Andree Vermeulen – Angie Tribeca

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I am the voice of Ruffnut in the “How To Train Your Dragon” TV series. I’ve done that for three or four seasons now. Then, I have just been working on some writing projects and developing ideas for TV. I also perform live at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

Q) Please tell us the premise for “Angie Tribeca” and about your character and Monica Scholls.

A) Basically, it’s like a spoof on a procedural. It’s very much in the vein of Naked Gun and Airplane. So, everything is played very dry, but ridiculous things are happening all around us. It’s a really fun tone to play with and I think for our show in particular (especially in Season 2) we have pushed it even farther and even more dry than we have in the past. It’s a comedy, but we’re playing it like a drama. It’s all in the delivery and the acting, which is fun and certainly challenging sometimes. I’m in a scene where I’m treating it so seriously, but one of our contestants has gone rogue and just pooped in the sand like a cat and buried it. It’s so ridiculous!

Q) How much improv is done with your lines?

A) We don’t do too much improv because the timing is very specific. If we’re going to do improv, it’s more like an alternate line and we kind of riff back and forth and decide what we’re going to do. So, there are definitely some improvised lines that sneak in, but they are normally at the end of a joke as a button to kind of fill out the beat or an alternate line in the middle where we ask if we can try something. The timing is so specific and the jokes are so calculated that it is not just rambling dialogue.

Q) You have great comedic timing. Is that something that comes natural to you or have you worked at it?

A) That’s probably the best comedic compliment that I could get. So thank you! It’s what I pride myself on and why I feel like I’m in comedy. I recently had a conversation with someone who was a dramatic actor that said they have taken comedy classes and they said you could be taught comedic timing, which I really disagreed with. I don’t think you can teach timing. It’s something everyone has and their own delivery, which creates your own specific comedic voice. People in comedy, we all really strive to find our own voice. I think standup, especially, you can work for years and years to find your voice and a lot of your voice is your time. Although I don’t do standup, I do sketch, improv and character work. I will say that whatever role that I read the thing that I am going to bring to the table is my comedic voice. If you want to pick it apart, timing is really essential to what sets my voice a part from someone else. That’s something that I really value and I do think you are kind of born with. I think you can work on it. I don’t think my timing ten years ago was as good as it is now, but I think it is something that you have and can work on through experience and get better.

Q) The show has such a great cast. Was there instant chemistry when you began working together or did you spend time together to bond?

A) I feel like we just kind of fell into our roles pretty immediately. This cast is amazing and I think that Steve and Nancy [Carell] and the casting director Wendy O’Brien did such a good job with casting because just right away everyone fit like puzzle pieces together. It’s really great!

Q) What have been some of your memorable moments from filming?

A) I think some of my favorite scenes from Season 1 is when Scholls suddenly has these CIA skills. She is doing this ferret flop in a slow-mo sequence, which was really fun. Then, there is an episode where I do an autopsy on a ventriloquist dummy. For Season 2, I’m really excited about because you’ll see a different side of Scholl. You can kind of see her domestic life and what would be her love life, which is so weird. It’s like if a robot were to fall in love what would that be like? It’s a really fun, fun season coming up as well.

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive?

A) I love it! I love how immediate it is. You really know right off the bat if something is well received. I just did “Doug Loves Movies” podcast (by Doug Benson) and anytime you do something like that there is an outpouring on Twitter and Instagram, which is so cool. The public, especially the comedic circles, they just let you know immediately how much they loved something, which is pretty awesome.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) For the die hard fans who are super comedy nerds who have been following me since my early days and my college humor days, I just want to say, “You’re rad. Thank you for being so cool!” People amaze me. The true comedy fans mention the comedy sketches I’ve done from like 2008. And I’m so excited for the new fans and I feel like everyone is going to love this show. I’m just so on board for everything. I’m just so excited!