Performing Ensemble
Un-Scripted Theater Company consists of a core ensemble of actors, with additional cast members added to each show by audition.
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
Jerry Ruoti has been performing with Un-Scripted Theater Company since 2013. Jerry is a graduate of BATS Improv. He can be seen performing in Un-Scripted’s late night show Dash, as well as Mission Improv’s Improvised 80’s Teen Movie. Jerry also performs as one third of the improv trio, Improv Lab. Prior to finding improv, Jerry studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. While at Cornell, Jerry directed, wrote and performed in the sketch comedy group, Humor Us!
Melissa is a member of the Un-Scripted Theater Company artistic staff and co-founder of their weekly late-night improv comedy show DASH. She has performed, directed, and taught improv for 15 years in San Francisco, Boston, and New York. She is a former longtime cast member at ImprovBoston, appearing in their Nickelodeon Award-winning Family Show among many others, and has also appeared on the Upright Citizens Brigade and BATS stages.
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.
Michael Fleming got his first taste of staged improvisation some years ago and has been hooked ever since. He is delighted to be part of the Un-Scripted Theater Company, and has also performed with Out of Line, on the BATS stage, and at a variety of other venues in the Bay Area. Michael has an enduring love of song, stories and making things up and feels unreasonably lucky to be able to do so with such a talented group of folks.
Molly Robertson is a Bay Area tour guide. She studied marketing at Wagner College and improv at Upright Citizens Brigade for over four years in New York. Following school, she headed back to the Bay where she began performing with Un-Scripted. She took a few years to travel around the world with Up with People and finally made her way back to the Bay again. She is happy to have a place to improvise since she is not allowed to make things up on tour.
Paul Holman-Kursky has been a member of Un-Scripted Theater Company since 2010 and helped create its late-night freeform comedy show, DASH. He has performed and taught improv for over 15 years, at theaters in Boston and San Francisco and at workshops and festivals around the world. He began his improv training at ImprovBoston, where he helped found the Nickelodeon award–winning Family Show and performed improv, sketch, and standup comedy for 5 years. Outside the theater he works in nonprofit marketing and is Un-Scripted’s resident trivia nerd.
Rachel has been performing in improv theater officially since she was 13, and performing unofficially her entire life. While offstage, she enjoys knitting sweaters of variable quality, eating foods that include salted caramel, and watching corny true crime television shows from the 90s. Rachel will also be performing with Un-Scripted this summer. Unfortunately, Pluto the Shih Tzu (pictured) did not make it through auditions and will not be performing in any Un-Scripted shows.
Steven Anacker first caught the improv bug in the mid-‘90s as a member of Short Order Theater in New York City. In San Francisco, Steven has been lucky enough to play with the Leela Theatre, Secret Improv Society and BATS, as well as experimenting with new formats as a founding member of BoyGirlBoy, TwoXFour and the Improv Artists. Steven is thrilled to be a member of Un-Scripted Theater Company.
Vanessa Speed is originally from New York but calls the Bay Area her forever home. She grew up participating in any musical that would have her, but didn't stray from scripted theater until 2009, when she began her improv training at Pan Theater. She originally thought that improv would lead her towards a career in stand-up comedy, before discovering her true love, theatrical improvisation, at the Un-Scripted Theater Company. She first performed with the company in 2011, and joined its ensemble in 2012. She enjoys bringing music, characters with unspoken histories, and dynamic relationships to her work. Her most recent improvisational efforts center around making up songs, games and stories for her young daughter.
Brittany has been performing improv for over ten years, playing with troupes in Ohio, Colorado, and California. She is thrilled to be creating with the folks at Un-Scripted. When she is not practicing improv she is a scientist in the Bay Area.
Erica is thrilled to be a part of such a lovely ensemble. Erica trained at BATS and keeps her improv chops up to speed with the help of coach, aka, Tim Orr. Erica enjoys teaching donation-based improv with friend and duo-improv partner, Jared Polivka. When Erica isn’t therapizing or training for a marathon; she enjoys hardcore lounging, snacking, and snowboarding.
Check out our alumni ensemble members here.
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.)