Kindness is an underrated virtue, according to Relapse Comedy Theatre owner Bob Wood.

But even this easygoing guy's feathers can get ruffled.

A few years ago he scolded a stand-up comic after the performer yelled at the audience when they didn't laugh at his jokes.

"I found him in the parking lot after the show and I said, 'That's your one time [to disrespect the audience]. You're an entertainer and on stage, you have to handle it,' " Wood recalls.

Relapse performers have come to learn Wood's motto: "Be nice."

He's turned it into an art form.

The colorful Bohemian-style theater, located in a converted church on 14th Street, holds improv and stand-up shows several nights a week. In addition to scheduled shows, local comedians drop in to perform impromptu material.

Wood has created a haven for local comics. The former co-artistic director for Whole World Theatre says he wants to support Atlanta's comedy scene by serving the public and artists.

"The better we each do, then the better we all do," he says. "I wanted to build a place that was all about being nice to people. It's been an experiment to see if being nice could be a viable business model."

He got the ball rolling by offering his venue space to local improv groups for free.

At first, many thought there was a catch, or tried to take advantage of Wood. But most soon realized that he was trying to do something different.

On any given day, visitors will see that each area of the multi-level building is akin to a different channel on a TV dial.

On the main level, actors rehearse plays in the former sanctuary. Upstairs, improvisational workshops are held in makeshift classrooms.

Down in the basement, comics perform for late-night crowds. Others congregate in the lobby lounge, their comfy second home.

Fifteen improv groups operate from Relapse.

Whatever the artists' creative purpose, Wood lets them utilize the venue for little or no charge. His income is made from admission to the public shows. He's applied for a liquor license to increase revenue.

"It's the underground for comedy," says Anthony Rice. The improv and stand-up performer with Blacktop Circus occasionally performs during Industry Night stand-up on Tuesday nights.

"Bob is really good with working with artists. His only condition is that when you make it big, just come back and show love," Rice says.

Jim Karwisch, a performer with JackPie Theatre Workshop, calls Relapse a revolutionary idea.

"There's nothing like this anywhere," he says. "It's a giant beating heart. Relapse is all these different communities of artists working in a way Atlanta has never seen before."

Friday, on one stage ...

Improv and Stand-up Mixer at Relapse Comedy Theatre

> Cineprov features movie mockery in the spirit of "Mystery Science Theatre 3000."

> Two Girls, Three Eyes. The troupe features six to nine performers. The name was coined after a female performer suffered an eye injury from her Great Dane.

> JackPie Theatre Workshop features long-form improvisation.

8 p.m.-2 a.m. $10. $15 admits two. Relapse Comedy Theatre, 380 14th St., Midtown. 404-541-9911, www.relapsecomedy.com.

'MEDIUM IMPROV'

Wood says the comedy theater has combined long and short form improvisation to create "medium improv." During shows troupes of four to eight members feed off each other spontaneously starting with a simple audience suggestion.

Purgatory was the theme of a recent fast-paced, zany performance by the Richard Kickers improv troupe.

Set in the "waiting room of the world" the troupe shifted into different storylines and occasionally made each other laugh —- a badge of honor for a comic instigator.