FFWD REW

Shawn Kinley improvisation performer Moose Loose Theatre Company

‘I’m a small-town kind of person.’

What is it that you do?

I started ages ago in physical theatre so I do mask and mime performances all over the world. Right now that is mixed in with a lot of improvisation performing. Because Loose Moose is so famous in theatre companies around the planet I end up going to all these locations to teach and perform.

An improv summit is happening at Loose Moose this week is there?

Two unique improvisation companies from Norway and Colombia will be in Calgary at the theatre for six shows from February 12 to 20. The Colombians have a wonderful physical style and the Norwegians are quick and a little crazy.

I see that you performed in more than 20 countries just last year.

Yeah it’s probably too busy actually. Away from home for nine months a year is a bit much and it’s impossible to have a relationship when you’re doing that too.

Is that taxing on your body?

You learn little tricks to take care of yourself. It feels like you’re commuting and airports become very comfortable. It’s more taxing with your sense of permanence; you long for simple things like just a box of Kraft Dinner.

You had taught improvisation with the military. What would they be doing with that?

Different militaries use it for different reasons. It’s about how to respond quickly and to see subtle offers that are being made gestures that might mean things. Because as an improviser onstage it’s not thinking and performing just for yourself as opposed to stand-up comedy; it’s working with a group and seeing what they need and seeing what a flicker of the eyes might mean and being able to respond to that.

After being in dozens of countries which one is your favourite?

Iceland without question. You can drive for 10 minutes and find a whole different planet. At one time they were testing the Mars Lander there because it’s the same colour the same texture of ground. In another place there’s old lava flows covered with moss and when you step in it it’s like bouncing on the moon. They’ve got glaciers and the biggest waterfall in Europe.

What got you into this originally?

When I was a kid I watched a couple performing on TV and the guy did a robotic character which I picked up on and when I was 12 years old I was in my first storefront in downtown Calgary with a tuxedo on. The next year I was in the Bay downtown as a storefront robot and my dad had to get a court order on a person who wanted me to stop doing it because she thought I was possessed by the devil.

It must be fun being a storefront robot.

Yeah years ago I was at a bank doing it just watching people in cars watching me. And this one person had her neck turned to see me and hit the back of another car. Once in Calgary these two women walked by and flashed their breasts. I lost it on that and that was their objective to get me to laugh. One family passing by I don’t know why but they all gave me the finger and walked on.

I see that you power stilt jump. What is that?

On the Chinese Olympic opening they had these bouncy stilts and so I found them on the Internet. I’ve been trying to walk around my kitchen to get used to them. When you jump on them they compress so they can jump about twice the height of a car. It’s a lot of fun a lot of spring action.

You worked with the Cirque du Soleil. What did you do with them?

In Seattle it was a seven-hour audition and after that the last three people a Russian an American and I we were so beaten up. We could hardly walk. I was on a roster of performers and I worked in Calgary as a host and had a character that introduced people. And in Germany I worked with a corporate big circus that performed two to three shows a day in front of about 200000 people in a week.

Do you like hiding behind a mask?

Masks are great for audiences because they bring out the qualities that you want the audience to focus on. They take away the performer’s ability to over-present and put it back into the audience’s hands to interpret what they see. So I find it a nice way to give the audience some control in the performance. Because you lose a lot of your facial expression you use your body a lot more.

Where do you get the masks from?

Most of them I make myself out of different things. There’s Velcro masks and there’s a giant fibreglass mask that I wear on my butt.

What’s the plan after the summit?

I have a week to rest then I’m off to Europe again — Finland Sweden and Norway. Then in England there’s an MBA business group that wants to learn some stuff.

When are you going to settle down?

Good question. I said this year would be the one I’m going to do it. Then these offers come along and I can’t say “No.” Probably this year I’m going to focus on ways to pull back and spend two to three months on the road and more time in Calgary. I love Canada. It’s so nice being here. I’m a small-town kind of person.

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