In Case you haven't figured it out by now, I absolutely love Dropout.tv. There are so many talented people on there that I am simply amazed. It seems that if it is funny, they have cast members who can do it at a very high level. This includes musical improv.
In season four of Gamechanger, they did a show called "The Official Cast Recording'. It involved contestants taking prompts to create a full Broadway style musical... without any costumes, scenes or production value whatsoever. That episode featured Zeke Nicholson, Zach Reino, and Jess McKenna improvising an entire 30 minute musical. And this is where Jess really shines. As brilliant s Brennan Lee Mulligan is at story telling an, world building and improv, no one can hold a candle to what Jess McKenna is able to do with song. She never fails to come up with something incredibly entertaining no matter what the prompt.
The musical they create is called Mountport (where the mountain meets the sea). It somehow involves baseball, a train, missing fish and I think some kind of misunderstood witch. I have watched it a few times and it is simply amazing what they are able to do on the fly.
After the incredible fan and critical response to that Gamechanger episode, it was spun off "unchanged" into its own show called Play it By Ear. although the cast always changes, Zach Reino and Jess McKenna are always in every episode to provide an anchor and to ensure it will always be awesome. I honestly don't know how you train for something like this but I imagine it is not too far off from what freestyle rappers have to do. To me it seems that rhyming and telling a story is difficult enough but when you throw in that you also have to be coming up with jokes non-stop just blows my mind. I can't imagine how fast their neurons have to fire in order to produce the laughs they do. Oh and the can also sing. Aside from being wildly entertained by the service, I am happy Dropout exists so that these talented people can actually make money from their talent. What they do is incredibly difficult. I am happy they are able to make a living off of this talent.
The first episode is all about the true story of Humpty Dumpty. And it had me rolling. They actually managed to make it kind of touching as well as Humpty Dumpty dreams of doing more than just sitting on a wall. The highlight of teh episode is probably the song "Crack the System" that the cast make sup as they go.
Another good one is Space Rocks! Which is set in a spaceship and explores human relationships in a very amusing way. Still none of these compare to Mountport which is one of the most impressive things I've seen.
has anybody checked out Dropout on Youtube. The full shows aren't there but you can check out the highlights.