Who is Cousin Sheckie? Is it even a person?

It really could be anything. To me, as a name, a Cousin Sheckie immediately sounded like it could be an intestine puckering rye whiskey and prune juice cocktail recipe hidden deep within one of those Mr. Boston's bartending guides.

On the other hand, the name most obviously sounds like it belongs to some neurotic, despondent relative just back from a 90-day stint in residential therapy for anxiety and caffeine addiction.

In reality, it could be a little of both, depending on how the story unfolds that night.

Cousin Sheckie is actually one of Richmond's newest improv comedy groups. Formed in the summer of 2007, Sheckie consists of seven actor-turned-improvisationists, including Amy Berlin, Abby Davis-Hess, Justin Deming, Jonathan Hardison, Stephen Ryan, Jason Sawyer and Peter Schmidt, all of whom are co-founders of the group.

If you are a regular Richmond theatergoer, some of those names may sound familiar. All of Cousin Sheckie's members are local theater actors and notably not stand up comedians, which is a defining characteristic that separates Sheckie from other improv groups.

"All of us have theatrical roots versus someone who comes from a comedy or improv mold and that crossover from theater to improv is very different than somebody who has gone from standup to improv," said Sheckie member Stephen Ryan. "Basically, we all found each other and we were looking for the same thing. We were several disparate performers here in Richmond all of whom either had a little history with improv or had a yerning to try improv."

Besides having strict theater backgrounds, Ryan said the group's onstage antics are also different from what many might expect from an improv show. Cousin Sheckie performs mainly long form improv, which Ryan said is more like a one-act play that writes itself.

"Short form is what people commonly know of improv," Ryan said. "That is the sort of quick witted, one-liner kind of scene work and it is intended for a different kind of audience and attention span. It's more like Who's Line Is It Anyway."