‘Armando Diaz’ Takes Path of Improvisation Less Traveled

When it comes to public entertainment, many of the most dedicated “improvisational” comedy groups rely primarily on scripted material, with perhaps a couple of improv exercises tacked onto the bill.

By contrast, the Improv Olympics, a training ground for such comics as Mike Myers and Chris Farley among others, offers a gutsy full-length evening of pure improv in “The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience,” the premiere of the Chicago-based company’s L.A. branch.

Judging from the casual disorganization behind the scenes at the Stella Adler Theatre, the Olympics appear to have blown in from the Windy City without much preparation. However, though the 16 performers (from a core group of 25) took a while to warm up the evening this reviewer attended, the distinctive “long-form” improvisational techniques that are this group’s hallmark proved fascinating.

Apparently, in long-form improv, what goes around, comes around--quite literally. As the evening progresses, impromptu characters and situations that may seem initially limp keep cropping up in other, more humorous contexts. And every once in a while, this free-associative repetition melds into Zen-like flights of fancy that make the scattershot rhythms of blackout comedy seem forced.

Not all the situations pay off, and the technique requires the audience’s attention--maybe even indulgence--but improv practitioners and fans alike will find the Improv Olympics’ circular comic path a worthy journey.

* “The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience,” Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Indefinitely. $10. (213) 694-2935. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.