Improv Tantrum

For performers groomed for the moment, improvisers can be awfully reflective. Josh Steinmetz, of the promising new comedy troupe Tantrum, guesses that he has performed in 800 improvised comedy shows over the years. Experience has taught him what his chosen art needs to survive its awkward adolescence. "It's vital that people bring good stuff to the stage," he says. Being a gentleman, Steinmetz doesn't single out any performers who don't do this. "My analogy is Thai food," he says. "If you've never had it and it's godawful when you go and try it, you're not going to eat it again for a long time." For the first half of tonight's 8 p.m. show at the Westport Coffee House (4010 Pennsylvania, 816-678-8886), Tantrum will play a "Harold," a specialty of the excellent Too Much Duck troupe that many Tantrum members used to call home. "It's original long-form format," Steinmetz explains. "From a single suggestion, we thread together scenes that start off disconnected and then collide at the end." After intermission, the actors get higher-tech. "We're going to take an iPod from the audience, select a song at random, and that will be the theme for the entire second half. Think a montage or tableau," Steinmetz says.Told you he was reflective. But the show — it'll be funny, right? The other time we did it," he says, "the song was 'Coin Operated Boy' by the Dresden Dolls. From that, we all went into building robot significant others." Westport Coffee House
Fri., Nov. 30, 8 p.m., 2007