On Aug. 1, Interlude Music hosted a special showing of Buster Keaton’s 1924 silent comedy “Sherlock Jr.” at the Maynard Fine Arts Theatre.

Keaton’s first self-directed short film, 1920’s “One Week,” was also screened prior to the feature film. Both films were accompanied by a live improvised score from pianist Devereux Geiger.

Besides being a composer and a musical theater director, Geiger has owned the Maynard-based music school Interlude since 2020, alongside his business and life partner, Ella McGaunn Geiger. He recently composed the score for “The Clown Affair,” a 2022 short film that won multiple awards on the festival circuit.

Geiger grew up playing jazz music before deciding to study classical piano in college, where he met McGaunn Geiger. She encouraged him to join her improv comedy group in Boston and use his jazz improvisational skills to support the troupe’s performances.

Interlude drew from these experiences to host a series of live radio plays with improvised sound effects and scoring at the MFAT in 2023 and, eventually, a presentation of the 1922 silent film “Nosferatu” last October.

“I really can’t think of somebody much better to do something like this than somebody who has those very niche skill sets,” McGaunn Geiger said of her husband.

Geiger had only seen “Sherlock Jr.” twice before the day of the showing at the MFAT.

“It’s a very condensed rehearsal schedule,” Geiger said. “After the tech rehearsal, where I’m basically seeing [the film] for the first time, I will often watch it once silent and just take notes. Usually, the next time I play is the performance.”

This tight turnaround was intentional, however.

“That was often what pianists had to do,” McGaunn Geiger said. “If a film was new, the first time they ever got to see it might have been in front of a live audience.”

Interlude wanted to pay homage to the accompanists that might have played in Maynard a century ago.

According to film historian and pianist Ben Model, while larger theaters could often afford to hire multi-piece orchestras as accompanists, theaters in smaller towns like Maynard more commonly relied on local organists or pianists. These soloists would improvise scores based on preexisting “mood music” themes.

Though the score Geiger played was completely improvised, watching the film beforehand meant he had a rough plan of when the mood of his music should change. During the tech rehearsal, the Geigers worked together to identify key moments where a certain sound would emphasize comedic effect, such as using a train whistle during a climactic scene in “One Week.”

“We often just take for granted how often the music is making [a film] make sense for us,” Geiger said. “I’m not thinking so much about making amazing music, but how I can translate what the filmmaker is doing.”

One example of Geiger’s intentional improvisation is his score for the “film-within-a-film” sequence of “Sherlock Jr.”

The main character, played by Keaton, is a theater projectionist; after falling asleep on the job, he is transported into the world of the film playing on the screen. The characters in this film are parodies of the characters in the main narrative of “Sherlock Jr.”

Geiger aimed to underscore the heightened sense of drama in the projectionist’s dream.

“What I tried to do was take the music I had done for the first characters, which I intentionally made more grounded, so that I could take the same material and make it a little more dramatic when they showed up in the film,” Geiger said.

Interlude’s presentation at the MFAT drew an audience of families and silent film fans alike. The Geigers were proudest of giving them an afternoon of music, comedy and community.

“I think that getting together in a room and laughing and sharing joy is really valuable,” McGaunn Geiger said. “Based on the laughter and joy we saw on people leaving the theater, I hope that was what we were able to give.”

Interlude Music’s next accompanied silent film, 1920’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” will play at the MFAT on Saturday, Oct. 17. Tickets are available for purchase here. To stay updated on future events, sign up for the Interlude newsletter here.