One of the cool things about improv theatres like the UCB is that sometimes you'll get the opportunity to see some special events that are hush-hush unless you religiously visit newyork.ucbtheatre.com, hear from word-of-mouth or run a national wiretapping program. This would definitely qualify.

Kristen Schaal, a PIT veteran who currently serves as "The Daily Show" Senior Women's Issues Commentator, held a one-hour warmup to her upcoming Comedy Central special last Wednesday night. I came into the (disappointingly half-empty) theatre thinking that she would be performing some of the material she was going to perform on her special, and got much, much more.

Schaal is not so much a comedian as she is a performer in the best and most awesome sense of the word. Whirling her way through pieces involving a birdcage, George Washington and her "boyfriend," she creates a hilarious persona of ... well, "ditz" would probably be the best description. Many of the jokes—such as the aforementioned back-and-forth with the boyfriend—would be, IMHO, much more difficult to perform on a big stage, and with her referencing the upcoming Comedy Central show several times throughout, it became quickly obvious that Schaal was using different material. In that sense, she was using one of her greatest strengths—the ability to adapt herself and her show to the environment around her. One skit, which involved a plant sitting in the audience (something that, again, couldn't be done for a special being taped for TV) made the audience feel like part of the show, even if it was all staged.

And, in case I haven't driven this home yet, Schaal is a brilliant performer, seamlessly jumping from one skit to the other, not letting a busted microphone slow her down, and just giving the relaxed UCB audience a fantastically funny show.

Piggybacking on to my last post, shows like Schaal's are a great example of how things have opened up in the comedy world, making live comedy with established, hilarious acts like Wednesday night's accessible for people even if they only have $5 to spend.