We're so proud of all of our member shows and teams. And in this new series, we're going to check in with them to see how the experience has been so far. Today we check in with Forgot to Mute, produced & hosted by Michael Shambo & Maggie Paino.
Forgot to Mute is an online, comedy show highlighting the fun of short form improv (Think Whose Line is it Anyway).
Tonight (1/4/22) is Forgot to Mute's first show on their new night!
Tune in to twitch.tv/thetridentnetwork at 8pm CT for all the fun!
Read what Michael and Maggie had to say about their experience:
How long have you been a part of Trident?
Since pre-launch!
What initially drew you to Trident?
Michael: Val reached out and asked if I wanted to produce an online short form show and it sounded super fun!
Maggie: My friend/co-host Michael brought me into the Trident fold. I really liked how Trident embraced technology to expand the definition of a stage for performers. Most importantly, I loved the general mission of Trident and its aim to foster community among comedians/improvisers/writers/other creative minds.
What was the inspiration / origin story for your show?
Michael: Most of us have been doing short form together for close to a decade!
Maggie: Since we were going to be doing improv over zoom, we wanted to come up with a clever way to acknowledge rather than ignore the obvious. Over the past year, we've all seen and experienced first hand the many ways that video conferencing can go wrong. We focused in on the awkward situation where someone forgets to mute their line and you hear them eating or having a personal conversation or talking to their dog...and that's how we landed on "Forgot to Mute".
What is your favorite part of the experience of putting up your show?
Michael: Getting to see my friends every other week and laughing with them.
Maggie: I really love our signature/namesake game "Forgot to Mute". It's complete chaos and so much fun to play. It's also great when you're not playing in a game and you're off screen. You get to have those forbidden laughs where you want to giggle but can't because you'll disrupt the scene. I also really enjoy getting to have fun with my friends every other week. Since I don't live in the same city or state, this is my chance to hang out with people I like and care about.
What is a memory from working on the show that stands out to you?
Michael: The first time I saw the Forgot to Mute trailer. It was a masterpiece in editing by Ty and Maggie.
Maggie: There was one show I was hosting where I decided that I was just going to purposely butcher/mispronounce viewer names because they're actually really hard to figure out! One of the viewers was someone that everyone on the cast knew and when I mispronounced it everyone started laughing uncontrollably. It's now a running joke. It's the stupid and simple humor that's the most effective for me.
What are you most proud of about the show?
Michael: I'm most proud of whenever someone messages me and says "someone at work had a Forgot to Mute moment today and I thought of your show!"
Maggie: It's hard to pick one thing, so I'm going to ramble off a few. I love that we have our very own theme song. I'm proudest when I can make the other players laugh. I think the structure of the show is unique and allows us the room to be creative and to engage with the viewers in a way you can't in a live show.
What is something you learned through the process of producing your show?
Michael: I learned much more about Twitch and the differences between doing comedy live and online.
Maggie: "Zoomprov" is difficult but not impossible.
What is something you are looking forward to about your show?
Michael: Hopefully growing a bigger audience and trying out new games that work in the format!
Maggie: I'm excited for us to develop more short videos to incorporate into the show. It gives us another opportunity to create funny things together.
Check out Forgot to Mute's past show recordings: