THIS SATURDAY, Dream Team Presents brings another installment of its monthly comedy showcase to the Funhouse Lounge. As Portland's improv scene continues to grow and improve, Dream Team shows are a great way to keep up on who's performing locally, while also catching notable acts from other parts of the country.
At this month's show, Dream Team producers Dylan Reiff and Garrett Palm are bringing in comedy duo the Brothers Hines. Will and Kevin Hines are regulars with Upright Citizens Brigade, and have developed a two-man improv show that they'll be showing off to a Portland audience this weekend.
MERCURY: How long have you been performing improv?
KEVIN HINES: We have both been doing improv since around 2001. After doing it for three or four years, we started performing together, periodically doing shows in the New York area. Then last year we did a year-long run of an hour-long show almost every Wednesday night at UCB in New York. Then Will moved to LA, so we are excited to reunite and do a show.
What can viewers expect to see?
WILL HINES: My brother and I are going to improvise a show from a single suggestion. We are brothers, which means we've known each other our whole lives, which means we understand each other pretty well. So we can anticipate each other's sensibilities, and things evolve fast.
KH: We like to think that because we are related and we're making stuff up on the spot, all the family issues are boiling up underneath and really close to the surface.
Does your comedy sensibility lean toward a specific type?
WH: We are fans of dumb slapstick... and smart slapstick. We like comedy where every line ends in an exclamation point and ends up in really ridiculous situations. In real life we're pretty non-expressive, but on stage together we like wrestling with each other like eight-year-olds. My brother is huge and has the arm span of a large bird, and I am small and like to climb on him and remind him that I am the older brother.
