Thought I’d write a bit on Troupe Dynamic.

Troupe Dynamic is, for those who may not be aware, my comedy group. We focus on character-based comedy, typically playing somewhat exaggerated versions of ourselves in various situations. The best example of this is in the monthly Top Ten videos we produce for thrivedecatur.com. Our November video is on their site now (exclusively till December) and I urge you to go and check it out! Older Top Ten vids can be found on troupedynamic.com.

I love the versions of ourselves that we play, and I’ve made no secret of the fact that we have organically morphed into a Muppet dynamic: me = Kermit; resident diva Janet = Piggy; loveable loser Timmy = Fozzie; nutty-to-the-core Doug = Gonzo; and Hugh is sort of a combo Rizzo/Pepe/Bean Bunny (Shawn, when around, is our untethered Id, Animal). These versions really are characters unto themselves, and it’s a blast playing ourselves in this way.

But its just not the same as completely losing yourself in a different personality, which is what we built Troupe Dynamic on.

Enter Milt.

Milt, seen above, is a character originally intended to be nothing more than a “talking head” in one of our Top Ten list videos. But thanks to an “outtakes” reel we did (with Hugh as a “behind-the-camera” character) he’s blown up into a full-fledged flagship personality. The image above is actually the header for his very own page on troupedynamic.com.

I enjoy playing Milt immensely. He is a surprisingly easy character to slip into (he’s 82), especially once the makeup is on. Those around me have witnessed it; my body just starts to move differently, and my eyes and mouth just naturally start to droop. I have to remind myself that I – Jay – can actually walk just fine, as opposed to the “bad knees” wobble of Milt. It’s a blast whenever we film these bits, and Hugh is a big part of why I have so much fun. The play between the two of us is natural, and it plays really well on camera.

The one thing that bums me out when playing Milt is that I am reminded each and every time that, as of now, he is the only character we’ve done anything with. And it kills me, because we seriously have characters out the wazoo that just haven’t made their debuts.

Some are characters we’ve workshopped and built in theory, playing amongst ourselves; while others are favorites we performed in live settings who have yet to make the jump to digital characters. We have some characters we’ve written entire histories for who have never physically been tinkered with.

That having been said, I am slowly trying to get some of these characters out into the world.

Two will actually be making their debuts on radio commercials. From The Dynamic Newsroom, anchor Bruce Cookie (Timmy) and on-the-scene reporter Joanna Goolagong (Janet) will be starring in spots I’m producing for the Thrive Entertainment Guide (which our monthly Top Ten lists appear in). It’s an interesting way to introduce characters that were originally designed for video, and we may in fact follow up the radio spots with video versions.

Another set of characters may debut soon in a short story. A while ago I started working with characters originally created for a live show – we loved ‘em but ultimately abandoned them – as a means to explore what happens when a once great cultural juggernaut limps into a new era. I’ve recently dug out my original draft and am working on it anew.

And we continually discuss how (and when) to introduce characters in videos. We all just have so many things on our plates at the moment its hard gaining momentum outside our Top Tens.

It really just all boils down to how much I enjoy working with my fellow Troupers, whether I’m actually working with them, their characters, or characters based on them. Their voices are so ingrained in my noggin that I can fall right into how they would play a scene, or what tics they may bring to a character.

It’s a joy living and working in Troupe Dynamic’s world. All we can hope for is that our joy brings you joy!

Good times!