On January 24, you won’t just be on the edge of your seat. You will have laughed yourself right off it. When “Whose Live Anyway?” rolls through town, you are guaranteed an evening of hysterical laughter.
The improv comedy show is a spin-off of the popular television game show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
Ryan Stiles, executive producer and long-time actor on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” brings his live performance to The Washington Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Olympia.
While performing on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” Stiles was well known for his impressions of Carol Channing, Elvis Presley, John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart.
“‘Whose Line’ fans will love the live show. Drew (Carey) is not there so the show is even funnier,” says Stiles.
Stiles is joined by Greg Proops, Jeff Davis, and Joel Murray. The four actors perform about thirty live shows a year.
“We have toured together a long time, but we all live in different cities. We sincerely enjoy being together. Sometimes the banter between us can be funnier than the scenes,” explains Stiles when talking about the comedians on stage.
The group is visiting Olympia after a four year break. Previous shows were a riot. “My face and stomach hurt for days following the show because of the laughter,” recalls Tenino resident, Martin McElliott who has seen the live comedy show during previous visits to Olympia.
The 90-minute show is packed with improvised comedy and song. Unscripted, the actors ask for audience suggestions. Often, audience members will be asked to join the cast on stage to facilitate a scene. A hilarious scene involves audience members adding sound effects that the comedians incorporate into the scene.
“You can tell when a topic gets us excited because it’s one we have never heard before,” says Stiles. “There are no bad suggestions, but we sometimes will turn something down if we’ve done it quite a bit.”
Simplistically, the audience involvement drives the scene along. For example, in the scene “Moving Bodies,” a member of the audience will physically move the actors throughout the scene.
Stiles organizes the scenes so that it flows seamlessly. “On ‘Whose Line,’ we have a short time for each scene. Then, the scene stops and we receive points before going to a commercial,” describes Stiles.
On stage, the scenes can last longer. “We may develop characters with relationships. We can take some time with the scenes. Instead of a 45-second song on television, we can sing for five minutes if the scene is going well,” Stiles adds.
“You will be blown away by the pace. We keep the scenes active. Without a break in our 90-minute program, it just flies by,” summarizes Stiles.
To purchase tickets for the January 24 evening show, click here.
