An impromptu laugh in Davis Square with Improv Foundry

Have $10 and a Friday night to spare? Then, without question, run _ don't walk _ down to the Elm Street Theatre in Davis Square to see one of the newest groups to hit the Boston improv scene: Improv Foundry.

Improv Foundry was founded by two Brown University graduates, Matt Fisher and Jon Bender. After having been involved in improvisational theatre in college, the duo "got sick of trying to be involved in other people's improv groups" and decided that "there was a lot of room for new competitors in the improv scene here in Boston."

The group expanded to include eight additional members (including Tufts Cheapsox alum Shannon Choy) following a draft held at Improv Boston last April and has been working Boston-area improv venues ever since.

The team at Improv Foundry performs short-form improv, which consists of sketch-length scenes which are generated from prompts suggested by the audience. According to its unofficial mission statement, Improv Foundry strives to create "high-energy comedy that doesn't fall back on theatricality... If we can keep the audience laughing pretty consistently, that's the only skill we're interested in demonstrating."

This high-energy aspiration was certainly achieved during last week's Improv Foundry. Group members began their show by first introducing the premise of their style of improvisational theatre to the audience, explaining the pivotal role that the audience plays in the performance.

To get the show going, the performers, rather than getting themselves warmed up, got the audience warmed up. Instructed to merely "respond and not think," and given the stipulation that "the less sexual the suggestion, the funnier the sketch," audience members were asked to give words resulting from promptings ranging from "adjectives" to "favorite childhood candy." The audience prepared, the members of Improv Foundry began their show.

One of the strongest aspects of Improv Foundry's performance was the cohesiveness of the members as a troupe. There was no star performer _each performer seems to be fully aware of the fact that an improv performer is only as good as his troupe as a whole. The chemistry between the players was palpable, as was the inherent level of trust necessary for a strong improv performance.

A prime example of the group's cohesiveness came during the game "1234321." Here, the troupe flowed naturally between seemingly unrelated scenes in which the performers took turns portraying the more prominent role. The troupe progressed with complete ease between a lacrosse coach announcing his retirement to the PTA, to Fran Drescher (The Nanny) clothes shopping, to the bodyguard of David Hasselhoff protecting his charge from a batty female stalker, to a university president reprimanding fraternity boys for inappropriate behavior, and then back again.

All the while, the troupe never let the energy level of the game as a whole drop, thus maintaining the charge and humor of the sketch as a complete unit. The members of Improv Foundry have the art of give-and-take, an improv necessity, down to a T.

Another particularly strong element of Improv Foundry's set is variety. The group aptly mixes up sketches which involve the entire troupe and those which involve only a few members _ sometimes even creating sketches where troupe members essentially give alternating improvised monologues. Such a skit was done using the premise of a 2 a.m. Home Shopping Network program. In this skit, two performers alternated in taking the stage, each trying to sell, as prompted by the audience, "saucy coconuts." This sketch was followed by an activity which involved the entire troupe: a game called "World's Worst" in which the performers had to step forward and give an example of the world's worst in whatever category was suggested by the audience. (The night I was there, suggested topics ranged from "tele-evangelist" to "taxidermist" to "planet.")

What sets the Improv Foundry comedy troupe apart from many other improvisational theatre groups is its sheer inventiveness _ and their ability to not sacrifice "keep[ing] it clean" for truly funny material. The troupe is able to create original, high energy entertainment without falling back on toilet humor, sexual innuendos, and _ most impressively _ the standard regime of recycled improv games used week after week on ABC's Whose Line Is It Anyway? and used by many other improv troupe nationwide.

The members of Improv Foundry keep the audience laughing throughout their hour-and-a-half long show. This is one exceedingly clever and intelligent group _ this is not a troupe that tweaks its performance to get a cheap or easy laugh. Add to that the convenient location, student-friendly price, and high-quality comedy, and an evening with the members of Improv Foundry is not one to be missed.

For general information, show times and ticket prices contact (617) 628-9555 or visit www.improvfoundry.com.