Thank God You’re Here: “It’s a show about bullshit”

It’s not lost on Ed Kavalee that his new role as the Ensemble Director on the revival of Thank God You’re Here is like coming full circle.

18 years ago when he was performing in Theatresports at the University of New South Wales, he was talent spotted by comedian Glenn Robbins and invited to join a pilot of a new improvisation show by Working Dog productions.

“I got the call that changed my life on my birthday,” he tells TV Tonight.

“That the Dogs (now) put faith in me to be a part of this process is one of the joys of my life. To be able to be someone who is making that same phone call, 18 years later …and hopefully giving someone an opportunity that could help change their life in a positive way ….I’m not one for sentimentality but that is genuinely a source of great pride.”

Indeed. Trying to get Kavalee in a sincere moment is difficult in any interview. But he is genuinely chuffed about the return of the show which appeared on television, on both 10 and Seven, from 2006 – 2009.

10 has now revived the series with new host Celia Pacquola and a fresh batch of comedians who will enter the ‘blue door’ to face an unknown scenario in which they must improvise for their lives.

Sincerity over, it doesn’t take long for Kavalee to resume his trademark wit.

“Working Dog have bestowed on me the title of Ensemble Director, which means I get a lanyard, a clipboard, and an earpiece. There’s four channels in the earpiece with the director and there’s one, which has got Santo (Cilauro, producer) on it, but I’ve learned how to mute that. So things are good,” he jokes.

“You go from being out on the range with Julia Zemiro, to being in the Roman Senate with Hamish Blake”

“It’s a very, it’s a very unique job. … you go from being out on the range with Julia Zemiro, to being in the Roman Senate with Hamish Blake, from one scenario to the next. And we don’t stop, we just keep rolling. It’s just the best fun.

“I was lucky enough to be part of the finding process for the new people. There’s a mixture of people who’ve got some experience with it and then new people we’ve found who do a great job.”

The task of the ensemble is quite unique, and differs from Theatresports improvisation in that the ‘world’ is already pre-determined. They guide the guest through the scene but remain open to their spontaneity. To do this they steer towards ‘offers’ in which the guest will respond to actor lines.

And in the madcap world of the Working Dog team that can entail some very bizarre scenarios.

“I dropped from the ceiling once in a harness for Shaun Micallef,” Kavalee recalls.

“The whole thing is so that the guest does their best. The scripts, the set, the ‘offers,’ the scenarios, are all designed to give the guest the best opportunity to enjoy it and to have that moment where they open the door and you see the fear in their eyes.

“You’ve got to know your lines backwards, and you’ve got to know everyone else’s lines as well. Because there’s every chance that the guest is going to say something which we know is coming up.”

“Our job is to make sure the world feels real so that the guests bullshit.”

Thank God You’re Here is arguably also the only show on television where bullshit is openly encouraged.

“Our job is to make sure the world feels real so that the guests bullshit. Rob (Sitch, producer) always says it’s a show about bullshit, but that the guest’s bullshit is both funny and is in the reality of what’s happening. It’s a very, very simple job but there’s a lot to do in order to make it look and feel simple,” he continues.

“But the trick is to make sure that it’s all rooted in sincerity. People always say to me, ‘How did you not laugh?’ Obviously, you can’t, but in the moment, if you’re doing the ensemble work correctly, you shouldn’t want to laugh, because you’re taking the thing that the guest says completely seriously.”

Much of the show remains wrapped in secrecy. Kavalee is reluctant to acknowledge production happening at Melbourne Showgrounds, who the guests are, nor even who is in the ensemble. However the show synopsis reveals Urzila Carlson, Aaron Chen, Julia Zemiro & Mark Bonanno are first guests.

But what of Celia Pacquola, cast in the role previously owned by Shane Bourne?

“Look I was against it and I have been proven correct!” he jokes.

“Celia is a wonderful choice and she’s been absolutely fantastic. There is no audience reaction like Thank God You’re Here. It is still the loudest I’ve heard any audience ever. And I kept telling the ensemble, ‘You won’t understand until it happens, what that sound is like, what it does and how focused you have to be to stay inside the bubble.’

“Celia’s such a great stand-up so she’s comfortable in such in front of big crowds. But because she’s also got a great sense of generosity she’s so good for the guests. She mucks around and then she brings it right down. And she’s someone that everyone knows and likes.

“I know that that might not seem to matter, but it does. Everyone’s always happy to see Celia and that goes for audiences and the guests.”

“The show is bigger than when we did it last time”

He also reveals bigger and better sets this time around.

“It’s not speaking out of school to say that the show is bigger than when we did it last time,” he insists.

“The sets are just unbelievable, like, they were always fantastic. Working Dog are across every aspect of everything. There was one the other day where I was like, ‘It’s a shame that we’re not going to do a whole series on that set.’ The door went back and you can even hear the audience (react)…

“There ain’t nothing like it, and it’s great to have it back. It feels fresh at the same time. There’s a freshness to the way that guys have tweaked it and the audience is responding. They’re absolutely losing their minds.”

So amid all the hype and secrecy, will Kavalee himself also be seen on the show?

“I’m not allowed to say that. But I am allowed to say that I’m the ensemble director.”

Thank God You’re Here returns 7:30pm Wednesday on 10.