Ruganzu ‘Riggs' Howard: On the comedy frontline

Director Ruganzu ‘Riggs’ Howard is online with fellow Epoch Films director, Matthew Swanson, with whom Riggs recently made the move from producer to director on comedic spots for pizza chain Little Caesar and America’s version of Farrow & Ball, Benjamin Moore. 

Riggs is talking from his north Brooklyn apartment, some 170 miles from his old life and former beat as a detective and hostage negotiator in Baltimore. The Epoch offices in Manhattan's West Village may be a world away from the mean streets depicted in The Wire, but Riggs points out a crucial attribute shared between frontline law enforcement and advertising – the power of communication. “You show up to some crime scene and you have to figure out what’s going on,” he says, “and the only way to do that is to ask people what happened.” 

You show up to some crime scene and you have to figure out what’s going on,” he says, “and the only way to do that is to ask people what happened.

People who, more often than not, don’t want to talk. You have to learn how to get them to talk. “I wouldn’t have been anywhere near as effective in advertising, let alone directing, without that,” he adds.

In this wide-ranging Q&A, Riggs and Swanson cover everything from comedy and creativity, to diversity and inclusion – and the pivotal role comedy can play in successful hostage negotiations...

Above: Matthew Swanson and Ruganzu ‘Riggs’ Howard.

Riggs, you’ve talked about an industry still dominated by mono-culture voices and the need to increase representation of minorities; how does that play out in the comedy space?

Riggs: Well, it's true that the overwhelming majority of people in this space - from the writers to the directors - are all white men. Nothing wrong with a white guy, but it's beyond obvious that there should be room for other voices to have a say in the creative process, to shape and contribute to what makes something funny, or good. Working at agencies, I've often seen Black talent and aspects of Black culture and comedy used, yet none of the work is being written or directed by Black folks. 

Nothing wrong with a white guy, but it's beyond obvious that there should be room for other voices.

My goal is to bring my own specific flavour to the world of comedic advertising. That doesn't mean I want to be seen as a 'Black director' in a limiting sense, though. I want to be seen as a director, who directs comedy, who also happens to be Black.

Above: Riggs shadowed Swanson to learn the directing ropes and worked with him on a campaign for Zelle.

How did the two of you start working together? How did Epoch get involved and, Riggs, what impact has that had on your work and career path?

Riggs: I’ve known Matt for a number of years. We first met when I was an agency producer at Barton F. Graf (RIP). Matt was a Barton favourite and we quickly befriended one another. Some years later we were eating overpriced ceviche in Silver Lake. I expressed an interest in directing and he soon took me under his wing. Having a mentor was key in this process as the barrier to entry in the film industry (and the creative industry, in general) can be tough to navigate.

Having a mentor was key in this process as the barrier to entry in the film industry (and the creative industry, in general) can be tough to navigate.

Swanson: That ceviche really was expensive. Thank God someone else paid for it. But it really did all start there — we were having a conversation about how I had never bid against a Black director in my entire career. Not once! Which is, you know, mind-blowing. At some point Riggs let slip that he had been flirting with the idea of directing comedy himself. He has a background in photography, a great eye, and a natural understanding of humour. He's also been around this very specific type of comedy for so long, from his days at Barton and other agencies that he's developed a unique understanding of it, which has served him well. Shortly after that conversation, I spoke with Mindy [Goldberg, Epoch Founding Partner] and Melissa [Culligan, Managing Executive Producer] at Epoch, who were super-supportive of the idea from the start, and we started laying the groundwork for Riggs' path towards directing.

Above: Riggs in his previous career as a police detective and hostage negotiator in Baltimore.

Given your biography – which you’d expect to be as far from comedy as you can be – what were the steps to moving into advertising, becoming a producer with a broad portfolio, and now directing? Do your experiences as, say, a hostage negotiator, help in dealing with production problems/ clients/creatives/actors/crew…?

Riggs: It's funny, I'd actually say my path to comedy began during that time, because humour can be a potent tool in tense situations. On the street, in the interview room, or even as a matter of personal psychological survival, finding something to laugh at, even in dark times, helped de-escalate tense situations and kept me (relatively) sane all those years.

