INTERVIEW: Improvised Satire 'Starship Edsel' Will Appeal to 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Fans
Left side, top to bottom: Jack Bronis (Director); Bernadette Santos Schwegel (“Cadet Cornelia ‘Corn’ Hardstone”); Jen Connor (“Captain Lilith Hardstone”/Co-Writer); Dylan Schaefer (“Commander Russell T. Stillwell”); Charlie Minard (Stage Manager/Ensemble); Carlos Rivera (“Counselor J’Errrs’q”); Laura Ann Parry (“Lt. Commander Tracey Beamer”); and Judson Russell (“Dr. Croup”). Right side, top to bottom: Eric Scull (Co-Writer); Keely Smith (“Lt. Varilee Parr”); Brandon Drap (“Ensign Dan Gianutore”); Brandon Brylawski (Creator/Producer/Head Writer); Matthew Kawa (“Lt. T’Pang Gah”); Mark Soloff (“Lt. Commander Null”); Janice Rumschlag (“Lt. Amalda”); and Kelsey Blackwell (“Lt. Co’Ay”). Images courtesy of Otherworld Theatre.
STARSHIP EDSEL logo. Image courtesy of Otherworld Theatre
SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 - According to their press release, Otherworld Theatre Company is the premier sci-fi and fantasy live theatre production company in North America. Their past shows have included titles like Countess Dracula; Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars; Messina3004, a take on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing in a post-apocalyptic setting; and Kitties In Space. They also have a mental health podcast entitled “Nerd Therapy.”
Their current project is Starship Edsel, a Star Trek-inspired improv show. “The ability to find humor in the things we love is what makes Starship Edsel so much fun,” Otherworld’s Artistic Director, Tiffany Keane Schaeffer said. “We at Otherworld Theatre love all things nerd, including Star Trek, and audiences do as well - our weekly Portal-Provi improv show that opened last Spring still sells out week after week, so we know audiences will embrace the Edsel and her crew, even if Starfleet didn’t.” This is a scripted-improv show, which means that the cast knows what the main story points are, but they are able to bring out what is needed on the spot in order to “get the main plot there.”
Thaddeus Tuffentsamer sat down with Starship Edsel’s Creator/Producer/Head Writer Brandon Brylawski to find out what it was all about.
Thaddeus Tuffentsamer: Tell us a little about the show.
Brandon Brylawski: Set aboard the Federation Starship Edsel towards the end of the 24th century, Starship Edsel is based upon a Live Action Role Play (LARP). While the famous flagship of the Federation, the USS Enterprise, is boldly going where no one has gone before under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the Edsel and her crew have a less glamorous history.
Starfleet’s Edsel-class starship is largely regarded as a failure in ship design and the only one of its kind. Somehow, serious flaws in architecture and engineering went unnoticed until launch, making the ship the joke of the fleet. The only ship of its class ever commissioned, the USS Edsel soon became a dumping ground for disruptive and incompetent personnel until Starfleet Command ordered the embarrassing vessel to be retired, to the relief of all involved. That is until the Federation Council countermanded the directive for a new political operation at the last minute, placing them in a permanent parking orbit around the vacation planet of Atlantis, consigned to its new continuing mission: to entertain vapid and overbearing VIPs and boldly give tours of an ‘authentic Federation starship.’
TT: What was the inspiration for this series?
BB: It was something that I conceived recently, about 25 years ago. We’ve always seen the best ships, but there have to be stories about some of the worst ones as well. While the big, important ships like the Enterprise are out on glorious missions, there are the lesser known, often overlooked ships and their crew. This is one of them.
TT: What was one of the biggest challenges of creating this series?
BB: Turning a LARP into a serial show is a unique creative challenge. Infusing the show with a Larry David or Christopher Guest-inspired improvisational style keeps Starship Edsel fresh and funny, while the show finds its anchor in a season-long arc that audiences will love, whether they’re Trekkies or not.
TT: How long will the episodes be?
BB: The premiere episode, entitled, “Where No One In Their Right Mind Has Gone Before,” will be 90 minutes long, and the following episodes will be around 60 minutes. They will be streamed live, and then will be available for viewing on their channel afterward.
