Michael Orton-Toliver on the balance between allowing improv on set and sticking to the script - a podcast by Steve Whiteley

In this conversation I chat with the very funny Michael Orton-Toliver (https://twitter.com/michael_ot), who happens to be the co-creator and co-writer of Channel 5 and Netflix sitcom 'Borderline'.

Michael talks about his early days performing improv and moving to amsterdam to perform as part of Chicago Boom. We talk about our shared horror for...horror films, my appreciation for Michael’s improv mind and his days performing improv shows on a cruise ship. He explains why LA isn’t the central hub of the entertainment industry it once was and why you don’t have to live there to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. We discuss how the collaborative nature of improv has helped shape Michael as a writer, how his experience with a Border Force patrol office led to him being put in a cell and was ultimately the inspiration for the C5 and now Netflix sitcom Borderline.

Michael breaks down his writing process, he explains how improv led him to meeting Chris Gau his writing partner and co-creator of borderline. We discuss the process of developing a show from writing it to eventually shooting it and the struggle of handing over your script to a director. We talk about the balance between making sure your cast hit all the beats and lines on the script and also allowing enough room to improv. Michael talks about how being a new Dad has affected his writing and general approach to work. There’s loads here!

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Happy listening :)

Steve - @Offkeysteve

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