During Sketchfest, it’s interesting how one could make show decisions. There are the headliners, and there are the special guests. No matter what, you will find something new. I stumbled across Superego because of the advertised guests. Paul F Thomkins is a genius, and I really enjoyed Erinn Hayes in Parenthood. So, I stumbled out of bed at 11:30 in order to go see comedy on a Saturday early afternoon. Which really isn’t a time that comedy should happen.
So, what is the Superego Podcast? Well, it’s an improvised podcast featuring comics Mark McConville, Jeremy Carter, Jeff Crocker and Matt Gourley. Their bits that are loosely inspired by psychological disorders. Very loosely. But that’s not a bad thing at all. All four of them were dressed in white lab coats, and they had two laptops on stage. Crocker was the one manning the laptops, and his primary job was handling sound effects, which were amazing. He created the illusion of the classic, tinny radio noise. He created the ambiance of a mall. He even managed to recreate FDR.
Although the sound effects were cool, they would be nothing without real comedy talent. And we definitely had that on stage. The first sketch was a serious of silly radio station requests. Each member of the troupe became a little more absurd than the next. Paul F Thomkins remained on stage for this whole bit, and, in fact, practically the whole show.
The Superego folks were great to their guests… They made them each feel as if they were a part of the troupe from the get go. The second bit featured a perfume counter, which was about as chaotic as a sketch could be, only to end up with a bottle of perfume bursting on the floor. Which, of course, led to some extra comedy for the rest of the night. A puddle is as good as a banana peel, of course.
Although Thomkins was a great guest, Erin Hayes brought in a much needed feminine punch. She was quick and witty, and hysterical. Her finest character was during a fictitious sports press conference, playing the angsty wife of a coach with amazing ease.
The last group of guests to appear were Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett from MST3K. They did a wonderful bit at an old folks home, doing an great spoof on bingo. Although the best bit was a parody of a country singer, featuring Jeremy Carter doing an excellent spoof on Brad Paisley, and his collaborator Andrew Lloyd Weber, as channeled by Thomkins. The entire cast closed the show in this set up, improvising a song with the Superego gang on guitar and banjo, and MST3K’s Murphy showing his hidden mouthharp talent.
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