Improv keeps his wits alert

By Dan Hilborn
Published June 4, 2005


By day, he's a trained science technician who's worked at the Stanford particle accelerator. But at night, Burnaby's own Brian Anderson sends people howling into the aisles when he becomes Donald Slump, the toupee-topped star of Vancouver TheatreSports' fast action production of The Imprentice, based on the popular reality TV show with a similar name.

"I was always the class clown through school, but I ended up detouring and now I have a degree in computer science and physics," said Anderson, one of a half dozen performers in the latest offering from the city's oldest improv theatre company.

Like all improv theatre, The Imprentice is 100 per cent unscripted, meaning the actors have to be fast on their feet and prepared for almost anything.

Anderson has been a mainstay of the Vancouver TheatreSports troupe since he first came onto the scene 13 years ago as an understudy for Jean Luc Picard's character in the company's early parodies of the Star Trek series.

"I put up my hand as the only person in the room who was willing to shave their head, and there I was," Anderson said of his big break.

While the east Burnaby resident who works days at Science World has starred in a variety of more traditional stage productions, Anderson keeps coming back to the unique style that is improvisation.

"It's a different environment and a different style," Anderson said. "And I seem to be the jack of all trades. For the past three or four years, I've tended to rotate through every role we have - even playing the women. I guess some people like to see me in a dress."

Improv is not easy, and lesser actors often fall by the wayside in the highly competitive Vancouver TheatreSports league, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

"A lot of people ask, 'How do you come up with the ideas so fast?'" he said. "In improv, you just don't stop the ideas that come out normally. You have to just say what comes out, be willing to be stupid and wrong, and you simply have to trust that the other players will back you up."

Of course, sometimes, things don't work out as planned.

Anderson remembers one of his early TheatreSports shows when he ended up in his underwear barking like a dog on stage. "I had this underlying premonition that this was something that the audience would love - this is it, it'll kill them, they'll all go wild. And then you go out on stage barking like a dog and it's dead silence.

"That was particularly ego-shattering."

Making matters worse was the reaction his defrocked dog received from the other actors on stage. "I tried to make a discreet exit, and they called me back. 'Hey Sparky, go woof woof,' they said.

"I guess people in theatre sports have a cruel streak once in a while, too."

The Imprentice is now playing at the New Revue Stage on Granville Island. The show runs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Ticket prices are $14.50 and $11 for weekdays, and $16.50 or $13 on weekends. Order from Ticketmaster at 604-280-4444 or the VTSL at 604-738-7013.