 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline .(May 2015) |
Unexpected Company is an improvisational comedy group founded in Hollywood, California in 1986 by Tim Hillman, and recreated in Rhode Island in 2003 by Hillman and Justin James Lang.
The original iteration of Unexpected Company was founded by Tim Hillman in 1986 based on his desire to explore comedic improvisational theatre outside the boundaries of short-form improvisation. Hillman was formerly a director and teacher at the LA Connection in Sherman Oaks, California, where he trained under Kent Skov.
The original cast of Unexpected Company included-Emmy Award winners Lisa Kudrow and Conan O'Brien, experienced voice actors April Winchell and Paul Rugg from The Groundlings and LA Connection The company's body of work was created in Church of Scientology basement Celebrity Center Theatre in Los Angeles.
The group was originally known as "The Fun Onions" - a name discarded after one performance. Kudrow coined the actual name of the company after being inspired by a scene that involved company arriving unexpectedly for dinner. After a six-month run, the group disbanded.
In the 1990s, Unexpected Company was based in Sewanee, Tennessee, under Hillman's direction at St. Andrew's-Sewanee School and the University of the South. It functioned largely as an educational entity.
In that era, over thirty different performers worked with the group, with alumni Joe Petrilla, John Stewart, and Michael Barker going on to successful careers with the Titanic Players at Northwestern University and ImprovOlympic in Chicago and Los Angeles.
When Hillman moved to Rhode Island in 2001, a chance meeting with a then-University of Rhode Island student, Justin James Lang, led to the reformation of the group in the Ocean State. The goal of the company in Rhode Island was to continue Unexpected Company's exploration of long-form improvisational theatre, particularly exploring the theories espoused by Charna Halpern and Del Close.
The cast was formed in 2003 with founding members Lang, Greg DeSantis, Andrew Mendillo, Nick Mendillo, and Brian Perry. Within a short time, the founding group was joined by Marialana Abbene, Matthew Archambault, Zack Brenner Geoffroy, Jordan Eastwood, Frank Fusaro, Victoria Gillette, Eric Harrington, and Tom Reedy. Many of these members were present at the group's first performance at the Warwick Museum of Art in February of that year.
The group struggled with the “Harold” format, and Hillman, as Artistic Director, guided them towards their own signature performance format, “The Morris”, which was discovered during a rehearsal sequence. “The Morris” is long-form improvisation based on personal monologues followed by scene development. It was named after Saved By the Bell character Zack Morris, who would often engage the audience with monologues both before and during scenes, in a way that was similar to the use of monologues in “The Morris”. Eventually, the form became three individuals delivering short, personal, extemporaneous opening monologues based on an audience suggestion. These monologues give inspiration to a series of improvised scenes in a montage-style format.
Within months, Unexpected Company became notable in the local community and media, with full coverage in The Providence Journal [1] and the Providence Phoenix [2] that summer. The group grew rapidly in size, and began performing more frequently with weekly shows at 7:17 PM at the Warwick Museum of Art, as well as sets at the Firehouse Theatre in Newport and the now-defunct Castle Theatre in Providence.
After nine months, the rapid growth of the company, resultant change in performance direction, and company disapproval of Hillman's investment of company money on sound and technical equipment, and his desire to be paid as artistic director. This action led Hillman to depart from the group.
After Hillman's departure, the company continued their 7:17 performances at the Warwick Museum of Art, and began appearing internationally at festivals and shows such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe [3] in Scotland, the Philadelphia Improv Festival, the Del Close Marathon in New York City, the Toronto International Improv Festival, and the Miami Improv Festival, to name a few. In 2004, Unexpected Company collaborated with two area improv groups at the time, Improv Jones and Speed of Thought Players, to comprise the first annual Providence Improv Festival, an event that has grown exponentially in subsequent years.
. As the group has grown, it has been acclaimed as “Best Comedy Troupe” by Rhode Island Monthly [4] Magazine, “A breath of fresh air” by The Providence Phoenix, [2] and “Hilarious“ by Motif [5]
The group is currently on indefinite hiatus while members pursue other projects.
Los Angeles Original Cast April Winchell
Conan O'Brien
Lisa Kudrow
Tim Hillman
Sewanee, TN Cast
Whitney Able Joe Petrilla
RI Original Cast
Justin James Lang
Greg DeSantis
Brian Perry
Frank Fusaro
Matthew Archambault
Zack Geoffroy
Marialaina Abbene
Jordan Eastwood
Eric Harrington
Victoria Gilette
Tom Gleadow
Steven Harelick
Tim Hillman
Rich Madison
Nick Mendillo
Dan Mills
Tom Reedy
Brandon Taylor
Jeff Perry
Ben Lewis
Melissa Bowler
Tim Thibodeau
Sarah McLean
Billy Domineau
Ari Itkin
Kim Kalunian
John Ring
Rochelle Weinrauch
Kyle Pendola
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script.
