Dave Foley

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Kids in the Hall
With Dave Foley
Actor & Comedian
Tuesday, April 9, 2002; 3 p.m. EDT

In 1984 five Canadian comedians -- Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson -- formed the Kids in the Hall sketch comedy troupe in Toronto. In 1988 the Kids shot the pilot episode for their self-titled show produced by Lorne Michaels. Although the critically acclaimed cult series ended in 1994, the group has continued to perform their unique brand of sketch comedy through their occasional live tours. On Wednesday the Kids in the Hall will be appearing at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

Actor and Kids in the Hall alumnus Dave Foley was online to discuss his career, the touring Kids in the Hall stage show and comedy in general.

Foley was born and raised in Toronto. While enrolled at Second City's comedy workshops he met and teamed up with Kevin McDonald before the duo merged with the other three members of The Kids in the Hall. Until it's recent cancellation, Foley played Dave Nelson on the NBC series News Radio.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Harrisburg, Pa.: Please update us. As a Kids in the Hall alum, what is your involvement with the current production? Do you have plans after this production?

Dave Foley: My involvement is equal to the other guys. I have to be on stage for two hours and have to be on the bus the other times. We don't have any plans after the tour, but it is something we are talking about while traveling around together.

Bethesda, Md.: You played so many different roles in and out of Kids in the Hall, which one stands out as your favorite?

Dave Foley: In the Kids in the Hall one of my favorite things was the escapist which was about an escape artist. The Probably the coolest thing I had outside of the KitH was laying Al Bean in From the Earth to the Moon

Arlington, Va.: Hi Dave -- I've always been curious about how the whole Bellini concept evolved including Bellini day. I thought it was brilliant having him dance on the grave of the show in the final episode. How did that start and grow?

Dave Foley: Bellini as obvious as it may seem is more then a concept he is a real person. The whole concept cam out of finding him to be an extraordinary specimen of humanity. He is so unflappable that putting him these situations seemed appropriate. He was writer on the show as well.

Winchester, Va.: I caught your cameo on Mr. Show the other day. How did that experience compare with The Kids in the Hall?

Dave Foley: It didn't compare much because I went in, shot the scene and got out in two hours. Where in Kind in the Hall I started in 1982. So there was a difference in time commitment.

Washington, D.C.:

Was improvisation involved at all in The Kids in the Hall? To what extent?

Dave Foley: We all started out in improv. We were all members of theater sports. That is how we met. That is also how we learned to write.

Washington, D.C.: The age-old question: Why is it that men dressed as women are funny, while women dressed as men aren't?

Dave Foley: Well, it is not always true. There is a great company in Canada Codco where the women dress as men and sometimes when men dress as women and it isn't particularly funny - for instance the late Milton Burle.

Harrisonburg, Va.:

What changes are necessary to make the transition from television to your live tours? What do you find works in one setting, but not in another?

Dave Foley: For things to work live on stage they have to be completely contained on stage in more or less real time. In film time is flexible. On stage everything has to be contained when you perform it.

Somewhere, USA: "News Radio" was a great show, and you were terrific in it. It had a great ensemble cast. You had a unique role in that you were often the person who set-up the comedic situations while being funny at the same time. I would appreciate learning your thoughts on your experiences in acting on that show, how it differed from what you had done prior, and what if anything you did to adjust to the changes of acting in a sitcom.

Dave Foley: It wasn't much of an adjustment. It was still the idea that you do what is appropriate in the scene whether it is part of a larger narrative or a single sketch.

We all prided ourselves in KitH to being a good straight man. It was all timing. A real art.

Even if you watch old Marx brother movies you will see that they all play straight man for one another. Most comedians value that skill I think.

Washington, D.C.: Dave: For the record, I loved Brain Candy. I will be at the show on Wednesday and have been looking forward to it for some time. What new material can I expect?

Dave Foley: For the record Paramount did not love Brain Candy.

There is a fair bit of new stuff in the show. There is only one sketch from the 200 tour, otherwise it is a completely different show

Harrisonburg, Va.:

Have you given thought to directing or producing another sketch comedy show?

Dave Foley: Well, I haven't given too much thought to it. I have been approached a few times about being Executive Producer but it isn't something I am into right now.

Perhaps producing for someone else. That involves getting paid a lot more money for a lot less work.

Fairfax, Va.: The Kids in the Hall are known for battles over scriptwriting. How can you find other actor/writers who are willing to take AND dish out abuse?

Dave Foley: Well, most people that worked for us on the show that came in as writers had worked with us in early days as peers or other forms of the group. We never took submissions or went out looking for writers. We brought in people we knew and were able to take the abuse.

