Kennard and Turner met in Toronto in 1986 in Second City workshops, where they discovered a mutual talent for improvising with gibberish dialogue. While at Second City, they met Karen Hines, who has directed all their shows. Kennard and Turner also studied under Richard Pochinko in a new field of what he called Canadian clowning. On May 13, 1988, Mump and Smoot presented their first show, "Jump the Gun". Since then they have played fringe theatres throughout Canada, regional theatres and festivals, the American Repertory Theater, associate artist positions at the Yale Repertory Theater, and Israeli and Palestinian festivals culminating with a joint workshop for Israelis and Palestinians together. In addition to theatre, Mump and Smoot have made numerous television appearances and two short films, including Laurie Lynd's "The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore".