Mission Hills-based improv company offers shows, classes and workshops throughout San Diego

By Cynthia Robertson | SDUN Reporter

A great date night idea for these cold nights is to head out to the National Comedy Theatre (NCT), nestled near the bottom of Mission Hill on India Street. The old Marquis Theater in the middle of International Restaurant Row houses the improv comedy company, and inside the walls of the small theater actors perform a virtual circus of word games and drop-of-the-hat skits.

Gary Kramer, owner and operator of the company since 1999, bounded on stage in front of a recent audience, getting everyone revved up for a show full of belly laughs. Located at 3737 India St., NCT is a hybrid of comedy and theater.

“If comedy and theater had a baby, we would be the redheaded neighbor,” Kramer said, and the cast of characters are all seasoned, comic actors. “We’ve never really defined them, and many of them defy explanation,” he said, laughing.

The intellectual comedy, slapstick, jokes and storytelling mix together through clever and fast word association, and the cast has the uncanny talent of blending all those skills into a single focused performance. NCT has over 20 regular actors, with a handful performing for each regularly scheduled show.

Thursdays through Sundays, NCT actors take the stage for up to eight shows, including a special midnight production the last Saturday of the month. Additionally, Kramer and the cast cater private events and teambuilding workshops, as well as offer workshops in improv, from beginning classes to those for developing advanced characters and long-form improvisation.

The weekly shows, however, appeal to a wide variety, from teenagers who want a chance to get up on stage to families looking for a fun night out. People come from all over southern California to watch and participate, often reacting differently to the hilarity.

“We want the audience to have a roller coaster ride experience, where they don’t know what’s coming next, and where they laugh unexpectedly throughout the night,” Kramer said.

“We like the idea of keeping the show above the belt, as it makes our performers work harder to be clever,” he said. “Our audience is comprised of people from all walks of life, from teens to seniors. It is our goal to present a show that is accessible to everyone, without having to resort to cheap laughs.”

Improv comedy took off in the United States in the late 1950s, in part through the teachings and writings of Viola Spolin. She influenced the genre through the development of theater “games,” helping give rise to Compass Players and Second City in Chicago. Spolin is often taught in contemporary acting classes.

Kramer became intrigued with the world of improv comedy almost by accident, he said. He took classes in Los Angeles, and after graduating in 1986, he said he really began focusing on the craft.

“Part of actor training was improv, which I actually hated in school, to be honest,” Kramer said. After seeing his older brother in an improv comedy show, Kramer caught the bug himself. He soon started training.

“I realized then that everything I had learned in school had been wrong, or at least badly taught, and I decided to teach in a different direction,” he said. Kramer first began teaching with a team in Bakersfield, Calif. and began directing in Santa Barbara, Calif. in 1991, eight years before taking over the Mission Hills company. He currently resides in Downtown San Diego.

An important part of NCT’s mission, Kramer said the public workshops include people from all walks of life.

“We’ve had doctors, lawyers, counselors and teachers take our workshops, all with an eye towards being able to respond quickly to changing situations, thinking quickly, speaking extemporaneously and generally looking at things slightly differently,” he said.

While the theater is located in Mission Hills, Kramer and his team will conduct workshops and special events throughout San Diego County.

Casey Gardner, an actor with the company since 2005, currently helps to coordinate the annual Halloween Spooktacular in addition to teaching improv for NCT’s High School league and workshops.

Offering four levels of adult workshops, each class builds off what was learned in the previous. The next “first semester” class – their term for beginners – starts the last week of February on select nights.

Tickets for the weekly shows start at $10, with general admission $15 for Friday and Saturday nights. Students, seniors and military tickets are $12. For more information, including show times, cast biographies and class schedules, visit nationalcomedy.com or call 619-295-4999.