Interview: Greg Proops of WHOSE LIVE IS IT ANYWAY at Palace Theatre
Like a good shortstop, comedian thinks fast on his feet
The very things which got comedian Greg Proops bullied in elementary school has become a skill people pay to see him use.
“There’s a very anti-intellectual sentiment early on in school,” Proops said in his natural nasal tone. “When you’re smart, short with glasses, and you sound like this, it’s not exactly a key to popularity.”
Proops’ humor got him through those lean years. These days he has achieved a certain level of fame from being on the improv television show, WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY, doing voice work for animated films, and performing stand-up.
Proops and cohorts Ryan Stiles, Jeff B. Davis, and Joel Murray invade the Palace Theatre (34 W. Broad Street in downtown Columbus) for the second stop on this leg of the WHOSE LIVE IS IT ANYWAY tour Oct. 18.
The quartet begins its run of 23 shows Oct. 17-Dec. 6 with three consecutive nights in Ohio. The Palace Theatre show is sandwiched between shows in New Philadelphia Oct. 17 and Toledo Oct. 19. The troupe then returns to the Buckeye State April 23 for a show in Cincinnati.
Stiles, Proops, and Davis performed on the television show, WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY, which ran from 1998-2007 and then was reincarnated in 2013.
Stiles has been on the television show 422 times, second only to Colin Mochrie (425). As recurring performers, Proops has appeared in 83 episodes and Davis has been in 60.
Before the tour started, Proops was in Los Angeles where WHOSE LINE just began filming for the 2024-25 season. A typical day of shooting is 2-3 hours. In the first hour, a group of four performers and host Aisha Tyler roll through 25-26 “games” of improv. The second half of the taping is literally the group sitting up, getting out of their chairs, and then getting back into them.
“That's the magic of television,” Proops said with a rueful chuckle. “The guys who put the TV show together, Dan (Patterson) and Mark (Leveson), have got it down to an efficient science.
“For the TV show, we're in a controlled environment. If something we do tanks, we started over again right away.”
However, the 90-minute shows on the road, like the one in Columbus, are far less predictable.
“Every minute on stage is a micro battle to get the crowd to listen to and feel you and for you to connect with them,” he said.
When it works, Proops said it’s magical.
“There's one thing you can't fake: the audience’s reaction,” he said. “The other night we were doing a show in Canada and the first half of the show, the audience was just okay, but at the end, they all stood up.
“No audience decides, ‘We're just going to humor this group (with a standing ovation).’ The greatest reward is when you really know you connected with them.
“Even if they didn't love everything, it's OK because there’s an ebb and flow in the show.”
Proops estimates he has been experiencing the highs and lows on the road for “100 years.” The quartet spend so much time traveling together, they immediately disperse once they arrive in a town so they can keep their chemistry fresh for the stage.
“People think the work is being on stage,” he said. “But to me, that’s the fun part. The hardest part is the traveling. You drive or fly to another town, go to your hotel and then you go to the gig and you eat dinner. Then you get up and go to another place.
“I love it. I know other people have much harder jobs than I do. I chose to do this and I enjoy it.”
Even when he is not with WHOSE LIVE, Proops often finds himself traveling. During this run of WHOSE LIVE shows, he will be taking a break for a stage performance of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS in Mexico. The actor was the voice of the Devil, the Harlequin Demon, and a saxophone player in Tim Burton’s original film.
Proop’s distinctive voice, which made him a lightning rod for elementary school miscreants, is one of his greatest assets. He’s landed voice roles in animated movies (one of the Love Bears in BROTHER BEAR), video games (racing announcer Fedo in a video game version of STAR WARS: EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE), and television shows (the voice of Bob in the U.S. version of BOB THE BUILDER).
“I can never get enough voice work,” he said. “I’ve been very lucky. That's what show business is all about – being a little bit lucky.”
Proop’s career however goes far beyond luck. He has become successful because of his spontaneity and fearlessness.
FREE FALLING WITHOUT A NET
WHOSE LIVE IS IT ANYWAY? has been described as comedy without a net. That can be terrifying to others who haven’t done it before.
Actor Brian Copeland told Proops he had an upcoming audition for a reboot of the iconic film SPINAL TAP and had to improvise in a scene.
“He never improvised before and was really scared about doing it,” Proops said. “I said listen to whatever they say to you and respond to that.”
Talking with Proops, you get a sense of just how quickly his mind works. He’s like a good shortstop, able to think on his feet and track down an answer to any question.
Proops, a diehard Giants fan, loves baseball. On Proops’ podcast, the humbly titled, THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE WORLD, someone once asked him to come up with a baseball lineup card of the greatest Roman Emperors. Without missing a beat, he responded.
Since then, the baseball lineup has become a staple in Proop’s podcasts. In this interview, he was given a choice to come up with a baseball lineup in one of three categories: world events, animated movies, or Halloween candies. The comedian chose the latter and began spouting out candies and their positions around the diamond.
“At shortstop, you're going to need some range, so I'm going to go with Red Vines,” he said. “You don’t know what you’re going to get with Red Vines. You think it’s a licorice, but it’s got this red flavor. Notice I didn’t say cherry flavor because no one has ever determined the flavor of a Red Vine.”
NAKED AND UNAFRAID.
Proops developed a sense of being fearless on stage when he was the lead in the play EQUUS, which required him to perform naked.
“When I did it, by the way, I was really skinny, but just enormously packed,” he said with a laugh. “The first time I did it I was just terrified … and that was just in front of (the cast).
“Once I did it on stage, you could have heard a pin drop. The audience was so uncomfortable and so anticipatory about what was going on. I realized then I had all the power.”
Unless things take a severe awkward turn, Proops will remain fully clothed Oct. 18. However, he still wants to maintain all that power on stage.
“On stage, I'm in control,” Proops said. “Off stage, I get sad, I get depressed, I get tired, I get angry. Put me on stage with a microphone in my hand and I will dominate you. That’s my safe space.”
Proops paused for a second and then added,
“What you must understand is performers have this enormous, gaping void inside their human soul,” Proops said. “That is filled by the shallow love of strangers.”
As with so many things Proops says, one can’t tell if he’s serious or only joking.
Photo courtesy of WHOSE LIVE IS IT ANYWAY?
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