The ShowBlog
We're Up and Running!
In A World... opened last week to wonder and delight. Three worlds down, only twenty-one
to go! If you were there with us, you saw:
Thursday, 7/8: In A World . . . Where Everyone Can Talk to the Dead
Being dead can be great for your life. It can help you spy on your children, find
long-lost relatives you never knew, and even get rid of your pesky body so you can
spend more time at work. In this world, one dead man must make a choice: will he
follow a new love into the Great Beyond, or stay behind and support his pregnant
wife -- who's shacked up with his brother!
Friday, 7/9: In A World . . . Where Humans are Owned by Animals
Some humans have it made, with a cushy place to live and a wheel to run on while
their dog's at work. Some live in less friendly conditions, like underground with
earthworms. Others are strays, fleeing the Mancatcher to stay out of the pound.
In this world, can the pound posse plant an adoptee in the cat-mayor's house,
uncover the truth behind the spay/neuter law, and start a pet revolution?
Saturday, 7/10: In A World . . . Where There's No Personal Space
In this crowded world, people treat others' bodies as their own, and everyone's
pretty happy. Relationships are fluid as water, when people live and work literally
cheek to cheek. But ominous dread lurks behind this free love -- the only open
spaces left are graveyards, and when a child dies, he's replaced by a neighbor so
there's no empty space. In this world of universal bland affection, can one couple
find a REAL connection?
Tickets are onsale now for the rest of the run . . . who knows what intriguing worlds
are left to discover?
This week's cast:
* Thursday, 7/15: Clay, Alex, Paul, Gina, Erica
* Friday, 7/16: Dave, Clay, Bryce, Melissa, Erica
* Saturday, 7/17: Bryce, Paul, Mandy, Gina, Larissa
Categories: Un-Scripted Blogs
In A World... where we open next week!
Everyone put on your best Don LaFontaine voice (may he rest in peace!) and read this text with me:
In A World ... just like our own—with one key difference.
A cultural norm. A technological miracle. Or even the laws of physics...
Each night, you determine the change, and the Un-Scripted Theater Company will be your guide on a feature-length improvised-theater journey to this new world. Spanning the gamut of genres, from science fiction to magical realism to just plain . . . different, the only boundaries are in your imagination. Find out how life is different, yet strangely familiar, In A World...
Playing July 8 through August 28 in a theater near you. Which theater? There can be only one. The SF Playhouse, at 533 Sutter St. In San Francisco.
That's right! In A World..., our newestest show, opens Next Week! Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm -- and we're back at the SF Playhouse again, hurrah!
We've never done this show before, and as you probably know if you're reading our blog, the show, especially a new one, evolves throughout the process, so come help us shape our new creation! On the first night of the show (and possibly the rest of the first weekend), we have a talkback after the show -- where YOU tell US what you thought. What did you like, what were you expecting, what could we add that would be awesome, that sort of thing.
And to help you out, you can get tickets for our subscriber price: 25% off! Just use the coupon code SPECIAL on our website between now and opening weekend, to get that awesome deal.
(AND, as you also may know, patrons at the first weekend get a special present: coupons to come see the show AGAIN at half price. Cause this is an eight-week run. We expect it to change a LOT.)
See you at the show, improv fans! Start dreaming of your alternate universes NOW.
Categories: Un-Scripted Blogs
Auditions for "In a World..."
The Un-Scripted Theater Company's
In a World...
The Un-Scripted Theater Company is holding auditions for its next show,
In A World... a 2-hour longform set in a world where one thing is
different from the world we live in. Any given night it could be a
technological change, or a rule of physics change, or just a cultural
change. Hopefully we'll span the gamut of science fiction to magical
realities to just plain different. It all depends on what the audience
wants to see. They key to In A World... is that we'll be focusing on how
the difference impacts people and their relationships with each other.
The focus here is the story and the relationships, not necessarily the
comedy.
We're looking for Improvisors who have longform experience and solid
acting skills. We need a cast that is able to play different types of
characters in a real way. Who can be affected by offers and put the
story's needs over their own.
Auditions will be in the evening, on Tuesday, May. 11th, and Wednesday,
May 12th (you only need to be there for one night or the other).
Rehearsals will be on Tuesdays, starting May 18th.
The show runs July 8th through August 28th in downtown SF near Union
Square.
If you have questions, or you've heard enough and you're ready to
audition, email your name and phone number to Clay to
reserve yourself a slot -- make sure to mention which date you'd prefer!
We'll get back to you by email and confirm the time and location.
Our auditions are conducted more like a rehearsal or class, so be
prepared to stay for at least an hour. If you're wondering whether you
should audition, the answer is almost always yes! We pride ourselves on
our fun, low-pressure auditions, and we always love meeting Improvisors,
so come on down and give it a shot!
If you would like more information about the kind of improv we do at the
Un-Scripted Theater Company, we also have tips for auditioning on our
website.
Categories: Un-Scripted Blogs
Book Rec . . . Research for "In A World . . . "
Hi guys! Mandy here. (Logged in as "Cast" as a test.)
I just finished reading a book that I immediately, basically on the first page, decided that Dave and the production team for In A World should read. Not only is it deeeeelightful, but it goes right along with the theme of a world like ours with one strange twist. So, I hereby recommend:
The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep And Never Had To, by DC Pierson. (He's even an improvisor! He apparently performed with UCB in New York.)
The novel is from the point of view of a high schooler (written in a simply, I say, deeeeeelightfully hilarious voice) who, in the battle for attention in high school, sits decidedly on the sidelines. He unexpectedly connects with another student in the same high-school-society caste. Like all high schoolers, they each have some weird personal secrets. That's pretty much all I'm going to tell you.
LIke I said, I really enjoyed the voice of the main character -- something like the painful teenage angst of Nick Hornby's About a Boy but as funny maybe as Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated. It really feels like an actual person (and in the dialogue, actual *people*) talking. I guess I'm saying, it's really . . . Authentic.
This book made me guffaw. Quite often. Which, for a book rooted in High School Drama, is saying a lot for me.
It also made me think of In A World ... not only because I totally thought Dave would love it (are you reading this, Dave? Read this book!), but because the quirk that makes the world different, it only has significance as filtered through the lives of the characters. It's their relationships that take center stage; the Quirk is only a catalyst. Rather than A Book About Something Strange That Happens, this is a book about people who are changed by the strange AND the familiar . . . it's ALL stuff that happens to them and is almost equally important.
You can find the book on Amazon, here . . . you don't have to take MY word for it.
Da duh, DUN!
Categories: Un-Scripted Blogs
