Shandling Walks Back to Stand-Up : Comedy: The TV star, who plans to try out some of his new material in Irvine, faces his return with mixed emotions.

Ah, life on the road.

Garry Shandling thought he would go for a swim the other day, while staying in Atlantic City for a series of gigs there. Until he saw the beach. “There’s literally a ring around the ocean here,” he related by phone. “There’s this black layer on the beaches.”

And then there was the matter of getting paid for his shows at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, whose owner has fallen on less-than-Trump-like times. “I’m very concerned about the check clearing,” Shandling confided. “I’m thinking of asking to be paid after every show.”

He’s just kidding, folks. But seriously, though, Shandling is facing with mixed emotions his return to the comedy stage after a four-year layoff. “I’ve never liked going on the road,” he admitted. “I may not do stand-up again for a while.”

The current mini-tour, which takes him to the Irvine Improvisation for four shows starting Monday, is designed to try out some new material for a possible comedy TV special. This is Shandling’s first chance to write new stand-up material since the birth of “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” four years ago.

Shandling, 40, and co-creator Alan Zweibel walked away from the show in April. What they left behind was one of the TV highlights of the ‘80s, a gentle skewering of sitcom and show-biz conventions that earned cheers from critics and a small but loyal core of fans.

In the show, Shandling would talk to the camera or climb into the bleachers with the studio audience. When he turned on the TV, he found his own show: fans fretted with Garry about his friends, his sputtering love life and his looks (“How’s my hair” became the show’s catch phrase).

Then there was the self-mocking theme song: “This is the theme to Garry’s show . . . How do you like it so far?” And who can forget his movie spoofs--Shandling as a Ping-Pong-playing whiz in a goofy twist on Robert Redford’s “The Natural.”

Shandling and Zweibel decided it was time to move on, however. “We had done what we set out to do,” the comic explained at the time. He said he is still happy with the decision. “I was grateful the show ran for four years, but it was all-consuming,” Shandling said. “I feel better not having to devote my whole life to the show.”

So, what now? “I’d really like to pursue acting,” said Shandling, who is looking for the right role (“Maybe I should try a high-school play,” he quipped).

In the meantime, he has been working on his stand-up act and trying it out on stage since July. He didn’t miss being on stage while working on the show, he said, because he doesn’t like performing unless he has new material.

“There was no reason to go out and perform. I’ve always been bored on stage doing the same old jokes,” he said. “I’ve never enjoyed going up on stage just to be up there.”

While the act is recognizably Shandling--”It’s still my sense of humor”--it is becoming less joke-oriented and more story-oriented, he said. So far, the audience response has been “very encouraging.”

Although Shandling said he has no plans to return to the heavy touring schedule of his pre-television days, he did say he is enjoying his return to the stage. “I’ve been having a lot of fun,” he said. “This allows me to express exactly what I want to express at the moment.”

And there are even some good points to being on the road, he admitted. “I’ve actually never been to Laguna Beach,” the comic said, “so I may stay down there.”

Garry Shandling will appear Monday through Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at the Improvisation, 4255 Campus Drive , Irvine. Tickets : $15. Information: (714) 854-5455.