When most people think about improvisational comedy, it brings to mind the sort of ad-lib gags featured on the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? But the Lake Worth troupe known as Mod 27 specializes in long-form improv, which its co-executive producer Tom O'Donnell explains as, "we'll take one suggestion and go for about a half an hour and do more like an improvised play."

Mod 27 is a spinoff of a troupe called Cheese & Crackers, a student improv ensemble that still continues at Palm Beach Community College, under the direction of Dave Hyland, Mod 27's other co-executive producer.

Mod 27 must be doing something right, because it was the only troupe from Florida selected to perform in late July at New York's Del Close Marathon, the nation's largest improv festival. In fact, the group was tapped to be the opening act for Saturday Night Live's Horatio Sanz. According to O'Donnell, the gig was valuable exposure for the troupe and good experience.

"I think what audiences want to see tends to be a little regional," he says. "So just being out there in front of a New York crowd was great."

This Saturday presents a terrific opportunity to become exposed to various styles of improv, as Mod 27 hosts the fourth annual South Florida Improv Jam at the Kravis Center's Cohen Pavilion, at 8 p.m. Troupes from throughout the region — including Impromedy, Just the Funny, Laughing Gas, Name Change Pending and THEY — will be showing off their skill at turning audience suggestions into skits and scenes. The $12 ticket charge goes to benefit Gilda's Club South Florida, which fosters social and emotional support for those with cancer, as well as their families and friends. For tickets, contact the Kravis box office at (561) 832-7469).

If this taste of improv gets you hooked, you can see an entire evening of Mod 27, the first and third Saturday of each month at the Demetrius Klein Dance Studio, 811 Lake Ave., Lake Worth. For more about Mod 27, call (561) 963-3414 or visit the troupe's Web site at http://mod27improv.tripod.com.