IMFourPlay

Mark Baratelli joins the ranks of FourPlay this season, bringing with him an undeniable flair for singing, dancing and all things musical theatre. A clear audience favourite at SAK, Mark is a formidable riffer - so don't get him started! I sat down with Mark over dirty martinis and Atkins-approved flatbreads (ie. pieces of lettuce) in a small imported French Cafe located in an obscure alleyway behind Chucky Cheese.

Current favorite musical: My favorite musical will be Mary Poppins when I see it. I just know it! I loved the movie and I am sure watching the musical will be amazing.
Current favorite improv game: Should've Said

DC: Mark, you've trained and worked with a wide variety of impressive improv companies and troupes around the country, such as the Upright Citizens Brigade, Dad's Garage and the Improv Asylum, and now perform as a professional player for SAK. Tell us about a favorite improv project or experience before the days of SAK and FourPlay.

MB: Gosh I don't know. Dad's Garage did so much more than improv: scripted shows and sketch comedy. I liked the variety there - I got to be in friends' original scripted pieces as well as do improv. UCB was amazing because I'd take classes during the day and then watch half the cast from SNL and the Daily Show perform that night. And opportunity was everywhere there. Scouts were always lurking. One night I started a convo with a lady sitting next to me in the audience. She turned out to be a scout for MTV. Oh! The big one! This was huge: I got to see an actual audition for SNL in NYC. Twenty or so guys did their best 5 or so minutes in a packed comedy club while Lorne Michaels and his posse sat int he very back corner of the club and watched. The audience didn't know it was an SNL audition. A friend of a friend was auditioning, scouted from LA. It was thrilling.

DC: Speaking of thrilling, you just closed your own highly successful (Patron's Pick) Orlando Fringe production of a one-man Improv Cabaret. What did you learn from that experience, and do you have future plans for that production?

MB: First, surround yourself with positive, supportive people who believe in you and your ideas and who also happen to be insanely talented, creative and giving of their time and ideas. Second, question yourself at every turn: "Why would someone pay to see this?" It makes you make your product better. Third: have fun. I performed better when, right before I went on, I thought about Mariah Carey, cotton candy, melisma, things that make me happy. I'd like to remount it again in the future. Maybe another city's Fringe Festival or some of the national improv festivals. Don't know really. You want to produce it for me?

DC: Let me get this show up first and then I'll check my calendar! It sounds like it was a great experience. Jim Rhinehart also served as the Musical Director for Improv Cabaret. Don't let the fact that I'm a big fan of Jim's work skew your response (!), but how did you like collaborating with him?

MB: Jim is an improviser first and foremost. He is a player on stage with you, listening and giving and playing the scene with you, which is why he is so good, in my opinion. I feel like we formed a very close connection onstage between the two of us -- a trust. I told him this at the final performance, that the show was two things: a giant risk on both our parts and a giant display of trust for each other's abilities. I can turn on a dime during a song and he's right there with me. I try to do the same with him, but I'm not as good at it as he is. And when I watch the videos of Improv Cabaret, I see how much he added to the show, more than I was realizing while performing with him.

DC: You certainly worked well together. I agree that Jim seems to handle his side of the creative bargain so effortlessly that it can be easy to forget just how much he's offering at every turn. Finally, the issue on everyone's lips: those who know you well are familiar with your infamous Mariah Carey impersonation!! When did you first start to wail like the diva?

MB: From you, David. I learned it from watching you. And Darren [another FourPlay company member]. He does a pretty good Mariah. You should see us doing battling Mariahs.

DC: I have, I believe, and you really should stop watching me sing in the shower...

To learn more about Mark, go here.