Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie of ABC’s ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ bring their laugh riot to Patriots Theater.
By: Megan Sullivan
Taking a mental skydive before work each day seems a bit nerve-wracking, but somehow improvisational comedian Brad Sherwood always manages to jump.
"It’s not nerve-wracking, it’s exciting," says Mr. Sherwood, a regular on ABC’s Whose Line Is It Anyway? "It’s part of what attracts people to improv, if you do it well, it makes it fun.
"It’s kind of like that exciting rush you get before parachuting out of an airplane," he continues. "It’s this blind leap of faith you take before you get on stage."
Mr. Sherwood, along with fellow Whose Line cast member Colin Mochrie, will present an evening of improvisational comedy at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton Oct. 12. The show, which has been touring for the past three and a half years, incorporates contributions from the audience and offers guests opportunities to participate in the comedic mayhem on stage.
"I like the challenge of making people laugh and having it be completely different every time," says Mr. Sherwood, speaking from his Los Angeles home in between performances. "With stand-up, some comedians do the same exact act word for word for two or three years they don’t even change where they put the pause sometimes. When you do (improv), it’s less work and more fun."
The improvised evening also will feature games, including some audience members may be familiar with from Whose Line. Mr. Sherwood really likes how the show appeals to both children and adults. "There aren’t many that appeal to so many different age groups," he says. "Parents don’t want to go see the ‘Wiggles’ and kids don’t want to go see Tony Bennett. Somehow we manage to appeal to both of them."
Mr. Sherwood, who grew up in Chicago and Santa Fe, N.M., first got involved with theater at age 8 and had always wanted to become an actor. After high school, he attended Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where he received a bachelor of fine arts in acting. While in college, Mr. Sherwood and some classmates formed the Generic Comedy Group, in which he first began working on his improv and sketch-comedy skills.
After moving to L.A., Mr. Sherwood joined The Second City improv comedy troupe and met Ryan Stiles, who was also performing with the group at the time. A cast member on the British version of Whose Line, he told Mr. Sherwood that the producers were looking for other members. Mr. Sherwood auditioned for the show and was a regular for three seasons before joining the American cast.
When asked about some of his funniest moments on Whose Line, Mr. Sherwood says he usually can’t remember exactly what just happened on stage. "It’s all a blur," he says. "When you’re doing it, you’re so in the moment of the now that you’re very rarely remembering anything that’s going on… ‘OK, what do I do right at this very moment to make it funny?’ You’re sort of on instant output and input."
Sometimes, it’s not until he watches the tape or catches the show on TV that the memories come flooding back. "Every once and a while I’ll be flipping through the channels on TV and I’ll stop and watch it and it will be this memory like footage parents took of your childhood," he says. "Oh yeah, I remember that."
Aside from Whose Line, Mr. Sherwood’s other credits include The Drew Carey Show, a season on L.A. Law and The Newz, a sketch-comedy series. Recently, he appeared as a regular on To Tell the Truth, Drew Carey Live and was an Improv All-Star on Showtime’s Live from Vegas. Mr. Sherwood has been a regular performer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for six years.
Earning a living by making people laugh keeps Mr. Sherwood young at heart. "I think it’s an advantage to staying young in your mind anyone that does what they love to do for a living tends to stay younger and happier," he says. He admits to being like a kid trapped in an adult’s body. "That can be said for a lot of people that go into the entertainment business across the board," he continues. "Improv and comedic actors are overgrown children, people that don’t really want to fully mature."
Aside from tour dates, Mr. Sherwood has one other very special date set for next year his wedding. "She’s very patient of having to live with a giant man-boy."
An Evening with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood will be presented at the Patriots
Theater at the War Memorial, West Lafayette and Barrack streets, Trenton, Oct.
12, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $27.50-$60. For information, call (609) 984-8400. On the
Web: www.thewarmemorial.com.
Colin and Brad on the Web: www.colinandbradshow.com. Brad Sherwood on the Web:
www.bradsherwood.com