Queens Tribune

There is no exact way to describe “Stella.” Attempting to recount their jokes to friends never comes off very well, and there is no easily pinpointed agenda behind their madness. But true fans of the comedy battalion that makes up “Stella” just seem to get it.

Moving their half-slapstick-half-poppycock routine from the stand-up stage to the television networks, “Stella” recently shot a portion of an upcoming episode in Whitestone on Friday, June 3. The show premieres June 28 at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Cameramen and make-up artists swarmed the street near 149th Street and 10th Avenue while getting ready to film at the Whitestone location. “Stella’s” trio of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, and David Wain stood patiently in the light drizzle as production assistants held umbrellas over their heads, awaiting their call to shoot scenes for a future episode called “The Paper Route.” Also on the set was “That ‘70’s Show” star Topher Grace.

Scouts for the show deemed Barbara Castellano’s disconnected garage as an ideal spot to shoot a scene where the three characters apply for a paper route job. “The show’s production people knocked on my door and said they were looking for a garage with character,” said Castellano, who waited on a neighbor’s property across the street while the film crew took over her two-car garage. She was seeking no other compensation for the use of her garage except for a possible picture with the guys. All residents on the street were informed that the production would be shot on Friday evening.

The first scene that was shot consisted of the three “Stella” members walking down the street on their way to apply for a paper route job. After a rehearsal shot, the scene was recorded twice, once with a plane flying overhead, delaying the roll of the camera for a few moments.

The action then moved into the garage, where Wain, Showalter, and Black met up in a hysterical scene with Ken Marino, a former cast member of “The State,” who portrayed a tough-guy newspaper proprietor.

Showalter likened the show that he and his comrades have created to an entity somewhere between the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges. “Every show is totally different. Sort of the Stella guys take on blank,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

An exclusive sneak-peek at “Stella’s” pilot was reassuring that long-time fans of the comedy group will not be disappointed. Wain and Showalter’s knack for the absurd has not rusted since they broke onto the scene with MTV’s “The State” in the early 1990’s. Highlights of the pilot include the three-way portioning of a single bean, the characters dressing up as skunks for a co-op board meeting, and the method in which they go about cleaning their apartment.

Castellano, a 25-year Whitestone resident who lives with her husband and three children, said that her garage has been the apple of other production scouts’ eyes, including “Law and Order.” Though “Law and Order” did not film at her house, she still thinks the garage has a special charm. “It’s a garage that represents America with the way it looks. Whitestone is a friendly town, so this is a great spot for a television show to shoot.”