Arts
www.SanTanSun.com
January 3 – 16, 2015
53
Improv artists host talk show BY LYNETTE CARRINGTON
Improv artists Paul Green, Ryan Quenneville and Mandy Nielsen can finish each others’ sentences just as easily as they can slip into an improv riff at the drop of a hat. They are so comfortable with each other that they created “Tonight at the Pad Starring Paul Green,” a talk show taped in front of a studio audience in Mesa and aired online. Getting together was probably fate. “I went to my family doctor for a checkup and behind the counter stood one Mandy Nielsen,” says Green, a resident of Chandler. He was a performer and instructor at Jester’Z Improv Comedy and, as he tends to do even in formal situations, he entertained the gals behind the front desk. Nielsen and Green hit it off immediately when they discovered they both performed improv. “I then took classes at Jester’Z and auditioned for them and began to work with Paul and we did many, many shows together,” Nielsen remarks. Quenneville then joined Jester’Z and Green was his teacher in the understudy program. “Paul was my mentor and then I got in with the main stage performers at Jester’Z and connected with Mandy,” Quenneville says. “We all just had this vibe together.” Green left Jester’Z to do stand-up
comedy but the trio reunited when entertainers and producers Jason and Jeff Linford decided to put together “Tonight at the Pad,” which tapes in a building owned by the Linfords. “We had no idea what the show was going to be,” Green says. “I called Ryan and asked him to co-host. I called Mandy and asked her to be a writer and featured actress. We already had the chemistry.” They called on industry friends to assist with production and a late-night talk show was born. The show made a name for itself in October when it challenged Conan O’Brien to become the world’s shortest late night talk show. The trio taped a special show and bested O’Brien’s record by a minute, clocking in at 1:50.12. The RecordSetter.com website declared the victory. The 30-minute show tapes monthly and includes a live band, opening monologue, improv sketches and interviews. Green is the host, Quenneville is co-host and Nielsen pops up in sketches throughout the show. “We’ll keep having live shows, but we want to reach the online audience further because that’s where everything is going now,” Quenneville explained. The fourth episode of “Tonight at
SETTING THE STAGE: Paul Green, Ryan Quenneville and Mandy Nielsen bring their special brand of improv to the show “Tonight at the Pad Starring Paul Green” which tapes monthly at The Practice Pad in Mesa. STSN photo by Lynette Carrington
the Pad Starring Paul Green” tapes at The Practice Pad, 711 E. Main St., Mesa, at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30. For tickets,
email tonightatthepad@gmail.com. Visit www.tonightatthepad.com for additional information.