Colin Mochrie, Kevin McDonald filming at Sunshine Point Camp
by Sylene Argent
Actors with Canadian roots, Colin Mochrie and Kevin McDonald, were in the Harrow area last week to film the movie, “Boys Vs. Girls,” at Kiwanis-Sunshine Point Camp with Windsor-based filmmaker, Mike Stasko, who wrote the script and is now focusing his efforts on directing and producing.
The film picks up at a camp in its first season of going co-ed, and counsellors clash.
Mochrie, a Whose Line is it Anyway regular, plays the head camp counsellor, Roger, in the comedy set in the ‘90s. He began filming last Monday.
“This is the first year it is going co-ed, so he’s trying to deal with a lot of problems that that brings with it and not getting much help from his counsellors, the staff, or the kids. So, he’s pretty-much frustrated and angry throughout the entire movie,” Mochrie explained of his character.
“I love playing frustrated characters,” Mochrie said, adding he loves to take on the funny-anger persona.
Mochrie got involved with the film after Stasko sent him the script. “It looked like a lot of fun,” he said, adding he knew McDonald was involved. “It was different from anything I have done before, and I’m always looking for different challenges.”
Similarly, McDonald, who is known as part of the “Kids in the Hall” ensemble and for his role as Pastor Dave on “That ‘70s Show,” said he was asked to get involved with “Boys Vs. Girls.”
McDonald said he is lucky enough to get asked to get involved with projects as he believes he does not audition well, which is likely because of nerves.
Playing the camp’s custodian in the film, McDonald saw the role as being similar to Bill Murray in “Caddyshak.” He liked the script when he received it. “It was funny. There were like funny ideas in it. There’s a thing my character does, which I think is really funny, and I’m egomaniacal enough that sometimes when I like something I think ‘oh, I should have thought of that first,’” he joked.
McDonald admits to being a little nervous the first day he is on a set.
Known for his improvisational skills, Mochrie said he will leave any improv opportunities with the director. As an actor, he tries to stick to the script and get any ideas he has across, but he said there have been a few instances were Stasko has told him to go with it, so it is nice to have that, too, he said.
“The best thing about working with a group of young people, is they all have hope,” Mochrie joked. “I hope that will seep into me.”
Mochrie added the experience of filming the movie in Harrow has been fun. It has also been quick. He said last Monday, they went through eight pages of script, and that quick speed is rare. “It was fast, but there was no stress,” which is something the actor looks for when working on a project.
Mochrie explained improv and filming are different. The great thing of being involved with “Whose Line is it Anyway” is that they do not have learn anything. “We go up, we shoot, and it is done.” When filming, different angles are shot, but what he does love about filming is that a scene can be retaken if a mistake is made.
In his youth, Mochrie was shy. He came to learn he felt more relaxed on stage than he did in real life. “I still remember the first time I got a laugh, and that was the time I though, ‘oh, okay. This is what I want.’”
Mochrie and McDonald believe this was their first trip to the Harrow area, but both have been in Windsor or Detroit with comedy tours in the past.
Mochrie said through he hadn’t had a chance to look around while he was in town, he said the area seems beautiful and noted everyone he has met has been lovely. He joked there are a lot of wineries, too, which he said was right up his ally.
More information about the film can be found at http://boysvgirlsmovie.ca/. Financial support can also be forwarded through this link.