The wayness continues

Impeccable Spontaneity

Most of us go blank when faced with an audience to entertain. However, there are some actors and comedians who give entirely improvised performances that are unscripted and based on suggestions from the audience. One such actor par excellence is Wayne Brady, who is known for his regular appearances in the improvisational comedy television series, Whose Line Is It, Anyway?

Brady was born in Columbus, Georgia and grew up in Orlando, Florida. He was an introverted, bookish boy in school, who says that he always knew that he had a talent for spontaneity, but didn’t think much of it then. However, he began acting when he was 16 and started doing improv at 18.

His mother initially wanted him to become a doctor but he persevered, improving his improv and acting skills first in Florida, and later in Los Angeles. In 1998, at the age of 26, he got on the British version of Whose Line is it, Anyway?, an improvisational comedy television series, and then moved to the American version hosted by Drew Carey, where he became an instant hit. He won a richly-deserved Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance for his work on the show in 2003, the only person to win the award for a television series.

Improv being a really tough gig, audiences can’t help but marvel at his adroitness in handling situations in front of them. Most of us would prefer to be water-boarded than made to speak in front of people, and even Brady agrees with us. However, he makes a distinction between public speaking and acting, and says that as an actor, he loves having an audience. When asked for his mantra for dealing with nervousness, he says he concentrates on having fun and breathing.

Well, after a few years on Whose Line is it, Anyway?, Brady went on to star in his own ABC variety show in 2001 called the The Wayne Brady Show, as well as a daytime talk show of the same name in 2002. Hosting this show saw him come into his own, and gave him the priceless opportunity to work with a lot of people whom he had admired. As he puts it, he “stopped being the black guy on Whose Line and became Wayne Brady.” The talk show lasted two seasons and won four Daytime Emmy Awards, two of which went to Brady for Outstanding Talk Show Host.

Over the years, Brady has guest-starred in many television shows such as The Drew Carey Show, How I Met Your Mother, 30 Rock, Wild ‘n Out, Getting Along Famously and Everybody Hates Chris, just to name a few. He worked on the Broadway revival of Chicago in 2004. He hosted a singing game show on Fox called Don’t Forget the Lyrics and also co-hosted the 42nd NAACP Image Awards along with Holly Robinson Peete, in 2011. Currently, he hosts an updated version of the game show, Let’s Make a Deal, on CBS that started in October 2009.

Anyone who has watched Brady’s improv knows that he is not just a comedic actor, but also an excellent singer. Music is his passion and he started working in musical theatre at 16; he was also a part of several bands in his early years. He wrote and sang the theme song for the Disney animated series, The Weekenders. In 2005, he recorded the Jim Brickman original Disney song, Beautiful.

Following this, his debut album was released on September 16, 2008, and he was nominated for a Grammy for his song, A Change is Gonna Come, in the R&B Vocal Performance category. He is also a good dancer. In May this year, he showcased his dancing talents when he appeared on Dancing With The Stars as a lead performer to pay a tribute to James Brown.

So, what can we expect from Brady in the future? He is going to be in a sitcom, and he is introducing two other shows next year, as well as releasing an album of Soul music. In his lifetime, he says, he would like to be an actor-comedian-musician-dancer-producer, with Emmys, Tonys, Grammys, and Oscars lining his shelves. As far as his personal goals go, he wants to help other actors get ahead in the profession. However, his greatest wish is to be the best dad he can be, to his daughter.

India is going to be a new experience for Brady, who has never been here. Luckily, he happens to adore spicy food and is looking forward to sampling what we have to offer. For our part, we are waiting impatiently to see what Brady offers in his improv comedy show, Making Stuff Up, brought to us by Black Dog Comedy Evenings (for details, please log on to Facebook page — Black Dog Easy Evenings). He tells us that the show is going to be totally made up on the fly, with the audience being used as props, and asked to help him make up songs.  We are confident that our wait won’t be in ‘wayne’.