Improv comic bares all about his male striptease act
Not many men enjoy being laughed at with their shirt off. Fortunately for improv fans, Vancouver TheatreSports League have no such hangups. On the first Friday of every month, some of the city’s best improvisers go where not even Magic Mike has gone before. I sat down with a fully clothed Roman Danylo (star of CTV’s Comedy Inc.) to talk about how au naturel a process this was.
Q: What inspired you to come up with this idea?
A: I’m always looking for a great hook to get people in the door. My wife was telling me about a packed touring male stripper show she once saw and it got me thinking … I’m a male. I could do that. I remember I was sitting in the bath when I thought of the name … so that in itself is sort of sexy right? No?
Q: What was the casting pro-cess like?
A: It started with me saying – “let me see if anyone is even willing to do this with me.” My buddy Chris Casillan said sure. It was a pretty vulnerable feeling that first time. It’s one thing if you bomb doing comedy but it’s a whole different level of sad if you bomb and you’re shirtless. Luckily it killed. To be honest, I expected a lot more “No Ways!” than I got. Now, it’s sort of a dream team of some of the best improv comedians I know.
Q: How do you guys get ready for the show?
A: Lots of giggling and commenting on the fact that we are actually doing this show. Also, I saw a couple of the guys doing some pushups in a last-minute futile attempt to beef up.
Q: How would you describe the show in three words?
A: Funny, outrageous, and embarrassing.
Q: How sexy should the audience expect it to be?
A: We are going to try to be sexy, which comes out as funny. It’s a curse.
Q: How has your comedy career up until this point helped you in this show?
A: I did tons of comedy clubs and bars back in the day and this show certainly has that party feel to it. For the last few years I’ve been touring mainly soft seat theatres and learning that game. This show is a perfect mix of a crazy spectacle in a traditional live theatre environment.
Q: Favourite song to strip to?
A: O Canada. I like the challenge.
Q: Any last words?
A: It an unapologetically big and stupid show.
You’ll see great high-energy improv scenes with the bonus of us playing ridiculous male stripper characters.
This is not a real stripping show.
No below the belt nudity or anything like that – but we do have an oil budget.
Also, guys, remember this is a comedy show first so it’s not all about the ladies – unless you like that sort of thing.
AT A GLANCE
Comic Strippers Vancouver TheatreSports Scared Scriptless Presentation
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