Theater: The Musical
May 1 - May 31, 2008
15 performances at the SF Playhouse Stage 2,
San Francisco

What if David Mamet wrote a musical? What about Arthur Miller? Or Tennessee Williams? Every night, the Un-Scripted Theater Company improvised a new full-length musical as if it were written by one of your favorite playwrights. With a playwright and some information supplied by our highly-educated audiences, we improvised musicals in the style of playwrights from Samuel Beckett to Lillian Hellman to Woody Allen. We had some very serious shows (Eugene O'Neill) and some very funny ones (Neil Simon), and even got a great review in the East Bay Express.

Three
March 6 - March 29, 2008
12 performances at the SF Playhouse Stage 2,
San Francisco

Three actors. Three stories. No scripts. This was Three, a title we've used before, but revamped for a totally new show: our most theatrical yet. Three was inspired by well-known playwrights; it was three plays with intercut scenes, each one inspired by an adverb from the audience. And of course, going along with the theme, three actors played all the roles! We learned a whole lot from this show, and audiences and fellow improvisors alike were entertained and impressed.

Let It Snow! 2007
November 23 - December 23, 2007
16 performances at the Phoenix Theatre,
San Francisco

Let It Snow returned for a third year, and proved to be our most successful show to date! We improvised musicals set in towns all across the United States, from Massachusetts to Hawaii. The audiences also helped us decorate the space: paper snowflakes transformed the Phoenix into a winter wonderland.

Shakespeare: Un-Scripted
August 2 - September 23, 2007
15 performances at the SF Playhouse 2nd Stage,
San Francisco
2 performances at The Mobius,
Ashland, Oregon

What if Shakespeare had lived a few years longer and wrote a few more plays? That was the idea behind Shakespeare: Un-Scripted. Each night we improvised a complete full length Shakespeare play, on our new custom built Shakespeare stage. With only 5 actors a night playing all the parts a normal 20 person cast would play, the costume changes were crazy yet totally fun to watch. The show was so successful that we even extended the run and did a weekend of shows in Ashland Oregon during the Ashland Shakespeare Festival.

The Great Puppet Musical
May 3 - June 2, 2007
15 performances at the SF Playhouse 2nd Stage,
San Francisco

A world premiere! We upped the ante once again with this show. We made our own puppets, taught them to sing and dance with us, and put on 15 musicals in a wildly successful, mostly sold-out run. The shows featured us and the puppets, improvising a full-length musical based on that stuff in your life that you deal with every day: we had crazy ex-girlfriends, struggling actors, recovering addicts, jealous friends, neglectful dads, overbearing mothers, and lots of puppet (and puppet-on-human) love. (We even trumped Avenue Q: they didn't come to town 'til August!) During the run we also brought the puppets on a couple of field trips: you may have seen them running amok in Golden Gate Park one afternoon, or performing on either day of this year's awesome Maker Faire. Don't worry--you haven't seen the last of them, either.

You Bet Your Improvisor
March 1 - April 14, 2007
15 performances at the SF Playhouse 2nd Stage,
San Francisco
4 performances at Dreamweavers Theatre, Napa

Fantastic improv! Fabulous prizes! We brought our improv theater game show back for a third straight year, hosted once again by the incomparable Chris Sams. After a successful run in San Francisco, we took the show on the road up to Dreamweavers Theatre in Napa, where we wowed our wine-country audiences with more script-free game show fun!

The Love Show
Valentine's Day, 2007
1 performance at the Phoenix Theatre,
San Francisco

Love was in the air! For one night only, we transformed the Phoenix Theatre into a glowing, romantic cabaret for Un-Scripted's fifth-season fundraiser. Hosted by a tuxedo-clad Alan Goy, the cast improvised love songs and scenes about love to a packed house. Scenes with puppets and Shakespeare provided a sneak preview of the season. And, the show's finale was a first for us: multi-musical improv. Christian sang the lead, backed by Tara and Dave on ukulele and vocals, Amber on guitar and vocals, Mandy on flute and David Norfleet on keyboards. Truly a night to remember!

Supertrain
October 5 - October 28, 2006
12 performances at the Playhouse 2nd Stage,
San Francisco

The train may be imaginary, but the adventure is real! While Supertrain was passing through the Bay Area, we saw twelve different shows set against the backdrop of the world’s largest train. Audiences followed the stories of the crew and passengers as they fell in love, discovered uncharted train cars, and tackled audience suggestions. From the Screwball Gothic car to the Fertility car to the vast plains of ancient China, Supertrain had everything you'd ever want . . . and more.

