects. It started with
just human beings coming together and
creating that show. And I really think that's why
"Freestyle Love Supreme" is really special, too. Like Aneesa and I
are new to the mix. But this is a
group of people who have been best
friends for 15 years, and made this happen
through their commitment to each other and the craft. And for me it's so
inspiring to see, like, I wonder what I'm
doing now, in 15 years, what the things that I'm
passionate about and the things that I'm
doing with my friends-- or maybe your co-workers-- where
that idea will be in 15 years. That's really special to
me, to be a part of that. CHRIS SULLIVAN: Broadway. KAILA MULLADY: Broadway. JENNY STEINGART:
I also think, just as someone who doesn't do what
these guys do, I think the show and the artistry of the
way they work together is a metaphor, really, for
life, and a reminder to me to kind of go with the
flow a little bit more. Because you realize there
really is no perfect anything. And in life, we learn the
most from our failures, our mistakes. We don't usually learn
from our successes. When everything
lines up perfectly, it's not really where
the good stuff happens, even though it feels
good in the moment. The bigger sense of victory
comes when it's, like, tanking, and you pulled it together. And at the end of a show,
maybe the cumulative effect of the show is phenomenal. Like, it's a great show. But there were parts that
didn't work, that did work. And you realize,
in life, that's OK. It's all not going to be
an A-plus, all through. And I just feel, as someone who
has watched it so many times, and watching what you do,
it's a constant reminder to me to just kind of ride
the wave a little bit. And just ride it. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Yeah, and there's some delicious science
behind all the things we're saying as well. So can I jump into that? Is that right? BRAD KEMP: Do it. Go. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
So there's something in our brains, the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. It's the area of
your brain that-- [LAUGHTER] --is responsible for
effortful planning. The only reason
why I know this is because I've been working
with a neurologist and a neuroscientist out of UCSF
for the last 2 and 1/2 years. His name is Dr. Charles Limb. And he was obsessed with
sound and how it affected your brain and your creativity. So about 10 years ago, he
put beatboxers and freestyle rappers into fMRI machines. And about three years
ago, he and I teamed up and we got some grants
from the NEA and the NIH to put improvisers
and more freestylers, and Shockwave into
an fMRI machine, and start to see the
correlative nature between your state of flow
and your effortful planning. Now, I'm sure all of you out
there are hugely successful. You're here at Google. That's amazing. Congratulations. [LAUGHTER] Also-- no big deal-- TVC. OK, great. [LAUGHTER] Just something I do. So these parts of your brain,
this effortful planning, that's generally your
inner critic voice. That's the part of
your brain that's basically saying,
you're not good enough, perf review is coming up. Oh my gosh, I only got three
of my major five OKRs done. I'm at like 42%. I'm supposed to be at 64%. And so you start really
judging all that, like, muscle, like, how do I work
harder to do this? And then there's another
part of your brain, which is the medial lateral prefrontal
cortex, a little bit further forward and off to the sides. And it is basically responsible
for your state of flow. And we probably have
heard a little bit about some of that--
the flow state, and being creative,
and being playful. There's a lot of great
books out there around it. And this part of your
brain is that part when you are just
crushing something and it doesn't feel like work. Time just disappears. And for some of us, it's yoga. And for some of us, it's coding. And for some of us,
it's freestyle rapping. But there's something
about it that switches these different
waves in our brain. And it also, when you
get to your flow state, it mutes your dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex. Now that's something that can
be truly useful when you're doing a blue sky project, when
you're being very creative, and you want to just
say yes, and you want to create an
environment with a lot of psychological
safety for you all, not just the guys in the room. We've said "guys" a lot up here. I want to just point out,
when we say, guys, we're using it to mean all of you,
whether you associate yourself as a male, a female, middle
sex, somewhere outside of that spectrum, or in
between, this is for everyone. This is how neuronormative
and neurodiverse brains work. So what we want to do is
use the skill of improv. And that's why we
have the academy, and that's why I do
