Walking the low wire with Tim Meadows
Tim Meadows will be a lot of things this weekend when he performs in a series of improv shows at The Comedy Shrine in downtown Naperville.
He'll be funny. He'll be unpredictable. At times he'll even surprise himself.
The one thing he won't be is afraid, because if there's one lesson he's learned in 25 years on stage, on TV and in movies - including his lengthy stint on "Saturday Night Live" - it's not to fear failure.
For an improv performer, that lesson is seldom more important than when he's walking that thin line between stuff that works and makes people laugh and stuff that doesn't work and produces painful, awkward silences.
It's not exactly The Flying Wallendas navigating their way over Niagara Falls, but it's close.
"I would call it a low wire," Meadows says by phone from Chicago where he's spending the next couple weeks. "You're not going to die if you fall off, but you're going to hurt yourself."
Meadows will be balancing on that low wire for two shows Saturday, April 17, and two more Sunday, April 18, at the Naperville club, 22 E. Chicago Ave.
He'll perform at 8 and 10 p.m. the first night with members of the club's regular cast in a short-form improv show called "Whose Line?" which is a take off on the old Drew Carey TV series.
On Sunday, he'll return for a pair of shows at 6 and 8 p.m. with Brad Morris and Joe Canale for "Uncle's Brother," a long-form improv show they've been taking to college campuses and stand-up clubs for the past 14 months.
Meadows says "Uncle's Brother" started as "something I was going to do for fun," but became something more over the past year.
"The first night of the show, Joe and Brad were late, so I just went out and started talking and doing stand-up and getting to know the audience," Meadows says.
What began as a stalling tactic now is a regular part of the show. Meadows opens by talking about what's happening in the news and in his life, and then the guys solicit a single word from the audience that launches their 30- to 45-minute show in which nobody, especially the cast, knows what will happen.
If you've never seen long-form improv, you're not alone. Even some club owners are a little uncertain about the whole concept.
"They'll say, 'What if it's not funny,'" Meadows says. "I tell them, 'Trust me, I've been doing this for 25 years. I've had some bad nights, but this isn't going to be one of them."
Meadows doesn't claim to be a math whiz, but he knows a little bit about percentages.
"Sixty percent of it's going to be good," he says. "Twenty percent will be setups. And 20 percent will be complete and utter failure."
Meadows' appearance in Naperville is due almost entirely to his long relationship with club owner Dave Sinker. They met in the late 1980s when they were auditioning for Second City and wound up in the group's traveling company that also included Jane Lynch, now the evil cheerleading coach on "Glee," and Jeff Garlin, who plays Larry David's agent on "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
Meadows, of course, eventually moved to Second City's Main Stage and then to "SNL," which provided a jumping off point for movies such as "The Ladies Man" and "Mean Girls."
"He's the consummate improvisor," says Sinker, who will share the stage with his friend on Saturday night. "He's a very giving performer on stage. He's always supportive, he always has your back to move the scene forward. I'm thrilled he's going to be on our stage."
That's all very nice, but how did Sinker convince Meadows to play Naperville?
"I begged and pleaded for hours," Sinker says. "I promised him my firstborn."
Meadows remembers it a little differently: he has some time off, he's in Chicago and he's always looking for a new venue for "Uncle's Brother."
"I haven't met his kids, so I'll wait to tell him if it's a deal," he says. "Plus, I've got two kids of my own so I don't need any more."
Sinker says Naperville audiences have responded positively to improv in the theater's cabaret-like setting and he thinks "Uncle's Brother" will be a smash here.
"It's really, really great," he says. "It's kind of old school improv meets new school improv."
"What you'll see is all brand new," Meadows says. "The moment you're hearing it, we're hearing it for the first time, too."
<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p>
<p class="News"><b>What:</b> Tim Meadows performs</p>
<p class="News"><b>When:</b> "Whose Line" with the main stage cast at 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday, April 17; "Uncle's Brother" with Brad Morris and Joe Canale at 6 and 8 p.m. Sunday, April 18 </p>
<p class="News"><b>Where:</b> The Comedy Shrine, 22 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville</p>
<p class="News"><b>Tickets:</b> $25 with two-drink minimum</p>
<p class="News"><b>Info:</b> (630) 355-2844 or <a href="http://comedyshrine.com" target="new">comedyshrine.com</a></p>