A New Dimension (20)
I must admit that I’ve never taken improv seriously. It’s an accessible art-form with tons of parallels to stage and screen acting. By extension, improv is often portrayed as the less sophisticated sibling and gateway drug to those other mediums. With the expectation of minimal prep and structure, it’s difficult for onlookers like myself to imagine its ‘elevated’ form: one where top notch production values and thoughtful prompts are deployed in full force in service of seeing what actors will do with it.
Dropout is a YouTube channel funded through a monthly membership. Membership gets you access to a variety of series, including Game Changer, Dimension 20, and Dirty Laundry. These series feature a regular, if substantial, pool of talent appearing across multiple series. For example, Rekha Shankar is the host of ‘Smartypants Society’, but she’s appeared in Dirty Laundry and Game Changer as a contestant as well.
Some shows are straightforward platforms for the classic definition of improv. ‘Very Important People’ has guests make up characters on-the-spot and groups of six forge their fantasy stories in Dimension 20. Their appeal is straightforward and their productions transparent.
On the other hand, shows like Game Changer and Dirty Laundry use props and the strategic withholding of information to contextualise how players’ perform, although that’s not to say they’re strictly ‘manipulated’. Players frequently get swept up in the rush points, either for the accolade, trophy or extravagant prize waiting at the end. But contestants prove time and again their willingness to forfeit their shot at glory for the sake of the funnier play.
Performance That’s Enhancing
This is evident in Game Changer’s ‘Second Place Game’, where, unsurprisingly, doing second-best out of three contestants at various challenges earns you points. Optimising to get the most points and win would mean purposefully doing a mediocre job, adapting based on opponents’ own mediocrity. You could imagine tension from how players purposely change their performances to shunt each other in and out of second place.
As compelling as this game would be if extrapolated at face value, contestants opt for shenanigans in reality. Brennan Lee Mulligan does his very best at every turn, righteously upholding the meritocracy. Ally Beardsley and Oscar Montoya battle for second place through earnest, leisured commitment, flexing that they’re effortlessly ‘mid’ at their core.
The endgame twist reveals that the second-place point total is who truly wins in the end (technically the second best at being second-best, which doesn’t mean anything when you think about it). Ally and Oscar tie their leading points totals to secure the winning ‘second place’ for Brennan, whereupon he gives a speech decrying the game’s legitimacy. Players opt for the most expressive and hilarious strategies, not the winning ones.
Making More Than Noise
Contestants’ approaches to the premises they’re dealt reveal Dropout’s strength in cultivating creative parasocial relationships. As familiar faces show up across various shows, I’m intrigued to see how they adapt to new roles, new challenges, and new partners. It’s fun to see someone go from an omnipotent host to a flailing contestant. From a competitive game show to a freeform D&D campaign. As you see new sides to each performer’s range, you feel that classic sense that you know the regulars intimately. It’s a false closeness, but gripping nonetheless!
As versatile as their talent is, behind-the-scenes videos hint that their excellent talent is supported by their crew’s craftsmanship at every turn. It’s about getting people whose strengths compliment each other. It’s about giving the prompts that’ll point performances in the right directions. It’s about providing information and immersion through thoughtful props and set design. As much as improv can privilege the spur of the moment, the quality of Dropout’s shows reveal that this spontaneity is a performance, one that can be as involved and thoughtfully-crafted as any film, TV, or theatre production.
I’m glad I took a chance on something as wonderful and unique as Dropout. Its cast and crew push an under-appreciated performance art delightfully beyond expectations. Their storytelling will leave me wondering where the channel, its shows, and its talent will take me next.