The Buzz Behind the Curtain

Artistic Director at Stevie Ray's makes the shows and classes sizzle

by Elizabeth O'Sullivan

Pamela Vervair snaps her fingers and rocks intently to the rhythm of the doo-wop song several students are improvising on stage.  Vervair never seems to stand still, pumping energy into the performers as she watches from the sidelines.
    This is what Vervair does as an improv comedy teacher and artistic director at Stevie Ray's Improv Company, which she runs together with the company's namesake.  Without ever appearing onstage, Vervair adds life to performances and works to help her students transform their lives through comedy.

    "I have no interest in being in front of the an audience, because my passion comes from a different place," Vervair explained. "I'm here for the performers and I'm here for the audience members."

    During the lesson, she watches each student with such intensity that their performance is reflected in her face, her stance, even in the swinging motion of her long hair. As artistic director, Vervair watches audience with the same intensity. A self-described "people person," she also likes to meander through the crowd, listening to what people are saying and picking up on the character of each group. Her observations help determine the content and flow of the show.

Meanwhile, Ray hosts each performance, being, as he calls it, "the loud-mouthed in front of the audience." Because he is so visible, audience members don't often recognize Vervair's contribution. "What they don't see is me leaning over every five minutes saying to Pam, "What should we do next?" Ray said. Based on what she has seen from the audience, Vervair might recommend that a snappy number should come next to pick up the energy, or a song, or an artistic scene. "She's the outside observer orchestrating the whole mess," Ray noted, jokingly.

    Improvisation, the art of spontaneously creating original performance pieces, has been Vervair's passion since, as a 16-year-old, she went to the Ha Ha Club in Uptown to support a friend who was performing. Now 33, Vervair has spent the intervening 17 years working with that same club, which in 1989 became Stevie Ray's Improv Company and is now located in Bloomington.

    As she walked into the lobby, before the performance even began, Vervair said she knew she'd found her calling. She can still see the way the lobby looked, down to the black-and-white photo over the men's restroom door. "I walked in that night and I knew: Some day I am going to own this club," she remembered. "It was the greatest, weirdest feeling, and I've been there ever since."

    Growing up in Bloomington in the late 1970's and early 80's, she enjoyed her mother's Bill Cosby records and relished chances to stay up late to watch Johnny Carson, but she had no interest in pursuing a career in comedy. Now that comedy is an integral part of her life, she still admires Cosby, she said, because his humor relies on intelligence instead of shock value for his success.

    From 16 to 18, Vervair volunteered at the Ha Ha Club, selling concessions during intermission. She lived on her own because of problems at home, and worked full time while trying to stay in school. In addition, she made time to sit in on every improvisation class the club offered, coming several times a week just to sit in the back and observe. "I was just like a sponge," she recalled. "I went to everything I could, even though I wasn't a performer. I just wanted to experience it. While volunteering at the concession stand she met Ray, who was hired as a performer and manager, and they clicked. "The first impression I got was of fierce dedication," Ray said. "You can tell with certain people, everything else around could crumble, but this is what they were going to do."

    After two years Vervair was hired as box office and theater manager, and Ray became managing director. A year later, the owners offered to sell the Ha Ha Club to Vervair and Ray for $1if they would assume the company's sizable debt. They accepted, sharing the vision that the club would be a place that would nurture the close community of performers they both appreciated so deeply. Performers responded to their vision, working for free until the debt had been paid and the new Stevie Ray's Improv Company was safely established.

    The weren't the only ones who labored for love. During the first five years, Vervair took just four days off each year. The rest of the year, she worked every day from roughly 9a.m. to 11p.m. or 1a.m. Part of that time, she had a second job to help make ends meet. Spending almost every waking hour at the club didn't always feel like work, Vervair said. The people she worked with became her family. It felt more like being with a group of friends, doing what they loved to do.

    "It was really grueling, but it was such a passion," she recalled. Vervair still appreciates the tight-knit and creative community of those early years. As a teenager, she also discovered a transforming power in improv that allowed her to leave her former shyness behind and pursue her dreams. Now she works to bring that transforming power to experienced and fledgling performers. "My real passion is improvisation as an interpersonal tool." she explained.

   For example, Vervair said, improvisation's most important rule is for each person to banish self doubt and trust that they are capable of dealing with the situation at hand. "If you don't believe in what you are saying with 100 percent certainty, all dialogue, all progress will stop," she explained. Carrying this confidence into other parts of life, she said, has helped people overcome challenges that stand between them and their dreams.

   Vervair said she also appreciates the joy and silliness of improvisation. "I love to laugh, and I think that laughter is the greatest and best medicine, and without that, life can be pretty dull. If you can have a smile on your face, and feel good about something, every else seems to not be so bad."

   One student at the school is going through a tough time now, Vervair said, and sometimes it's hard for him to even attend class. "I don't care if anything else happens all night long," she said. "I see him laugh and smile, and it makes it all worth it." Another student, who has studied with the company for several years, has agoraphobia and was initially unable to look classmates in the eyes. Vervair recognized his individual needs, and they worked together. Eventually the student appeared as a guest performer in one of the company's shows.

   Ray sees this as one of Vervair's most profound influences on the wider community. She looks at people that other teachers might not consider capable or talented, and sees that they really are. Once she sees their talent, Ray added, she works hard to help them refine it. "No matter how good the troupe is, they're going to get one step better, or she's going to have something to say about it," Ray declared.

   While some of Vervair's students pursue improv as a hobby, others have achieved a level of fame, such as John Sweeney and Jenni Lilledahl, owners of the Brave New Workshop theater in Minneapolis. Maria Bamford, another former student and comedian, has appeared on Comedy Central and Showtime cable networks. Local favorite Colleen Kruse began performing at Stevie Ray's, and Greg Fidelar, who started out working with Vervair, has gone on to write for "Late Night with David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show."

   Whether her students are taking improvisation classes to prepare for a career in show business or to relieve stress, Vervair tries to learn their goals. Jason Bindas studied for four years at Stevie Ray's and often performs there. He Said Vervair and Ray encourage people to do what they want to do, not what they feel they "have to" do. "They build a really positive environment for people to grow," Bindas said.

   For Vervair, this is part of what she dreamed of when she and Ray started the improv company, and it is a vision she plans to carry into the future. "I don't care how big we ever get, or how big the troupe ever gets," she said with determination. "We will be a family." Vervair considers it a great blessing to work surrounded by creativity while nourishing people's dreams. On show days, she describes waking up with a sense of excitement. "I say 'Yay! I get to go to work today!'"