TheatreSports Keeps Its Material Fresh by Putting Comics Through Paces

Theatre/Theater has always been a busy place. This summer, it’s positively hopping.

“We realized there’s a lot of great stuff being done in San Francisco and New York that’s not getting produced in L.A., and we wanted to start tapping into that,” said Dan O’Connor, whose Dangerous Productions is host to several shows at the Hollywood theater. Since 1988, his improv group Los Angeles TheatreSports has been a consistent draw at Theatre/Theater; this summer, when artistic director Jeff Murray decided to take some time off, O’Connor was asked to step in as caretaker.

The resultant programming--spread between the theater’s two spaces--includes TheatreSports, Howard Korder’s “Episode 26,” Lee Rosenthal’s “Crushed: Tales From the twenty nothing Generation,” and, coming this week from San Francisco, Reed Kirk Rahlmann’s “Amazing Snapshot of Jesus” and Steve Logue’s “Plunger.” (Two shows not affiliated with Dangerous Productions, “Borderline States” and “Dating Ourselves,” are also sharing the theater.)

One of the founders of Bay Area TheatreSports, O’Connor, 29, co-founded the local TheatreSports 3 1/2 years ago with Ellen Idelson and Forrest Brakeman. Now, its 75 members include alumni from Second City and the Groundlings, “writers, directors, actors, accountants, psychotherapists, designers and costumers,” he said. Last month, the group kicked off its Stanislavsky Open, a rotating all-star continuing competition that tomorrow is pitted against the local comedy group Latins Anonymous.

Although O’Connor hopes that in the future “we’re not just going to be cranking out comedy,” the West Coast premiere of “Episode 26” is pure silliness and light. Set on the distant planet Darvon, the eight-actor, Space-Age tale recounts the adventures of a hapless couple, Buzz Gatecrasher (played by O’Connor) and his girlfriend, aqua ballerina Hillen Dale, who fall into the clutches of the evil Vaknor. “To me, it’s a cynical look at the Reagan years,” O’Connor said. “On another level, it’s this takeoff on Flash Gordon, a complete farce.”

He calls TheatreSports’ makeup “a socialistic thing: everybody does lights and box office.”

Members also take classes three or four times a month. “Everybody in the company comes from the ground up,” emphasized O’Connor, who was trained in acting at the American Conservatory of Theatre Arts and London’s Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. “It doesn’t matter whether you’ve had two months of class or 20 years of improv. The attitude is, ‘I’m here to learn; we’re all in this together.’ ”

TheatreSports member Lee Rosenthal, 26, a Cornell graduate, premiered most of the stories in “Crushed” over the course of several appearances in the 1991-92 performance anthology “Freeway Home Companion” at Theatre/Theater. This time out, he’s accompanied onstage by a pianist known simply as Zachary.

One of Rosenthal’s pieces, “Paradise Attacked: Reconsidering the Disney Dental Plan,” was inspired both by his day job--he’s in feature production at the studio--and a story he heard about a man who came to Hollywood 40 years ago to make it as an animator. “It sparked a parallel story,” said Rosenthal, “a bit industry, but accessible.”

Another tale follows a trip home to Long Island: “It’s about trying to find your voice; in the end, it’s about coming to terms with Dad.”

But the heart of the 70-minute show is the titular “Crushed.” “It’s about the generation that missed the sexual revolution,” Rosenthal said. “How we were dangled this carrot of sexual freedom, then-- boom . It’s like we were duped.” He described the work as “an intimate piece.”

“It starts out grandiose, but ends up personal. Basically, these are my problems, not a sounding board for an entire generation. And I don’t want to depress the audience.”

Theatre/Theater is at 1713 Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood. Call (213) 469-9689.

“Crushed: Tales From the twentynothing Generation” plays Sundays at 8 p.m. through Aug. 16. Admission: $10.

“Episode 26” plays Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. through Aug. 14. Admission: $12.

Los Angeles TheatreSports plays Mondays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. , indefinitely. Admission: $6 on Mondays, $10 on Saturdays. The Stanislavsky Open continues with Latins Anonymous on Monday and San Francisco’s Pulp Playhouse on Saturday. TheatreSports’ open improv All-Star Show plays Saturdays at 10:30 p.m., indefinitely. $10.

“Amazing Snapshot of Jesus” opens Thursday, and plays Thursdays and Fridays through Aug. 28. Admission: $10.

“Plunger” opens Saturday, and plays Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 30. Admission: $10.