With more than 100 appearances under his belt, actor Brad Sherwood knows his way around the "Tonight Show" studio.
Raised in Santa Fe, Sherwood is returning to New Mexico for an improvised performance at the Kiva Auditorium.
He has also had regular roles on the British and American versions of "Whose Line is it Anyway" and spent a season on "L.A. Law." The actor's latest project is the WB series "Drew Carey's Green Screen Show" airing this fall.
The Daily Lobo talked to Sherwood about the trials and tribulations of an improv actor.
Daily Lobo: What is the premise of "Drew Carey's Green Screen Show?"
Brad Sherwood: It's another improv show. We shot the whole thing in front of a backdrop of a green screen. Once we shot our footage, we sent it to a bunch of animators who are going to do all the animation for the backgrounds and all the costumes. It adds a sort of visual aspect to the improv game.
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DL: What do you do when you appear on the "Tonight Show?"
BS: I have been doing the show since it started, so it has been over 10 years. I've been Hari Krishnas, werewolves, Janet Reno. I get a call and they go 'Can you do Dr. Phil?' and I say, 'sure, a bad Dr. Phil,' and they say 'That's exactly what we want.'"
DL: What is the most stressful part of improv?
BS: You really don't know what you are going to do before you do it. We know what games we are going to play, but we don't know what suggestions the audience will make or the kind of people we are going to get. But that's part of the adrenaline that inspires that aspect. We like the thrill of jumping on stage and not fully knowing what we are going to do and try and make it funny.
DL: How did you transition from comedy to the drama "L.A. Law?"
BS: As far as transitions, most actors out here are starving gypsies, and you do whatever you can to get work. It's not a transition. It's the next paycheck. Comedy is my strength, but I can do other things as well.
DL: Do you ever struggle in your career?
BS: Oh yeah, every moment of your career is a struggle. If you have a job, you hold on to it, and the moment it ends, you try and find another one. We are getting older, and TV is kind of a young person's game. I am too old to get on the "The O.C."
DL: How are college students as an audience?
BS: I think it is a little bit different than a theater-going audience. They are a little more rowdy, but for our show, that works well. For our show, you don't have to have the longest attention span, so it appeals to college students.
They like to be involved and mess with us. In most comedy experiences, you sit back and laugh. In ours, you give suggestions, you are asked up onstage. It's a whole different thing.
DL: What are some games you will play for audiences at the Kiva?
BS: The sound effects game. Colin and I do a scene where we bring two people up out of the audience and put them on microphones. Each one of them has to do sound effects. So when I open a door, shoot a gun or kick a cat, they have to make the sound effects. They become our soundtrack.
Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie
Where:Kiva Auditorium
When: Sept. 25,8 p.m.
Tickets: (505)-883-7800
