Writer/performance artist Antonio Sacre calls himself a storyteller rather than a comic, but that doesn't mean he isn't funnier than most of the comics around — a lot more. In his solo show, written in collaboration with Jim Lasko and directed by Paul Stein, he tells about his delight and ecstasy at finding his perfect woman when both were working in a Chicago theatre. They got married, and he felt no resentment even when her career in TV and film took off and he was reduced to the nonentity walking behind her on the red carpet. When she suddenly told him she no longer loved him and wanted a divorce, he was devastated. But his ironic edge and self-deprecating wit allow him to be funny even in despair. He describes the perils of returning to the dating scene as well as his adventures as a performer for prison inmates, where his traditional material died on him and he had to forge a new approach. He tells us a Russian fairy tale and regales us with his bizarre encounters with self-help gurus and the eccentricities of his Mexican father and Irish mother. His stories feel authentic even when they veer into fantasy, and his view is fresh, quirky and unpredictable. Theatre Asylum, 6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlwyd.; Sat., 7 p.m.; through Sept. 24. (323) 962-1632, theatreasylum-la.com.

Saturdays, 7 p.m. Starts: Aug. 13. Continues through Sept. 24, 2011

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