Improv's perfect masters

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The hit improv show (revived after being canceled by ABC, bizarrely, several years ago, despite my loud protests) celebrates the kind of humor that I like best: brilliant, physical, potty mouthed, and net free. In each episode, four insanely talented performers, deeply schooled in improvisational technique, play games in front of a live studio audience. And more often than not, two of those performers are Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood. They bring their manic improv stylin' to the Power Center on Saturday, July 1, as part of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival.

Born in Scotland and raised in Canada, Mochrie is perhaps the better known of this duo, in part because of his now-flourishing career acting in commercials (he sports a tutu over khaki pants and hawks Nabisco snacks). He started out in life wanting to be a marine biologist or a chef, but those dreams were soundly derailed when he tried out for a school play on a dare, got a part, got some laughs, and decided to devote himself to performing without a script. With a quizzical, sometimes slightly disgusted expression that speaks volumes, Mochrie dives headfirst into whatever task is put before him. He's also quick — you have to be in this business — and incisively funny.

Sherwood's no slouch either. A veteran of late-night comedy — and years on WLIIA — he flits from zany eloquence to goofball antics and back again.