Jen Connor, “Captain Lilith Hardstone” in STARSHIP EDSEL. Image courtesy of Othereworld Theatre.
TT: What is the size and crew compliment of the Starship Edsel?
BB: It’s a standard-sized warship but is greatly understaffed due to no one wanting to be there. The show follows 12 characters, 11 officers and 1 cadet.
TT: How many episodes will there be for the first season?
BB: Around 12 episodes, one per month.
TT: You mentioned that it will be a season-long arc, will there be any stand-alone episodes during the season?
BB: A lot of the episodes, in addition to the momentous events, will have a lot going on. There is a lot of stress on the ship, and people’s problems will be showcased in episodes. The Federation is also involved in a new war.
TT: I’m assuming that Captain Lilith and cadet Cornelia Hardstone are mother and daughter, but tell us a little about them and the other characters.
BB: Indeed they are. Lilith is the captain, but not by choice. She was on vacation on Atlantis when the war broke out, and since there was no CO on the Edsel, she was placed there. Cornelia is a recent graduate, brilliant, but wound up on the Edsel because of the excellent hacking skills that her friends possess. They pranked her and got her reassigned to the ship. They intended to leave her there for a month before they undid her assignment, but then the war broke out. She’s got all of the brains of Wesley Crusher, but none of the whining.
Kelsey Blackwell, “Lt. Co’Ay" in STARSHIP EDSEL. Image courtesy of Otherworld Theatre.
There is also Lieutenant Co’Ay. She’s the social media influencer on the ship. We also have Counselor J’Errrs’q, the Klingon ship’s counselor, who should be dead for his dishonor by Klingon standards but is now determined to whip the crew into proper shape. And Lieutenant T’Pang Gah, a Vulcan who’s spent hundreds, or possibly thousands of years in a Nexus event from which he just returned and is trying to adjust to life in the ‘real’ world again.
TT: As a fellow writer, I know firsthand how the characters you create all become your ‘children’, but are there particular characters that you’re especially excited about, that you expect to be the show’s breakout characters?
BB: Quite a number of them. The characters were created with the help of the actors. We explained the ship, and its issues and asked what kind of character they would be, serving there.
TT: Since this has been created by your improv group, what will the sets be like?
BB: They’re going to be modular that can be repurposed to be a bridge set, consoles for science, and navigation/communications as the needs are. They can be repurposed for engineering, sickbay, etc. They can be moved around to be whatever they need to be.
TT: This is set in the Star Trek universe, so how do you plan to be able to get around CBS’s strict Fan Film series requirements, especially where fan film creators are limited to only being able to produce two 15-minute episodes?
BB: I don’t think it’s going to be an issue. We’re not borrowing much from the established characters other than in a superficial way. Being a satire, we have more latitude. Parody has always had a wide latitude of being able to be produced as it’s not considered an infringement on the copyright holder.
TT: Thank you for your time and for sharing with us the upcoming adventure. Will there be updates that we can look forward to as we get closer to launch?
BB: You’re welcome, and yes, there will be updates to the series on our website https://www.otherworldtheatre.org/edsel as we closer to launch.
Starship Edsel’s first episode premieres on October 1, 2022; the show runs the first Saturday of each month at 10 p.m. at the storefront theatre’s venue at 3914 N. Clark St. and will stream via their YouTube Channel, Otherworld Theatre.
Thaddeus Tuffentsamer is an internationally selling author. His books have been sold in the US, the UK, Sweden, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Italy, and France. He has a series of young reader novels, a satirical self-help book, (which, according to reviews, actually has some pretty solid counsel), and has joined the list of professional Sherlock Holmes authors.
He promises that his works will never contain profanity, gratuitous violence, or anything else that would prevent the entire family from enjoying them together.
He spends his days working in healthcare administration and in his evenings, in between plans for becoming “Lord Emperor of everything,” he types away at his keyboard letting his imagination out for the world to read.
He is fortunate to have a wonderful wife and two beautiful daughters. He currently lives in Goodyear Arizona with his wife.
