Tim Meadows could coast. But he’d rather make it up as he goes. The comic and actor spent a decade on “Saturday Night Live,” turned The Ladies Man into a cult classic, and stole scenes in everything from Mean Girls to “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” He’s one of those guys you don’t realize is in half your favorite comedies – until you start listing them.
So why is he flying to Milwaukee to do an improv show with zero script, zero prep, and a group of old friends who make it all up as they go?
Because it’s still a thrill.
Meadows’ voice thrives in the unscripted and the creative camaraderie of his friends who will join on Sunday at Turner Hall for Bluebird Improv, a long-form comedy show where nothing is scripted, or sacred. Meadows is part of this newly resurrected collective of long-form comedy veterans. For fans used to seeing him deliver polished lines, it’s a chance to watch him make it all up – live, loose and in the moment.
“I started doing longform improv in Chicago over 15 years ago with Joe [Canale] and Brad [Morris],” Meadows says. “It was just the three of us doing these little shows. Then life happens – I had kids, took a break from it. But now we’re back, and it’s more fun than ever.”
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The “we” for Sunday’s show includes a who’s who of comedy: Meadows, Canale, Morris, Matt Walsh (“Veep,” co-founder of Upright Citizens Brigade) and Chicago improviser Meagan O’Brien. Other shows have featured guest performers like “SNL’s” Rachel Dratch. Their format is simple but deceptively rich: a short conversation with the audience sparks a series of unscripted, interconnected scenes.
“Some of the best shows we’ve done are when we hit on something real, like somebody in the crowd talks about being stuck on a broken escalator, and suddenly we’re all in this world where that frustration becomes this whole thing,” Meadows says. “You feel the connection in the room. That’s when it works.”
That feeling – shared spontaneity, unexpected joy – is what keeps him coming back to the stage, decades after “SNL” made him a household name.
“It’s not about doing bits or dragging out old characters,” he says. “I’m not doing The Ladies Man just because it’ll get a laugh. If something from that world comes up organically in conversation with the audience, then maybe. But I would put some kind of new twist on it.”
And if you think improv sounds chaotic, it’s not. At least not in the hands of people who’ve done this for years. Meadows acknowledges that there are rules, structure and an almost invisible trust between performers.
“We all know how to build a scene, when to end it, when to step in or amp it up,” he says. “I remember one show at iO in Chicago where Brad and Joe edited a scene Matt and I were in. They didn’t really have an idea … they just felt it was time. Brad touched a chair and said, ‘You were using the lawnmower without my permission.’ Joe goes, ‘Yeah, Dad.’ I crawled under the chair and became the neighbor who got run over by the mower. Suddenly Matt’s the ambulance driver. We were all crying laughing. That’s the joy – the discovery.”
That joy isn’t confined to the stage. Meadows, who now lives in Detroit after years in Chicago, talks about improv the way some people talk about yoga or therapy – a way to stay sharp, creative and connected. (No surprise, Meadows does yoga regularly.)
“The freshness of it, the collaboration, the not knowing what’s next – that’s the fun part,” he says, doubling down on the notion that winging it is the name of the game. “We don’t warm up anymore. Our warm-up is just being on time and having each other’s backs.”
No script, no safety net – just decades of comedic experience and a well-tuned sense of mischief. Turns out, making it up is still the best part.
Bluebird Improv hits Turner Hall on Sunday, June 1.
