STBD Profile: Erik Schark (aka Rich Mathis)

Click to Play

Actor Erik Schark explains what it takes to create the unpredictable persona of Rich Mathis. (2:00)

STBD 5-9: Revealed!

The "Car Trouble" episode is a classic example of the STBD cast being able to create a solid episode even everything else goes wrong...

The Making of "Car Trouble" involved:

- 9 scripted pages

- 2 largely improvised scenes

- 48 minutes of raw footage

- 3 shoots over 24 hours

- 12+ hours of editing

Fun Facts, Scene by Scene:

* This episode wasn't even supposed to happen.

The original plan was to film the party itself, which Pryce (Trent Wolfred) is trying to bring everyone to. But a funny thing happened on the way to the party - we ran out of extras.

Suddenly, we had a filming date set, a location, and not enough extras to make it look like the type of party we'd planned for. So, we went with our backup plan: there's no need to show the party if the guests can't actually make it TO the party...

* Both Trent Wolfred and Rick Hertzig (Glenn) had other commitments on the day we filmed, so we couldn't begin filming with them until after 10 PM.

By that time, it was about 32 degrees outside... (That's the freezing point, for you Celsius fans...)

* While the news coverage of Luke Ravenstahl's mayoral victory speech was being recorded off the TV, a steam radiator in the same room began spewing intermittent heat blasts. There was no way to turn it off in time, so you can hear some of the noise during Ravenstahl's speech. [Of course, it's logical to presume Rich (Erik Schark) would have steam heat...]

* When we filmed the flashback of Leo gassing up his car while it was still running, we looked everywhere for a sign that said: "Please turn off car before fueling." Wasn't that a standard warning over the years? The station we were at had no mention of it -- and Will Guffey (Leo) had never heard that bit of wisdom, either. Are we deluded, or is the explosive potential of fuel-meeting-combustion no longer an issue?

* Dierdre and Glenn's final exchange was quasi-improvised. The scene wasn't scripted, so we saved it for last to make sure their energies matched what they were doing in the earlier scenes. When the camera's battery died at 1 AM, we retreated to the Creative Treehouse to recharge it and plan the scene.

* Filming for this episode wrapped around 2 AM - our latest shoot of the year. (And our coldest!)

Rich Mathis's Non-Concession Speech!

Now that Luke Ravenstahl has been re-elected to finish out the remainder of the late Bob O'Connor's mayoral term, write-in candidate Rich Mathis has released his official statement -- and it's not the concession you might expect!

STBD 5-8: Revealed!

It's not every day that a local politician has the self-confidence AND self-deprecation to lampoon himself on a weekly web sitcom, but that's exactly what Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto did in this week's episode of Something to Be Desired.

The Making of "The Mathis / Peduto Debate" involved:

- 4 (loosely) scripted pages

- 90% improvisation

- 45 minutes of raw footage

- 1 three-hour shoot

- 7+ hours of editing

Fun Facts, Scene by Scene:

* The seed for this episode was planted way back in June, when Mr. Peduto was initially introduced to STBD by his friends who work in social media (via the iJustine / Matthew Ebel episode). He mentioned that he'd like to make a cameo appearance, but we weren't sure how to include him in the flow of the show. However, when we hit upon the Mathis 4 Mayor idea, a debate with Peduto seemed like a natural opportunity...

* The entire episode was filmed in the basement of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, which houses a TV studio for the video production students.

* When Roger (Chadd Zivic) pops in on Bill to prep him for the sound check, Bill is perusing Reform Pittsburgh, the videoblog / political activism site he co-authors.

* Roger's lanyard is the same one STBD creator Justin Kownacki wore at PodCamp Boston 2 two weekends ago. (We suspected it would come in handy again...)

* Moderator Jill Wright is portrayed by Dawn Papuga, co-host of the literary blog / podcast Lyrique Tragedy.

* The Coalition of Ethical Voters is a fictional organization created by STBD fan Brendan Butt, who devised the first (and, thus far, only) Mathis "smear campaign" video.

* The debate itself was almost entirely improvised, and filmed out of order. The responses to Jill's questions are not always the intended responses, nor were the exchanges between Mathis and Peduto always filmed concurrently. Editing creates a whole 'nother reality, folks...

* Actor Rick Hertzig (aka Glenn) volunteered his time to keep track of continuity during the debate. His notes during the improvised sessions enabled Dawn to craft her questions after the candidates had already given their answers.

* The bra-laden cup holder Rich (Erik Schark) lovingly strokes while Peduto introduces himself is the same cupholder Rich lovingly strokes in Episode 5-5, when he and Tabitha (Courtney Jenkins) are filming his campaign ads. In reality, that cupholder remained in Justin Kownacki's car for a month, awaiting its return engagement...

* Nearly all of Tabitha, Liz (Jennifer Koegler) and Roger's dialogue in the booth was improvised as well.

* We would have turned on the TV screens in the booth, but none of us knew how and there were no technologists in the building. Thus, we decided not to break anything.

* Rich's reference to Planet Unicorn is an homage to the greatest web series ever (besides STBD). Rich can actually be heard singing the theme song to himself when he walks in on Caroline (Ann Turiano) and Tabitha in this year's STBD Halloween Special flashback.

* The ending, in which Peduto quits politics altogether, was actually Peduto's idea, suggested at the beginning of filming. He thought it satirically echoed his withdrawal from this year's actual mayoral race.

The Polls Are Still Open!

IMAGE_233, originally uploaded by Locobone.

Locobone would like to remind everyone that you can vote for Rich Mathis in ANY race across the country -- just write him in, like Locobone did in the Erie, PA, poll above!

Mathis 4 Mayor: We Need YOU!

