See Stimulus while drunk or something

[img1]Stimulus is a show best seen while drunk.

That's not a criticism, just a suggestion. An improvised show like this requires an open mind best achieved through a slight buzz and the company of friends.

From the seating to the performances, everything about the show invites you get comfortable so it can take you by surprise.

Forget invasive armrests -- audience members at Stimulus can select any of several sofas positioned throughout the house.

Be prepared for a certain amount of intimacy with the person sitting next to you as a result of this arrangement. For this, a cocktail from the theater bar may assist.

Then brace yourself for the unexpected.

The musicians and lighting designers for this show deserve a fair deal of credit, for none of their work can actually be designed in advance. Rather, they take their cues from the actors, and the actors in turn take cues from them.

The result is a surprisingly cohesive production that makes even an unaccompanied and routinely surly reviewer laugh out loud.

The moment Stimulus' five actors launch into a segment of improvised dancing to start the show, one senses their performances are somehow different and more engaged than most. Why? They have completely let go of their bodily inhibitions. They move without fear and without the need to know exactly what their next move will be. The show's strongest moments are perhaps when the cast members dance freely under flashing colored lights.

The actor who most successfully maintains that vivacity is Lori Lee Haener, who glides from character to character smoothly and with superb rhythm. Haener is spontaneity at its best, and by far the actor in Stimulus who elicits the most laughs.

The other four actors -- Matt Owens, Jennifer Zadikow, Jerry Haener and Jennifer Rizor -- each have exceptional moments as well, skillfully playing characters as varied as Catherine-Zeta Jones, arthritic baristas and roadkill.

The key to the show is the actors' ability to string seemingly random scenes together into an emotionally satisfying product.

"Everybody's working together," said director Jason Anfinsen. "There's no real form, but they do know it's a boomerang effect. They're going to throw out a truckload of different scenes and watch them all come boomerang back."

Reach Intermission reporter Melissa Santos at [url='mailto:melissasantos@thedaily.washington.edu']melissasantos@thedaily.washington.edu[/url].