Comedy duo brings back online show after hiatus

Apr. 11—TUPELO — Kevin Steele was not in the mood for laughter a few months ago.

After losing his job in June 2020, Steele became sick after showing symptoms of celiac disease (unable to eat gluten in wheat products). Then the money he had saved began to run out.

Steele was feeling discouraged when he was introduced to past episodes of a YouTube online comedy show, "Stranger, Are You Smiling." The show, hosted by local comedians/actors Glenn Payne and Casey Dillard, posted several episodes in 2016-17 until the duo shut it down to lighten their workload.

Years later, their humor helped an online viewer who was struggling to smile.

"I was really stressed from constant long-term damage to my guts," Steele said. "I really didn't have comedy or laughter on my mind. But, their stuff made me laugh. They managed to get a laugh out of me."

Today, Steele is using his marketing skills to help Dillard and Payne revive the shuttered "Stranger, Are You Smiling." The series returned this month on its YouTube channel as well as Facebook and Twitter.

"Kevin helped us revitalize it by being kind and saying very nice things about it," Payne said. "He believed in the show and what we're doing. That means a lot. He kind of got us going with a very kind, polite kick in the butt."

Payne and Dillard are familiar faces in West of Shake Rag, the Tupelo improvisation comedy troupe. Before starting the original online series, they also teamed up for an improv duo also called Stranger, Are You Smiling.

"We were in two groups, and then we transitioned that into an online format with a program and various skits," Payne said.

Dillard also recalls how the series started as an additional outlet. The original segments are still available for viewing online.

"Glenn and I used to work in the same place," she said. "Glenn just stays very, very busy at all times and doesn't deal with it well when he's not super busy. I think he was looking for something to take up some of the time that a retail job had taken up in his life, and I think I was finding some long-form video essay and partner-duo type YouTube video to do. I was curious about how making something like that would happen."

The first season of "Stranger, Are You Smiling" was recorded and posted between February 2016 and June 2017. The recording took place at Payne's home.

"It's just so much work setting up things," Payne said. "I'm not talking about the content. Just getting ready to record with good audio, good lighting, and then put it together and edit it. It takes a lot. So much effort goes into it."

Payne added, "Season one rounded out because we were just like, that's enough for now."

Dillard, in the interview, responded to Payne's observation on how it ended.

"I think what it came down to was it was getting hot and your big air conditioner was dying," she told him. "Truly, I think 'Stranger, Are You Smiling' was killed by a Mississippi summer."

The series went on hold as its creators turned their focus on making a movie, "Driven." Payne and Dillard were co-producers, with Payne serving as director and Dillard the writer. "Driven" was released in 2019.

"I never wanted to take a break from it necessarily," Payne said of the online series. "It's just the workload, getting all those things done. I think we always planned on revisiting it and coming back to it."

Steele, who was doing freelance marketing work, offered to help spread the word.

"I've been working with another client on specific things, but I thought I could bring my skills to a local community," Steele said. "I reached out to Glenn to ask if he had any projects he would like help with, and he pointed me to the 'Stranger, Are You Smiling' YouTube channel.

"I went there and laughed my butt off," Steele added. "I told them this is really quality stuff and I think I can help it be seen by a large audience, especially now. It's been a rough couple of years for everyone. I believe this can bring a lot of laughter to a lot of people."

"Stranger, Are You Smiling" is now recorded in a studio at the Link Centre. Payne said some of the first segments of the second season were filmed early last week.

The growth of online entertainment during the pandemic, Dillard said, has helped performing artists stay connected with their fans.

"I think people have retreated to online in the past year, and the habit has set in now," she said. "It's an interesting way to share and exchange ideas. It's another storytelling and communicating avenue."

Payne and Dillard agree the show can be a tool to reach the viewers who, like Steele, need something funny to take their minds off their struggles.

"Everybody needs to laugh right now," Dillard said. "If we can be the ones to do it, hey, so much the better."

bobby.pepper@djournal.com