Speechless-- that's the company I have
inside of Google, that we train Googlers to do
more improv practice so they can get to their state of
flow easier, and faster, and in a place where they
trust everyone around them. BRAD KEMP: Cheers to that. ANEESA FOLDS: I
will say, yes, when people come to see the
show, a lot of my friends are always saying, I
was so scared for you. And I'm-- yeah, me too. I'm terrified. [LAUGHTER] This is new to me. But when you get up on stage
and you're doing that thing, it really does quiet everything
else that's telling you you can't do it, because
you don't have time to think about what you
can't do, you just got do it. And so yes, that's
what I've learned, is just to trust myself
and just go for it. And the academy was-- I mean, we had people from
all different walks of life that haven't done improvisation,
or haven't done rapping, haven't done singing. And it was just creating a
safe space where people were quieting the parts of themselves
that told them that they couldn't. And then they did it. And I think that's what
the Academy is about. It's not about your
skills necessarily, but it's about just creating
a space where people can come together and feel free. KAILA MULLADY: Yeah. That doesn't mean that when we
get off the stage we're like, perfect, we did it perfectly. ANEESA FOLDS: No way. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Not at all. KAILA MULLADY: Chris and
I will literally, like, come off and be like oh, we
[BASS DRUM SOUND] we meant to [QUACK]. Ugh, why did we do that? I did [HI-HAT CYMBAL SOUND]
instead of [TRUMPET SOUND].. Ugh, why? [LAUGHTER] But the difference is, even
if we have those moments, all of us still come
back the next day. Or we go back to the next show
even if it's two hours later. We'll do the next
show, and we don't let that stay in our head. I'm not going to be
nervous now because I [QUACK] the wrong way. You know what I mean? So I think just because we're
always putting ourselves in a risky situation,
and sometimes the moves that we make work really well. Sometimes we don't,
and then we get off, and we feel like, ah, all
right, I'll do better next time. But what's really
special, too, is if we have that moment
where, ooh, I did [QUACK] and that didn't fit
well, it doesn't matter. These guys will go, OK, yep,
that's what we're doing now. And they all support
that move that you did, even if you kind of
don't feel good about it. And we make it a move that
is successful in the end. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah, failure
becomes a part of our practice. BRAD KEMP: Yeah. Cheers to that. So let me dig into
that a little bit more. Of course you all do have a
director, with Thomas Kail. So other things that he's
looking at you've worked on, there is something on a piece
of paper, there is an idea, there's something there
that anchors that feedback. And for you, that anchor
isn't really there. There's a different
kind of anchor. So in that really supportive,
nurturing, safe environment that you're talking about,
where you get off stage and you're thinking about
the two million choices you just made, and
you're thinking about alternate realities
that could have happened, you're on second
chances, if you will, what's the nature of
receiving and giving feedback? Because you all
have clearly honed a skill, which means you
must have been receiving and developing your own
feedback, asking for feedback, giving feedback. But it sounds like it's a whole
different animal than some of the archetypes
that people have in their head of this
director yelling at people, or getting into this one
word, and no, that word means to emote more-- feel it. What is that feedback like when
you're working with each other or with Thomas? CHRIS SULLIVAN: The feedback
is not necessarily-- ever, even-- about the
content that happens within. It's not, you made
a wrong choice. Generally-- and if not, I'm
just not thinking of any other cause, or any other case-- it's the structural
aspect to it. It's the types of
words that we get. It's the types of choices. It's the overall structural
integrity of the show. Maybe we should do this instead. Maybe let's tighten it up. This went a little bit longer. How do we make it shorter? It's not, you went too long. It's not necessarily that stuff. It's kind of the scaffolding
that gets adjusted. ARTHUR LEWIS: Yeah, I think one
thing that we haven't touched on so much is that there are
sort of two levels of structure to the show-- not structure,
but sort of the two levels of how the show exists. There's this sort of wonderful
bubbling goo of improv. But then there's the framework
that we pour it into. So there are also two levels
of feedback that can happen. There can be things
like, oh, well, we got to point A in this game
