TORONTO - Canadian comic Colin Mochrie says he and his wife, Deb McGrath, are working on a stage show inspired by their married life.
The improv master, known for barbs on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and "This Hour Has 22 Minutes," says he and the "Little Mosque on the Prairie" actress are developing a comedy piece that will explore the relationships between men and women.
"We have a lot of fun together and we have a really good life and I think a really good rapport," says Mochrie.
"We're just trying to figure out exactly what the format is -- it may be sort of sketch-like. It won't be Colin and Deb talking about us, but it will be talking about probably marriage, the differences between men and women."
Meanwhile, he's preparing for a three-week run in the Yasmina Reza play "Art" for the Canadian Stage Company. The dramatic comedy is about three friends whose relationship is strained when one of them spends a large sum on a white painting.
"It's a departure for me. Obviously, I'm scared, but it's good," says Mochrie, who hasn't done theatre since the late '80s.
"I always like to be afraid, I like to challenge myself, and this seemed like a challenge and being afraid but within a certain sort of island of security, with people I know."
The production runs March 18 to April 10 in Toronto, causing a brief hiatus in Mochrie's long-running improv tour with "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" co-star Brad Sherwood. The comedy duo have spent six years criss-crossing the country with their routine, and Mochrie says it's as much fun as ever.
"It's strange when you look back on your career. For me, as much as I love doing improv ... it's one of those things where I thought it would never really lead anywhere," he says.
"When I started doing it, it was just for the love of doing improv, it was way before there was anything like 'Who's Line' -- it was just something I enjoyed doing. I never thought (a) it would become a career and (b) it would get me some sort of notoriety."
Mochrie's long career in improv has netted him an award of excellence from ACTRA Toronto. The performers union presented the honour at a Friday gala along with several acting prizes.
Kathleen Munroe won the best actress prize for her appearance on CTV's cop drama "Flashpoint," while K.C. Collins received the best actor award for the CBC-TV miniseries "Guns." Julie Lemieux won for best voice peformance for the animated series "Spliced."
Previous award-of-excellence winners include Sarah Polley, Paul Gross, Gordon Pinsent, Sonja Smits and Eric Peterson.
"It's a great honour, I thought it was a kind of a joke when they called up," says Mochrie, an active ACTRA member who has lobbied the federal government for greater support for Canadian drama and is on the board of the Actors' Fund, a charity that provides emergency aid to cultural workers.
"I thought, 'Oh, really? OK. Really, though, is it really for me?' "
Despite being largely known as a funnyman, the Toronto-based Mochrie takes his political activism seriously.
"It seems to be an uphill struggle getting money to put projects on, getting media behind projects, getting the public to watch (them)," he says.
"And for me, the talent pool in this country is second to no one. We have amazing people that we can take pride in, but usually we take pride in them once they've left the country and become big elsewhere. I would just love for Canada to be a place where actors can make a great living where we can get our product out there and show the world what we have."