The Impossible Film Project
August 3 - August 26, 2006
6 performances at the Playhouse 2nd Stage,
6 performances at the Playhouse Main Stage,
San Francisco

Lights, Camera, Improv! Back for our second year in a row, this time in downtown Union Square, this show was bigger and better than ever before. From classic 50's B-Horror to Dubbed Bollywood Musical, this year had some truly amazing movies. All improvised outside the theater while the audience sat in the theater watching the movie screen where the films were being shown. Thank you to the SF Playhouse for housing the show, and to Neutrino NYC for letting us be the San Francisco chapter of the show.

Theatresports™ RAW
August 2 - August 23, 2006
4 performance at the Playhouse 2nd Stage,
San Francisco

Crazy, wild, and RAW! Anyone can get on stage and perform. No age limit. No experience necessary. Theatresports™ RAW is the kind of show where you're sure to see something on stage you've never seen before. This was our first show produced in conjunction with BATS Improv, our first run of shows with BATS Improv since we left BATS to start Un-Scripted in 2002. Thank you everyone who came out to make the show a full-house success.

You Bet Your Improvisor
July 23, 2006
1 performance at Yerba Buena Gardens,
San Francisco

This show was Un-Scripted's 3rd year in a row performing at the San Francisco Theater Festival. If you've never been you're missing out. 77 shows on 10 stages, and all of it's all free. We performed a 30 minute set of You Bet Your Improvisor, and went over quite well. We were even mentioned in San Francisco Magazine's July 2006 "Best of the Bay Area: 101 things to do, see, taste, love..." We're #2 baby! WooHoo!

The Bay Area Comedy Festival
July 20, 2006
1 performance at the Ashby Stage,
Berkeley

This show was Un-Scripted at the Ashby Stage, along with festival hosts Big City Improv and sketch comedy group Richter Scale. It was one crazy show. Tara McDonough and Christian Utzman performed a two person 30 minute Chekhov/Kung-fu Longform. 5 minutes into the set Christian crashed into a door back stage and performed the remaining 25 minutes on stage with a HUGE ghastly bump on his forehead. Truly one for the record books!

PS: Yes, Christian is fine now. Thank you everyone for your help and support.

You Bet Your Improvisor at the
San Francisco Improv Festival
June 29 - July 1, 2006
3 performances at The Buriel Clay Theater,
San Francisco

Just when you thought the game show fun was "game over," we brought a shorter version of You Bet Your Improvisor to the San Francisco Improv Festival. For this, our second appearance at the festival in as many years, we were paired with the two-man improv group JoKyR & Jesster, who brought their unique brand of improv all the way from Salt Lake City, Utah.

You Bet Your Improvisor
June 1 - 24, 2006
12 performances at The Phoenix Theater,
San Francisco

The improvised game show fun continued with a full run of You Bet Your Improvisor at the Phoenix Theater in San Francisco. We did the improv, audience members won the prizes, Chris Sams returned as our fabulous host, and everyone had a blast!

College of Marin - You Bet Your Improvisor
May 12, 2006
1 performance as part of
the Blackbox Festival,
at College of Marin, Kentfield

The 2006 season of You Bet Your Improvisor got underway a few weeks early with a special preview show at College of Marin. Christian, the director of You Bet Your Improvisor, got his start doing improv at College of Marin and was thrilled to get back on the stage where it all began for him. With a strong opening set from Marin Catholic High School and a grand prize winning You Bet Your Improvisor final round, this was one fun night of improv from beginning to end!

The Short and the Long of It
April 28, 2006
1 performance as part of
Chicago Improv Festival Nine,
at The Athenaeum Theater, Chicago

For our first out-of-town improv festival expedition, we brought a half-hour version of our hit show The Short and the Long of It to an enthusiatic sold-out crowd at Chicago Improv Festival Nine, sharing the stage with local favorites The Cook County Social Club. Thank you Chicago and everyone at CIF9!

Love at First Sight
March 3 - 25, 2006
8 performances at The Off-Market Theater,
San Francisco

Back for a second year, we presented an all-new series of Hollywood-inspired original romantic comedies. Improvised from first meeting to first kiss, these hilarious yet heartwarming tales of would-be lovers, unforeseen obstacles, and ensuing hijinks once again restored the audience's belief in the power of romance and had them laughing in the aisles!

Let It Snow! An Improvised Holiday Musical
November 25 - December 18, 2005
12 performances at The Phoenix Theater,
San Francisco

Let It Snow was a full 2 hour improvised musical for the holidays, filled with good old-fashioned Broadway singing and dancing. Every night the show was set in an actual audience member's home town, making each show a musical glimpse into how small towns across america spend the holidays. With a new larger theater and multiple sell out shows, the 2005 Let It Snow! turned out to be one of our most successful shows to date.

