There is a slice of the population who believes that all improv theater is irredeemably awful and that poking oneself in the eyes with toothpicks is more entertaining. As The Audio Files is The Washington Improv Theater’s foray into the Fringe Festival, anyone of the above persuasion should stop reading the review right here. It’s an improv show — go elsewhere. But those who are still intrigued will find a double bill that presents all the highlights and lowlights common to improv shows.

The first show I saw showcased more of the lowlights. The premise of the skit was actually pretty interesting: to recreate the feeling of an old timey radio detective show, the lights went completely dark so that the audience couldn’t see the faces of the four actors sitting on the stools before them. The insuing improvised murder tale, however, featured fewer belly laughs and more occasional snickers at things like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles references and accents of uncertain origin. Of course, as with all things improvised, problems like stuttered lines and faulty geographic references may not occur in future performances.

The second performance also had a concept that could either go well or horribly, horribly wrong: music-based improv. Five different actors used an iPod borrowed from an audience member and created skits based on a lyric or riff from the selected songs. On Wednesday, I played the part of a generous audience member and offered my own music library up for the sake of giggles, and the troupe delivered. For one thing, it’s always interesting to see how other people interpret your music collection. While acting as three luckless riders on horseback wasn’t a stretch when interpreting a Bob Dylan song, who would have thought that the emo-tinged shoegaze of The Twilight Sad would become a scene from a police chase?

The most interesting aspect of this act of the play was that the actors were cracking up each other almost as much as they were cracking up the audience. Since the crowd was fully engaged, this was endearing rather than irritating.

The Audio Files has remaining performances July 21, 22 and 23. Tickets available online.