Joey Richter: Standing Out From The Crowd

In this interview with The Pickwyck, Joey Richter chats about his work with Team Starkid, being one of three founding members of the comedy group the Tin Can Brothers, his upcoming projects and more! 

When did you realize that you wanted to get into acting? Was there a specific show or piece of theater that made you think, 'Yep. This is it. This is what I want to do'?

• "Growing up as only child, I often had to turn to my imagination for fun. I think that really helped me discover my creativity at a very young age. Only having myself to dress up with and come up with stories was perfect childhood training to get into the arts. I’ve always gravitated towards comedy. The movies of Jim Carrey and Bill Murray were always such an inspiration. I remember having an old walkman tape recorder, like the one Kevin uses in Home Alone 2, and I would record my favorite lines and jokes from movies to just replay them and impersonate them over and over."

When I was seventeen, I remember watching A Very Potter Musical (it just exploded onto Youtube) and absolutely loving it. In fact, Starkid has held a very special place in my heart ever since (#fangirlmoment, my bad!). How does it feel knowing that your work has been loved and admired by so many?

• "It’s incredibly heartwarming and humbling to still hear about the impact Starkid has had around the world. For us, at the time when we first performed, the whole experience was such a small moment in our lives. One that was an absolute blast, just another show! We never could’ve imagined that now, almost ten years later, this group of people and our work would STILL be such a big part of our lives, or the lives of everyone who’s become a fan over years! Every artist struggles with finding an audience who appreciates their work. We’ve been very lucky to have such a supportive community behind us who is willing to grow and change with us as our careers evolve."

Team Starkid has put on so many great productions, as well as live tours! What do you feel is the most rewarding thing about performing for your fans?

• "There’s nothing quite like performing live. Film and video projects are there own animal and have MANY rewarding aspects, but I’ll always have a soft spot for the immediate rush of putting on a show in front of an audience. And, as I said before, Starkid fans are always so attentive, engaged, and enthusiastic about our projects. So performing IN the room is always a special shared experience."

Can you tell us a little bit about Tin Can Brothers? What is your favorite thing about being a part of this group?

• "The Tin Can Brothers is a comedy group based out of LA started by myself and Starkid-Alum Brian Rosenthal and Corey Lubowich. When we began making things a little over five years ago, the majority of Starkid projects were based out of Chicago and only happened once a year, or once every two years. We wanted to give ourselves more consistent opportunities to create, as well as improve our own skills of writing and directing.
  
  We started putting out one YouTube sketch a week, and kept that up for almost two years, and have since grown into a fairly established multimedia production entity. From the ground up, we’ve produced two live sketch shows, a full length musical, Spies Are Forever, a musical short film, Flop Stoppers, our play, Solve It Squad, which ran in both LA and NYC, our mockumentary comedy short, Idle Worship, and most recently, our enormous web series/podcast project, The Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye, which we are currently in post-production for."

Speaking of the Tin Can Bros. - Congrats on The Solve It Squad's recent off-Broadway run! What was it like bringing this show to New York?

• "Like any self produced work, both difficult and rewarding! New York is such a different town than LA. They have a far more welcoming theater community, but simultaneously FAR more inconvenient on a smaller production level. We were all displaced from our homes and didn’t have our cars to get around and transport props/furniture/costumes. This proved to be a challenging aspect. That being said, we had always aimed to write a show that we could fit all the props, costumes, and set in a suitcase to make it easy for a tour. Even though it ended up being more like 6 suitcases, it still felt like we succeeded."

Do you prefer writing content/shows or performing on stage?

• "Writing and performing each give me a special satisfaction, though entirely different. In the entertainment industry, actors are always looking to have a little more control over their futures and careers. Writing material for myself has not only given me that, but also a much greater appreciation and connection to the material I’d be working on as just an actor. By working on the other side of production, I feel like I have become a better actor simply through experiencing that perspective. And with how much history we all have with improv comedy, writing has always been a logical skill I’ve wanted to flex. That being said, I think I will always be a performer first and foremost."

What can you tell us about the upcoming production of Starkid's 'The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals'? Any inside tidbits about your character that you can share with us?

• "I don’t think I have the authority to offer any spoilers regarding the show, BUT I can say that it will be an awesome experience to get together with this group and get silly again. I’m looking forward to working with a tiny cast, and a majority of which were in Trail to Oregon, one of my favorite Starkid shows. Jon is going to be an EXCELLENT addition to the team. Plus, I LOVE getting to play jerks - because it is so far from my friendly disposition in real life - and Ted is a GRADE-A asshole!"

If you could go back in time, what's one piece of advice or words of wisdom that you would give to your younger self?

• "This is a difficult question because I don’t have any regrets or anything that I wish I could change if I had only had some past knowledge. But I would certainly tell my younger self to never get comfortable and always try to better yourself. In the last 5 years, I definitely feel like I’ve take a more active role in my career, especially with my acting and work with Tin Can Brothers. But with how successful Starkid got so quickly, and how young we all were, I think there was an element of complacency about our futures for a short period of time. This industry changes so quickly and it can all go away in an instant so I’d just remind myself to always keep it in mind and never take it for granted."

Time for some rapid fire questions! If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?

• "I would love to have the agility, acrobatics, and strength of Spider Man. Mainly because I wish SO badly that I could do parkour."

Who would you rather have on your side during a fight, Batman or Wolverine?

• "Batman. I love Wolverine but he’s a bit too much of a loose cannon. Batman is calculated, SUPER smart, and incredibly rich."

If you could share the stage or screen with any actor or actress, who would it be?

• "Bill Murray. He’s such an icon."

If you could star in a live action Disney remake, what movie would it be?

• "The Emperors New Groove or Goofy Movie"

What makes you laugh?

• ​"Literally anything my dog does."

Click here for tickets to 'The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals'!
Check out the Tin Can Brothers on Youtube!