By Jason Islas
Lookout Staff

August 2, 2011 – Mission IMPROVable's Westside Comedy Theater is perhaps the only place in Santa Monica where audiences can find comedy performances every night of the week.

“We do comedy all the time. Nothing else,” Sean Casey, who took over as general manager of the theater in June, told The Lookout.

Aside from being general manager, Casey is also a part owner of the theater, along with several other members of a Chicago-based improv group called Mission IMPROVable. They started off as “five guys in a van, going across the country” performing 175 to 200 shows a year.

They decided to settle in Los Angeles and bought partial ownership of a theater between 4th and 3rd Streets, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard, called The Westside Eclectic in April 2009. Casey and his partners hope that “Santa Monica will see us as a cultural gem” and that the theater will become a “fixture of the community.”

The front entrance of M.i.'s Westside Comedy Club, in the alley between 4th and 3rd Streets in Downtown Santa Monica.

At a time when comedy is enjoying a resurgence in popular culture, Casey wants to be at the forefront, and that means being open to new ideas.

“This is where the right comedy is happening,” he said. Part of that is being a “supportive community” for new comics.

The Westside Comedy Theater hosts two weekly open mic nights for stand up comedians as well as an improv open mic.

It can get competitive out there for comedians, Casey said, adding that sometimes comedians will erase other names off a list when stage time is scarce.

He wants The Westside Comedy Theater to be a place where stuff like that doesn't happen.

The welcoming environment and low-key style of The Westside Comedy Theater makes it an ideal venue for bigger comedians to drop in and try out new material, Casey said. Comedians Dimitri Martin and Neal Brennan have both shown up at open mic nights, a trend which Casey hopes to encourage.

Casey and his partners bring their experience as performers to their roles as theater owners. One of the rules of basic improv is to never say no to a premise and the weekly programming reflects their willingness to try new things.

One of the new shows coming in is called Mission: Star Mission, which he described as “an improvised Sci-Fi show.” He didn't give away much else.

Casey is currently working on programming a show of dueling stand up comedians – where improv meets stand up -- and involves audience participation.

“I want this place to be like The Groundlings in the 80s,” Casey said, or Un-Cabaret, which were the starting points for alternative comics like Janeane Garafalo, Patton Oswalt and Phil Hartman.

Like those theaters, The Westside Comedy Theater also offers classes for aspiring improv actors and stand up comics.

“These are very hip, very fun shows,” Casey said. But he also said that he balances the experimental stuff with more straightforward and polished acts for crowds who may just be out for a good, old fashioned show. Friday and Saturday nights are reserved for what Casey called “well-produced” shows and established stand-ups.

The theater itself is set to undergo some dramatic changes, including the addition of a bar slated to be completed by Labor Day weekend.

“There'll be no drink minimum,” Casey said. He envisions a “laid back, pub atmosphere” where people can hang out as long as they like.

For schedules and tickets, visit M.I.'s Westside Comedy Theater's website.