Theater doesn't get any more live than this
Un-Scripted Theater Company creates smart, innovative, and entertaining improvised theater that delights audiences and advances the craft and art of improvisation.
May 13 – 21, 2016
Ever wonder what life was like for Cleopatra before she became Pharaoh of Egypt? Or what Nikola Tesla talked about when he first got drunk? Un-Scripted Theater Company exposes the secret lives of the famous or notorious historical figures of your choice in this brand-new show. Be transported back in time and learn what the history books don't tell you!*
*Guaranteed to be historically inaccurate
Fridays & Saturdays
All shows 8pm
Christian Utzman is a full time actor, teacher, and an original founding member of the Un-Scripted Theater Company. Christian spends much of his free time writing about the improvisational theory behind the work here at the Un-Scripted Theater Company. You can find out more about his writings at improvactor.com. If you have any questions about how we do what we do, or you need help choosing a drink at our concessions counter, please feel free to speak with him before or after the show. (He's also our concessions buyer.)
Derek Cochran is enjoying his twentieth year performing improvisation in the Bay Area. Throughout those years, he was inspired by and fortunate enough to work with some of the most talented improvisers in the country. He credits his love of long form improvisation to his early instructors, Diane Rachel and Carol Hazenfield, for showing him that improv can go beyond a simple funny game and create a rich tapestry of all kinds of stories. Currently he is proud to work with the Un-Scripted Theater Company ensemble, where they allow him to obey the inscrutable exultation of his soul. He gives thanks to his family, his Treasure Island Pirate dogs, and to all the improvisers who he has worked with, been taught by, and failed spectacularly with; throughout the years.
"Hell is empty and all the devils are here." ~ The Tempest
Merrill Gruver has been performing with the Un-Scripted Theater Company since 2009, and joined the artistic staff in 2011. She studied acting at Brown University and The Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner. Merrill is a graduate of BATS improv and performed regularly with The Sunday Players. She is a member of Shakespeare's Stepchild, which performs improvised Shakespeare in Dolores Park. Merrill teaches drama at Peninsula School.
Bill Stahl has been a San Francisco based improviser for the past seven years. He has trained at BATS Improv and was a guest with the mainstage BATS company for the nine-month 2012/2013 season. Bill occasionally runs workshops and guests at BATS. Bill was a guest with the Un-Scripted Theater Company for the first time in 2015 with the cast of And it All Went to Hell, and most recently with the 2018 show Love at First Sight.
Clare Bierman is a recent University of San Francisco grad, a terrible retail associate, and a professional unpaid intern. She has been improvising since 2012, and has graced stages in her real home (Los Angeles), her adopted home (San Francisco) and her dream home (Copenhagen) where she has been garnered such real reviews as "not as embarrassing as I expected" and "has resting constipation face." When not performing with Dash, she can be found rolling her own sushi and whistling at birds.
Eric Kostenbauder started improvising in his hometown of Seattle a lifetime ago and continues to perform around the Bay Area.
Jay Ridler is a historian, writer and improviser. He joined Pan Theater in 2013 as a member of Liquid Mind, and teaches their drop in classes and sketch writing/performing workshop. He directed his first show, Wrestlepalooza, in 2016, and, along with Sid Starr, is a member of The Ambassadors improv duo. He’s stoked about bringing history and improv together with the gang at Un-Scripted Theater Company for Secret Lives! A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Jay lives in the East Bay.
Laura has been practicing improv since 2005 and has guested with BATS and Un-Scripted, and was one half of the musical improv comedy duo Lula and Juicy's Farewell Tour. Laura credits improv with a good chunk of her personal improvements in life, and the majority of the fun. She is the founder of ZipLine Improv in Sonoma County, through which she teaches and performs.
Sarah JK Shoemaker taught at Leela Theatre where she also performed with their Armando Company. She is a founding member of the all-female ensemble Peach Pit and guests with Kari and Company. In 2015, Sarah guested with The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Improv for a cave match at BATS. Her duo troupe, Tall Grande Venti, has been touring the improv festival circuit.
Andy Sarouhan is a Bay Area native. His improvisation training began in 1992, when he joined his high school improvisation team. That event started a chain reaction that eventually resulted in a BA in Theatre from UC San Diego and an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside. Since 2003, Andy has improvised professionally with Flash Family and the Un-Scripted Theater Company, joining the Un-Scripted ensemble in 2013. In 2015, he and fellow Un-Scripted ensemble member created Andy & Jerry are The Trifecta, a popular improvised show that has been featured at the San Francisco Improvisation Festival and has included some tremendous guest improvisers. Andy has also been a busy improvisation coach since 2001, leading courses for ImprovWorks, UC Riverside, American Conservatory Theater, Cal Shakes, BATS Improv, Un-Scripted Theater Company, and some incredible high school improv troupes in San Mateo. Andy is a frequent director for Un-Scripted Theater Company, including the improvised formats Beloved Strangers, Life in SF, and The Short & The Long of It.