IMPROVology, the Santa Barbara Zoo’s science-meets-comedy show, has outgrown its nest and flown the coop, landing for its debut at the Lobero Theatre, 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 29.

With sold-out performances at the zoo since 2015, the show’s format will be the same: Two animal experts are interviewed live on stage. On May 29, it will be Joseph Brandt talking about California condors, and Tara Stoinski on gorillas.

Comedy skits, songs and silliness are then created on the spot by members of L.A.’s Impro Theatre, accompanied by live music. Audience participation is encouraged.

Tickets are $30 and $25 for Santa Barbara Zoo members; and $70 for a VIP ticket, which includes premier seating and pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

Purchase tickets at the Lobero Theatre Box Office, at www.lobero.com, or by calling 805-963-0761.

For the inaugural show at the Lobero, the animal experts are Joseph Brandt, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife supervisory biologist who oversees local efforts to bring the California condor back from the brink of extinction; and Tara Stoinski, who has studied gorillas for more than two decades and leads the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

“IMPROVology has grown up and is moving downtown,” said zoo CEO Rich Block. “It’s not unlike male gorillas who leave their families when they become mature or California condor chicks who spread their wings and soar out of the nest.

“But it’s a lot funnier.”

Host of the show is Dan O’Connor, Improv Theatre’s artistic director, joined by company members Kelly Holden Bashar, Brian Michael Jones, Stephen Kearin, Brian Lohmann and Jo McGinley.

Musical accompaniment is provided by Santa Barbara-based pianist Konrad Kono and bassist Michael Schindlinger (expert in the languages of wild parrots previously featured in IMPROVology).

Celebrity judges who rate the skits in a friendly competition between the two animal teams are Independent senior editor Michelle Drown, KEYT meteorologist Alan Rose, and author and columnist Starshine Roshell.

The 90-minute show is performed without intermission.

Brandt is the supervisory wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service California Condor Recovery Program. He has been a part of the condor program since 2005 when he was a volunteer intern at Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

In 2006, he worked along the Big Sur coast tracking condors for the Ventana Wildlife Society and was the first to locate a condor nest in Monterey County in more than a century.

Brandt uses the skills he learned while mountaineering and rock climbing to play an integral role in condor nest management, an important aspect of recovering the species.

Before working with condors, he worked with grizzly bears in Montana, sea birds along the Oregon Coast, and with Magellanic penguins in Southern Chile. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon.

Stoinski serves as president/CEO and chief scientific officer for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Before taking on the CEO role in 2014, she worked with the Fossey Fund for 13 years in a scientific capacity.

Stoinski has studied gorillas for more than two decades and is the author of 100 scientific publications and books. Her work has been featured in National Geographic Magazine, and on CNN and NPR.

She holds degrees from Tufts University, University of Oxford and the Georgia Institute of Technology; and is an adjunct professor at Emory University.

Stoinski also serves in leadership positions within the conservation and primate communities, including the Primate Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Her research focus is on the fascinating social and reproductive lives of male gorillas, the largest primate on the planet.

For more on Impro Theatre, visit www.ImproTheatre.com.

The May 29 performance is sponsored by friends of Ginni and Chad Dreier who share the love of the Santa Barbara Zoo in memory of cherished Santa Barbara Zoo family members Chad Dreier (the lionheart), Sujatha (the Asian elephant), Zoe (the snow leopard), and Cito (the Humboldt penguin).

For more about the Santa Barbara Zoo, visit www.sbzoo.org.

— Julia McHugh for Santa Barbara Zoo.