1 Rebecca Edwards (left) and Miaken Kristola (right)
Photo by Malley Sutter
Hank August reminds us that everyone poops
The improv team of Rebecca Edwards and Miaken Kristola pushes the limits of bein’ ladies
By Leah Urbom
Published: November 6th, 2008 | 5:40pm
This is the story of Hank August, who is actually Chicago improv team Rebecca Edwards and Miaken Kristola. Spending a few years honing their craft and performing, the girls wrote and directed two shows this year — hosted by Second City’s Donny’s Skybox Theatre.
It’s true that some know their calling from an early age. At her Philadelphia high school, Edwards was nominated for “Most Likely To Be a Stand-Up Comedian,” but, “I lost to a girl who wanted to become a nun — and I stuffed the ballots.” She continued to Suffolk University in Boston, performing and directing improv and discovering that she wasn’t as into “serious” theater as her classmates. “I liked reading Thornton Wilder plays, and I could direct them, but I didn’t want to be in them,” she explains. “I would much rather make people laugh.” Theater degree in hand, she moved to Chicago in 2005 to enter the Second City Conservatory Program.
Kristola, however, didn’t always expect to end up in comedy. Growing up in Wisconsin, she attended Western Michigan University, did some sketch comedy, earned a degree in theater performance, and then went abroad to the British American Drama Academy. Heavily into Shakespeare, she originally moved to Chicago in 2004 to pursue that avenue; but life takes strange turns, and she ended up studying improv in the same class as Edwards.
Upon completing the conservatory program, the girls wanted their own show. So, in an industry that continually focuses on men, they chose to ambiguate themselves as a performance team by taking Edwards’ middle name (Henrietta — her grandmother’s name, nicknamed “Hank”) and Kristola’s (Augusta) to create Hank August — a fictional entity that stands to represent their productions.
A wide range of influences surround them: Edwards — initially more impelled by male comedians such as Chevy Chase’s National Lampoon stint, Bill Murray, and later Will Ferrell — now says, “I think it’s getting easier for women,” citing Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as recent examples. Kristola has two simple words: Ab Fab. “I still don’t think I’ve seen every episode. But when I can, it makes me pee.” They agree it’s difficult for funny women; audiences expect certain things from females. But don’t be hampered by your gender, they say. Voice what’s funny, regardless of whether it’s “ladylike.” “Everyone’s thinking it,” they point out. “Everyone poops!” So what keeps them chipping away? “I feel like I’m not even in comedy,” Kristola admits. “My mom thinks I’m weird, and I like making her laugh — that’s why I stick with it.”
But being a female writer-director team doesn’t mean it stays all-girl — Edwards and Kristola enjoy including males, and writing from that perspective. Friend Vito Ferraro was the token male in their first show, which ran in the Skybox this past winter. Entitled “Hank August Presents: Mother of a Memoir,” the sketch show is about the trials, tribulations, and sheer ridiculousness of the mother-daughter dynamic.
Conversely, the current show — “Hank August Presents G.W. Art’s Production of: A Drink Cart Named Desire,” — is more character-driven and scene-by-scene, like a soap opera. Edwards wrote and Kristola directs the tale of a 1920s cast making a silent film. To support that storyline, the crew had to expand, including Matthew Mages, Ted Szadzinski, and Adam Wolf (as well as Ferraro). But don’t expect the same old soap each time — November shows feature different storylines than October’s, and you’re likely to see something fresh each time. “It’s a new show week-to-week, it’s OK to change it,” Kristola says.
You can see “A Drink Cart Named Desire” in Chicago at Second City’s Skybox every Saturday night through November 22. Come with a friend, prepare to laugh, and don’t be afraid to indulge in Hank August’s credo: “Life is always better with a drink in your hand.”
—
Hank August on Facebook
Hank August on MySpace
Issue #38
Comments
Please login to be able to comment on this article.
more