On November 6, the people of Pittsburgh will vote someone into office as the next mayor... and we here at STBD strongly believe it should be Rich Mathis!

(Never mind that he doesn't technically exist -- honestly, how is that worse than most politicians who DO exist?)

As such, we're helping Rich develop his campaign, which includes:

* The Mathis 4 Mayor campaign wiki -- where YOU can help Rich craft his inevitable takeover of the Pittsburgh government!

* A Mathis 4 Mayor MySpace page!

* A (currently limited) selection of t-shirts!

PLUS, we're helping Rich conduct his search for cheerleaders! No, not lame interns who'll go door-to-door with flyers and posters and homemade buttons, but ACTUAL CHEERLEADERS, who'll garner far more public attention than mere politics ever will.

(As Rich himself says: "If the Pittsburgh Steelers can have Steely McBeam, I can have... the Mathisettes!")

Want to help Rich take over Pittsburgh? Follow the links above and get on board the Mathis train!

STBD 5-3: Revealed!

This week's episode of STBD lays the groundwork for Rich Mathis's run for mayor -- as well as explaining Todd's recent bout with homelessness.

It's also only 5 minutes long, which signals a slight shift in STBD thinking -- shorter, more tightly-packed episodes (that are a bit easier to produce, week after week). Tell us what you think!

The Making of "Mathis 4 Mayor" involved:

- 1 hour of raw footage

- 1 shoot (since the Todd sequence was a holdover from last week's episode)

- 12+ hours of editing

Fun Facts, Scene by Scene:

* Believe it or not, this ENTIRE episode was improvised by the cast (with minimal direction and suggestion from yours truly).

The only elements that were even semi-scripted (meaning, the actors were given specific prompts to include) were the reasons for Todd's descent into homelessness and the general structure of the Mathis campaign meeting. EVERYTHING else came from the cast.

* Funny thing about editing so much improvised footage: it takes forever. That's because the camera is almost never in the right place, nor do the various "takes" always match up.

But the most exciting (and difficult) thing about carving this episode down from so much improv was deciding what the story actually IS. Depending on what dialogue was kept, and used in what order, the meaning of certain sequences could be completely reversed.

Example: when Rich initially lures Liz and Caroline into the boardroom by way of brownies, they quickly find themselves embroiled in Rich's impotent political scheming. But, as filmed, Liz and Caroline actually walked out of the room, and Rich had to track them down later in the day, apologize, and make them wildly impossible promises, just so they'd return and take him seriously.

Realizing that entire sequence slowed the pace of this now-taut episode, I needed to cut it -- but I had nothing to cut TO. We never filmed anything that suggested the girls actually STAY in the room (or sit down).

So, when sifting through dialogue, I located the sequence where Liz says "Rich, we have work to do," and I went hunting for something Rich could use as a filibuster to keep them occupied. Instead, I found the clip where he starts raving about his passion for "a parklet on every corner - YES" and I realized, "when edited in THIS order, it makes it sound like he's deluded himself into believing Liz is actually on his side..."

After that, it made perfect sense for Rich to keep rambling, and for the girls to stick around out of morbid curiosity.

* Many, MANY lines were cut from Rich's brainstorming session. Suffice it to say, there are only so many people we could offend (and so many bad ideas we could pitch) in a 3 minute sequence...

(My personal favorite line that didn't make the cut comes when Rich mentions "kissing babies," and Liz reminds him, "They have laws about that now." To which Rich turns to the whiteboard and writes, "Change the child touching laws...")

* Despite its brevity, the episode was still posted later than we would have liked... because we had to make a Mathis4Mayor wiki, a MySpace page and t-shirts. (We take our politics VERY seriouslly...)

* We have no idea what a sugarshoe is, either...

STBD 5-1: Revealed!

On Tuesdays this season, we'll be revealing some of the behind-the-scenes commotion involved in the making of each week's episode.

The Making of "Rich's Little Problem" involved:

- 7 versions of a 17-page script (eventually trimmed to 14)

- 2+ hours of raw footage

- 7 different shooting days

- 18+ hours of editing

- 3 unused (or severely edited) scenes

Fun Facts, scene by scene:

* The stoplight that opens the episode was filmed at the corner of Murray and Forbes, in Squirrel Hill. However, Rich and Caroline's car is stopped on a dead-end street in Highland Park.

* The audio in the opening scene is dicey because there were cicadas chirping near Rich's window and children on a trampoline near Caroline's. That background noise was reduced as much as possible.

* Courtney Jenkins (aka Tabitha) was late to the "lunch" shoot... because she got pulled over on Bigelow Boulevard for speeding... because she was late for the "lunch" shoot... (Cost of ticket: $55)

* Rich's "Umbrella" line was improvised.

* The "manuscript" Caroline is editing at her desk is actually a play that Ann Turiano (Caroline) is evaluating for a local theatre company.

* Rick Hertzig (Glenn) and Ryan Ben (Tim) were never in Affogato at the same time. Their shoots took place on completely different days.

* Ryan had to grow a beard for his role as Jesus in a play for the New Works Festival. The festival ended the week we were filming, but we couldn't time the shoot to coincide, so Tim had to be bearded for once.

* Caroline and Pryce had a completely scripted "date" that was cut due to time constraints.

* Rich's "Mathis 4 Mayor" sign was hand-scrawled on the back of an Amanda Across America poster, which we were sent by mistake when Blip.TV sponsored PodCamp Pittsburgh 2 in August. We hung the banner up, only to realize afterward that they sent it to us by mistake (they meant to send one with the Blip logo). After Dina Kaplan at Blip assured us she didn't need it back, we decided to pay homage to it in the episode.