STAGE REVIEW : Improvising Is the Thing at Theatre/Theater

Theatre/Theater in Hollywood is currently the home of two all-improvisational groups. On Mondays, Los Angeles Theatresports pits teams of improvisers against each other in friendly competition. Each Friday, the group Flying Brick improvises an entire play; the results are called “Bastard Tales and Other Inadvertent Sagas.”

Judging from a recent performance, the long-running Theatresports has found its niche. The group includes a number of nimble minds and bodies that work well together. Ellen Idelson, Dan O’Connor and Forrest Brakeman founded this branch of Theatresports (there are others), working from games created by Keith Johnstone.

Some of the sketches were strained, but the rules of the game imposed strict time limitations that kept things moving at a quick pace. Still, an evening at Theatresports isn’t quite as hectic as a performance of the rival team-improv group, ComedySportz, a few blocks away at West Coast Ensemble.

Because the audience doesn’t become involved in the judging (as it does at ComedySportz), Theatresports has a more relaxed air (a panel of three judges changes weekly). And Theatresports players don’t focus on the competitive aspects of their games as much as the ComedySportz players do.

In both Theatresports and ComedySportz, the games are preceded by elaborate explanations of the penalties that players might incur. We’re told that anyone, in audience or cast, who makes an off-color or otherwise offensive remark will have to wear a brown bag over his or her head, however briefly. The night I saw ComedySportz, penalties were called and brown bags worn.

At Theatresports, it’s easy to forget that the teams are competing. Their primary aim is to create funny improvs, and they succeed surprisingly often. They’re also allowed to develop single sketches to a somewhat longer length than seemed possible at ComedySportz.

No one, however, improvises a sketch as long as the one enacted each Friday at “Bastard Tales.” From audience suggestions of a title and a setting, an entire play is developed. At the performance I attended, it went on for more than an hour.

It’s easy to see the problem with this approach. If the initial suggestions aren’t particularly fertile, the evening can slide rapidly down the drain. That’s more or less what happened when the attempt to make something out of the title “Men Without Tongues” and the locale of Siberia became labored.

Stan Wells is the director and, to some extent, the writer. His commentary from the sidelines helps shape the narrative more than any other single element.

At 1713 Cahuenga Blvd. , Hollywood. Theatresports are played Mondays at 8 p.m. Tickets: $5; (213) 469-9689. Flying Brick spins its “Bastard Tales” Fridays at 10:30 p.m. Tickets: $10; (213) 871-0210.