Kirsten Rasmussen is part of the Second City troupe that is set to debut its new revue How to Kill a Comedian.
Sketch comedy fans are in for a laughy nirvana this week, what with the ongoing Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (to March 15) and the new Second City revue, How to Kill a Comedian. We spoke to Second City's bright new cast member Kirsten Rasmussen about the need to push the comedic envelope.
You're known for your solo sketch shows, so how does it feel working now with the Second City mainstage troupe?
I've been doing comedy for 10 years, and I've moved from Edmonton to Montreal to Toronto. So doing solo stuff came out of necessity. There weren't people around that I knew. But being with Second City members is amazing. We weren't chosen to be together because we have like-minded comedic minds. We were put together because our boss felt that we're all great, and with our different skills and styles the six of us can appeal to many people.
Which is the process when it comes to the institutional mainstream troupes like Second City or the Saturday Night Live players, as opposed to the underground ensembles, right?
Yes. I'm thinking of Tony Ho in Toronto. They have a specific style – almost a specific genre they perform in. I love it, and they're so good at it.
Tony Ho is taking part in the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. Are there any other acts at the festival you like?
Pajama Men [an American duo]. They've been comedy heroes of mine for such a long time. They're just such hilarious men who have inspired a generation of sketch comedians. And no one knows them, except in the live comedy world, which is very small.
Second City isn't part of the festival, but this week you guys are opening your spring revue, How to Kill a Comedian. Can you explain the show's title?
It's about what comedians are allowed to make jokes about. For myself, the question is, 'When does a joke of mine induce a violent reaction?' That when I make a topical joke, someone would wish to inflict violence upon me. I find that fascinating and scary, and it's something I don't want to back away from.
Did you see the controversial Saturday Night Live sketch last week about Islamic State recruiting?
I didn't. But it's something we've talked a lot about in this show. I've been reading so many articles, trying to think what possibly could be funny about it. It's really hard. But something like ISIS is so fear-inducing, and, as a comedian, you want to lessen the fear.
What about the idea that a comedian can go too far with it?
People are going to get offended. There are those who don't want to laugh, who want to just remember how fearful it is. I get that. That's one way of living. But then there's the rest of us who have to find a way to laugh at this crazy thing.
So, when it comes to how to go about killing a comedian, telling them that their topical satire is too soon is one way of doing it?
Oh yeah. To tell a comedian that they can only make jokes about this, this and this, that would be a way of stomping out their creativity. You have to do jokes that are on the line. And that's the comedy I want to be doing.
Second City's How to Kill a Comedian opens March 9 (now in previews). $25 to $52. 51 Mercer St., 416-343-0011 or secondcity.com.
The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival runs to March 15. Various venues and prices. 647-505-1050 or torontosketchfest.com.
Brad Wheeler