Mochrie’s off-the-cuff humour is back on stage
Vancouver TheatreSports alumnus brings his brand of quick-witted humour back to B.C.
Improv icon Colin Mochrie first plied his off-the-cuff trade back in 1980 in Vancouver, when he became a member of the brand new Vancouver TheatreSports League (VTSL).
“It started with us pulling people in from the street because no one knew what improv was. What TheatreSports was,” Mochrie said.
“Then within the year it was the hottest ticket in the town.” The rest, they say, is history. Mochrie went on to star in the hit British, then U.S., TV series Whose Line Is It Anyway?
The later version will be back on The CW, in its latest incarnation in June.
Throughout his improv career, Mochrie has filled his resumé with many acting credits.
He just wrapped shooting a part on the Bravo TV series Carter.
All the while Mochrie, 61, has live gigs on the go. From an almost-two-decade run with fellow Whose Line guy Brad Sherwood, to joining forces for a show with a hypnotist, it’s clear Mochrie likes to work.
As he prepared to bound (it’s improv, there’s bounding) back into his hometown for three benefit shows (proceeds go to Vancouver Theatre Sports, Colin Mochrie Scholarship and the Improv Comedy Institute) we caught up with him in his home in Toronto.
Q Does improv get any easier the older you get?
A It’s always sort of frightening when you think, ‘I am going out in front of audience who has paid good money to see a show and we don’t have it.’ But I guess at this point I feel confident going on stage. I know what to do. I always love working with people I don’t know as well. The Whose Line guys I know very well. Ryan (Stiles also a VTSL alumni) and I have improvised for like 40 years. But when I work with people I don’t know very well it makes me sort of go back to the basics of what improv is — listening and support. It’s always a good lesson for me.
Q One of the shows is called Colin Up Close and Personal and includes drinks in a bar with you after the show. To celebrate the event there is a drink called The Colin on the menu?
A There is? Oh I hope it’s good. If it’s no good we’ll call it the Ryan Stiles.
Q VTSL has been going for almost 40 years, what do you think has been the secret to its longevity?
A I created that place. They owe me so much. No. It’s the testament to the talent . ... What I love about TheatreSports is they are never content just to do the same thing. They’re always trying different things. They are finding new ways to play with the form.
Q What is it like right after an improv show?
A You’re just kind of buzzing. I have never heard anyone say right after a show, ‘Well I’m going to bed.’ There is a kind of exhaustion but you are just wired from going back and forth with the people who you are on stage with trying to make a show. You’re in survival mode, that’s why I never remember any of the scenes we’ve done.
Q Do you ever improvise when doing scripted work?
A My thing is I am always loyal to the text. The writer has a point they want to get across. Only when they go: ‘Why don’t you try a different thing here, improvise a little,’ then yeah I’m fine with that, but I never do it unless someone suggests it.
Q In terms of tone and comedy was there a difference between the British Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the American one?
A My very first (British) show I did think of that and it slightly freaked me out until I realized they get a lot of American television so they’re quite familiar. The actual shooting of the show, the only thing that was different was there was no censorship in the British show so you could pretty much say and do anything, which gave us the freedom — but I don’t think we took advantage of that too much. When it was moved to the States that was totally different. We had a censor in the booth the entire time. The first season they would actually stop scenes in the middle. There was a scene where I had to kiss Greg (Proops); well, I didn’t have to kiss him, but I did kiss him and this voice came over the loudspeaker and said: ‘Can you make up something else?’ (Host) Drew Carey had a real thing about censorship so for the next 20 minutes everything was unusable because he would introduce things using words you can’t use on television. So they finally decided they would film the show and then the producer and censor would fight over certain areas.
Q One of your many gigs is a show where hypnotist Asad Mecci hypnotizes audience members and you do improv with them. What’s that like?
A It is the scariest show I have ever been involved with. What I always loved about it is if I said to Asad: ‘If I get them to do this or that will they do it?’ He always goes: ‘I dunno. It depends on the person. They might. They might not.’
Q Do you have rituals or pre-show things?
A Nope it’s the best job for a lazy person. You show up and you make up stuff the audience gave you then you go have a drink after.
Q There is rumour that your improv pal Ryan Stiles is showing up for Vancouver shows. Can you confirm that?
A No I can’t. The beauty of Ryan is he could easily show up but also he could just as easily not show up. It would be great if he did.
Q Your trans daughter Kinley came out in 2017 and you went on Twitter and talked about how accepting your mother and mother-in-law were. Why did you do that?
A It was during the inauguration of That Guy and there were just so many negative things on Twitter and I thought it was just great that these two older women without hesitation accepted a major life-changing event. I said to my daughter Kinley, ‘Do you mind if I put this on Twitter?’ and she said ‘Sure.’ Was it a mistake? Well, a bit of one. I got lots of positive feedback but there was bad stuff, too.
Q What was a positive outcome?
A I heard from someone in London, England, who runs an LGBTQ improv troupe and they said: ‘Congratulations, so great to see you support your daughter. Could I ask you a favour? Next time you’re filming Whose Line can you keep an eye on your transphobic and homophobic content?’ It was embarrassing. Yes, of course you are right. Looking back it was just lazy improv where you go: ‘Oh, now he’s really a woman or look, she has a penis.’ It started me thinking about how we have a responsibility. We would never do racist jokes or sexist jokes. So I asked to put the letter out on Facebook and then I did and all these improv troupes from around the world sort of weighed in and said that’s something we should look at and be more aware of. It’s been very interesting since Kinley came out. I’ve never used the word ‘journey’ so much in my life. It has been a great journey and I’ve learned so much and come in contact with so many great people.
Q It’s nice you can have some power and use if for good.
A Yes, I am one of the few old white men doing that.