The hope is that Improv Asylum, with its fast-paced, not-by-the-book style, can launch itself to a higher level. The company, a local mainstay for 13 years, has national TV and film aspirations. To get there, the troupe is taking advantage of a seasonal programming lull, deploying the show while “Saturday Night Live’’ is in reruns.
“Every jerk has an idea,’’ Laviolette said. “Very few jerks have 10 full episodes.’’
By independently producing the scripted, half-hour show, which will air Saturdays at midnight through Labor Day weekend, Laviolette and cocreators Jeremy Brothers and Chet Harding are also taking a stand as homegrown performers. Since the passage of a movie tax credit in 2005, the state has seen an uptick in feature film and television production, some starring Boston’s favorite Hollywood sons. But Laviolette said Massachusetts still isn’t an easy place for locals to succeed on the screen.
“Certainly with Ben Affleck and Mark Wahlberg, they have committed to this area, and they’ve brought a lot of things here, which is awesome,’’ he said. “What we’re saying is, some of us are choosing to stay. But by choosing to stay, I’m not giving up on wanting to work at a higher level. And so we’re going to make our work ourselves. For now.’’
It’s not that Improv Asylum hasn’t tried pitching its ideas in Los Angeles. But the company isn’t the established brand there that it is in Boston. That name recognition helps immensely in getting permission to shoot in private locations ranging from coffee shops frequented by troupe members to Symphony Hall, where they did a piece with Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart — a running gag that will be sprinkled through the first episode.
