A promotional photo for Special When Lit’s Bury the Leads, which plays at the Minnesota Fringe Festival through August 16. Photo by Bonni Allen.

One of the most celebrated, sure-fire audience hits at the Minnesota Fringe festival is an appearance by Special When Lit, whose productions are as fun as they are hard to predict in terms of topic – cue 2022’s Finger Lickin’ Good, about (of all people) Colonel Sanders.

Co-stars Sam Landman and Nissa Nordland spoke with the Arts Reader’s Basil Considine about their latest show for the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Bury the Leads.

Official Show Description

Meet Clyde & Faye, two character actors navigating an industry of auditions, rejections, bit parts and false starts. Sometimes funny, sometimes melancholy, it’s improv so grounded, it seems scripted.

How did this Fringe show come to be? Which came first, the titular pun or the idea for the narrative/plot?

Sam: It all started with an audition. This commercial for a restaurant chain, where they wanted to cast “real people.” I mean, they wanted actors, but they needed to look “real.” In other words, character actors. They wanted average Americans to represent their restaurant, I guess. So, I auditioned, felt pretty good about it, then forgot about it.

About a month later, I see the commercial on TV and it’s pretty clear that the client saw schlubs like me on tape (“real people”) and told their agency, “Okay, I know we said we wanted ‘real,’ but not THIS real.” Because the final spot is just a bunch of flawlessly beautiful actors, sitting in a booth, eating their gorgeous food. (Like, seriously, even the food was hotter than me.)

At the time, Nissa and I were sending Marco Polos back and forth and I told her about this. I knew she’d had similar experiences being a character actor, so we started spitballing what would eventually become BTL. Initially, we called it Not The Leads or something like that. But one morning, I woke up and the name was just there. Change the spelling and it kind of says it all. And when you think about the original expression (“bury the lede”), it sort of sums up what we’re trying to express: the most important element isn’t up front. It’s right there in the background.

This was also initially conceived as a YouTube series. Nissa and I have a Google Doc full of scenarios involving Clyde and Faye, some actor moments, some everyday life things. We wanted it all to be improvised, since we know tons of actors who are great at that. But like our live set, we wanted there to be an emphasis on melancholy. It could be funny, but unlike most improv, making people laugh is never our primary goal.

But after seeing a fully improvised Tubthumping Thursdays show at Bryant-Lake Bowl, I asked Nissa if she’d consider doing this live just so we could test drive the format. She said yes and it went pretty well. Right from the beginning, we integrated slides, which sort of set us apart. Then, we did another Tubthumping Thursday, then a few times at Strike Theater. These were all short sets, by the way, 15 minutes or so. I think one was maybe 30 minutes. And now, we’ve worked up hour-long sets and I can’t see us going back, honestly.

Nissa: Bury The Leads is one of those gut punch dream projects for me. Once it came into being, I knew I wasn’t going to let it go. You know when you’ve hit an idea that you need to pursue, it shakes you up and sticks with you. It hits on all levels that are important to me. It’s funny, it’s melancholy, it’s off beat, and it makes something weird relatable.

What’s a favorite moment in Bury The Leads – and why?

Sam: Since it’s improv, our favorite moments change from performance to performance, which is ultimately what’s great about improv in the first place. But in the macro, I love that we’re creating our own lore within this Bury The Leads universe.

We play Clyde and Faye, but we also play all the characters that interact with them, so sometimes we recycle characters or do callbacks to other performances. They don’t say the same things or repeat something they did before (because otherwise, this would all be scripted), but Nissa and I have essentially created recurring characters that we’ve refined over time, which come with their own unique gestures, postures, accents, whatever. They act as background characters, essentially propelling Clyde and Faye into the foreground as the main characters, a place they don’t normally get included in.

Nissa: As it’s improvised, the show changes from performance to performance. But I love when we find a real connection between our characters and create genuine moments. There is a “will they, won’t they” romance element to the show, and those are usually my favorite scenes.

Many artists have parallel careers in the arts and elsewhere. The Broadway and Hollywood stereotype is that these compete – that, in essence, you have to pick one thing. That’s the stereotype; your professional careers say otherwise. What are some of the ways that you have managed your parallel careers and made things work sustainably?

Sam: Like many artists, I have a lot of creative interests. And when I was younger, those interests pulled me back and forth. Like, I used to draw a lot. Had a stable of original superheroes, a G.I. Joe knock-off team, drawing in the margins of school work, what have you. If there was spare paper somewhere, I drew on it. But at some point, I didn’t have the drive to pursue that. I think I got lazy. I even took a drawing class in college, but it started to feel like work, so I just stopped. Then, I discovered acting. And that didn’t feel like work. It felt right somehow. In my 20s, I started writing and that also felt right. So, I stuck with both.