Washington, D.C.: Dave: Did you see the Wall Street Journal article last week about why Canadians are so funny? This is not the first time I've seen a media outlet speculate on this phenomenon. Do you think Canadians are inherently more funny than other cultures? Or is this just a terrific PR campaign being perpetrated by the Canadian government in order to get Americans to notice Canada?

Dave Foley: I didn't see the article. I didn't know the Wall Street Journal was taking any interest in anything funny other then Republican fiscal policy. I don't think Canadians are any more funny. I think that people who come from outside the center they notice more and are great comediennes for it.

Canadians don't know how to promote anything, so I am sure it is not a conspiracy. Otherwise Americans would think we are as cool as Australian.

Richmond, Va.: What other ideas were kicked around when the "Kids in the Hall" were first approached about a feature film?

Dave Foley: There were dozens of ideas. I can't really remember them. The one that became Brain Candy was the one that most people started attributing ideas to.

Harrisonburg, Va.: i am involved with a sketch comedy troupe (dealing in sketch, long form improv, and film), trying to get the ball rolling. any advice, be it from personal experience, hearsay, heresy, prophesy, intoxication, or female intuition?

Dave Foley: We never had any kind of strategy or plan that I was aware of. I can't really advise. WE just tried to dowhat we thought was funny. My main advice is to try to stay off stage with anyone you don't find funny. That way you will develop a likemind. That and healthy contempt for everything that came before you - including the Kids in the Hall.

Blast from the Past: Was that you I noticed in the old Anne of Green Gables miniseries, along with one of your fellow Kids? Is that how you two met?

Dave Foley: Yes and no. I was in Anne of Green Gable part two, but we had been working together for years at that point.

Del Ray, Va.:

I wrote my thesis on Sketch Comedy groups and what makes them work. So now it's your turn: What is it that separates good comedy from great comedy? What characteristics separate good groups from great groups?

Dave Foley: The difference is that great sketch comedy doesn't feel or look like anyone else's. I know when we were starting out there were a lot of groups that looked and acted a lot like Second City theatre and had learned the pattern. Monty Python was the greatest sketch group of all time because there was nothing like that before them. This is not to say that they didn't have influences in precursors.

Throwdini, Wis.: Do you think you'll ever return to acting on a sitcom? Any projects in the works?

Dave Foley: I would very happily return. I think it is a great gig. It is just a very fun way to make a living.

Nothing in the works right now. I will go looking when I get back from the tour.

Alexandria, Va.: I have tickets to tomorrow night's show. Do you plan to focus on your "classics" such as Chicken Lady, Man Servant Hecubus/MC Simon Milligan, etc? I hope so! I really miss those skits and my ex-husband taped over my collection ("by mistake").

Dave Foley: I am assuming that is why he is now an ex-husband.

You will see many of your favorite characters. A lot of your cuddly old favorites.

Silver Spring, Md.: Any comments on the great Phil Hartman? You were so lucky to have gotten to work with him before his untimely passing.

Dave Foley: I agree. I was lucky. I was a fan of his for years. I was glad to be a friend of his for years. It was great fun and I miss him. Everyone from News Radio does.

Arlington, Va.:

What is one thing you have always found funny?

Dave Foley: One thing? I guess the suffering of others. Oddly enough I think my own suffering is quite tragic.

Vienna, Va.: Dave,

Can you talk a little bit about "From the Earth to the Moon"? Did you enjoy the experience? Thanks! Look forward to tomorrow night's show.

Dave Foley: Earth to the Moon is the coolest ting I have ever been involved in. I got to hang out with Dave Scott every day, pump him with questions, learn about the Apollo missions and wear space suits. We got to use as a prop the only Lunar Module on earth. Afterwards I got to meet the real astronauts that we played and got to know them. I am really happy with that.

Baltimore, Md.: What career decisions do you regret? What Kids in the Hall sketches do you regret?

Dave Foley: As get older and heavier I regret Hecubus just because of the wardrobe. Other then that not too many regrets.

Arlington, Va.:
Sketch comedy isn't something most people dream of doing when they grow up. What drew you to it?

Dave Foley: Like everything else it was an accident. I was planning on being a writer when I was a kid and at one point someone suggested stand-up. The only way to see if it was good was to perform it so I did. Then someone suggested improv classes, I met Kevin McDonald and we hit it off and started doing sketch comedy.

Dave Foley: Thank everyone for continuing to take an interest. Of course I mean an interest in technology not Kids in the Hall. New back to the porn sites everyone!

washingtonpost.com:

That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.

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