Study, Practice, Work and Then, Hopefully, Go Crazy

For the final two Saturdays of the Orange County Crazies current production, “Orange for All!,” artistic director Cherie Kerr is featuring students from her improv workshops to give them the real-time feel of walking that very thin wire between laughter and silence.

Improv comedy is probably the most difficult form of humor. Not only do timing, inflection, rhythm, emphasis and all those comedic skills have to be in place, but the improv artist or artists also have to make it all up as they go along.

Can this be taught? Some, including Kerr, say yes. And she is making a good stab at proving it.

Earlier in the run, Kerr allowed students to test their workshop skills alongside company regulars. What this shows is that, like acting, improv comedy is indeed a gift that can be enhanced by technique. At last in a performance last weekend, Kerr made her point strongly.

Three of the students will be moving into the regular company, and from their performances, the members of that group had better watch their steps.

The most notable new addition is Joel Samuels, a quick-witted, rapid-fire performer who scored with a long commercial based on an object provided by the audience, in this case a small sucker wrapped in plastic. In his totally logical and off-kilter piece, Samuels made believable his claim that planting his product would produce a huge onion field.

The quieter, but equally inventive Jeff Koets uses a self-effacing and quizzical manner to frame his often hilarious thrusts and gets big laughs with subtlety.

The third new Crazy, Katy Paz, is almost as laid-back as Koets, but her gentle style barely masks a wicked sense of humor, particularly with a character she built up during the workshop, a benign nun with a not-so-benign tongue.

All three were particularly adept at that most difficult of improv feats: improvising song lyrics. Their words were musically on the button and perfectly fitting.

There’s a show-biz saw that says you can’t keep talent down, and it’s particularly noticeable here. These new Crazies will definitely be keeping the veterans on their toes in upcoming productions.

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“Orange for All!” Orange County Crazies, 115 E. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. today. $15. Ends today. (714) 550-9890. Running time: 2 hours.

An evening of improv comedy presented by the Orange County Crazies. Produced and directed by Cherie Kerr. With (Crazies) Jim Bromfield, Lindy Frost, Chuck Rock, Wes Martens, Drake Doremus, Larry Reese, Joe Daniel; (students) Diane Brown, John Salat, Christy Knapp, Jeff Koets, Katy Paz, Joel Samuels, Gilbert Yanez.