Stella (comedy group)
Stella | |
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Medium |
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Nationality | American |
Years active | 1997-present |
Genres |
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Members | Michael Ian Black Michael Showalter David Wain |
Stella is a comedy trio consisting of
Beginnings
Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain met at
The name
After The State ended, Black, Showalter, and Wain decided to join together and form a stand-up comedy troupe. The group originally performed under the name Midnight Expressions. They changed the name to Stella when they got their first gig at the New York City nightclub, Fez, because the manager who hired them was pregnant at the time, and Stella was to be the name of her daughter. (www.davidwain.com), (The History of Stella)
Short films
From 1998 to 2004 the troupe produced, wrote, and starred in 27 short films, originally intended for screenings at the group's live stage shows. They quickly became popular after being hosted on the internet through CollegeHumor and have since been distributed freely online by fans on video sharing websites such as YouTube and Dailymotion.
Some of the actors to guest star in the shorts include
On December 15, 2008, Stella premiered "Birthday", their first new short since 2004, on
Television
Before ever appearing on Comedy Central, Stella made a pilot to VH1 called Every Night. It was a late night talk show that included sketch comedy, improv, and material from the shortfilms. The show was not picked up by VH1.
Stella had two brief stints on Comedy Central, the first as a one-time Comedy Central Presents adaptation of their stage show in 2004.
In 2005, the network commissioned ten half-hour episodes from the group, as the television series
Additionally, Showalter and Black returned to Comedy Central in July 2009 in a new show entitled
Film
Though Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain have yet to appear in a feature film as their Stella alter-egos, the three have frequently collaborated on a number of feature films, including:
- Wet Hot American Summer (2001) – Directed by Wain, co-written by Showalter and Wain, starring Showalter and Black
- The Baxter (2005) – Written, directed by and starring Showalter. Black and Wain both have supporting acting roles.
- The Ten (2007) – Directed by Wain, co-written by Wain and Ken Marino, starring Showalter, Black and Wain in supporting roles.
- Role Models (2008) – Directed by Wain, co-written by Wain and Marino, starring a wide variety of Stella contributors.
- Wanderlust (2012) – Directed by Wain, co-written by Wain and Ken Marino, starring Showalter, Black and Wain in supporting roles.
- They Came Together (2014) – Directed by Wain, written by Showalter, starring Black and Wain in supporting roles.
An exception to this is an outtake from Wet Hot American Summer, in which the trio can be seen in the background of a scene, wearing their Stella attire and humping the body of a downed turkey hunter played by Zak Orth as a reference to the first Stella short, "Turkey Hunting".
The three have also appeared in the movie Reno 911!: Miami. Showalter and Black appeared as tattoo artists, while Wain played a plumber.
The group filmed their December 11, 2008 performance in Boston at the Wilbur Theatre for
Comedic style
Frequent contributors
Stella is also known for casting actors they enjoy working with in many of their projects including:
- Elizabeth Banks (Wet Hot American Summer film and Netflix series, The Baxter, Stella shorts and TV series, Wainy Days, Role Models)
- Janeane Garofalo (Wet Hot American Summer film and series, The Ten, Stella shorts and TV series)
- Joe Lo Truglio (The State, Wet Hot American Summer and series, The Baxter, The Ten, Wanderlust, Stella shorts and TV series, Wainy Days, Role Models, Childrens Hospital)
- Ken Marino (The State, Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, The Ten, Wanderlust, Stella shorts and TV series, Wainy Days, Role Models, Childrens Hospital, They Came Together)
- A.D. Miles(Wet Hot American Summer and its prequel, The Baxter, The Ten, Stella shorts and TV Series, Wainy Days, Role Models, Childrens Hospital )
- Zak Orth (Wet Hot American Summer and its prequels, The Baxter, The Ten, Stella shorts and TV series, "Wainy Days", They Came Together)
- Andrea Rosen (The Baxter, The Ten, Stella TV series, Wainy Days)
- Paul Rudd (Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, The Ten, Wanderlust, Stella shorts and TV series, The Michael Showalter Showalter, Wainy Days)
- Nina Hellman (Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten, Wanderlust, Stella shorts and TV series, Wainy Days)
- Justin Theroux (The Baxter, The Ten, Wanderlust)
