sideshow featured performer | kyla ferrier

We've got our annual improv comedy fiesta SIDESHOW coming up!  While the performers should all be familiar to you (they've all been involved in PT shows in the past), we want to let you know a little more about them.  Up first is Kyla Ferrier.

You may remember Kyla from her last turn on our stage in GODSPELL, or in YOU STILL CAN'T. Upcoming she will be releasing her first full-length album HE & I. You can already check out the music video for her single "Is This?" here!

What's on your mind?

I'm happy Spring has arrived. I have plans to build a Backyard Garden Shaving Station. What? Well, here's the thing. My roommate and I live in a basement suite, and our bathroom is small and dark, making it pretty tricky to get any decent body maintenance done in there. I've been traveling home to my parents house in Chilliwack to take care of my legs. But no more. Backyard Garden Shaving Station is going to change all that. A handsome pedestal sink with gold fixtures, surrounded by wildflowers, bathed in sunlight. Admit it. You can't wait to come over to my house to shave.

What is your favourite thing?

My favourite thing is the high felt when an interesting thought or burst of inspiration shows face. That energy is a powerful force. I enjoy brainstorming with other people just for the joy of it. There need be no particular point, purpose, or end. I love ideas. I love novelty. I love creative spark.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I flip-flopped between wanting to be a singer, and wanting to be a Safeway cashier.

What is your life motto?

It changes all the time. Currently, it's this quote from East of Eden by John Steinbeck: "And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good."

What’s the deal with improv?

Well. You know. A few people play pretend, while some other people watch, and there's some laughing and stuff. It's good for your human soul, blah blah blah.

I don't think improv works so great when there's too much ego involved. The best improvisors aren't especially concerned with being funny. The performers I like watching tend to enter open-hearted into a story, delight in the imagined world unfolding, and share discovery with their scene partners. Improvisors who are willing to let go of the pressure to make people laugh are better able to enter into a creative flow outside themselves. The flow-place is where magic happens. I think it's the birthplace of the juiciest comedy.