Category: Style Without Substance - Dan Fiorella: Writer @ large

Dan Fiorella

Barely Home Companion - Us Guys at the Shore (June '04)

5/12/2023

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

Every so often, PHC would travel to Ocean Grove, New Jersey, which is part of the Jersey short. They would do the show from this huge, old auditorium built right on the beach. Again, since he was approaching my neck of the woods, I pulled out a Jersey shore sketch that I had written. I have written about this sketch before as it was preformed by the comedy troupe Style Without Substance. It's a funny sketch and did well in front of audiences. It was a long shot getting PHC to do it. It's not appealing to his demographics at all. And GK doesn't strike me as a beach-guy. But, it was the Jersey shore (I changed the title from "at the beach" to "at the shore"), it was funny and I pulled out the sight gags for radio, so why not?

Us Guys at the Shore

Sketchy Tales: I Knew Him When...

8/13/2021

Ok, so a new movie just came out and I'm a little bit more excited about it than I usually would be. The movie "Free Guy" is hitting theaters and I'm thrilled that someone I know is in it! Mark Lainer is an actor I met back in 1988 or so as part of a comedy troupe I became involved with. I've written about Style Without Substance many times on the blog. They were a remarkable group of talented people. It really was an exciting and creative time in my life and I was thrilled to be part of a team.

Mark was an incredibly funny actor (and totally still is). Any part you handed him--mime, priest, colorizer, beach nerd--were much improved by his presence. We did a lot of sketches together and I was lucky enough to get tapes of some of them. I want to share them here.

Bye, Jack

4/5/2020

Jack Keller passed away March 17, 2020. I got to meet him when I "joined" the comedy troupe "Style Without Substance" that worked out of the Whole Theater in Montclair, NJ. I've written about the group here and there. It really was a wonderful time. We were young, talented, had enthusiasm and a solid base to work from. These guys were so talented, it was a pleasure to write for them all. And Jack, he was unique. He just had this presence and cadence that just made things funnier. He was friends and roomate with the troupe's director, Tom Gilpin, and they developed an interesting interaction which I enjoyed writing for.

Does anyone remember public access TV? It was like Youtube before Youtube. But you had to go to their studios and use their equipment to produce a show. I decided I was going to learn how to do it. You had to take a class. And then the plan was to tape some TV shows with the group to have a demo reel. I had to produce and direct a scene. I wrote an original bit and there were only two people I would consider to cast in it. Jack and Tom did me the biggest favor by coming to Staten Island from NJ to tape this bit. I won't say it went smoothly, but they made it work.

Kill Spill Update

Barely Home Companion - NY Auditions 4/2/2000

2/21/2019

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

This sketch was a real hybrid of old and new. Since the show was in NYC at this time, I decided to do a Broadway-themed bit which would then allow me to pull out my old Auditions sketch. Garrison Keillor like to tell these tales about a past that didn't exist and I decided he would talk about being a Broadway baby. A couple of NY stereotypes, a few funny voices, and >boom<, you got a segue into my original sketch and it sounded custom made.

They didn't use it. But it's not like it was never done...

AUDITIONS

Sketchy Tales - Valentine's Day Edition - Blind Date

2/9/2019

This is an early sketch of mine, a real hybrid. It's Python-esque in it's premise; a woman shows up for a date with a bag on her head. It's full of terrible puns (and by "terrible puns" I mean "puns"). But it kinda makes a point. That's something I like about some of my sketches, they start out silly but I actually can hang something on them, or they have a true beginning, middle and end. And a satisfying ending, not just a black-out. I remember working on the ridiculous premise and trying to ground it in some sort of reality as well as an internal logic that holds.

It's a longer form sketch, which I was more in the habit of writing when I started out. I brought it with me to Style Without Substance and they performed it a number of times with different cast members. This is from a show in NYC, which I picked because the video camera was closer to the actors than it was when they performed it at the Whole Theater. I brought it with me years later to the Staten Island comedy troupe Generation Sketch and they used it as well. It's probably one of the few bits I didn't pitch to Prairie Home Companion because it was such a visual bit. I hope you'll agree....wait, what...?

This edition of Sketchy Tales is brought to you by "Love and Other Distractions" the anthology for charity! Fifteen Hollywood writers spin tales of romance and more! Including me! Cupid flies the coup and Nick Flebber has to find him in "Cupid is as Cupid Does." Get your copy today at Amazon!

Blind Date

A Writer’s Journal Journey 36

12/7/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

I didn’t write in my journal until half-way into January 1993. Heard from the agent Robbins. He passed on the second script I sent him, “Dashing Dan.” But he thinks it might make a good 2-part “Seinfeld.” Oy. I decide to send him my “Seinfeld” spec, based on my “Wedding” script, “He might get a kick out of that.”

A Writer’s Journal Journey 35

11/23/2017

I've been looking back on my adventure in Hollywood, culling pages from my journal...

I didn’t write in my journal until half-way into January 1993. Heard from the agent Robbins. He passed on the second script I sent him, “Dashing Dan.” But he thinks it might make a good 2-part “Seinfeld.” Oy. I decide to send him my “Seinfeld” spec, based on my “Wedding” script, “He might get a kick out of that,” sez I.

Sketchy Tales 7: Abbott & Othello

8/5/2017

An epic post for an epic sketch...

Abbott & Othello

I wrote about my Pet Rock sketch earlier. I used that sketch as my signature bit (despite the circumstances), I was very proud of it, it was a tight, silly, funny bit, solid evidence that I was a writer. But it was dead. I would eventually need to create another signature bit.

I honestly don’t remember when I got the idea for “Abbott & Othello” but it happened. I certainly had done a ton of pop-culture mash-ups before (and since). And, weirdly, Abbott & Costello were in the zeitgeist in the 1980s; SNL, SCTV and others did A&O inspired bits. I remember one a joke; Elvis Costello and the group ABBA were going on tour as ABBA & Costello. Maybe all of this triggered the idea.

Sketchy Tales 6: Us Guys at the Beach

7/13/2017

It’s more of a spring break skit, but since it features the beach, here it is, Us Guys at the Beach:

Sketchy Tales 3: Olympia Dukakis & Style Without Substance

5/26/2017

Or Skit Happens

I recounted some of this in an earlier post, but I wanted to revisit the story in line with my sketch writing.

I was always joining writing groups to present my little comedy skits. I usually got good reactions from them. After presenting a sketch in a group called Pen-to-Stage (known more for one act and full-length plays), one of the actresses approached me and mentioned that she was working with a comedy troupe. She felt they really needed some strong material and was wondering if she could show some of my stuff to the troupe. Of course. As it turned out, the troupe did like my material and was curious to meet me and see what else I had. Okay, it was in New Jersey, but my writing had impressed someone outside my little circle of co-writers. I headed out to Montclair, NJ...

comedy, writer, Dan Fiorella, Daniel fiorella, screenplay, sketches,radio,computer games, television writer