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of improvisation can apply to many different faculties, across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines; see Applied improvisation.
The Groundlings are an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improvisational theater techniques were used by Del Close and other members of the Second City, located in Chicago and later St. Louis. They used these techniques to produce sketches and improvised scenes. Its name is taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act III, Scene II: "...to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumbshows and noise." In 1975 the troupe purchased and moved into its current location on Melrose Avenue.
Second Nature is a long-form improvisational theatre troupe based in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California.
Unexpected Productions (UP) is an improvisational comedy company in Seattle, Washington, USA. From their home at the Market Theater in Seattle's historic Pike Place Market, in Post Alley, Unexpected Productions produces year-round shows, teaches improv classes, and hosts the Seattle International Festival of Improvisation.
Naked Stage / Goli oder is an international contemporary theatre festival, held annually in the last week of October in KUD France Prešeren, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Up until 2006, its focus has been the improvisational theatre. As of 2006, the festival is dedicated to improvisation in various fields of contemporary art. Naked Stage was designed and is organized by the most prominent Slovenian improv group, Narobov. Artistic directors of the Naked Stage are Maja Dekleva and Gregor Moder.
The Bad Dog Theatre Company is an improvisational theatre company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and established in 2003. The theatre is eclectic and broad in its production of shows, with a focus on short-form improv, but it has branched out to include the work of other schools of thought in improvisation.
The San Francisco Improv Alliance is a group of actors dedicated to improvisational theater. It was started in 2005 by Shaun Landry, artistic director of Oui Be Negroes. The Alliance offers performance opportunities to upcoming ensembles, stages self-produced shows, co-production of pre-established ensembles, master class workshops and national ensembles and community outreach in the field of improvisational theatre.
The Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT) is a not-for-profit, community-based improvisational theatre group in Wellington, New Zealand. It is run by a committee elected by and from its forty to sixty active members. WIT performs both long and short-form improvisation.
Rapid Fire Theatre (RFT) is an improvisational theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
David Gwynne Shepherd was an American producer, director, and actor primarily noted for his work in improvisational theatre.
Theatre Strike Force is the University of Florida's premier improv and sketch comedy troupe. The group also goes by TSF. The style of improv performed by Theatre Strike Force is a combination long form and short form. They both teach and perform improvisational comedy. They have six house teams which include both forms of improv as well as a sketch team. There are four long form house teams which are cast every semester and usually have six to eight members. The TSF Short Form Team is cast every semester as well and usually has fifteen to nineteen members. TSF Sketch is the final house team and usually has twelve to sixteen members, cast each semester.
The Fracas! Improv Festival is a three-day annual improvisational theatre festival held at The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. The festival is hosted by Second Nature Improv, one of USC's improv troupes. In addition to performances, the festival hosts discussion panels with professional improvisers currently working in television, film, and/or theatre, as well as improv workshops. While the performances and panels are open to the public, workshops are available only to registered festival participants.
The Bent Theatre, formerly known as Whole World Theater Charlottesville, is an improvisational comedy troupe based in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded by Jenn Horne, in 2004. The group began with weekly classes, then accumulated enough actors to perform monthly shows at various venues on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall. As of 2010, its home base is Play On Theater.
Philly Improv Theater, or PHIT, is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania comedy theater which produces and presents shows at The Adrienne Theatre in Center City Philadelphia. The theater also operates a training center with programs in improv comedy, sketch comedy and stand-up comedy. PHIT's most notable alumnus is stand-up comedian Kent Haines, who was the 2008 winner of the Philly's Phunniest contest at Helium Comedy Club and has appeared on public radio show The Sound of Young America and Season 4 of Comedy Central's program Live at Gotham. In addition to Haines, other comedians from Philadelphia who appeared on stage at PHIT have gone on to perform at major comedy venues in cities like New York and Los Angeles, founded their own theatre companies, and appeared in touring productions for The Second City.
Starla and Sons is a longform improv comedy group at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The group was formed with five members in the fall of 2006. It is the second longform group in the university's history, and has performed about twice a month since its inception. The group currently has eight members, and performs fast-paced traditional longform forms like the Harold, Deconstruction, and Monoscene, as well as its own invention, the Starla.
Providence Improv Guild (PIG) is an improvisational theatre in Providence, Rhode Island. It is located in AS220 at 95 Empire Street, Providence RI, 02903.
Aleksandra Lange "Shura" Baryshnikov is an American dancer, choreographer, dance educator, and actress.
The Free Association, or The FA, is a London-based improvised comedy theatre and school. It was founded in 2015 and operates two comedy venues and training centres in London. They are currently the largest provider of improvisation training in the UK.