Oregon Trials
An (Improvised) Perilous Journey
Jun. 1 – Jul. 27, 2019
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From Independence, Missouri, to a new land, a better land, a place they call...Oregon. Follow our intrepid pioneers as they overcome tough terrain, manage intra-wagon conflict, and try to avoid getting dysentery.
Oregon Trials is an improvised story driven by YOU, the audience. Choose which characters embark on this perilous journey and what happens to them along the way! Be warned, though -- the American frontier is a dangerous place...
Saturdays at 10 p.m., Jun. 1 – Jul. 27 (note: no show Jul. 20)
Directed by Eric Kostenbauder
Cast
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.
Brad Gottesman is thrilled to perform in Super Scene at Un-Scripted Theater Company. Brad studied improv at UCLA and UCB Theatre and has performing for ten years. Since moving to the Bay Area, Brad has performed in numerous shows through Endgames Improv, Un-Scripted Theater Company and Pure Moxie Players.
Wendy grew up in Connecticut and has been performing since her debut community theater role at the age of 8 as a frog in a well where she literally had to sit most of the play inside a tight container emerging only to ask for kisses. Other theater stints include found-object puppetry for Lunatique Fantastique and writing/performing sketch comedy for the Farce Side Comedy Hour at Arizona State University. She's thrilled to be pursuing her current passion, improv, and performing at the Un-Scripted Theater Company where she's sat in the audience and watched for many years (emerging only to ask for kisses).
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.
Bela is a San Francisco Bay Area based improviser. His love of improv started in the mid-1990s, when he began studying at BATS Improv and taking private classes from Diane Rachel and Carol Hazenfield. Subsequently, Bela performed in groups at BATS, Made Up Theatre, and Pear Theatre. In recent years, he has played with local indie troupes Charmers Market, All That Jazz, The Internet: Live, and Live Clickbait. Most recently, he appeared in The Muse, an episode in the Dark Room’s 16th Annual Twilight Zone Parody Series. At Un-Scripted, Bela was a cast member in Intimacy Issues, Super Scene, Adventure Quest, and Oregon Trials – and he’s super excited to be a part of Remote Control Freak!
Ali Balfantz started her formal improv training in 2014 and she is a graduate of BATS Improv. Her informal self-taught improv training started in South Louisiana in the early 80's as an only child with a wild imagination. She has taken countless classes, performed in many shows, and loved every minute of it! Ali previously performed in SuperScene with Un-Scripted Theater Company, and she has guested with RagTag Improv and Moment Improv. She is the co-founder/co-producer of On Tap Improv in San Francisco. Ali is thrilled to be back at Un-Scripted and performing in Oregon Trials! She has fond memories of dying of dysentery in her elementary school computer lab.
Bonnie Kate Wolf is a Bay Area native who recently moved home from London. She's been doing improv since middle school, and likes to think she's improved. At Un-Scripted Theater Company, she guested in Let It Snow 2018, In Case You Missed It, Oregon Trials, Mixtape, World Premiere, and Remote Control Freak, with Holly Jolly coming up this winter. She performed with Un-Scripted at the West Coast Musical Improv Festival 2019. She performs regularly with Well Endowed, a local improv troupe, and trained at BATS Improv. Professionally, Bonnie Kate is a brand designer at OpenTable. For fun, she knits sweaters, sings a cappella, and plays with her puppy. She plays ukulele because guitars are too big for her hands.
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.
Ben Woehler is thrilled to make his Un-Scripted Theater Company debut with such a talented ensemble. New to San Francisco, Ben is a former company member of Blacktop Comedy in Sacramento and The Michael Becker Experience in Santa Cruz.
Ben has performed at theaters all over Northern California. Recent stage credits include 1984, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). He hopes you enjoy the show!
Jenny Donohue is sassy, saucy, somatic play & communication connoisseur. A Meisner Technique conservatory grad & holder of some standard Bay Area relationship coach titles, she has been teaching healing improv classes for over 13 years. She fuses her passion for deeper connection and intimacy with the art and fun of theater games.
Find performances by cast member:
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.