The Wit and Wisdom: PRESS ARCHIVES

Outside the Box(er) (SOD 7/5/05)

Robert S. Woods (Bo) is a big fan of the show giving improvisational actors like Tuc Watkins (David) a little room to work with their characters. "David was originally supposed to be a boxer," Woods recalls. "The producer even put a speed bag up in the rehearsal hall so [Tuc] could go up there and practice, and they'd send him to Geraldo Rivera's gum to learn how to hit the speed bag and get the rhythm of it. But you look at the way he is now and it's not like that at all. WIth actors like Tuc and John-Paul [Lavoisier, Rex], it's that old thing where they take what they had for an idea originally and let the actor go with it, and it is a successful formula. You don't kill somebody who's doing something different with notes. There are a few dead characters you can lay at the feet of note-givers."