Pictured: FST Improv cast members, Hunter Brown, Adam Ratner and Patrick A. Jackson. Photo by: Matthew Holler.

Those seeking a laugh Saturday night would be well-served to swing by Florida Studio Theatre, where FST Improv will be taking the stage in Bowne’s Lab Theatre for another rousing edition of “Comedy Lottery,” the evening improv show that pulls ideas and sometimes even people straight from the gathered audience for a personalized and very Sarasota show.

“It’s a chance for the actors and the audience to laugh out loud together,” said Patrick Jackson, an actor in his third year performing improv at FST. “With “Comedy Lottery” we’re always looking for a chance to give the audience a part in the show.”

Audience input shapes the show from the very start, with twelve attendees determining the night’s games by blindly drawing from a bucket containing more than 50 different options. Some, such as “Translation” are highly physical and largely contained to the actors, as two host a fictional news broadcast and another attempts visual interpretation, while others put the audience front and center in their creation. If “Paper Chaser” is drawn, the audience will be asked to submit quotes, jokes and the like on slips of paper that will then comprise the entirety of the sketch’s dialogue. The ever-amusing “Puppets” lets the actors speak their minds, but leaves audience members to manipulate their bodies like, well, puppets.

“That’s what I love about “Comedy Lottery,” said Jackson. “It’s taking the audiences ideas truly and using them. A lot of improv formats just take one idea, but we’re continually asking the audience for their thoughts.”

But attendees needn’t worry about being put on the spot or dragged on stage. “No, no, no,” laughs Jackson. “We would never pull someone on stage that doesn’t want to be there. Your level of participation is up to you.”

“Comedy Lottery” begins at 7:30pm in Bowne’s Lab Theatre at FST this Saturday, Aug. 29. Tickets cost $12-15.

Pictured: FST Improv cast members, Hunter Brown, Adam Ratner and Patrick A. Jackson. Photo by: Matthew Holler.