In terms of being a Copywriter, I feel like the writing I do on the outside fuels what I do on the inside. For example, we shoot a lot of videos at work. And I write the scripts. Some are basic, talking head type stuff, but we also produce videos that need a little fun injected into them. That’s where my “outside” writer comes into play. I’m able to take dry facts and figures and tell a compelling story, so when our employees are required to watch videos about, say, office etiquette, I’ve added something weird, funny or engaging. And in a lot of cases, people watch those videos more than once because we’ve turned boilerplate content into something they actually enjoy.

Nissa: I am a certified Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) professional, my focus is primarily in data and analytics, but I also help with eLearnings and other training materials. I do have long days/nights in order to manage both career paths.

I use a lot of my HR experience and project management skills when I produce as Special When Lit and as Artistic Director of TCHF, and I bring creativity and facilitation skills into my workplace. People in the theatre community are often surprised to learn that I love spreadsheets, but seriously, have you ever made a great spreadsheet? It’s one of the best feelings in the world. And that skill carries over into theatre production very well.

You just finished presenting Bury The Leads at the Green Bay Fringe. What were some of the highlights of that run? What did you do with your (possibly mythical) downtime before re-opening at the Minnesota Fringe?

Sam: We had three people walk out of our second performance at Green Bay Fringe. It was during a scene called “Intimacy,” where our two characters work on rehearsal that requires consent and trust. A very mechanical, deliberate set of moves, nothing “sexy” about it. So, we’re playing two actors, going through this step-by-step process, making sure each person is comfortable. Then, Nissa’s character takes her top off (keeping her bra on the entire time), at which point my character does a very robotic move that results in grasping her shoulder. Nothing risque, nothing really sexual at all. Then, I say, “Annnd cut. That’s it, right?” And she says, “Yep. We’ll do it like that once cameras roll.” That was the whole scene. But right after her top came off, I saw in my peripheral that three people got up and headed for the door.

Now, usually when I’ve told people this, they say, “awwww, that sucks” or “I’m so sorry.” But truthfully, I see that walkout as a massive compliment. It’s the best press we could’ve gotten, like a physical pull quote. We affected these people. We impacted them. We made them feel something, good or bad, by what we were doing onstage in real time. So much so that they couldn’t think of anything to do than walk the hell out. It proves that live performance (specifically the kind of improv that we do) can influence people and make them realize that everything they’re seeing could turn on a dime. It proves that they’re still alive. That they’ve made a choice to be part of this thing. Or, you know, not. And that’s beautiful to me.

Nissa: You are right about downtime being mythical between the two Fringes, there wasn’t much. However, Sam & I were able to rehearse, build five new scene structures plus write and record nine scene change songs in that time. We didn’t have original music for our Green Bay sets; I had the brainwave to make some silly songs on our way home. When we did get time off from rehearsals and production prep, we went to Minnesota Nice Cream, hung out with our cats and visited friends.

My Bury the Leads GB highlight was getting in a great flow with Sam during performance and creating some memorable characters on the fly. It was our first time doing 60 minute sets with our format and it was so satisfying.

What’s a creative highlight of the present theatrical season (ending in August), and why?

Sam: I’m reuniting with The Winding Sheet Outfit in this year’s Fringe. I’m playing George Bernard Shaw (who also happens to play drums) in A Confluence of Magical Arseholes.

It’s always great working with Amber. Her approach to devised theater doesn’t take itself too seriously, even if she’s devising a serious topic. She’s got a fantastic sense of humor that always takes precedence over treating the story with too much gravitas. A Confluence of Magical Arseholes is the perfect example of this: No stuffiness, no pretentiousness. She makes creating something from scratch a real joy.

Nissa: One of my artistic recent highlights is film vs theatre. I had the pleasure of shooting a short film called Robin’s Grave in December 2025, and it had its first screening in Spring 2026. It is a queer retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth set in the 1930s, and my character, Robin, was Orpheus.

Everything in the film was done practically, including a gorgeous falling sequence, complete with moving backdrop and fans, making my hair pretty epic. I love the cinematography, design and direction so much. Robin’s Grave is a short-film-within-a-feature-film called Her Viscera, in which principal photography starts this Fall.

It may sound cheesy, but my stage highlight is performing Bury The Leads with Sam, especially in our 60 minute sets. He’s my favorite scene partner. There’s so much trust between us, it’s freeing for performance.

Nissa: amongst other hats that you wear, you’re also the Artistic Director of the Twin Cities Horror Festival, which celebrates its fifteenth year this fall. Most artistic directors with fall shows are frantically planning during July and August, rather than producing or appearing in a Fringe show. What are some of the ways you do (or don’t) keep these separate and managed?

