Laughs on the wire

Young Chang

Improv isn’t supposed to be perfect.

That’s why Wayne Brady doesn’t get nervous knowing his “Who’s Line Is

It Anyway” fans tune in every week to see what he’ll come up with next.

“I like to tell people that even if it’s the dumbest thing that’s

going to come out of my mouth, something’s going to come out of my

mouth,” said the actor, who will perform a musical variety show Saturday

at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

The 30-year-old knows that his audience relishes the “tight-wire”

nature of improvisation. He knows that succeeding -- spitting out

something clever and on the mark with barely two seconds to think -- is

incredible. He knows that failing is OK.

“If it was perfect, it wouldn’t be improv and it wouldn’t be nearly as

much fun,” said Brady, who also hosted “The Wayne Brady Show” for a

limited run last year.

In his usual, spontaneous style, Brady will take suggestions from his

Orange County audience this weekend and create songs and characters

according to what’s in demand.

“It’s really an audience interactive show and I do my best to . . .

pretend it’s real,” said the Florida native, who has a new talk/variety

show taking Rosie O’Donnell’s slot in early September.

While some improv artists feel more comfortable stepping on stage

unscripted, Brady says he’s at ease acting on the whim, as well as

through a memorized script.

During his late teens and early 20s, the actor started out doing

community theater in Florida. His shows include “A Chorus Line,” “Fences”

and “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

In the mid-1990s, he performed in “Blade to the Heat” at the Mark

Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Playwright Oliver Mayer, who wrote “Blade,”

remembers thinking Brady was nothing short of “special.”

“When I first met him at the audition, of course I had no idea about

his future but I did know, from the start, that he was really amazing,”

said the Studio City resident. “He’s got this incredible warmth, he’s got

this incredible smile, and he’s got a little bit of the devil in him

too.”

Which is important in an actor -- a funny one, at that.

Mayer remembers cast members for “Blade” needing to laugh while

rehearsing what he says was an intense play.

“They got a kick out of him,” the writer said. “He’s a very keen

observer of everything. He’ll observe something and he’ll use it later

for a laugh.”

While Brady also sings and gets theatrical mostly for laughs nowadays,

Mayer credits the actor as being a true musician who could “sparkle” even

just vocally if he really wanted to.

Brady said his new show this fall will include a good dose of music

not just from him, but from his guests.

“We’re making it so folks don’t know what’s going to come next,” he

said. “[Guests] won’t be talking about their projects only . . . You

might see Tom Cruise singing and dancing, playing the spoons or

something. We’re just trying to keep it unexpected.”

When it comes to the unexpectedness of improvisation, Brady says the

art keeps his imagination alive.

“You can’t be a good actor if you don’t have a good sense of

imagination,” he said. “It keeps you on your toes and you’re always

ready.”

FYI

WHAT: An Evening with Wayne Brady

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive,

Costa Mesa

COST: $28-$44

CALL: (714) 740-7878