An onstage version of Whose Line is it Anyway? requires quick creativity – from both cast and audience members.

Live music and plays are entertaining, but there’s an added thrill in experiencing something performed that’s unscripted and unrehearsed. This is the appeal of improv comedy and of theWhose Live Anyway? tour making a stop at Golden Gate Theatre in Monterey.

The show takes the format of Whose Line is it Anyway?, the TV show that originated in the U.K. and has an American adaptation that has run for 13 seasons. The cast performs an improvised session of songs, skits and games based on each other’s interactions or suggestions from the audience.

The uniqueness of each show is especially meaningful to cast member Joel Murray. Murray is an acclaimed actor whose work ranges from a supporting role in the Emmy-winning series Mad Men to starring in the feature film God Bless America.

“A big difference between acting and improv is knowing the words. On Mad Men, every word and the punctuation in a line has to be perfect,” he says. “But with improv, the lines come from your head. Sometimes it sticks, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Murray’s improv experience is extensive. He studied under famous improv coach Del Close and toured with the Chicago-based group Second City – where he met fellow Whose Live? cast member Ryan Stiles – in the 1980s.

Despite the Whose Live? cast consisting of experienced improv comics, some of the funniest content can come from audience members who have never set foot on a stage.

“Awhile back, we had a 60-year-old audience member in British Columbia come to the stage,” Murray says. “As she walked up the stairs, she flashed the audience. Audience members are wild cards.”

Other aspects of the show are more unwavering. Just like its TV counterpart, the live show features games that incorporate a bit of structure for the cast to tinker with. Games like “Greatest Hits,” where the cast creates a song based on random subjects provided by the audience, and “Sound Effects,” where a pair of audience members provide all the sound for the cast’s mimed actions, illustrate how slip-ups and mistakes can be the hilarious highlight of improv.

“The biggest thing about improv is the importance of listening,” Murray says. “You can’t be thinking about the the funny thing you’ll say next, because you might miss your shot to be funny. You have to scare yourself and take risks sometimes, just like in life.”

WHOSE LIVE ANYWAY? performs 8pm Saturday, March 10. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $42-$86. 649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com