sooner than we wanted to. But then there can also be,
we could make that choice more boldly this time. There's sort of two levels. And that same thing
sort of applies to what happens at
the academy and when we talk about the
work we do in general. There's always the skill level
of the generalized improv, and then there's the
structure we pour it all into. BRAD KEMP: Hmm. Interesting. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah, I have
to say, about feedback, too, there's something
really interesting around the culture of feedback. So I know at Google, the
feedback here tends to be like, well, I mean, radical
candor is starting to take root in some
areas as well, thanks to Google employees. And it can be totally
misused as well. There's a lot of danger
around radical candor if it's not sort of doled out
in the way that it was meant and/or intended. But really what
you're talking about is like warm feedback
and cool feedback. And by warm feedback, I
mean what's serving us well? What's going well? And then cool feedback-- what
can we do better next time? And what's really important
as you, as an individual, you can tell others what
kind of feedback you need. That's something
that you can do. A lot of times we give away
our agency around feedback. And so something that I think
is hugely important can be, hey, I've been
struggling lately, and I'm not feeling that great
or confident about my ability, I need some warm feedback. I need some people
to just tell me some of the things that
are going right and so I can keep heading
in that direction. Often the feedback we get
that we really obsess over-- and this is humans, because we
are problem-solving machines-- is the bad stuff, is the
stuff that we didn't do well, or where we came up short. Because we're always
trying to get better. And for us-- and I think what
Keyser Rosé is saying over there is that there is a
certain amount of, you're full, and you're already good
enough exactly as you are. ANEESA FOLDS: I will say that
I get caught in the rhyming. I'm seduced by the
rhyming of it all. And a note that I got a lot
was, stop being focused on that. Tell the story. And so that definitely
freed me in a way. You can't be scared
to not rhyme. What we're trying to do
is tell a story to people. And I thought that was
really great advice. BRAD KEMP: With this
theme of making mistakes, and these glorious things
of improv, sometimes you see someone do the
bleep instead of the bloop, and someone else picks it up. I'm sure you can reach back
into the archives and share one of those stories of one
of these little things that led to a bigger thing. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah. We were at the United Nations-- [LAUGHTER] BRAD KEMP: Already love it. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah. ANEESA FOLDS: I
don't know this one. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah,
I don't think I do. And-- JENNY STEINGART: End scene. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Yeah, end scene. And that's it. Just imagine what happens like. No, and there's a
bunch of kids from all over the world in the audience. And we're doing a show
for the children of, like, the diplomats and
the people from who are representing the country
at the United Nations. And we did the song
called "What Y'all Know," which is basically like each
one of us feels like, OK, cool, this is my superpower. I'm a super comic book nerd. So just anyone can shout out
anything about comic books, and I'll be able to run with it. And for me, I'm a
big fan of geography, and the world, and history. And so I asked for a city
anywhere in the world. And someone shouted out Dubai. And I confused it with Darfur. And I did an entire rap about
the South Sudanese needing-- and this is before South
Sudan was a country-- and the [INAUDIBLE],, and
went into all this stuff. And all the kids were like, what
the hell is he talking about? And that's one of those
lives-in-lore stories. And a couple of kids came up
to me and they're like, oh, that was so great
how you commented on the opposite of what Dubai,
which is this very wealthy-- [LAUGHTER] So I was like, yep, that's
exactly what I was doing. So that's a pretty-- ANEESA FOLDS: One
time I did a show-- came out, and I was like,
(RAPPING) yeah, it's Tuesday night, we're living it,
it's crazy, (SPEAKING) like, did a whole wrap. And then after, I
think [INAUDIBLE] was like-- on the
microphone-- it's Monday. [LAUGHTER] KAILA MULLADY: She said
it like seven times. ANEESA FOLDS: I said
it's seven times. KAILA MULLADY: Make some
noise, Tuesday night. ANEESA FOLDS: I was like,
what's up, everybody. It's Tuesday, Tuesday. [LAUGHTER] ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
No one responded. ANEESA FOLDS: And so
throughout the show, the guys kept making fun
