Stella

by Michael Menachem

Photography by Jason Goodrich

Together, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain are Stella. Apart, they’re – well, still Stella – continuing to crack one quirky joke after another

Here’s a little quickie advice for future journalists who might have the opportunity to engage the members of the comedy troupe Stella in an interview, or even for anyone who attempts to approach the guys in public: the trio will probably mess with you. The jest comes all in good fun, though. Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter (from the current sketch comedy show Michael and Michael Have Issues on Comedy Central), along with longtime friend David Wain (director of Role Models and cult classic Wet Hot American Summer), make up the stand-up group whose unconventional shows are at the top of New York City’s comedic heap. The offbeat smartasses met at NYU in the early ‘90s and are also former members of The State sketch comedy cast, which ran for three years on MTV.

Trying to hold a conversation with these guys is like interacting with three five-year-olds in a Gifted and Talented program who’ve had too much candy. The interview started off with planned questions, but when it came time for answers, the guys went off into their own manic tangents, accomplishing almost nothing except a host of clichés, an impressive display of vocabulary and, of course, plenty of obscenities. So what did YRB learn from Michael, Michael and Dave? Not much other than they really know how to take any topic and turn it into a punch line. This pretty much sums it up.

David: Sometimes I’m looking the other way and that’s when life happens.

Michael S: The harder you fall, the higher you bounce.

Michael B: The one thing I’ve learned is to expect what’s expected.

[Have fun following the rest…]

YRB: So if Michael and Michael have issues, where does this leave you David?

David: We all have issues.

Michael B: He’s a germaphobe. David famously will not shake hands, but he will take any load blown into his mouth.

David: I have Mac issues, and I have a full archive of MAD magazines.

YRB: So what do you tell your kids, or what will you tell them, daddy does?

Michael S: I had my dick tied so I can’t have kids.

Michael B: I am telling my kids I’m a cop.

David: I plan to be out of the house by the time he can Google daddy.

Michael S: I can’t. My penis is tied in a knot.

YRB: After leaving The State, the three of you started your own comedy group and the name changed one night to the unborn baby name of the then pregnant club manager. How old is baby Stella now?

David: Twelve. Once in a while we talk to the manager.

Michael S: In the mid-’90s we went by the name Midnight Expressions.

David: Then we had the name Stella when we started to go on tour.

[It was here that the conversation started to shift into Stella-isms and what can kind of be described as a lightning round of absurd answers from the guys.]

YRB: So Stella has gained a following in large part due to a fan base watching your videos on CollegeHumor.com. How did you link up with them?

Michael B: In the late ‘90s the web just exploded.

Michael S: It was a boom.

David: I thought it was just a boomlet.

Michael S: I got a wireless keyboard.

Michael B: Then you know what happened? It was like a bubble that burst.

YRB: So Michael, what’s VH1’s I Love the… series really like? I mean, as a commentator do they tell you to talk about some cheesy topic and you respond?

Michael B: No, everything is important. The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders – to me it’s all important. Punky Brewster.

David: One-hit wonders.

YRB: What do you think about around holiday time?

Michael B: I think everyone should get a warm piece of pussy to cuddle up in. Fluffy, warm, cuddly pussy.

David: I think Christmas has become too commercialized.

Michael S: Let’s be thankful we’re here in America and that we’re white.

Michael B: Thank God for being white and American.

Michael S: It’s the thought that counts.

YRB: What will you look back on the 2000s for?

Michael S: It’s a thousand years of history.

David: Doesn’t the new decade technically start in 2011?

Michael B: I can answer this in two words: Ronald Reagan. He was alive for part of it. He liked jelly beans and started out as an actor.

Michael S: Well, Jelly Belly.

David: For me, it was my thirties so there was lots of masturbating. Four to seven times a day. That lasted until I got married. Sex with my wife is filling the void.

Michael S: Didn’t 9/11 happen in this decade? Hurricane Katrina.

David: I was sad to lose Burt Reynolds. His phone was dead in the airport. We didn’t end up hooking up ‘til Cabo.

Michael S: Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics.

David: For me it was Megatrends. The way the future is changing.

Michael S: We’re going into the multi-verse.

[Showalter continues talking about green initiatives, fossil fuels, wind, solar energy and clean coal until we find a way to segue back into somewhat safer topics.]

YRB: Who are some new comedians you are all about these days?

Michael B: Robin Williams and Bill Cosby.

[Starting to play along…]

YRB: How about musicians, chefs?

David: Mostly Mos Def. Fiona Apple and Kelly LeBrock.

Michael S: For chefs, Boyardee is good.

David: Wolfgang Puck is good. The Naked Chef, Julia Child.

YRB: What are some projects you have coming up?

Michael B: I don’t know if I’m supposed to talk about this, but I was cast to be in The Hobbit. Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. I play an archer; it’s not a speaking role. I have to be there for three years in New Zealand.

Michael S: I’m doing a Broadway national tour of The King and I and I play the king. It’s in Fall 2010.

David: I’m going to be working for VH1. Production stuff. The go-to guy for whatever needs to get done around the office.

Michael B: He’s going to be a PA.

David: An intern actually.

Michael S: After The King and I I’m going to be playing the Man of La Mancha. I have one week in between and then we re-group.

[Once again the conversation shifted, coming the closest to a “normal” exchange all evening, and the trio get a little deeper with insight into their comedy and life in general – well, as deep as they’re willing to get.]

David: Our comedy, the way we perform, it’s looking at the world holding up a mirror to society.

Michael B: I would say it’s holding up a funhouse mirror to society.

YRB: What are you missing in life?

David: We want love. We want peace. We want to be creative and share this with the rest of the world.

[As you can see, even when Stella is in the hot seat, they’re running the show – completely.]