(Enlarge) Members of the famed comedy troupe Chicago City Limits perform for the Columbia Festival of the Arts Tuesday, June 16 at The Jim Rouse Theatre.

The laughs really depend on you when Chicago City Limits performs at the Columbia Festival of the Arts this Tuesday, June 16 at The Jim Rouse Theatre. That's because this improv company relies on suggestions from the audience.

There's a long history behind all that spontaneity. Students affiliated with the Chicago-based Second City spun off from it and formed Chicago City Limits in 1977, and then moved to New York City in 1979. In effect, comedians from America's traditional second city moved to its first city.

Chicago City Limits' resident company has been based in New York ever since, but it also has a touring company of four or five members. These are the traveling players who'll be doing a show called "My Space or Yours?" in Columbia.

Whether this improv troupe is doing a sketch that has a semblance of structure or is doing a totally improvised bit, it needs to be sensitive to the demographically varied audiences it encounters on the road.

"The audience is calling things out, so you'll get different issues in the deep South than you would in San Francisco," says the director of the touring group, Rob Schiffmann, 38, who has been with Chicago City Limits for 15 years as both a performer and director.

"There is a New York City liberal bent to the political humor in our in-town (New York) show that we might not do as much of in the road show. We learn about the areas we're performing in and try to work those references into the show."

What can the Columbia audience expect in a show that obviously relies to such an extent on the unexpected?

One segment of the show involves the comedians presenting a theatrical situation, then freezing in place and having the audience suggest different theatrical styles in which to proceed. The basic situation is enacted in styles that might range from a Shakespeare play to a Steven Spielberg movie.

Another segment involves an audience member mentioning a biographical incident from his or her own life, which the performers use as the premise for an improvised Broadway musical.

Yet another segment gets an audience member on stage, where he or she moves the mannequin-like actors into frozen positions from which they must wake up and respond.

It's all in a night's work for the actors working under Schiffmann. This New York City native studied theater at Oberlin College in Ohio and worked with an improv company there. He returned to New York and took an office job with the Friars Club, where he got to hang out with such legendary comedians as Henny Youngman.

Since joining Chicago City Limits, he has sharpened his skills in knowing how to respond to any situation.

"Improv is such an important skill for an actor, whether they're doing improv or using it with a scripted work," he observes. "Directing an improv company has been compared to being a sports team coach. You're not going to play a full game of football (while rehearsing with the cast), but you'll work with performers on skills and exercises.

"There is an underground element that thinks of improv as being more casual (than other forms of theater). But Chicago City Limits tries to keep the ethics of theater in terms of presentation being important. You're communicating to an audience. As with any other art form, our goal is to tell a good story.

"However things are presented, it's still about the narrative. That's where our discipline comes in. We're excellent storytellers."

Chicago City Limits performs Tuesday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m. at The Jim Rouse Theatre. Tickets are $20 to $35 general, $15 to $30 for senior citizens and students. Call 410-715-3089.

While in residence, the live group also is leading an Improv Workshop on Tuesday, June 16 at 3 p.m. in the Horowitz Center at Howard Community College. The workshop fee is $10. Capacity is limited. For a reservation, call 410-715-3089.

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