of me, and brought it back until the very end of the
show-- sorry everybody, it's Tuesday night. So yeah, I mean, the
audience was with us. And everyone was
laughing the whole time, because I'm an idiot and I
don't know what day it is. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Stop it. I've turned it into
a game [INAUDIBLE].. ARTHUR LEWIS: Yeah, I think
the thing about that story is that they were making
fun of her at the beginning. But by the end, it was just
a fun part of the show. It was no longer directed
at Aneesa in any way. CHRIS SULLIVAN: That speaks to-- it's only a mistake if
you make it a mistake. You make a mistake,
do it harder. Do it again, do it again,
you create a pattern, there are no wrong notes. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: A little bit
like the Miles Davis quote-- a wrong note only becomes one
by the note that follows it. BRAD KEMP: Yeah. KAILA MULLADY: Play a
wrong note three times and it becomes right, right? CHRIS SULLIVAN: Yeah. KAILA MULLADY: It's
like [CLICKS TONGUE].. BRAD KEMP: Quick
lightning round-- if there was one show on Broadway,
any staple, that you want to see completely
improvised, that you'd be willing into performing
as well, in 2020, what would it be? ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Turn a current show, or even a show from the past? BRAD KEMP: Any show. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Any show. BRAD KEMP: Any Broadway show. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Turn any Broadway show into a freestyle rap show. BRAD KEMP: The only caveat is
that you do have to perform it. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Oh, OK. KAILA MULLADY: "Wicked." (EXAGGERATED SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
ACCENT) It would be wicked, man. I'd do it. [LAUGHTER] BRAD KEMP: All right. CHRIS SULLIVAN: I
don't know, "Phantom." BRAD KEMP: Who would you play? CHRIS SULLIVAN: I don't
know, the ghost guy. [LAUGHTER] KAILA MULLADY: It's
going well already. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Have
you ever seen "Phantom"? KAILA MULLADY: Yeah,
it's going well. CHRIS SULLIVAN: I don't know. I don't know-- ARTHUR LEWIS: Improvising the
casting and the characters as well. I'm going with "Little
Shop of Horrors." And I would play the plant. I'm definitely
playing the plant. [LAUGHTER] ANEESA FOLDS: I
don't know, "Sunday in the Park with George." I don't know. I'll be George, though. [LAUGHTER] ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Wow. KAILA MULLADY:
[HUMMING "JEOPARDY" THEME] ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
"My Fair Lady." [LAUGHTER] ANEESA FOLDS: (BRITISH
ACCENT) Eliza! BRAD KEMP: What I
find fascinating is that you make up
things to suggestions in a box in a split second,
but this actually took a while. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: We
took it really seriously. ANEESA FOLDS: I don't even
know if that's my answer. I just said "Sunday in
the Park With George." BRAD KEMP: OK, let's take
a question over here. AUDIENCE: My question
is a request. Can you do a few more words? ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah,
maybe on the outro. Maybe on the way out. BRAD KEMP: We'll some
time at the end for you. AUDIENCE: OK, thanks. KAILA MULLADY: Thank you. You rock. (BRITISH ROCK STAR
VOICE) We love you. BRAD KEMP: Let's go over here. AUDIENCE: Great. So you guys talked a
little bit about practice. But I'm curious about training. Have you all had
any formal training, or have you trained your
minds to think in rhymes, or improve your
beatboxing over time? Was that a rhyme? ANTHONY VENEZIALE: It was. ANEESA FOLDS: Everybody's
a rapper, rapper. CHRIS SULLIVAN:
You're in the group. [LAUGHTER] [INAUDIBLE] KAILA MULLADY: Yeah,
yeah, we'll trade. We'll trade. CHRIS SULLIVAN: I grew
up playing percussion. So the rhythm was always there. And then improv
from high school on. So those kind of things,
for me, have melded my mind. ARTHUR LEWIS: I have a small
story on the power of practice in this group, which is that
we warm up before the show by doing freestyling,
like little bits, passing it back and forth. And historically, it was just
the rappers that did this. And every once in a while, they
would try to make Shockwave and I do it. And we'd be like,
(SQUIRMING) ahhh, and we'd kind of
not be able do it. And then one day, about two
years ago, we were at a gig. And right before the gig,
one of them pointed to me and made me do it a little bit. And I was terrified. I was like, oh my God. But it was so fun. And then every gig after
that, they made me do it. It was just a little
bit before each show. And two years later, I
actually can kind of do it. KAILA MULLADY: He's nasty. ARTHUR LEWIS: You can just-- KAILA MULLADY: Don't be humble. You're-- ARTHUR LEWIS: "Training." KAILA MULLADY: --awesome now. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Genie, was that the Met? ARTHUR LEWIS: That
