That is so bizarre, that's hilarious, I'm frightened"
-Kurt Loder in response to Becky and Noelle's performance of their song "Sexual Swingset:
Kurt Loder"
Dead Dogs - Sketchfest NYC 2007
Becky Poole and Noelle Romano don't believe they are that weird. Which is probably why they have been making their bizarre brand of comedy together for over eight years.
The pair met as undergrads at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in a class aptly named "Radical Street Theater". Becky loved the class and Noelle couldn't stand it.
"I remember just sitting around judging people-- I was
very insecure then. But Becky I found totally intriguing. Especially because I knew she did stand-up."
The two parted ways but found themselves cast together in a NY Fringe show the following summer. Becky inspired Noelle to try her hand at stand-up, and soon the two were bouncing around the underground NY comedy scene hitting open mics and doing bringer shows.
The director of that previous Fringe show, noting their interesting dynamic, decided they should host a comedy show together. And so they did.
"Hersterical" was a monthly all-female stand up show hosted by Becky and Noelle. It ran for a year and a half to a faithful and supportive audience who enjoyed the likes of Jessie Klein, Erin Foley, Becky Donohue, and many others. As hosts, the two would write skits and songs to perform in between stand-up comedians.
Requests to perform at various venues as a duo starting coming in, and before they knew it, "Becky and Noelle" was born.
In 2003 they decided to do their own NY Fringe show. "Becky and Noelle: Investigating the Bucket" brought on director Carrie Morris to help craft their random 2-3 minute sketches into a longer theatrical piece.
"We had no idea how the audience would respond. There was a fear we would get a deer-in-headlights kind of reaction."
Fortunately, audiences and reviewers got the joke. Eric Grode of Backstage magazine wrote,
"Becky and Noelle: Investigating the Bucket doesn't claim to be a cohesive or even a coherent evening of theatre. I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but I do know that it's chaotic, hilarious, and just shy of brilliant."
He then went on to mention the show again in Backstage's "best theater of 2003" issue. Over and over, it seemed, reviewers described the show as "indescribable" yet hilarious and enjoyable. As Jada Yuan, a reviewer for New York Magazine/Metro TV wrote,
"Is the show cohesive? No. Does it matter? No
again. Just roll with these girls. One of the most purely enjoyable experiences we've ever had at Fringe."
An appearance at Sketchfest NYC in 2005, led to them breaking out of the NY scene and into the nationwide festival circuit. They went on to appear in Sketchfest Seattle (2005, 2006), Chicago Sketchfest (2006), San Francisco Sketchfest (2007), and most recently Sketchingham! in Bellingham, WA.
Even a move by Becky Poole to Seattle, WA did nothing to slow down the inertia of the group. In addition to a fantastic run at Sketchingham this past April, 2008 finds Becky and Noelle performing at Sketchfest NYC in June, and Portland, Oregon's "Best of the Best" in August. Plans for a possible Canadian tour are in the works, and of course Becky and Noelle are always available for your Bar Mitzvahs and birthday parties.
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