Let It Snow in the News! Read what the San Francisco Examiner had to say about our Holiday Musical show.

The Impossible Film Project
August 4 - August 27, 2005
12 performances at The Dark Room, San Francisco

Imagine a movie, created from your suggestions, completely script-free, filmed mere minutes before you see it for the first time. Each night, we took to the streets with three cameras and a cast of improvisors, to shoot, edit, score and mix three completely improvised short films based on audience suggestions.

Lights, Camera, Improvise...

Re-live the magic: Week 1 Highlight Reel Week 2 Highlight Reel Week 3 Highlight Reel

The Short and the Long of It
May 26 - June 25, 2005
3 performances in the SF Improv Festival,
San Francisco
8 performances at Temescal Art Center, Oakland

Back for it's third year in a row, The Short & the Long of It brought together Short-Form and Long-Form improv in the audience pleasing format that has been such a hit over the past two years at Un-Scripted. Not only did we do a full run of shows in Oakland, but we also did a short run of half length shows with the Tiny Bandeleros for the San Francisco Improv Festival.

Review of The Short & the Long of It in the Daily Planet Read what the Berkeley Daily Planet had to say about The Short & the Long of it

Review of The Short & the Long of It in the East Bay Voice Read what the East Bay Voice had to say about The Short & the Long of it

Love at First sight
April 1 - April 30, 2005
10 performances at the Off-Market Theater,
San Francisco

Inspired by Hollywood comedies, we presented a brand-new romantic comedy each night. Improvised from first meeting to first kiss, these hilarious yet heartwarming tales of would-be lovers, unforeseen obstacles, and ensuing hijinks restored the audience's belief in the power of romance and had them laughing in the aisles!

Audience Reviews Tell us what you thought about Fear or see what others had to say

You Bet Your Improvisor
February 25 - March 26, 2005
11 performances at the Temescal Arts Center, Oakland

The live improv comedy game show, You Bet Your Improvisor, kicked off the Un-Scripted Theater Company's 2005 season. Old-school game show met improv theater for this crowd pleasing show. Audience members competed for prizes, Chris Sams was an amazing guest host for the run, and the improv rocked the house! What a great way to start out 2005.

A special thanks to Houseful of Honkys. We love you guys!

Un-Scripted in the News Read what the SFist had to say about You Bet Your Improvisor

Un-Scripted in the News Read what the East Bay Express had to say about You Bet Your Improvisor

Let It Snow! An Improvised Holiday Musical
November 26 - December 19, 2004
12 performances at The Shelton Theater,
Union Square, San Francisco

Let It Snow was a full 2 hour improvised musical for the holidays, filled with good old-fashioned Broadway singing and dancing. Every night the show was set in an actual audience member's home town, making each show a musical glimpse into how small towns across america spend the holidays.

Let It Snow in the News! Read what the San Francisco Examiner had to say about our Holiday Musical show.

Fear
October 15 - October 30, 2004
6 performances at LaVal's Subterranean Theatre, Berkeley

For the third year in a row Un-Scripted presented Fear for the Halloween season. As an improvised horror/thriller show, Fear was a departure from the light comedy usually gracing the improv stage, and our audiences loved it. It just goes to show you: There's more than one way to put on a great improv show!

Audience Reviews Tell us what you thought about Fear or see what others had to say

The Short & the Long of It
September 10 - October 12, 2004
8 performances at the Temescal Arts Center, Oakland

Short scenes and games in the first half of the evening. An audience vote on the best one before intermission. And a full length story in the second half based on the winner. The Short & the Long of It brought together Short-Form and Long-Form improv in the audience pleasing format that was such a hit in our first year as Un-Scripted.

Audience Reviews Tell us what you thought about The Short & the Long of It or see what others had to say

Improvised Bawdy Shakespeare
July 9 - August 21, 2004
6 performances at the Temescal Arts Center, Oakland
8 performances at the Exit Stage Left Theater,
San Francisco

With almost 2 months of performances spanning both sides of the bay, Un-Scripted was proud to bring back this popular show to the city of Oakland and San Francisco's Union Square. Randy and bawdy, wild and naughty: Improvised Bawdy Shakespeare was a crowd pleasing success that even received a glowing review in the East Bay Express.