was South Africa? ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Oh, Cape Town. ARTHUR LEWIS: Yeah,
it was Cape Town. ANEESA FOLDS: (AS IN A
SHOUT-OUT) Capt Town. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
(MIMICKING) Cape Town. [LAUGHTER] I liken it to a
foreign language. Once you immerse yourself
enough in freestyling, you start dreaming in it. And so if you immerse yourself
in a foreign language, and you're living in
a different country, once you acquire
the language enough, I think you can
start to occasionally have dreams in that language. It's also a little bit
like the game Tetris, if anyone has played that,
and then at night you see the boxes in your mind. It's the same thing with fitting
the word into the right slot. BRAD KEMP: I had a few Two
Dots dreams at one point. Then I stopped. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah. [LAUGHTER] KAILA MULLADY: Yeah, I think,
at least for beatboxing, there was no schooling. I just annoyed
everyone around me, and would make fart
noises, and experiment. But I think what's really cool
about the human instrument is it's with you all the time. I beatbox all the time. I'm on the subway-- ANEESA FOLDS: She does. KAILA MULLADY: Yeah. I'm really sorry. She has to share a room with me. She has to share a room with me. And the other day, I was
just going, like, [GROWLING] ANEESA FOLDS: I
have lots of videos. KAILA MULLADY: Yeah,
wait [GROWLING].. Like, just trying
to find new sounds. ANEESA FOLDS: It's so weird. KAILA MULLADY: But it's
cool because it's with you all the time, you know? So it's like we
have the opportunity to practice at every moment. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Thanks for the question. ANEESA FOLDS: Yes. KAILA MULLADY: Sorry. ANEESA FOLDS: No, it's-- KAILA MULLADY: [INAUDIBLE]. ANEESA FOLDS: I mean, I'm from a
musical theater background, did a lot of singing growing up. And so I'm musically trained. Freestyled as a
joke in high school. My name, Young Nees,
is from high school. People know me that from home. And so, yeah, doing it in
this setting was really crazy. And just doing it
over and over again, a lot of reps, and learning how
to work with others and uplift others has been really cool. AUDIENCE: Awesome. Thank you. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Thank you. KAILA MULLADY: [AIR HORN] BRAD KEMP: Over here. AUDIENCE: So there's a
point in the show where you're picking an audience
member to come up on stage. Maybe you see where
this is going. One of the things you say is,
it shouldn't be your birthday. [LAUGHTER] What's up with that? ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
What a great question. So at the end of the show, we
bring an audience volunteer up and we interview
them about their day. And we have some rules about
who we bring up on stage. And here are the rules. First, you should have
done something in your day. It should be interesting,
maybe slightly out of the ordinary for you. Second-- JENNY STEINGART:
Amazing how many people don't follow that one. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
That's very true. Second, you should have
interacted with at least three to five other people than
the people in your head. Not that there's anything wrong
with the people in your head. We love them. It just gives us characters
to play inside of the day. Third, you have to be
of voting age or older. And we have brought kids up. And we'll leave it at that. [LAUGHTER] And then finally,
the last rule is it shouldn't be your birthday. And here's why. When your expectation
is, this day is about me, and I'm being
celebrated, and I want to have the best day
of my life, they're coming up there with
a lot of expectations. And then the audience equally
has very high expectations, because they want
this person's birthday to be special and unique. That's what birthdays
are supposed to be. And it always is not. [LAUGHTER] Every single time,
their day is-- they've spent their day
waiting to come to our show instead of living their life. Because usually a birthday is
like a little bit of a pause. And so it actually--
it helps to make sure that we filter the right
person to come up on stage. AUDIENCE: So you guys talked
a little bit about times you've made a mistake-- you said the wrong
word, you didn't rhyme, you sang the
wrong note, whatever. I was curious if it often
happens that you just draw a blank and have nothing. Like you're supposed to
be rapping about some word you pulled out of the bucket,
and you just got nothing. ANEESA FOLDS: Yep. [LAUGHTER] It's happened to me. One time we were
doing "True," which is when we sit on
some stools, and get intimate with the audience,
