I love this. Last night Charlie Sanders took the suggestion. Someone meekly calls out “Heather Ledger,” and a brief moment passes before someone else YELLS out “Zebra.” Big laugh from the audience. Charlie says, “Okay, we’ll take both suggestions at the volume they were said, so you’ll get a lot of Zebra and a little bit of Heath Ledger.”

So the show starts and Charlie initiates off of Zebra, doing a preschool scene, where the students have to guess the animal in the picture. But the game becomes that the teacher painted the pictures, so “It seems like it’s less about how well we can guess the animal and more about how well you can paint.” Great move from Dominic. The set continues, they heighten and explore, heighten and explore, never swiping… about 20 minutes in, they’re at the point where they’re in a sitcom on an alien planet starring a bunch of aliens but mapping it over cliche sitcom specifics (classic Shitty Jobs)…. it’s pretty out there. Pretty Zebra, if you will.

The set finally comes back around to the first scene, in the classroom. The students still can’t guess Charlie’s drawings, so he can’t take it any more… and starts eating pills, by the handful. The kids start screaming at him, “Yeah go ahead!” “That won’t kill you!” “Take the easy way out!” Finally Charlie gurgles “Just like Heath Ledger!” and dies and I’m pretty sure the crowd lost their shit. Just a gigantic, “How did they do that?” laugh from the audience. What a great, great move. Just a little bit of Heather Ledger and a lot of Zebra. 

I like playing fast. All my favorite teams play fast. I appreciate slow play, but I don’t seek it out. It’s not to my taste. I’m okay with that. 

Miles Stroth told me something very important, when it comes to speed:

“Speed comes later.”

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