As a detective, as a hostage negotiator the bulk of my efforts went into developing a rapport with people. Absent an unlimited budget, there are few issues that good communication can’t solve.

Directing is this uniquely multi-disciplinary vocation. It's part art and part science, but the lynchpin to being an effective director is the ability to communicate with other living beings. Understanding the needs of your actor, the agency, your line producer, cinematographer etc. As a city cop, as a detective, as a hostage negotiator the bulk of my efforts went into developing a rapport with people, finding that strong human thread to connect to or pull on, or yank out. Absent an unlimited budget, there are few issues that good communication can’t solve.

Above: One of the two spots Riggs recently directed for Benjamin Moore.

It's often said that comedy is the hardest thing of all to master; when did your focus on comedy kick in, and why?

Riggs: When I landed in advertising I was in editorial and while a lot of the work was great, I immediately gravitated towards comedy. For me, if you’re going to try to sell people something, the least you can do is make them laugh. 

If you’re going to try to sell people something, the least you can do is make them laugh.

I also fancied myself as naturally hilarious so it just kind of made sense but, as Matt mentioned, it wasn't until I was working for Gerry Graf at Barton, where everything was comedy, that I got a true education in the craft and began to zero in on the genre.

Would you agree that comedy is especially culturally sensitive to tone, and therefore a wider, more culturally inclusive talent base can make a huge difference to what is out there? In what ways is that happening, or not happening – drawing on your own experience as a Black American producer and director, and more generally?

Riggs: Diversity on-screen has certainly changed. Not long ago you’d see all-white casts across entire campaigns, with some minorities peppered in here and there for good measure. Nowadays you will actually see casts that represent broader swatches of race and gender — but the comedy itself is often still constrained tonally. You’re effectively getting upper middle-class white male humour as depicted by a broader range of people. Friends with a multicultural cast would still be Friends.

Above: The second of the two Benjamin Moore spots. 

As a director, what’s your comedy ethos? Where do you ‘find the funny’, and how has that developed?

Riggs: Without over intellectualising it, the root of comedy, for me, lies in the kind of absurdity of existence we all share. Connecting the dots along those lines and finding these often subtle but relatable moments of absurdity is what I look for in a script.

Could you take us through making your first three sets of comedy spots – for Little Caesars, Zelle and Benjamin Moore?

Riggs: I first had the opportunity to dip my toe into directing some very, very low budget work for Little Caesars while at Barton F. Graf. While I primarily produced the work and was most familiar with assembling a project from that end, I worked with my creative director, the wonderful and talented Kasia Canning, to get from approved script to finished campaign. We couldn't afford a director or line producer, so we were effectively putting this job together by ourselves. At the time I had virtually no experience directing talent. Later on, and well into my training with Matt, I was given the opportunity to direct a full-length spot, part of a Zelle campaign Matt was doing with Pereira O'Dell. This came with an enormous amount of support from Matt, Epoch and the agency, and really allowed me to get time in with directing some great talent in an environment with significant guard rails.

I feel like I’m following in the footsteps of some commercial comedy giants and bringing my own size 13s to the show.

Swanson: I think the agency being on-board with what we were doing was key – they were great. Riggs had been shadowing me for about a year at that point, and we all felt he was ready to step in and start putting his talents to work. We collaborated closely on casting, locations, boards, and when it was time for him to step in, the transition was seamless.

Riggs: Matt didn't let me use his bullhorn though.

Swanson: I mean it was Covid, people were getting Covid from bullhorns all over the place.

Riggs: And then my most recent effort for Benjamin Moore is really a culmination of everything I’ve learned along the way. It was a fun process, and felt great to stand on my own and make something from the ground up. The fine people at FIG wrote some really funny scripts, so it was exciting to sink my teeth into them. To me, the finished spots are in conversation with this specific school of comedy thought, tonally speaking, that I love, that is sought after but not always allowed to be realised. So, in a way, I feel like I’m following in the footsteps of some commercial comedy giants and bringing my own size 13s to the show.