THEATRE PEOPLE: Fearless Dove takes a flying leap
A rock musician turning into an actor is rare enough in this town to be noteworthy.
Consider the curious case of Dove Brown, longtime bassist for Jr. Gone Wild lately spotted on stage at the new Grindstone Comedy Theatre. He plays the Paul Shaffer to Dana Andersen’s Letterman in the improvised talk show Up Late With Dana every Sunday at 9 pm.
Dove says, “I’m learning so much, especially working with Dana, who is a Second City alumnus – he’s a rather famous dude himself. And he’s a gentle teacher. Maybe he likes to have me around because I do whatever he says.”
Aha! The secret to comedy improv: Never Say No.
In dozens of shows with Dana and other Edmonton improv people, Dove has stood stark naked in front of 400 people, played an enhanced version of himself in an improvised Western (Wagon Load still runs monthly at the Grindstone), and on the spur of the moment once performed that Ian Tyson song about Mississauga – a song that doesn’t exist. He had to make it up on the spot because Dana told him to.
Apart from briefly dating an actress who was in The X-Files, Dove fell into the theatre scene in 1995 when Jr. Gone Wild did a thing with the comedy troupe Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie – “They pretending they could play, we pretending we could act.” A stint on the Die-Nasty live improvised soap opera followed, playing a hat’s ass of expendable characters, and when the Grindstone opened last year, Dove got the call. He also currently works as a repair tech at the famous Lillo’s Music. Hey, hey, hey!
Jr. Gone Wild, meanwhile, had recently reformed after a long hiatus. (Long story – read it here), are the subjects of a full-length documentary being released this year, and are soon to tour again.
On the theatre stage, meanwhile, Dove says he intends to bring the same spirit to his acting as he does to his music.
“I do my best to be fearless,” he says. “Whatever I do.”