Nissa: TCHF does have important deadlines around Minnesota Fringe; we have many artists and producers that are involved in both festivals so I keep that in mind when we set the deadline. I keep a calendar with our TCHF production schedule and set reminders for upcoming items that are due.

After Fringe though, boy howdy, things really pick up! The show schedule is built, official marketing is due and tickets go on sale. I also don’t get a lot of sleep and I drink more Redbulls than I should. I’m a bit of a workaholic, if I’m honest.

What’s up for you next after Fringe? (Either right after, or in the coming year/theatrical season.)

Sam: I’m currently writing a show for the Twin Cities Horror Festival called Bicentennial Auger, which will premiere towards the end of October at the Crane Theater. So, I’ll be producing and possibly directing that (though I’m not sure about the latter).

I have a few film projects I might be involved in during the fall, but those are still up in the air.

Also, two of my feature films will be screening this month:

• Good Sport is playing at Edina 4 for a week (August 13-20).
• Dead Media has a one-night screening at The Heights (August 18).

I’ll be attending some and doing Q&As afterward. Then, both films will continue to tour before landing onto streaming platforms.

Nissa: I will be playing the classic sapphic vampire Carmilla in a new adaptation for the stage by Cara White (Glass Half Dark) at Twin Cities Horror Festival. (The Twin Cities Horror Festival runs October 16-31 at the Crane Theater.)

This September I am also performing in Mystery Cafe’s Alma Murder at the Plymouth Playhouse, which are mostly daytime matinees. Additionally, I’ll be in a short film, The Transfer, this October.

2027 is Special When Lit’s 10 year Anniversary, and I am hoping to produce something real lit to celebrate.

Sam, as a professional copywriter, your oeuvre spans a range of projects that most people never imagine being covered in their lives. What’s one of the most memorable copywriting projects you’ve worked on, and why?

After all these years, I could go on for days telling the stories behind the most memorable projects or campaigns I worked on, whether it was the toys I created backstories for, the controversial taglines I pitched, the out-there concepts behind products that never made it to market or the brands I helped reshape alongside Designers.

But my all-time favorite projects were three videos I wrote for the backup software company, Code42. They were awareness campaigns to get the word out there. So, we concepted, then executed three unique ways to reach certain demographics.

Because there was essentially no budget for these, we were our own Producers, Casting Agents, Art Directors, Propmasters, Costumers, you name it. And since we had to be so scrappy, I feel like the end result turned out so much better than if we’d had a larger budget or some massive crew:

• Wiseguy

• Danny’s Game Dungeon

• Back to College: Maxine

What’s one Fringe show that you’re not in that you’re looking forward to seeing, and why?

Sam: My pal Chris Davis is bringing a show from my hometown called Road Trip that’s at Bryant-Lake Bowl, so I’m looking forward to that for sure.

Also, one of my greatest weaknesses is Jaws. If there’s anything remotely Jaws-related, I’m in. So, yeah, I’m not proud that I’ll probably end up going to see BOTH of the Jaws-ish plays this year: Muskie and Chum!

Nissa: A Confluence of Magical Arseholes by The Winding Sheet Outfit. I am a Pagan with a healthy interest in the Occult, so it will be fun to see this silly show centered on the Golden Dawn. Plus, I love seeing Derek Lee Miller & Sam play live music together (they performed live music for TWSO & Special When Lit’s Stabby Stab Stab as well.)

Also stoked to see Ember & Road Trip.

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Basil Considine

Basil Considine was the Editor of the Twin Cities Arts Reader from 2018-2022. He served as Performing Arts Editor and Senior Classical Music and Drama Critic for the Arts Reader's first five years, before succeeding Hanne Appelbaum. He was previously the Resident Classical Music and Drama Critic at the Twin Cities Daily Planet and remains an occasional contributing writer for The Boston Musical Intelligencer and The Chattanoogan. He holds a PhD in Music and Drama from Boston University, an MTS in Sacred Music from the BU School of Theology, and a BA in Music and Theatre from the University of San Diego.

Basil was named one of Musical America's 30 Professionals of the Year in 2017. He was previously the Regional Governor for the National Opera Association's North Central Region and the 2021-2022 U.S. Fulbright Faculty Scholar to Madagascar.

Latest posts by Basil Considine (see all)

• FRINGE FILE #21: INTERVIEW – Sam Landman and Nissa Nordland on Bury the Leads - August 8, 2026
• REVIEW: A Glittering MNSong Showcase (Source Song Festival) - August 7, 2026
• FRINGE FILE #17: INTERVIEW – Dawn Bentley on The Quiet Piggy and Helming Fringe - August 5, 2026