Three years ago, the 13 founding members of the sketch comedy troupe, &I Can&t Believe It&s Not Comedy,& performed for the first time at the Gallery Horse Cow in Sacramento.

The actors will return for a two-night, third anniversary show, kicking off what will be their largest tour on March 4.

The troupe may be smaller now, down to five members from the original 13, but director Keith Lowell Jensen said it has become stronger over the years.

The group has sold out shows in Sacramento and Los Angeles and, for the first time this year, it will hit the road and perform in cities around the country. It even has its own CD titled &Funnier Than God& available for purchase at most record stores in Sacramento.

Even with all this excitement, Jensen said the troupe is excited about its performance in Sacramento.

&It&s our favorite place,& he said. &Everyone is from Sacramento. We&re dying to get onstage in front of our crowd again that has supported us all this time and have fun.&

The troupe has titled this year&s show &And Then There Were Five.& The performance consists of short skits, all written by members.

Jensen said the skits often make fun of the performers and have a positive outlook. Older comedians, such as Carol Burnett and Bob Newhart, influenced many.

&We really know our history and that&s what I like about us,& Jensen said. &By having some of these older influences mixed in, it makes us more unique and more new.&

In addition to Jensen, other actors of this year&s troupe include Amber Kloss, Becca Costello, Sid Heberger and Ben Miller. For this year&s show, Jensen, Costello and Miller all wrote skits.

Costello is the newest member of the group. Though she has only performed onstage for the last year and a half, she had previously been active behind the scenes.

An arts editor for the Sacramento News and Review, Costello said that prior to joining the comedy troupe, she had no acting experience and had never written for the stage.

Costello said writing gives her a chance to express herself. A vegetarian, Costello said she once wrote a skit consisting of all the questions that people ask her about her lifestyle.

&In one sense, I&ve been writing all along, and in another, it&s a totally different thing,& she said. &Usually I have in mind which one of the actors in the troupe is going to be playing each character.&

Heberger, one of the original 13 members, said she enjoys the satisfaction of being onstage and the reaction she receives from the audience. She also enjoys the camaraderie, since the members travel together, often in one van.

&The group is pretty tight-knit,& Heberger said. &We all get along pretty well. It&s kind of like a family vacation without all the bickering.&

Jensen said the group is excited about the success of its first CD, &Funnier Than God.& It is currently on the play list for 300 college and community radio stations. In addition to filling orders for the CD from around the U.S., Jensen has filled orders from Sweden, Britain and Australia.

&We planned on it getting this big and we plan on it getting bigger,& he said. &Because of my faith in this group of performers and writers, the sky&s the limit.&

Local performances start at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on March 4 and 5 at the Gallery Horse Cow, 1409 Del Paso Blvd. For more information call 442-1982 or go to www.notcomedy.com.