Un-Scripted in the News See what the East Bay Express had to say about Improvised Bawdy Shakespeare

Audience Reviews Tell us what you thought about Improvised Bawdy Shakespeare or see what others had to say

Aussie Rules Theatersports
August 5, 2004
1 performance at BATS Improv, San Francisco

The Un-Scripted Theater Company supplied two teams for BATS Improv's 2004 production of Aussie Rules Theatersports. In this 8 team competition improv show, we had one team based on our Improv Survivor format, and one team based on our Bawdy Shakespeare format. Some of our highlights in the show included Dave being erotically devoured by space-object ants, and a spit-take scene by the Shakespeare team that would more accurately be described as "monsoon-take". All of us who went had a great time playing with old friends that many of us hadn't had the chance to perform with since we left BATS to start Un-Scripted.

"Three"
May 14 - June 19, 2004
4 performances at the Temescal Arts Center, Oakland
6 performances at the Exit Stage Left Theater,
San Francisco

A single audience suggestion began each of three improvised stories by a four-member cast. Each night we wove together three play-length tales into a 2 hour show. Every story - and every night - was a one time only experience, never to be repeated.

Improvised Bawdy Shakespeare at BATS Improv
May 22, 2004
1 performance at BATS Improv, San Francisco

The Un-Scripted Theater Company returned to the BATS Improv Stage for a one night performance of Improvised Bawdy Shakespeare as part of the BATS Improv Long-Form Festival. Improv, Shakespeare, and Sex was the name of the game for this show, and the audience loved it!

Improv Survivor
March 5 - April 24, 2004
10 performances at the Temescal Arts Center, Oakland
1 performance at the Louden Nelson Center,
Santa Cruz

Each night, six improvisors found themselves stranded on a desert island (or, rather, stage), their only chance of survival: to please the Audience Tribal Council. To that end they would create improsived sketches from the Council's suggestions to win approval ane compete to be that night's ultimate Improv Survivor — and thereby claim the prize of ten million Turkish Lira!

Cafe Sappore series
November 14, 2003 - January 23, 2004
3 performances at Cafe Sappore, San Francisco

To round out our first season, we performed three shows at cozy Cafe Sappore, exploring the full range of human emotions, from joyful fun to touching drama, through improvised scenes, games, stories and songs.

FEAR. reborn
October 24 - November 1, 2003
4 performances at LaVal's Subterranean Theatre, Berkeley

For Halloween, a new kind of horror came to the Bay Area, in the form of this full-length thriller spawned from audience suggestions. No one was safe from this killer improv.

The Amazing Improvised Musical!
September 5 - 13, 2003
4 performances as part of the San Francisco Fringe Festival
at the Exit on Taylor Theatre, San Francisco

Audiences at the San Francisco Fringe Festival witnessed the creation of a new musical play each night, right before their eyes. Using the work of Stephen Sondheim as an inspiration, we wove songs and stories into a tapestry of romance, humor, and the state of the human heart.

Video Clip: Circus Strong-Man Love Song
From the Amazing Improvised Musical 2003

B.E. Witkin Judicial College
June 17 - 19, 2003
at the Golden Gate Holiday Inn, San Francisco

We provided improvised entertainment and performed staged readings of scenes from Shakespeare's "Measure For Measure" at this training program for newly-appointed California Superior Court judges.

Improvised Bawdy Shakespeare
June 14 - August 9, 2003
3 performances at the Temescal Arts Center, Oakland
3 performances at the Shotwell Studios,
San Francisco
1 performance at the Louden Nelson Center,
Santa Cruz

Can Shakespeare be improvised? Sure, it's been done before. But what about a funny R-Rated bawdy Shakespeare play? We proved it could, in this fully-costumed, fully-improvised, full-length Shakespeare-style show full of naughty humor and a whole lot of randy improv fun.

Impro Bingo
May 17, 2003
at the Blue Bear Theatre, San Francisco

Improv Theater + Bingo = Fun in this new format, where we were scored for our improv scenes, and audience members won prizes whenever they were able to spell out "I-M-P-R-O" on their bingo cards.

ICRC Benefit & Silent Auction
April 18, 2003
at the Women's Building, San Francisco

We provided the entertainment that accompanied a silent auction of donated goods and services that raised over $1500 for the International Committee of the Red Cross' relief efforts in Iraq.

The Short & The Long Of It!
March 22 - April 26, 2003
3 performances at Studio 210, San Francisco
3 performances at the Temescal Arts Center, Oakland

For our first run of shows, we improvised a series of short scenes for the first half of the evening's performance, and had the audience vote for the one they liked best, which we expanded into a full-length story for the second half of the show.

Video Clip: Jesus 2004
From The Short & The Long Of It 2003

Spring Sing and Improv Carnival Gala
March 8, 2003
at the St. Boniface Church Theater, San Francisco

Cotton Candy! Hot Dogs! Games! Prizes! 2 Hours of Improvised Songs! Fun was had by all in this fundraising benefit celebrating the birth of the Un-Scripted Theater Company.