A comedy troupe at the Fringe is ahead of most other performers when it comes to longevity.
Gordon’s Big Bald Head is performing for the 25th straight year at the Festival. Mark Meer, Ron Pederson and Jacob Banigan first stepped on a stage together in 1994 doing sketch comedy show.
“We kept on reinventing ourselves until we gave up reinventing ourselves until we gave up and do what we can do which is improvise,” said Jacob Banigan.
For over decade the trio has been doing an improvised version of other shows, which they pick at random out of the Fringe program.
“It started out of laziness. We werelike what are we going to do? Let’s just open the program read what’s written about someone else play, and do that play,” said Banigan.
“We advertise, we do every other play at the Fringe so why go to any other show,” added Pederson.
The three improvisers started out based in Edmonton, but Pederson has since moved to Toronto after a stint on MAD-TV in Los Angeles and Banigan calls Austria home now. But they always look forward to their reunion on stage.
“We don't see each other for a whole year. That's what helps,” said Pederson.
Gordon’s Big Bald Head was named after the character on Sesame Street played by Roscoe Orman, who is thanked in the program.
Meer met Orman in the mid-90s and told him that he was in a troupe named after him. Meer recently ran into him again at the pop culture event called Dragon Con.
“The first thing he asked was, are you guys are still doing that?”, Meer said with a laugh.
The trio intends to keep doing their show at the Fringe, which has now become one of the most popular at the festival. And they have plans for their fans to celebrate their 25th anniversary.
“We’re making things up,” added Meer.
Gordon’s Big Bald head is at the Varscona Theatre.
