Despite all of the noise in front of the Cesar Chavez Student Center, David Alger stood still and quiet in the midst of all the commotion around him.

Today, he wasn’t the center of attention.

At 5’3”, Alger doesn’t appear as the big guy in charge. However, he takes on the daily role of running San Francisco’s Blue Bear Theater in Fort Mason. The theater is the spot where "Pan Theater: Improv for the People by the People" all comes together.

Pan Theater improv comedy shows, improv classes and auditions are all held at the theater. As one of the founding members of Pan Theater, Alger’s day-to-day responsibilities require endless dedication and tireless effort.

“It takes a lot of trying to get people to come to the shows, dealing with phone calls, handing out flyers and getting people arranged with classes who are interested in classes," said Alger. “Then, there’s also school, studying and all that.”

The SF State graduate student has been an analytical type of person for a good portion of his life, he said, until he found his hobby and now career of improv.

Improv gave the man who once analyzed most of his decisions in life a more optimistic outlook on experiences he faces.

“What happens is when you do a lot of improv, you start to say yes to other things in your life,” said Alger. Improv is one of the things that inspired Alger and 13 others to start Pan Theater.

“For instance, the idea came up between me and a friend … (I said) 'Oh, we should try teaching a basic improv class,' and he said yes.”

Off stage, Alger is a shy man and doesn’t yearn for constant attention. Since he was a child he has been very reserved, he said, but he comes alive for his audience, completing what can be a difficult transition for many introverts.

“(When) I see him outside he seems to be kind of quiet, but when he’s in his element, which is really around improv, he’s right there and he knows what he wants,” said Alger’s friend Ralph Thomas. “He’s very present (and) very assertive, but in a very nice way.”

In a small, dim theater on some Saturdays, Alger leads seven other dramedy cast members on stage in a recurring Pan Theater improv show called “Dramedy and Comma.”

At the beginning of the April 9 show, Alger takes long strides across the stage, guiding cast members in a single file line. He’s clapping and engaging the audience into a spontaneous entrance.

Alger announces to the audience what type of show the cast will be doing. He then questions the audience about what the theme of the show should be.

“David is the driving force behind Pan Theater,” said Krystal Willis, a “Dramedy” cast member. “It’s been fun to watch him take a leadership role and doing that and creating something out of virtually nothing.”

Saturday’s show, which featured one- to three-minute scenes about "pancreatic mishaps," caused a continuous cycle of laughter throughout the audience. Audience members and cast alike were intrigued by the entertaining act.

“He makes an environment that’s just really fun to be in and is non-threatening and it’s a place where you can actually try things out and really do improv without worrying about how you look,” said Al Bowen, a Pan Theater group member who also runs the theater’s lighting system. “He’s (Alger) always looking for new types of things we can do and challenging everybody with lots of different stuff.”

For more information on Pan Theater go to http://www.pantheater.com.