“IT’S CRAZY how many layers of reality there are.” Sam De Roest (or maybe it was Kyle Acheson, it’s hard to keep them straight when they get going) has a point. He’s playing a character that was created by another character (who he also plays) in a different show. But the original one-act comedy musical The Waterman, which was conceived by the characters De Roest and Acheson play in the episodic comedy Fall of the Band at Action/Adventure Theatre, is clearly a labor of love for the best friends/costars/bandmates/writing duo.
Acheson plays the eponymous Waterman, fighting to save his people from being poached by De Roest’s evil sea captain. But under the surface, the fellas are also simultaneously playing their FotB characters, the impossibly whimsical Miles and Jimmy the loveable buffoon, who spend season two of FotB trying to balance band practice with Waterman casting, production meetings, and rehearsals. How do they keep it all straight?
TEAMWORK: “We really just enjoy hanging out and making things.”—Acheson
“We’re really bad at not making things.”—De Roest
“You know, the hardest part of writing is actually writing, putting words on the page.”—Acheson
“Writing always seems more romantic than it actually is. It’s really messy.”—De Roest
“But we’re really good at getting each other un-stuck.”—Acheson
THE FORMAT: “Semi-improvised serial comedy—blending improv with good writing and, in this case, good music—is the perfect format. It embraces what is best about live theater: It’s exciting, unpredictable…”—Acheson
“And it never goes to crazy town like improv sometimes can.”—De Roest
GRASSROOTS: “I feel so taken care of by Action/Adventure. They’re very open to new works.”—Acheson
“It’s like you’re hanging out in a garage going, ‘Let’s make this happen!’ But they’re also really good at it.”—De Roest