‘Manly Man’ plans to continue performing after graduation

Michael Todd
Assistant Spectrum Editor

As the light at the end of the college tunnel gets brighter for theater majors Erin Adelman and Caitlin Carbone, so do the stage lights of their future careers. Graduating this spring, Adelman and Carbone are currently preparing to carry Manly Man, their musical comedy duo, with them into the professional theater world.

Adelman and Carbone are known throughout their department as members of the Richmond Comedy Coalition (RCC), the college improv group Foreign Exchange and as co-hosts of the student variety show Friday Night Live (FNL), formerly known as No Shame, at Shafer Street Playhouse.

Although the pair met first semester of their freshman year, it was not until the summer before their junior year, spent together in Richmond, that the pair finally clicked. Almost simultaneously, Manly Man was born.

The tandem’s first song “Enigma,” inspired by a play of the same name, was written for a skit that the pair performed as the opening for a RCC show.

“We got super excited about it really fast. It was the most fun performing-wise that I feel like I’ve ever had, the first few times we performed (as Manly Man),” Adelman said.

Adelman and Carbone dubbed themselves Manly Man after writing their second song, “In Me,” inspired by a poem Carbone wrote to her boyfriend when she was 16. During the summer of 2012, Manly Man wrote and performed their first four songs, and the duo was selling T-shirts by the start of the fall semester.

“We just wanted it to be a thing, so we forced it into a thing, and eventually people starting referring to us as Manly Man instead of Caitlin and Erin,” Adelman said.

Since then, Manly Man has performed for RCC and FNL, as well as several open mic nights and comedy shows. Even though they’re often not paid, the duo performs for their love of performance and has been booked as entertainment for venues both in and out of Richmond.

“It’s really nice having a partnership,” Carbone said. “We motivate each other. When you’re doing comedy by yourself, it’s really easy to get down on yourself.”

The pair draws inspiration from other comedy groups like The Lonely Island, Garfunkel and Oates and their idol duo, Flight of the Conchords.

“My favorite memories are actually writing the songs,” Carbone said. “We just sit … and (we) think of things and laugh. … It’s just really fun.”

At the end of the fall 2012 semester, theater professor Lorri Lindberg offered the pair an independent study focusing on Manly Man’s development, which the duo accepted without hesitation.

Some of Manly Man’s self-directed coursework includes meeting twice a week to write and record music, which they hope to produce as demo CDs, as well as contacting people and booking shows.

While Manly Man’s official website is currently under construction, the duo has already begun recording the first of at least three music videos to be completed by the end of the semester, in addition to themed photo shoots and a series of comedic videos for their YouTube account. The pair are currently working on a song called “Falling in Love in the Grocery Store,” which they pair intend to film, appropriately, in a grocery store.

An enthusiastic supporter of the pair, Lindberg also invited casting director Christopher Dietrich and actor Wayne Duvall to watch a Manly Man mock-audition and provide feedback. Dietrich and Duvall will keep in contact with Adelman and Carbone post graduation, be it for future career advice or simply to catch up.

Later this spring, Manly Man will perform in Senior Showcase, an audition-entry class for theater seniors culminating with a final showcase emphasizing participants’ talents. Including Manly Man, Senior Showcase will take place in NYC during a weeklong convention hosted by the Actor’s Connection organization.

Neither Adelman nor Carbone, who are both currently searching and applying for jobs, know exactly what they want to do after graduation. Adelman hopes to obtain a job in D.C. and Carbone is applying for jobs in Northern Virginia and Baltimore.

Carbone and Adelman hope to tour as Manly Man one day. In the ideal scenario, the pair would live close enough to nurture Manly Man into a potential career.

“We think what we do is funny,” said Adelman. “Who cares (what other people think)? We just try to have fun.”