- Zach Galifianakis (Stella shorts and The Michael Showalter Showalter)
- Bradley Cooper (Stella shorts, Wet Hot American Summer and its prequel)
The State (1993-1995) |
Wet Hot American Summer (2001) |
Stella shorts (1998-2002) |
Stella (2005) |
The Baxter (2005) |
The Ten (2007) |
Wainy Days (2007-2012) |
The Michael Showalter Showalter (2007-2008) |
Role Models (2008) |
Childrens Hospital (2008-2016) |
Party Down (2009-2010) |
Michael and Michael Have Issues (2009) |
Wanderlust (2012) |
Burning Love (2012-2013) |
They Came Together (2014) |
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015) |
Another Period (2016) |
Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017) |
Medical Police (2020) | |
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David Wain | Actor, writer, director, producer | Writer, director | Actor, writer, director | Actor, writer, director, producer | Actor | Actor, writer, director, producer | Actor, writer, director | Guest star | Actor, director, writer | Actor, director, writer | Director | Actor, director, writer | Actor | Actor, director, writer | Actor, director, writer, producer | Actor | Actor, director, writer, producer | Director, co-creator, producer | |
Michael Showalter | Actor, writer, director | Actor, writer | Actor, writer, director | Actor, writer, director, producer | Actor, writer, director | Actor | Actor | Host, writer | Actor, writer | Actor, writer, producer | Actor | Writer, producer | Actor, writer, producer | Actor, writer, producer | |||||
Michael Ian Black | Actor, writer, director | Actor, writer | Actor, writer, director | Actor, writer, director, producer | Actor | Actor | Actor, writer, director | Guest star | Actor, writer, producer | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||
Elizabeth Banks | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||||||||
Paul Rudd | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor, producer | Actor | Guest star | Actor, writer | Writer, producer | Actor, producer | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||
Janeane Garofalo | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||||||||||
Joe Lo Truglio | Various | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||
Ken Marino | Various | Actor | Actor | Actor, writer, producer | Actor, writer, director | Actor, writer | Actor | Actor, director | Actor, writer, producer | Actor, writer, producer | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||
A.D. Miles
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Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor, writer, director | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||||||
Zak Orth | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||
Andrea Rosen | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||
Nina Hellman | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||
Justin Theroux | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||||
Zach Galifianakis | Actor | Guest star | |||||||||||||||||
Bradley Cooper | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||||
Julie Bowen | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||||
Thomas Lennon | Various | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||||||||||
Kerri Kenney-Silver | Various | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||||||
Rashida Jones | Actor | Actor, producer | Actor | ||||||||||||||||
Christopher Meloni | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||
Seth Herzog | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||
Peter Salett | Actor, soundtrack | Actor | Soundtrack | Actor, soundtrack | Actor, soundtrack | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||
Michael Cera | Guest star | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||||||||||||
Jack McBrayer | Actor | Guest star | Actor | Actor | |||||||||||||||
H. Jon Benjamin | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||
Sam Rockwell | Actor | Actor | |||||||||||||||||
Samantha Buck
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Actor | Actor | |||||||||||||||||
Megan Mullally | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||||
Rob Corddry | Actor | Actor | Co-creator, actor | Actor | Actor | Co-creator, actor | |||||||||||||
Josh Charles | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | |||||||||||||||
Jason Sudeikis | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||||
Lake Bell | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||||
Rob Huebel | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | ||||||||||||
Mather Zickel | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor | Actor |
References
- ^ Sean O'Neal (2008-01-29). "Michael Showalter". The A.V. Club.
- ^ "home page". Stella. 2008-02-01.