By Dave Schwab

Everyone should take an improv class before they die.

Andrea Rodi of North Park and Jon Anthony both have, receiving instruction from Finest City Improv. The two claim their experience with the mid-city comic troupe has been life changing.

“It blew me away,” Anthony said. “It was funny, alive. It took creativity and energy that I identified with.”

“It really feels like home, going through all the levels to become an ensemble player,” Rodi said. “It’s a release, a way to deal with my life in an artistic fashion. This is who I am, today, on stage.”

Both aspiring comedians came to the right place to learn.

Finest City Improv, San Diego’s “headquarters” for improvisation, just marked its one-year anniversary at its theater attached to the historic Lafayette Hotel at 4250 Louisiana St.

The theater supports 80 improv teams, including seven teams comprised of Finest City Improv Ensemble members, as well as hundreds of improv students from all over.

Improvisation, a form of comedy popularized in cities like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, is gradually taking hold in San Diego, offering locals an unparalleled opportunity to laugh, learn and perform.

Improvisation differs from stand-up comedy in several significant respects. There are no prepared scripts or jokes. It’s not an individual endeavor, but done in skits with pairs or groups. Improvisation is all about what its name suggests: ad libbing.

And thanks to Amy Lisewski, Finest City’s founder and artistic director, improv is alive and well in America’s finest city. Not long ago, Lisewski was torn between remaining in San Diego, where there was little or no improvisation, or moving to Los Angeles, where there are several thriving venues like Second City.

“I was traveling back and forth to study and perform,” she said. “I could move, or build it myself. So I went the crazy route and built it myself.”

The comedienne spent eight months with a realtor searching spaces all around North Park. She finally settled on the Lafayette, after the longstanding hotel contacted her.

“They wanted to bring the hotel back to its glory days in the ’40s and ’50s when [the hotel] was a destination for all kinds of entertainment activities. So it was really a perfect fit for us,” Lisewski said.

Lisewski spent about eight months overseeing gutting offices and converting them into theater space. Now, Finest City is not only a performing venue, but an academy for improvisational training and instruction.

That’s where Kat Brown comes in. She oversees the improve training of Finest City’s ensemble troupe.

Any one can be humorous, said Brown. But, she pointed out, being funny with improvisation requires an entirely new skill set and an altogether different approach.

“You see so many people get up and they try to tell their own joke — and those never go over,” said Brown, noting successful improvisationalists are “honest and in the moment, and really feel something with the person standing next to them.

“It’s all about the connection and trust we have that, no matter what the other person says, I’m going to agree with it, and we’re going to see where it goes,” continued Brown. “And it goes to places we never would have imagined. And that’s when people laugh.”

Lisewski said there’s a lot on Finest City’s plate for 2015.

“We’re launching the Finest City Improv touring company, a select group of 14 of our best ensemble members to entertain for things like corporations, holiday parties and workshops,” she said. “And we have the second annual San Diego Improv festival here the third weekend in February with 87 teams from all over the country.”

Students like Anthony and Rodi said Finest City is undoubtedly working. They’ve developed a newfound appreciation for the art form.

“It’s like seeing a masterpiece being painted right in front of you,” said Anthony about improvisation when it’s really going over. “When you’re performing with your connection with the audience and the source inside of you, your creative response … it’s a euphoric feeling you can’t describe.”

For Rodi, improvisational comedy is very personal — and liberating.

“It’s really expressive, and fun, and allows you to let loose,” she said. “It’s just a really good tool that’s helped me in my jobs and friendships and understanding were people are coming from. For me it’s a life hobby. I can’t imagine myself without it.”

—Contact Dave Schwab at [email protected].