Everyone who lives here knows that Buffalo is full of hidden gems. And I don’t mean the architecture, I’m talking people, people. In my stint as a theater techie, I had the pleasure of working with many of those amazing performers. Todd Benzin is not only one of the most talented, but also one of the nicest fellows I have ever met. He’s not only a Second City graduate, but he was also a member of the honky tonk-good-timing-get-yer-feet-moving band, The Skiffle Minstrels, and has graced many of Buffalo’s stages taking on both dramatic and comedic roles. That’s right comedy, music, theater and,just for good measure, he can also do a little dancing. I like to call him Buffalo’s triple threat.
Kristen Becker: Are you originally from WNY?
Todd Benzin: I am. I was raised in Orchard Park (but not the rich part) and I went to Catholic schools my whole life: Nativity of Our Lord, St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, and Canisius College. How much more WNY can you get? Now I live with my wife and son in Kenmore. I did spend about a year living and working in New York City, but decided to come back to Buffalo.
KB: What was your first love: comedy, drama, dance or music? Of those art forms, in which do you have formal training, if any?
TB: My first love is a toss-up between comedy and music, I guess. My favorite show growing up was The Muppet Show, which was a great mix of both. I’m very happy I’ve been able to channel both of these loves into creative endeavors on stage since college. I certainly appreciate drama and dance, too, though – especially after the amount of dance recitals and shows I have seen my sister Amanda in.
As for formal training, there was no Theatre Major or Minor at Canisius, but I was an active member of the theatre club there. I’ve also taken private acting lessons and graduated from the Improv Conservatory program at The Second City in Toronto. I’ve been lucky to do a lot of shows at various theatres throughout Buffalo, and I think, in many ways, that experience has been more important than any formal training. Oh, I also took piano lessons as a kid at the behest of my paternal grandmother, and was in a few choirs and a little band called The Skiffle Minstrels along the way, too. Does that count?
KB: I LOVE the Skiffles, so that totally counts. How did you meet that lovely wife of yours?
TB: I actually met Michele Benzin (nee Roberts) in a production of The Taming of the Shrew that we were both in at Shakespeare in Delaware Park. We got married a few years later and I had the privilege of doing another show with her at MusicalFare called Beyond the Rainbow: The New Judy Garland Musical. She is incredibly talented and I am incredibly fortunate. Don’t tell her what a loser I am, okay?
KB: Are you kidding me, I am basically calling you the J-LO of Buffalo. IN PRINT, even. I’m pretty sure that makes you at least a little less of a loser. However, you will have to break it to her that she is now Marc Anthony. And you will have to carry the twins. Okay, back to serious, How long have you been performing with the Eclectic Improv Co.?
TB: Well, we just finished our 12th season of shows so since 1997 or 1998, I guess. I don’t even remember. I was one of the “founding members,” but there were also several years when I was concentrating on “legitimate theatre” and didn’t perform in any of the Eclectic shows. When I came back from NYC in 2005, the guys graciously welcomed me back into the fold. Even before the Eclectic Co., we all knew each other from Canisius College and ComedySportz.
KB: Babushka dives into the “herald” a.k.a. long form Improvisation. As Buffalo is a comedy scene that is just gaining momentum, can you explain the Herald a little and how it differs from the short form improvisation the Eclectic company does?
TB: Well, I can try. It’s a actually a pretty common misunderstanding that this one particular form of long form improv is called a “herald,” but the actual name is “Harold”, like the guy’s name. It’s just a kind of joke name for this performance structure that involves getting one starting point, usually from the audience (a “suggestion”), and then using a set of individual scenes and group games to explore that topic. Long form improvisation, in general, refers to a performance revolving around a series of monologues and scenes that can be related around certain characters or ideas or story lines. That’s what Don Gervasi and I are trying to do in Babushka. Short form improvisation, which people may be familiar with from shows like Whose Line is it Anyway? or our Eclectic shows, consists more of a series of short scenes that often rely on specific games or gimmicks and suggestions from the audience. In our next class, we will discuss the 500 year history of comedy improvisation performance and the influence of the “Armando” structure on Babushka . . .
KB: I totally knew it was the Harold, I swear, don’t judge my improv knowledge on that, I hadn’t had my coffee yet. Moving on…There is so much talent in your family between your wife and yourself, is it possible that your sweet son will be the MOST talented actor that EVER LIVED? or do you think there will be a backlash and he will be an accountant?
TB: Ha! Thank you for the kind words. Well, my son’s only about a year and a half old (almost 17 months for you parents out there), so we’ll have to give him some time before we see where he’s going, but between his mother’s singing voice and my propensity to act the fool, the potential is definitely there for talented actor. He’d almost certainly make more money being an accountant, but I’m told money isn’t everything. I will tell you he is obsessed with ceiling fans and yogurt, so we’ll keep an eye on where that goes.
KB: Who would win in a thumb wrestling match, you or Gervasi?
TB: I have relatively small hands for 6 foot tall American male, so I’d have to go with Gervasi. Hopefully he doesn’t declare Thumb War on me now.
KB: With that information, I may have to declare thumb war on you. When/where can folks catch Babushka during The Infringement festival? What other projects do you have coming up?
TB: We have 4 shows during the Infringement Festival:
Tue, Jul 27th, 10pm-11pm @ Merge (439 Delaware Ave near Virginia)
Wed, Jul 28th, 10pm-11pm @ Squeaky Wheel (712 Main St. just north of Tupper)
Sat, Jul 31st, 5pm-5:45pm @ Crane Branch Library, 2nd Floor Auditorium (633 Elmwood Ave near Highland)
Sun, Aug 1st, 7pm-8pm @ Broadway Market Stage 1 (999 Broadway near Fillmore Ave)
The Eclectic Improv Co. will also be back at Shea’s Smith Theatre for our lucky 13th season starting September 10 for Curtain Up! and continuing once a month on Saturdays at 8pm. And you can check us out on Facebook! I will also be doing a couple of theater projects throughout the year, so people can look for me onstage in Buffalo.
KB: How do prepare for an improv show?
TB: It’s funny because, in a way, you obviously can’t prepare for an improv show. You never know what the audience is going to yell out as a suggestion, and even if you did, there’s absolutely no script, so you have no idea what your partner is going to say. However, I think you also have a responsibility as a performer to be prepared in other ways: learning stagecraft, having a good relationship with th
e people you are improvising with, soaking in as many life experiences and pop culture references as you can. You almost have to be ready to call upon everything you’ve ever done and seen. You never know when you’re going to have to reenact a scene in a delivery room or impersonate Lady Gaga. It probably helps that I’m a bit of a media junkie: books, video games, movies, comic books, TV, home improvement magazines.
For Eclectic shows, we’ve been performing together for so long, we usually just get together 30 minutes before the show to decide what games we’re doing. For the only Babushka show we’ve done so far, Don and I just joked around in a car for an hour and a half on our way down to Fredonia to try to figure out what we would do, so we’ll see how trying to replicate that works out.
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Kristen Becker
is a comedian who started her comedy career in Toronto 8 years ago, and
since then has traveled the continent performing and producing shows.
She has opened for national acts such as Doug Stanhope, Josh Blue
(Winner of Last Comic Standing), and Ani DiFranco. Additionally,
Kristen beat out 60 contestants (all men) to win the 2006 Queen City
Comedy Competition. Becker was recently named “One of America’s
Funniest Lesbians” by CURVE Magazine, in a tie for #8 with Lily Tomlin.
Locally, Becker has been producing/hosting the Doin’ Time Stand-Up Comedy Showcase at Nietzsche’s every Tuesday in Buffalo for the last 4 years.