I was in town and saw that Finest City were hosting the San Diego Improv Festival. Being an improviser myself, I had to go along and check it out. The session had three shows which were all entertaining and well executed. If I could fit another show in while I'm here I would be back!

Finest City Improv hosts live improv four days a week (Thurs-Sun). Most of the shows are a half-hour and one ticket gets you in the whole night, giving you the option to pick and choose how long you want to stay. Food and drinks are available and happy hour prices are often in place. The shows are completely made up on the spot based on an audience suggestion, giving you the chance to watch people create something funny and unique right in front of your eyes. The theater itself seats around 70 people with excellent sight lines, so your view is good from anywhere. Seating is around tables, giving you a comfortable place to put your drink. Finest City is attached to the Lafayette Hotel and located in a fun part of town, near interesting shopping and good restaurants. Highly recommended for a fun night out at a reasonable price.

Finest City Improv is a pirate-themed theatre where you see one-off performances by funny people based on a suggestion thrown out by an audience member. So if you're looking for something fun and different, maybe something you could do more than once, this might be the thing for you. If you're like me, you want to be entertained by people who are alive, breathing and five to twenty feet from your face. You also want access to food and drinks. Finest City Improv has all these things and the best thing is that the people aren't trying to be funny. They are genuinely getting onto the story and what is going on with the other actors and, when the funny happens, it's just better. Usually they have a number of different events or what they call teams. So on a given evening, you will see two or three teams of players, each creating performances out of thin air based on a theme or word from the audience. The good news about this is that if something goes bad, the other people on the team swoop in and change things so it's never bad for too long. Of course, the bad can also be funny. When I was there, I just kept forgetting that they didn't have lines written, didn't rehearse and weren't making it up on the spot but how could they not? I was there when they picked out the word. Some of it looks rehearsed but I think it's the way they present their shows that are rehearsed. There is a set beginning and themes that return but, really, I'm looking forward to going again to see what the same players on the same team will do with another suggestion from the audience. And this time it will be me yelling butterflies! at the top of my lungs. I don;t particularly like butterflies but I just want to see what they will come up with. Oh, and bring friends. It's more fun when there are more people with you. There's a bar and food service, provided by the Lafayette Hotel. Little known fact: One of the scenes of the movie Top Gun were filmed in the Lafayette's Mississippi Room. OK, it's the You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' scene.

Interesting and vintage style theater in the hipster part of town. I always have loved improv, and was cool to be able to get a drink and watch a show here. It was only 12 bucks and I got to stay all night. Some very talented people here, I was able to come right around their grand opening, so I hope they will be in the neighborhood for a long time!