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AS THE FOG ROLLS IN
AS THE FOG ROLLS IN
Improvised Soap Opera
May 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 at 8pm
Passion and deceit lurk behind every fog bank in this soap opera world of San Francisco. Watch as our improvisors weave together sex, backstabbing, and melodrama. These characters are deadly serious but you will laugh at their antics. There may even be an evil twin…
May 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27
All shows 8 pm
Calendar
See all performances or choose a cast member to see their performance dates.
Cast
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.
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.
Susie Sargent discovered and fell in love with improv over 20 years ago and enjoys sharing her passion through training, teaching and performing. She has taught the skills of improvisation to students aged 3 – 80. Susie is an ensemble and staff member of Un-Scripted Theater Company and loves surprising the audience and creating rich and diverse characters. Her ideal evening at home is a dinner party with improvisors who are likely to break into interpretative dance at any moment.
Basel Al-Naffouri began his theater journey at MIT where he took his first acting classes. After moving to the Bay Area, he was introduced to improv by taking his first class at BATS in 2005. Soon after, Basel was invited to perform with the BATS Sunday Players and was a founding member of Double Entendre and Out of Line. He has also produced, directed and acted in “Improvised Arabian Nights”, an improvised show in the style of “A Thousand and One Nights”. Basel has taught improv workshops both locally and internationally and has led trainings with organizations such as Google and Aswat, various improv troupes and internationally at KAUST University in Saudi Arabia and Laban in Lebanon.
Brittany is very excited to join the As the Fog Rolls In cast. She discovered improv during play practice in college and enthusiastically went on to join Stanford Improvisors (SImps). Brittany has continued taking improv classes in San Francisco post-college and is always looking for opportunities to learn and perform. Currently, Brittany performs with DASH, the late night show at Un-Scripted Theater Company, and has performed with a group of former SImps, Minerva, at Femprovisers fest the past couple of years. In her free time, Brittany loves cooking and watching movies.
Dana Cory improvised jazz professionally before discovering theater improv, and has been joyfully combining both for nearly twenty years. An alumna of BATS Improv and ImprovWorks, she has guested with many Los Angeles and San Francisco sketch and improv groups, played for years with SF fave Harold troupe SNAFU, and is a cast member of the Un-Scripted Theater Company’s late-night Saturday hit show DASH. Dana performs and produces music, comedy, and improv in a variety of media.
Eric Kostenbauder started improvising in his hometown of Seattle a lifetime ago and continues to perform around the Bay Area.
Jared Abbott is an Outer Sunset dweller. He improvised on and off in high school and at UC San Diego, but is extremely excited to have gotten back into the improv scene through the Un-Scripted Theater Company. Jared performs with the Un-Scripted DASH cast on Saturday nights and he enjoys messy meals and aimless adventures in his free time. Jared is a Special Education teacher in San Mateo and improv has really acted as the yin to his teaching yang.
Susan Quintanar is thrilled to be a guest with the Un-Scripted Theater Company. Her improv journey began in 2006 when she started training/performing at BATS Improv. Since then, she has performed with many Bay Area groups, including most recently, On The Rocks. She also is an occasional corporate improv coach and enjoys helping people find their spontaneous expression again. When not improvising, you might catch her in commercials or industrials for local companies, mostly playing “good/bad” corporate managers. If you are a fan of Japanese television, you might also see her on episodes of The World’s Astonishing News!
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!