Cracking Jokes after Ten

Adam Guerino didn't always intend on being a stand-up comic. He wanted to be a writer. Yet shortly after a comedy club employee found him funny, the 24-year-old DePaul graduate took his humorous sensibility on stage and busted out a 30-minute set for the first time. And he liked it.

"As a writer, I could work on a book or a screenplay for years and have nobody read it," Guerino explains. "...with stand-up comedy, I could write something this morning and perform it tonight. That freedom for a writer, that instant gratification, is so rewarding."

While doing stand up at various venues, Guerino's craving for gratifying rewards grew and motivated the inception of a diverse comedy troupe called The Sarcastic Squad. The ensemble consists of Guerino as producer and writer along with four others in a comedic collaboration that involves stand up, musical improvisation, sketch and film. The group's first show, self-titled "The Sarcastic Squad" opens 10 p.m. at the Playground Theater, August 16, 2008.

Describing the troupe's inception, "We started calling it The Sarcastic Squad because we're all nerds and it sounded like a super team," Guerino says. "The idea evolved into comic-book character aliases and costumes."

Guerino's super-like alias is "Sarcadam." Come show time, he'll be seen transforming drugged co-comedians into unicorns, aborting babies and beseeching help from a diabetic robot. Sarcadam might not save the day, but with an arched brown and a sinister sardonic smile, he definitely lives up to his name, and he'll make you laugh. The show will go on a continuous run until, according to Guerino, "we get a TV show." For him, Sarcadam's future is uncertain.

"I have a logistical problem with the future," Guerino explains. "I want to do everything ... Hopefully, I'll build my career to a point that I can do comedy shows, be an on-air personality at night and be the reclusive writer I never have time for during the day."

More on the The Sarcastic Squad can be found online at www.thesarcasticsquad.com.