Speaker 1: (00:00)
Back in 1988, mystery science theater, 3000 found a way to make watching bad movies fun by serving up a human test subject, forced to watch bad movies on a spacecraft run by mad scientists. The purpose being to find one that will drive the test subject insane. K PBS arts, Beth Amando previews, the live time bubble tour, coming to the Bebo theater. By speaking with one of the newest cast members, Emily Marsh,
Speaker 2: (00:30)
Emily, you are part of mystery science theater, three thousands live tour. So what can people expect from a live version of the
Speaker 3: (00:38)
Show? So, uh, the great thing is that it's mostly exactly how you would be watching an episode. So we have a movie we're watching that is truly terrible. Uh, we have host segments, um, to break up the terribleness of this movie and you have the two bots GPC and me, uh, the host riffing, along with the movie, the things that are a little bit different is that at, instead of it just being, you know, you and three friends, it's a whole audience filled with Misty, and I've found that to be really fun, especially for people who haven't, maybe weren't fans of the show before. Cuz I think it's like a really great gateway to entry because you're basically filled with an audience of people who love this show and you really get a better sense, like the comedic timing of it.
Speaker 2: (01:24)
Well, I was gonna say, you're used to doing a show where there isn't audience reaction to you. So is it enjoyable for you as a performer to actually hear the audience respond to what you're doing?
Speaker 3: (01:36)
Oh, absolutely. And it's funny cuz I first, um, was on the original or the MST three K live tour that went out in 2019. So that was my first exposure to being part of the MST three K family then cut to this year where we filmed season 13. So for me it was actually a different experience to be like, wait, no, one's laughing, everybody's quiet while we're recording what's happening. So in a weird way, coming back to the tour, after words kind of felt like a homecoming, I was like, oh yes, here we go. Now I know exactly which ones are working, which ones aren't it. Like, it felt like that was weirdly more natural than the world of filming where it's just perfectly quiet and you just kind of pray that things are actually landing and things are funny.
Speaker 2: (02:18)
and is there any interactivity with the audience in the sense of you guys asking for reactions or asking for, you know, interplay? Yeah.
Speaker 3: (02:28)
So the person who does the most interacting in the show would be mega Cynthia, who is arm mad. She's basically the clone, the clone of the clone of Cynthia Forer. So she's the one who mostly engages with the audience. But the thing I would say is that me and Connor and Nate who are puppeteering Crow and Tom are very much aware of the reaction time of audiences become so critical because of course in a lab where there's nobody laughing at a joke, we can get in all these riffs that we planned like this perfect timing. But as it happens, sometimes a rift just really lands with an audience. And so sometimes we need to go, oh wow, that got a laugh. Let's actually like pile on and start doing some like funny jokes on that riff that clearly landed with the audience or, oh, we gotta sit this one out cuz they're still laughing. So there definitely is a give and take with the audience. But I would say there is less interaction from our part with the audience, but mega Cynthia is definitely there. Definitely very threatening, um, in the most fun way possible.
Speaker 2: (03:32)
Now as someone who's enjoyed the show, the one thing that I never really put a lot of thought into was how it's actually put together. You mentioned puppeteering and I have to say, you know, I thought of these characters as just characters. So talk a little bit about the puppeteering that goes into this.
Speaker 3: (03:48)
Yeah. So I think that's a sign of good puppetry that you didn't even think about. Like, oh wow. How did they move the hand? It's like, it's just natural they're characters. So what I would say is that it's important to puppeteer do puppetry that supports the character like I'm thinking of with Crow and Tom, um, Connor actually wasn't a puppeteer before he came to the show and started being Tom servo in the tour and then in the show. And what I loved is that he truly did everything that served the character. Like he would make Tom spin, he would make Tom flip around and it was fun to have Nate who's a professional puppeteer go Connor. That was so amazing. And so Tom Ervo, this is terrible puppetry , let's adjust this to make it doable. Um, and just that give and take between the two things, uh, of like what serves the character and then what serves, you know, the puppetry and what looks good on the stage. So it's kind of a mix between those two things.
Speaker 2: (04:50)
And so you are actually talking to me from backstage at one of your shows.
Speaker 3: (04:55)
That is correct. We are in LA right now. I am in the dressing room. Um, cuz when we're not in the dress, we're living on a bus, uh, where we sleep so basically you are, you are seeing my world, uh, backstage here. So I'm looking at Yvonne free, who plays mega Cynthia right over my right over my camera. Hello
Speaker 2: (05:17)
And can you reveal what the film is that you're going to be, uh,
Speaker 3: (05:21)
Showing? Yes. So our film is called making contact. It's one of Roland Emery's earliest movies, the director of some good movies like the day after tomorrow. Uh, and some bad movies like Godzilla with uh, Matthew Broderick so this movie falls definitely on the category of not one of his best films, but definitely very entertaining. And what is
Speaker 2: (05:44)
It about doing this show that you enjoy most?
Speaker 3: (05:48)
Oh man, I think it, it might be watching bad movies. Like something I've been telling people is this isn't just a job. This is also a passion because after doing, you know, a show, we've watched this bad movie, we've RT it with a live audience. Honestly, a lot of the times we get on the bus and then watch another bad movie for pleasure. because we are insane and just absolutely love. There's just something that's so watchable about a watchable bad movie. I, and I think I just really enjoyed trying to find something new in making contact every night and also just getting to share it with a new audience every night is just so much fun. It's it's so fun to see people react to there's a really crazy scene in this movie. I mean there's a couple and just hearing people's genuine reactions to it is just like, Ugh, it's such a pleasure. I love it. Well,
Speaker 2: (06:40)
I must say that seeing it with a live audience, you get that kind of group gasp at some of the scenes that are in these kind of films.
Speaker 3: (06:48)
Oh my gosh. Or laughs of disbelief. Sometimes there's some riffs where all we're saying is can you believe that happened? because there is if to make what's happening in that movie funnier. It's just so funny on its own that all you can do is just let people react and enjoy it. and
Speaker 2: (07:05)
What do you think has contributed to the longevity of this show? Why is it that people love to kind of see bad movies with others?
Speaker 3: (07:14)
I think it's maybe cuz it's just a it's so something that has never gone away, nobody cracked the secret of how to make a perfect movie, you know, even movies that are still being made. And what I love is in season 13, we actually have some newer movies that were riffing and I think it's that never it, the bad movies have just continued on. It's kind of like this never ending that all ages can enjoy too. Like, and I, what I it's also, what I love about this show is that it's very much a family friendly movie. And as a result, it's very, cross-generational like I watched the show growing up with my dad and I know that a lot of our fans are coming with their kids. So they watched, they introduced it to their kids. Then they're bringing their kids to come see it. It's something that's so shareable across generations and yeah, everybody appreciates a bad movie.
Speaker 2: (08:06)
all right. I wanna thank you very much for talking about the live tour of mystery science theater 3000.
Speaker 3: (08:12)
Yeah, I know. Can't wait for you to come see it.
Speaker 1: (08:16)
That was Beth Amando speaking with Emily Marsh history science theater 3000 lifetime bubble tour will be one night only at the Bebo theater this Sunday.