and tell a true story. And Anthony here
picked "dichotomy." And I just didn't know if
I remembered what it meant. And I looked at him and said-- I was supposed to go first,
and I looked at him and said, you're going to
have to go first. And I switched stools with
him, and he was like, OK, yep. And he sat down, and
he did his verse. And through his verse,
he told me what it meant. Because that's the
beauty of the show. And then I was able
to tell my own story. But yeah, absolutely. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: I think
the interesting thing there is that if
you draw a blank, it doesn't mean the
show has drawn a blank. So the infrastructure
of our show, there's music is being made up. Every song, every key that is
being struck, it's all being-- it's genesis. And so if you feel like
it's the seventh day and you need to rest, it's OK. There are five, six
other people on stage that will be busy on
Monday through Saturday. If that's the way it
works for some people. Or Shabbos, whatever, you
know, you get what I'm saying. CHRIS SULLIVAN: In the
beginning of the show, there's a beatbox
solo, a highlight where we, either together
or individually, get a chance to perform. And that is not
inspired by a word. So generally it's easier
to kind of go somewhere if you have an inspiration. There's a little bit of a
fence that you can run along. But this is just-- our show starts with a beat. And then there's a
spotlight on you, and you got to do something. So the greatest
part about that is that we get to just completely
improvise that moment. But there's an
aspect to it that you have to kind of let
the audience know that it's being improvised,
but you don't get a word. So there is that
aspect to that solo that requires us to be a little
bit loosey-goosey with it. It's not a rehearsed solo. We're not flexing our
strongest skills, continually in the right order, and whatnot. So at that point, sometimes your
mind is just completely blank, and you're in the spotlight. And you just kind of
have to do something. So you just start
with something, and-- [MAKING SOUND EFFECTS WITH
MOUTH] I didn't know what I was
going to do right there. But you just make a sound,
and then something else will always come next-- time. KAILA MULLADY:
Yeah, I always feel like confidence isn't
walking into a room and being like Madonna, and
perfect, and infallible, right? For me, confidence
is just the ability to continue no matter
what's happening. So a lot of times I'll be
like, uh, Trinidad, Trinidad. I don't know about Trinidad. What does that make me think of? I don't know, I don't know. Instead of just
shutting down, it's working through that not
knowing, and seeing where that takes you, and trusting
that maybe for this second you don't know, but in
four seconds from now, if you just keep
those synapses firing, you'll get to that point that
you need, or figure it out. ARTHUR LEWIS: Yeah,
the moment that I stopped being nervous
about doing this show was the moment that
I realized that when I didn't know what to say, it
was still going to work out. And then everything was,
oh, yeah, that's fine. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: That
should be the title of your autobiography. [LAUGHTER] It's so good. ARTHUR LEWIS: It's
a very long title. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
Just pick a part of it. But yeah-- moment. BRAD KEMP: There is that thing
that some painters have said, when they have the blank canvas,
that's the terrifying part. So they just paint a
bunch of crap on it that later they'll paint over
just to make a first step. It sounds like there is a
similar practice in every art-- just take a step. Yes. AUDIENCE: Hello. Thanks for coming. I was wondering
if you could talk about what it's been like
working with Wayne Brady, specifically with his
improvisation skills, and if there's any
memorable moments. ANEESA FOLDS: Wayne is the best. It's crazy working with him,
because I've watched him on TV my whole life. And he's just the nicest dude. Very friendly man. And yeah, he could do
everything that we can all do, but in one person. [LAUGHTER] So he's a superhero. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
He Is Voltron of one. CHRIS SULLIVAN: Our show
has three basic tracks of the vocalists. And mic 1 is the
hosting person who has the rapport
with the audience, and crowd work, and whatnot. And mic 2 is sort of
generally the rapper-- the rapper of rappers, I guess. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Point guard. CHRIS SULLIVAN: Yeah,
the point guard. And mic 3 is the singer
rapper, who has a voice. And through our run with
us-- he played with us in DC, he's here with us on Broadway--
he has done all three of those tracks to a
high degree of success. ANEESA FOLDS: Chocolate bars. CHRIS SULLIVAN: Chocolate bars. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
