Improv masters collide

They call it the funny.

As in, "The funny will find you."

Or, "It's not just about the funny, it's about the teamwork."

Or, "The funny? It's always different with improv."

Tonight, the first Colorado Improv Fest kicks off three days of the very funny.

That's 15 troupes, zero scripts and audiences that will drive the course of the evening with suggestions culled from the stage.

You probably know what it's like - a moderator and five or six performers making up stuff on a dime. Think TV's "Whose Line Is It Anyway" or the work of improv demigod The Second City. Even shows like "Saturday Night Live," "The Office" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" - which are staffed with writers schooled in improv - have foundations in the form.

Chalk it up to media exposure, generally cheap tickets or our collective hunger for watching unscripted failure and humiliation (reality TV, anyone?), improv is everywhere now. The Denver scene has been strong for nearly a decade, and until this year included the Denver Improv Festival. In the unflaggingly collaborative spirit of improv, organizers put it on hold so not to distract from the Colorado Springs festival.

In the Springs, four groups have cropped up since 2004.

"This town is growing with improv," says Kaleb Kohart, co-founder of The RiP, the Springs-based group that organized the festival. "We finally decided we're on the verge of breaking out, so why not do something to make it happen?

"Chicago didn't start as a big improv town," he goes on. "Chicago started with two guys. Why can't we be like that?"

More than 30 troupes responded to the RiP's invitation, considerably more than they were prepared to handle. So relying on résumés and videos, the five-person group narrowed the field to a more manageable 15.

The pH is flying out from Chicago. Improv Shmimprov is driving the 14 hours from the Los Angeles area. Troupes from Norman, Okla., and Long Beach, Calif., will be here, as well as those from Denver, Fort Collins and, of course, the Springs.

Although every troupe seems to see the form differently, there are some things they all agree on. The truisms of improv.

• The audience can make or break you.

Whether you're talking about short form (typically five- to eight-minute shotgun blasts, often based on games) or long form (20 minutes that are more like a play than a sitcom), improv always hinges on audience participation. Gleefully putting aside theater's traditional fourth wall, the players go to the audience for locations, characters and problems to solve onstage.

"We always say that the audience is the sixth member of the group," says Cindy Laudadio-Hill, co-founder of the Denver-based Dishwater Blondes. The five-woman cast specializes in long form. "Every audience brings its own energy, and we play into it."

• The audience isn't always that into you.

"The audience is like a dog," says Jamie Scheel, who, as co-founder of Improv Shmimprov, has played more than 300 shows . "It can smell fear."

Scheel, a rapid-fire joke machine, hurries on to his point.

"Some nights when you get a quiet audience, it's hard not to take it personally," he says.

"But after doing it for a while, you know when you're having a good show, and it makes sense.

"Sometimes the funny takes a back seat to teamwork."

• Improv is addictive.

Improv isn't really a career, but it can be a stepping stone to bigger things, such as acting or stand-up - if you're lucky. Most, though, simply do it for the love of it.
Laudadio-Hill laughs when asked whether she does it full time.

"I've probably made tens of dollars in improv," she says breezily.
Stick Horses in Pants' Toby Lorenc is a real estate agent.

"We all have full-time jobs," he says of the Springs group, which, at almost 5 years old, is the oldest in the city. "We can't do it as a full-time gig. But everyone in the group isn't in for the pay. Everyone in the group would do it if they didn't get paid."

It's like golf, says RiP's Kohart, who is a video producer. "It makes you come back no matter how badly it beats you up."

• There's no free ride.

When it comes to festivals, everyone pays his own way, and that includes travel, lodging, food and time off from work. Performers rarely are paid for appearances, although at this festival, they'll get a cut of the door.

It's tough, but it's worth it, they say.

"Being in Chicago, you see a lot of Chicago-style improv," says Jason Geis, co-founder and artistic director of pH Productions. "It's interesting to go to other cities to see how they've adopted it. It's like cross-pollination."

And there's the thrill of plugging into a new audience.

"It's very nice to perform for people you know," Scheel says. "Sometimes it gets too comfortable and sometimes you can get complacent. Having a brand-new audience can be good."

• It doesn't always work - and that's OK.

"We just did a set a couple of weeks ago and we were lost. We were really lost," says Laudadio-Hill of Dishwater Blondes. "You know, we leaned into it and we eventually found our way out of it.

"That's why it's so nice to have a group around you: They won't let you look bad for long."

• There is no other live theater like it.

"The big thing," Kohart says, "is accessibility, that everybody can get it. You take away what you want. With a stage play, it's not always intellectually available."

And in many ways, it's the purest form of live theater. Here everyone has to observe, listen and react - the cornerstones of theater - because there's no script or rehearsals to either distract or buffer the actor.

"When everybody knows anything can happen and no one knows what's going to happen, it's a very bonding and exciting feeling," Scheel says. "That's why an audience can enjoy a scene that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Because they are there and watching it happen."

DISHWATER BLONDES

Denver, created in 2006
Their style: This rare all-female cast specializes in character-driven, long-form improv. Online: No Web site

FORK PRODUCTIONS

Denver, created in 2005
Their style: The two-person troupe works long form, conceptual and "off-the-wall crazy." Online: forkimprov.webs.com

LAUGHING STOCK DEVELOPMENT

Long Beach, Calif.
Their style: Sketch comedy with improv games. Online: lsdcomedy.com

PH PRODUCTIONS

Chicago, created in 2002
Their style: Tight, fast and with an emphasis on consistent audience participation Online: whatisph.com

THE RiP

Colorado Springs, created in 2005
Their style: A little of everything, especially long form. Online: theriponline.com

DETAILS

Colorado Improv Festival

When: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday; 10 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Manitou Art Theater, 1367 Pecan St.
Tickets: $15 per show, $50 festival pass; 685-4729, themat.org