Welcome to Tuna, Texas, population ... well, two, technically. But through the wildly imaginative characterizations of Tom Willmorth and Joe Conely Golden, the environs of Idaho Shakespeare Festival's "Greater Tuna" teem with a plethora of wacky folk, all brought to vivid life in this cult comedy staple.

Each of these veteran comedians plays 10 characters, from a teenage cheerleader wannabe to the old lady down the road; the town's wealthy Rev. Spikes to the main characters, Arles Struvie and Thurston Wheelis, the morning DJs on OKKK Radio.

Joe also plays a dog.

"It's really a showcase for these guys," says director Gordon Reinhart.

"A tour de force," Joe says.

This duo has honed its character-building skills to an art over years of creating the Idaho Shakespeare Festival's Greenshows and productions such as "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)," and a "Comedy of Errors," in which they each played a set of twins.

They've also taken this sort of plunge with "Stones in his Pockets" and "Fully Committed" at Boise Contemporary Theater.

Joe and Tom both slip in and out of Texas drawl throughout the interview. It is the part of this job they both take home with them.

"My kids are like, 'Stop talkin' like that, Dad,'" Joe said.

During the Greenshows, Tom and Joe shared a dressing room with Tom Ford, who is from Lubbock, Texas. He has spent most of his career working to remove his Texas accent.

"He banned us from talking in the dressing room, it got so bad," Tom said.

Tom and Joe met in 1992. It was Joe's first season; Tom had been performing with the company on and off since his junior year at Caldwell High School.

They had instant comedic chemistry and became fast friends. The two of them started doing the festival's Greenshows and turned them into a Valley institution. They also started their own company, Fool Squad LLC., which you can book for a party or event.

For "Tuna," they spent the first week of rehearsals with Reinhart and vocal coach Ann Klautsch getting down to basics with each character to find their voices.

"Personally, I've remembered every cartoon character I've ever seen and chosen my Hanna-Barbera favorites," Joe said.

Droopy Dog, Huckleberry Hound and Bad Luck Schleprock, a character from "The Flintstones," inspired the voice for Rev. Spikes, the wealthiest man in Tuna.

"Each character must be very specific in terms of their voice, posture," Tom said. "Costumes and wigs all help develop each character, and Ann Hoste's costumes are really strong. The characters must become distinct almost immediately from the moment you walk on," Tom said.

Quick costumes changes are a must. Tom plays all three of Bertha Bumiller's (played by Joe) children in one scene.

Rehearsals have been like running a marathon in size 12 women's pumps.

They're also working on their pantomime skills. The play revolves around the radio station OKKK's morning show, hosted by Arles and Thurston. The only props are the microphones and a small radio that lives on stage. Everything else - coffee cups to shotguns - is mimed. Joe and Tom make all the sounds, too, from car engines to pencil sharpeners.

"It really adds to the charm of the show," Reinhart said.

Joe Sears, Jaston Williams and Ed Howard created "Greater Tuna" in Austin, Texas, in the early 1980s. It was based on a political cartoon. It started as a skit, then became the play that by 1985 was the most-produced play in the country.

Schools, community theaters and small professional theaters in nearly every city produced a successful run. It has been an HBO special and an Off-Broadway smash and spawned the sequels "Tuna Christmas" and "Red, White and Tuna."

And it still works, politics being what they are.

"It's not as innocent as it was, and maybe it never was," he said. "But the show really pokes a stick at this wellspring of hate that seems to exist, and what strikes me as something uniquely American. The idea of, 'Why can't they be more like us, the right kind of people?' And that is the best of comedy, because it has that little edge to it."