Quick, think of something funny is how Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood make a living

You could say for the past 15 years that Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood have been making it up as they go along.

The comics and regulars on the long-running improv show “Whose Line is it Anyway?” have been touring together since 2002. Known for their quick-witted, on-their-feet improvisation skills, the pair bring their unscripted show to the Gallo Center for the Arts on Saturday, March 4.

Their interactive improv-based show is much like “Whose Line,” with audience members making suggestions and taking part in scenes and games. It’s that unknown, ever-changing aspect, the comedians said, that has kept their touring act going strong.

“When we walk out there every single night is opening night,” Sherwood said while on a break from the road at his home in Las Vegas. “We love performing live, and the show doesn’t get old because it’s never the same twice. Even if we play the same list of games two nights in a row, the shows are so drastically different, like 98 percent different.”

The comics said their differing styles have helped their partnership run smoothly. Chicago-native Sherwood said while Canadian comic Mochrie is laid-back, he is detail-oriented. The two men have known each other almost 30 years.

“We’ve known each other, there’s an incredible trust level there, which is something you really need with improv,” Mochrie said in a separate interview from Los Angeles. “Our styles are different, but complimentary. He is more of a verbal comedian, I am more more physical and we mesh well.”

Both men rose to fame thanks to their association with “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” The American version of improv series was based off a British show by the same name. It launched on ABC in 1998 hosted by comedian Drew Carey and ran for eight seasons. It relaunched in 2013 on the CW with Aisha Tyler hosting and many of the same cast members.

Their show, they said, is very similar to “Whose Line” in structure, but the live stage format allows them to explore more. Whereas scenes on television last three to four minutes each, on stage a bit can carry on for 10 to 20 minutes if it is working. Also, instead of starting with a suggestion from an audience member, each scene in the stage show starts with an audience member on stage.

“We never know what to expect. All we know is that we’re going to somehow figure out a way to make what isn’t funny funny. So you can never rest on laurels,” Sherwood said. “It’s like a dry erase board. Each new scene we’re like, ‘Now what do we do?’ ”

But one topics that almost never enters in their improv? Politics. The duo manages to keep their shows largely politics-free and all-ages.

“We’re not political in our comedy at all. We’re just here to have goofy fun,” Mochrie said.

While Mochrie has spoken up recently about his transgender daughter and the duo was part of the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2007, social commentary would take the show out of their intended audience mindset.

“Our work is not to make anyone look stupid. When we bring up audience members, we hand them the keys to the car. We’re not there to make them look ridiculous,” Sherwood said. “We never have that adversarial level that stand ups get from audiences. Instead we’re locking arms with the audience at the start of the show.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2017 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Quick, think of something funny is how Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood make a living."