That's his new MC name. He just came up with it, like-- ANEESA FOLDS: [LAUGHS] ANTHONY VENEZIALE: That's his
new MC name, is Chocolate Bars. CHRIS SULLIVAN: It used to
be 100% Chance of Wayne. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: That's true. ARTHUR LEWIS: That's also great. [LAUGHTER] ANTHONY VENEZIALE: A real
quick story about Wayne-- in DC, he was doing shows
with us at the Kennedy Center. And yeah, we got the word-- I think it was "union." And he did this amazing
rap about the Civil War, and about him as a son of
an immigrant from Trinidad, and what it meant-- [LAUGHTER] These things, they happen. And you know, what it's meant
to be a black man in the United States. And how the Union Army, in
some way, shape, or form, made a tectonic shift
for the black experience in the United States. And that most art-- post amazing art--
comes from black people. And so the union that
he found himself in. [LAUGHTER] Let's be honest, it does. Anything that's
amazing in the world, probably a black person made it. So he had this chance
to kind of just have a beautiful moment
with the audience around the history
of his experience as a black man in
the United States. And our show, while
it's, on the surface, a comedy freestyle rap
show, it has these moments of great depth to it as well. And to hear Wayne Brady,
who is the king of improv, have a moment where he
shared his vulnerable heart around what it means
to keep making art in this day and age as a
black man, that, to me, is like the best thing that
"Freestyle Love Supreme" is capable of doing. BRAD KEMP: Before we shift
and start winding down, there was beautiful
moment on Monday night, from "Scented Candles," which
started out as the worst road trip of all time. And then, at the end, we
we're all thinking about 9/11. And we were all right there,
from comedy to tragedy. And what I appreciated about it
is that we were brought along gently as well. So thank you for that. AUDIENCE: First of all,
saw the show, amazing. I just have to repeat it. It's been said many
times, but it's true. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Thank you. AUDIENCE: Also, I
second the request from the person earlier-- more, more. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
More rapping, please. AUDIENCE: But the
actual question is, maybe related to the
previous question, what are the, let's say, requirements
that you impose on the guests? And what are the challenges
in working with them, right? Presumably they
haven't necessarily spent the last 15 years
freestyling or free styling with you. And so how do you make that
work as well as it does? CHRIS SULLIVAN:
Some of our guests that we've had, we
help them to shine through what they do best. We've had-- Sarah Kay
is an amazing poet who we've known for years,
but she's not a rapper. She did an improvised
poem onstage. So we help-- we mold our show. We kind of-- because we can-- create the divot for her to
sit in and shine as herself. We had Ian McKellen and Helen
Mirren on stage last week. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
I mean, whatever. CHRIS SULLIVAN:
Whatever, just that. AUDIENCE: Nice, nice. CHRIS SULLIVAN: And we
created sort of a love battle for the two of them, where there
was an interview that happened, and then embodying them,
and then telling each other how much they love each other. So that was a new thing that
we've never done before. So we have the ability,
really, to do anything with anybody on stage. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: And
love and generosity being the guiding principles. CHRIS SULLIVAN: Yeah, that too. AUDIENCE: Also, when
you put it that way, anything with anybody, it
sounds slightly ominous. KAILA MULLADY: [EVIL LAUGHTER] ANTHONY VENEZIALE: We're a bit
of an adaptogenic, it's true. OK, and maybe this will kick
us into a rap with some more words. AUDIENCE: Yeah, I
was wondering what are the origin stories
of your guys' nicknames. [BEATBOXING] ANTHONY VENEZIALE: (RAPPING)
All right, I guess I'll start, because that's my part. I made a huge mistake when
I was trying to introduce Arthur the Geniuses. Check it out. I didn't know his last name. He came in. I just met him that night. And Lin was like, he works
at the Tech Serve, which is pre-Apple Store days. He's the Mac Genius
Bar, basically. And he also went to Yale
for music composing. All right, so I was supposing
on stage, in that exact moment, what am I going to
call this human being? OK, I have some choosing. I'm not the St. Regises. So I brought him in. I called him Arthur
the Geniuses. Because he's two
kinds of genius. That's how he got his name. True? ARTHUR LEWIS: True. ANEESA FOLDS: All right, OK. (RAPPING) So I was
listening to this song by this girl, Young B.
