To kick off the 11th season of Bull Skit Comedy, the Bull Skit troupe are bringing in Kevin McDonald of the Kids in the Hall fame for a weekend of laughter and learning.
Set for Oct. 27th, ‘A Murder Mystery with Kevin McDonald!’ invites folks to a show packed with mystery, fright, and clue-like proportions.
Doors open at 7 p.m. with appetizers served at 7:30 p.m. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 and are available at bullskitcomedy.com.
On Oct. 28th, the Montreal-born McDonald will be featured during a night of sketch comedy and stand-up as well. Students from the workshop series will showcase written sketches, and McDonald will also perform stand-up and do an improv set.
Tickets are $20 and are available at bullskitcomedy.com. McDonald will also be hosting two workshops Oct. 27th and 28th at the Scott Block Theatre. Students who take both workshops will get to perform with him Sunday evening.
McDonald has long been in the business of making people laugh – known primarily for his work with the Canadian troupe The Kids in the Hall, he has also been featured as the voice of Agent Pleakley in the Lilo & Stitch franchise, Waffle in Catscratch, Pastor Dave in That 70s Show and the Almighty Tallest Purple in Invader Zim.
He also has some pretty terrific guest spots on popular TV shows over the years including the first season of Corner Gas, when he played the ‘tax man’ in the series’ second episode by the same name.
“It was the first one they filmed for the series, but the second one that was shown,” he recalled of the shoot. “They didn’t know what the tone was. I had brought some ideas and ad-libbed, and on the plane from Los Angeles I was writing some jokes that my character could say,” he recalled with a laugh. “They let me do them all, but they weren’t sure which ones were going to fit the show’s tone – they were still trying to figure that out,” he said. “Halfway through shooting it that week I said to Brent (Butt) that the show was going to be a big hit. Usually, I’m wrong, but I was right,” he laughed.
He also appeared in a hilarious episode of Seinfeld (The Strike) where he was simply referred to as ‘Denim Vest’ due to his penchant for, well, denim. “It was fun. It was a rare show in that it was pre-taped all week.”
Jerry Seinfeld knew about The Kids in the Hall, but he also knew McDonald’s buddy from The Kids in the Hall Dave Foley, who was starring on the popular NewsRadio at the time as well.
“So he kept calling me Dave by accident all week,” he laughed. “Jerry was in charge of everything, but he was very nice and very benevolent. When rehearsal was done for the day, he would be in with the writers for hours and hours rewriting the script. He really did everything.”
Also, a spot came along for a part in Arrested Development. In each performance, McDonald certainly stands out with his instant appeal as a funny, accessible character.
As for The Kids in the Hall, McDonald said it was basically the amalgamation of two groups resulting in the final, superb line-up of McDonald, Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson.
“The troupe we started in Toronto was called The Kids in the Hall. But a couple years earlier, Mark and Bruce had started a troupe called The Audience in Calgary.
“The Calgary guys moved to Toronto and we sort of had a comedy crush on each other,” he recalled. “We sort of had the same mindset about comedy – we broke the rules – sort of like being punk rock comics but at the same time loving traditional comedy,” he said.
Ultimately, they joined forces, stuck with the name The Kids in the Hall and there was no looking back.
Around that time Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live fame discovered the guys in the mid-1980s and ultimately their TV show came together.
“I think we worked hard, and the five of us had chemistry,” he said of the show’s success. “We would think of different things, but our minds were in the same ballpark. I always thought that we were half Andy Kaufman and half Jerry Lewis.”
For more about the Bull Skit events, visit www.bullskitcomedy.com.
