Holy 1960s Batman, Batman! is currently playing Saturdays at 8pm. Every show features a guest villain, and the third guest is Asaf Ronen, master of silent comedy, creator YesAnd.com, author of Directing Improv, and co-bigwig at The Institution Theater. So let’s talk to Asaf!
Roy: So Shannon McCormick (villain #1) has played a ton of villains in his non-improv career, and Mike Kinald (villain #3) is an expert in Batman and the fighting style used by the TV show. But in some ways you have them beat, Asaf, since you actually created and directed another superhero-themed improv show: Ka-Baam!, which has graced the Hideout stage twice in the past. Is there anything you learned from that experience that you think will apply to your turn as a Batman villain this weekend?
Asaf: Well, first I’ve got to give credit where credit is due. Ka-Baam!! was actually created by Steve Wacker back in 1998. I was just a cast member back then. He went on to get a job at DC because of it and is now an editor over at Marvel. He brought in a lot of folks who were comic book people that could also improvise: Darick Robertson (artist for Transmetropolitan), Kevin Maguire (who did some of the best JLA art ever), Dan Raspler (former editor at DC) so I really got to understand not the tropes behind comic books, but the passion behind it. What I plan to bring is what I love most about the Batman series and it’s ilk. And trust that all the necessary tropes will come into play. I’m a pop culture nerd so it should kick in fairly easily.
What that will look like is probably a very heavily themed villain down to their motivations. So if the villain is The Construction Worker, you can bet there was some cement mixing mishap that will show up in his origin story. Origin stories were a big part of Ka-Baam and are very big to me.
Roy: What’s your favorite villainous origin story, Batman-related or otherwise?
Asaf: I have to go with a more recent villain: Two-Face. I love the idea of a man of the law becoming bad (by chemical accident, classic!!) but still retaining the characteristics of the lawman. The idea of a bad guy who will do whatever the flip of a coin suggests is brilliant. Imagine, a villain with a sense of fairness.
Roy: Man, I just looked Two-Face up on Wikipedia, and it turns out he originally debuted in the comics in 1942! Seems hard to believe. He was dropped for a long while in favor of more “kid-friendly” villains, an idea that boggles the mind. Do you think he could have worked in the 1960s TV show?
Asaf: Definitely. But a watered-down version. Look at the list of criteria. Succinct evocative name like the Minstrel, Pharaoh, Joker. Check. Thematically tied suit. Check. I mean, the acid scarred his face, not his wardrobe, but he made a decision along the way and said “Hey, let’s carry the craziness of my face all the the way down.” A thematic prop. Check. Penguin had his umbrellas (like Penguins do), Clock King had various clock props and Two-Face has a coin with one side all scarred up… just…. like… his… face. It’s simple, and brilliant. Though in the books, there is a story of how the coin was a souvenir from his abusive father. So, that probably would be edited out of the TV version.
Roy: Yeah, definitely. Batman’s dead parents are mentioned exactly once in the pilot, and then he presumably got over it.
I’ve asked everyone this so far, so let’s make it a tradition. Your villain name will be picked from audience suggestion, but what name would you pick if you were given the chance?
Asaf: Whatever the name is, I hope there’s a foreign bent on it. I saw Kinald play The English Dentist and I thought how fun it would be to bounce around the stage like a British fop. I like doing accents, particularly the ones I do badly.
Roy: It’s no surprise to me that you’d have fun doing something badly. I think you have a gift for finding delight in anything on stage, and sharing that delight with the audience. That’s what makes you such a pleasure to watch.
Thanks for talking to us, Asaf. See you tonight!
Buy your tickets to Holy 1960s Batman, Batman! right now. It runs every Saturday at 8pm in May and June.