Went to a production of the Precipice Improv Theater last night. The company's slogan is "No games; no gimmicks; just great theater" - but actually, they do have a gimmick, and it's exactly what enticed me to the show: They improvised the hour-and-a-half comedic play.

When I used to go to Dudley Riggs back in the old days (in and around the Peter Tolan era), I always made sure it was to a show that included improvisation after the sketch comedy. Unless they were winging loose material for upcoming productions, the improv was generally a bit like Whose Line Is It Anyway - but only just a bit. (By the way, the original British version of that program was superior, in my opinion, if only because it had a different host.)

Last night's event had its moments, some strong and many weak. I wouldn't advise a person not to go. Obviously, in improv - like in real life - each utterance and action either clicks in the moment or it doesn't; so while it would be possible to judge, it wouldn't be at all fair. And in any case, every member of the cast did far, far better than I could have. Be thankful next time you go to any performance of anything and you don't have to sit there watching me nervously staring back at you from the stage.

The show was in a small theater at The Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland. We got there early and found out that they'd had a books-by-the-pound sale that day. Sigh. But the kind woman in the office let us paw through the leftovers... a buck for hardbacks, fifty cents for paper. I kept myself in check handsomely, emerging with only two: The Random House Thesaurus of Slang (out of print), and The English Comedie Humaine from 1902 (totally out of print), which is a collection of "[m]asterpieces of the great English novelists in which are portrayed the varying aspects of English life from the time of Addison to the present day: a series analogous to that in which Balzac depicted the manner and morals of his French contemporaries."