And she came on the mic, and she was like, see,
it's Young B on the track, so it was about to be crazy. And I was like, OK, OK, baby. So I took that, and I went
to school the next day. And I was like, hey,
everybody, hey hey hey. It's Young Nees on the track,
so it's about to be crazy. Rich girl, that's me, OK, baby. Money on my mind and
blah, blah, blah. And I was spitting, everybody
was like ha, ha, ha. And so people started
calling me Young Nees. And now I rap over the beat. ARTHUR LEWIS: Oh gosh. (RAPPING) He already
told my story. [LAUGHTER] CHRIS SULLIVAN: My story. ARTHUR LEWIS: I don't
know your story. Oh, wait, wait, yes I do. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yeah,
you know Shockwave. ARTHUR LEWIS: Oh, shit OK. (RAPPING) There was
a transformer thing that happened one time. And then I'm going to say
something else that rhymes. I think maybe his name was
Soundwave who was a cassette guy who did some thing. (SPEAKING) I don't
know the story. ANTHONY VENEZIALE:
(RAPPING) He was at UMass at Mission Improbable. It was improbable that he
would do the a cappella. So, yeah, this white fella
started making some beats. And everybody, like, was,
oh God damn, that's sweet. And the next person on, who
was a "Transformer" fan, he was like, give it up for my
man, his name is Shockwave-- instead of sound wave. Because sound wave's superior,
[INAUDIBLE] inferior. But anyway, if you
watch the movie, "Transformers," you might
know what I am referring to. That is how Shock got his name. And that was like 1999? '98? Keyser Roze is very
much more recent, yeah? KAILA MULLADY: It's true. Because (RAPPING) honestly, I
don't know how to name myself. It's just not in my vision,
it's just not with my wealth. (SPEAKING) It's a thing
that I can never do. I did have a beatbox
name, but I had to drop it because it was
labored and it made no sense. So-- (RAPPING) I
came to rehearsals, and everyone had nicknames. And they were like, oh,
Arthur the Geniuses, and Shockwave-- and Kaila. [LAUGHTER] We gotta give you a name. So I sat down with Anthony. And he said, what
do you fancy, see? He said, tell me a story. (SPEAKING) So I told them a
story about this old sandwich I would make with my grandma,
which was a genius invention, and I can't tell you because
you will all steal it. I'm not going to
tell you what it is. But somehow, through that story,
I got the name Keyser Rosé. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: (RAPPING)
Like the kaiser bun. Anyway, she's not the only one. All right, so we're
going to have some fun. 'Cause "Two Touch" came
from a form of improv I created in '99 with another
improvisational troupe fine. They were called
The Pedestrians, based on a review
that the New York Times gave to Tommy
Kail for his first show that he ever did direct. All right now I came correct. And what we did, we
asked for cassette tapes. This is how long ago it was. It was CDs, or maybe
the first iPod, and a person in the audience
would give us music, and we was like God. We would play it, and then
recreate it with our voices. And then later in the show, we
would make a second choices. Like think BBC Anthology
of the Beatles, all right? Yes, so we did, like, a second
alt take of "Hey, Jude." And then they were singing,
that's a pretty good job. Hey, dude, you should probably
do a second touch to that song. So we probably called it "Two
Touch" not too long after that. And that's how I
got my name, too. [BEATBOXING ENDS] [APPLAUSE] ARTHUR LEWIS: I learned a lot. KAILA MULLADY: Yeah,
I feel different. BRAD KEMP: Jenny,
I want to thank you so much for believing in
this show and keeping it going. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Yes. BRAD KEMP: Let's
hear it for Ars Nova. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Ars Nova. [APPLAUSE] Yeah, if you haven't
seen shows at Ars Nova, or if you're not a supporter
or a fan, run, don't walk. They put on the best shows. And those shows generally
end up in every big stages. You know, "The Great
Comet" is just one example. But there's so
many shows that are spectacular and
life-changing, because they look for unique voices. And Ars Nova's work
is just the best. And we all love them very much. JENNY STEINGART: Thank you. BRAD KEMP: And thank you all
for coming and blessing us at Google, and sharing your
stories, and teaching us kind of how to show
up, if I can say. Thank you. ANTHONY VENEZIALE: Thank you. CHRIS SULLIVAN: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] [DRUM ROLL, CYMBAL CRASH SOUND
EFFECT]
