by Glenn Hudson

Lee Street theatre

Kevin McDonald, one of the founding members of the Canadian comedy troupe Kids in the Hall, will perform a headline stand-up routine as well as improvisational comedy with the local group Now Are The Foxes, Friday, Oct. 24, and Saturday, Oct. 25, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $17 plus tax.

McDonald also will host a comedy workshop focused on learning how to write sketch comedy through the improvisational process he and friends Dave Foley, Bruce McCulluch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson used when making Kids in the Hall from 1988-1995. The class is Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m. The cost for the workshop is $150 and space is limited. Call 704-310-5507 to register or for tickets. Tickets also can be purchased online at leestreet.org, or at the box office at 329 North Lee St.

The show will be hosted by Cale Evans. Butch Hudson and Will Jacobs will do sets prior to McDonald’s show. As for the Canadian comic legend, he loves the different type of challenge that comes with doing stand-up comedy versus sketch or improv, two forms that have defined his career.

“The thing I like about it [stand-up] is the thing I don’t like about it as well,” said McDonald, who is from Quebec. “And that is being alone on stage.

“It’s better being on stage with your four best friends, where you are protected,” said McDonald, of his Kids in the Hall cast-mates. “You can’t bomb too bad.

“But as I started doing it, I found that a lot of the aspects of being alone, such as being a control freak, and you don’t have to depend on other people, those I like,” he said. “If you are a comic performer, if you are in trouble by yourself, then it’s an adventure getting out of trouble, digging in and making it work, remaining calm trying to make it work.

“I get more nervous doing improv,” said McDonald. “At least with stand-up there is script. With improv, its easy to get nervous. But writing and acting are two of my favorite things.”