An Interview With Someone Anita Liberty Knows: The Bert Fershners

An Interview with Someone Anita Liberty Knows. I am very sorry that you do not have a graphical web browser.

THE BERT FERSHNERS (cont'd)

AL: Are your sketches written down anywhere? Do you type them on a computer?

Josh: Oh yeah, they're very written. We stay very close to the written word, whereas other sketch groups really give you the sense that they're creating from improv.

Mark: We argue over "we" or "they," "and" or "but" in a sentence.

Mike: We argue over "and" and "&." Our stuff gets registered with the Writer's Guild and everything. It's all very precise. There's a method to our madness. Our beats are thought out and things like that. On occasion, something is discovered in performance that we didn't see before, and then we make the change, but when we go into a performance it's all been very precisely considered and deliberated and argued, etc.

Mark: This is the sound of the seat [squeak].

AL: They're going to transcribe that as "squeak."
Another clip from "Tube Tops"

Mark: I just wanted to see how it would come out. But you said "squeak," and now they'll write "squeak."
AL: Do you guys hang out together?
Mike: We hang out a lot.
AL: So, Joey and Josh are having beers and they're talking and then they say, "Oh my God, this would be funny!" How often does that happen?
Mike: All the time. We've been on the road a bit, to go to college gigs and things like that for Comedysportz, and there's a different mentality that happens. It's like the lunatics running the asylum. We rent cars and go off to Albany to do a show or something, and during those sorts of road trips lots of wackiness ensues and we usually come away with something from that, not necessarily from the performance, but from the road trip.
AL: Dan Barrett just walked in. [applause] And although we've been attributing quotes to him all along, he hasn't actually been here.
Dan B.: Cool.
AL: But he's been quite articulate. Dan, we have literally no time on this tape. We have like two minutes...maybe a minute.
Dan B.: Okay.
AL: Is there anything you want to say about how famous you want to be and how you want to sell out and...
Dan B.: All I'm about is love. That's all I need to say.
AL: Is that true?
Dan B.: Well it's partly true.
Mark: Being the only married member of the group.
Dan B.: I'm excited and optimistic and I'm sure I agree with everything everyone has said.
Mark: Dan, what price fame?
Dan B.: Probably part of your soul, but hopefully not all of it. Just a little part of it.
Mike: Little pieces here and there.