What Killed S.F.’s Biggest Improv Groups

January 18, 1987 • SF Datebook

More elusive than Giants’ running back Joe Morris! More difficult than getting a straight answer from Oliver North! It’s — making a living doing improv! 

The latest evidence in support of this truism is the official demise of San Francisco‘s longest running and most critically acclaimed groups: Femprov and Faultline respectively. 

Femprov, which began at the Holy City Zoo seven years ago, inaugurated comedy at Cobb‘s Pub in 1982, and incubated such talents as Linda Hill, Susan Healy and Debi Durst, is disbanding this month.

Faultline, which opened it Lipp’s two years ago and won instant raves for having the audacity and the talent to stage fully improvised minimusicals, called it a day in October. But founder Reed Kirk Rahlmann is forming a new non-improv Faultline with new players. 

Each group ultimately fell victim to some combination of the four basic forces that have raised tombstone‘s over every local improv group from the Pitschel Players to Papaya Juice to the Screaming Memes: money, location, group dynamics and careers. Regardless of energy or ability, if one of them doesn’t nail you, the other will. 

Money. Both groups have avid, paying followings. But even with consistently healthy turnouts, says Femprov Jeannene Hansen, “it’s just not financially feasible when you’re splitting the money 48 ways.“ 

“We had 10 people on the payroll [six players, four support troops,]“ adds Faultline’s Gregg Proops. And while the group “did really well financially for a while,“ allows Brian Lohmann. “The audiences dried up for part of the summer, and the inability to make consistent living was frustrating.“

In fact, that both groups survived as long as they did was probably only due to outside income – “We were all doing TV or radio commercials or bits in movies,“ says Proops. This also explains the survival of groups like Comedy Underground and Theater of the Deranged. “They have real jobs. Real cash.“ says Durst. “They all do voice work and things. Improv is just a hobby for them; it gets them out of the house.” “Kind of like a garage band.” adds colleague Denise Schultz. 

Location. Femprov had abundant talent and fans, probably enough to survive fiscally. What they crucially lacked was their own room, with 100+ seats, five nights a week. As Lohmann admits “If Faultline hadn’t had a regular venue [Lipps, Thursdays and Saturdays], we wouldn’t have lasted as long as we did. It gave us the opportunity to build a following.“ 

Obliged to work various comedy clubs. Femprov lacked the fixed site advantage of, as Proops says “audience who came to see us.“

Ironically, though it was one of local comedy’s pioneers, Femprov was hurt by the ensuing popularity of stand-up. For one thing, improv works best by itself, in a theatrical setting and not as part of a stand up bill in a bar. For another says Pat Daniels, “Club owners get nervous about booking improv because their schedules just got too full.“ she says with a smile. 

The folk of Femprov and Faultline may be committed to new performing directions, but all are emphatic in their affection for improvisation and their eagerness to work together again, however sporadically. And their advice to anyone contemplating the art is simple. Do it. 

“It was the best theatrical experience I’ve ever had.“ McShane says flatly. “Once you’ve done improv, you’re hooked.” adds Schultz. “Old improvisers never die, they just ask for another suggestion.“

~Robert Weider • SF Datebook

Linda Hill: Quirky Kansan Turns Top Comic

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…using part of her meager wages to take an improvisation workshop at the Old Spaghetti Factory in North Beach. The Spaghetti Jam improv group, which ran the workshop, recognized the appeal of Hill’s wacky humor, accented by her red hair, toothy grin and booming voice.

By the summer of 1981,, Hill’s guest appearances with Spaghetti Jam were gaining wider notice, and she was invited to join other improv groups, including Femprov, The Comedy Underground, and the National Theatre of the Deranged. Hill was soon performing five nights a week, while holding on to her day job downtown. 

In May of 1982, she went solo at an open mike at the Other Cafe. Stand-up comedy was new and shaky. “In improvisation,” notes Hill, “you don’t get scared, because if you get in trouble you know you’ve got the whole group who’ll save you.”

~Jeff Kaliss • SF Datebook

Chronicle Comedy Day Celebration 1986

The reports estimated the crowds at 40,000 folks filling the Concourse from the Bandshell in Golden Gate Park to brimming. An uncharacteristic San Francisco Saturday, brought overcast skies for the 80 odd comics supplying laughs, every 6.4 seconds, according to the SF Chronicle's count. They sponsored this 6th year and gave it maximum coverage in their papers.

Playing big to a large crowd

Trampolines, Pom Poms, Letter Sweaters

Lots of movement to dazzle the crowd

Bouncing for the 40,000 in attendance

Raising the roofless roof

And a maypole for good measure

San Francisco's Femprov plays O.T. Price's Sunday night.

Femprov Comedy troupe relies on improvisation 

by Jamie S. Cackler • Santa Cruz Sentinel

"We very seldom let the audience get the best of us," says Jeannene Hansen of Femprov. The six-member, all-female improvisational comedy troupe plays the dangerous improv game of letting the audience call the shots.

They get a skit going then ask the audience to name a situation, an emotion or some unlikely twist for the plot to take. "We ask them to name a position, and there's always some bozo who thinks he's really funny and yells out 'missionary,'" Hansen said. "So one of us will drop down and start praying." 

After nearly seven years, it's probably as much experience as quick thinking that rescues the band of women from such audience-generated jams.
Femprov, which performs at O.T. Price's Comedy Night Sunday, began in 1979 when San Francisco's Holy City Zoo began its "Women's Comedy Night." The threesome of Susan Healy, Teresa Roberts and Terry Sand soon grew to six. After a few personnel changes the group stabilized with six members, now including cofounder Sand, Pat Daniels, Debi Durst, Hansen, Denise Schultz and Barbara Scott a former member of the popular Screaming Memes.

Though all female, "we never intended to be a feminist or separatist —believe me," Scott said.
"It's female humor just because it's females doing it. It's just an image when we walk on stage," said Hansen adding "We thought about adding a token guy, but then we'd have to change our name."

Still Hansen said, members of the audience see what they want to see. "We get women who want us to be right-on sisters. They take that away from the show. They get what they want out of it." On the other hand, she said, "Some guys come to see T&A, see some girls jumpin' around on the stage. Everyone interprets it differently."
Occasionally, Scott said they run into groups of people who make very wrong assumptions. "For instance, at one show there was this group of men who assumed that we were all lesbians, because we were all women working together," Scott said.
"Which is totally incorrect," chimed in Debi Durst, the wife of SF comic Will Durst.
"We asked the audience to name character relationships for a game and the men called out "Two women loving each other," Scott said. "You can always get a laugh out of a dirty joke or sexual reference, but we try to put ourselves beyond that."

Although there are six of them, a typical show includes only four at a time. "It's better that way, because we can accept more gigs, and each member gets more stage time. And every time you see the show it's different," Scott said.
The women claim there is no real leader among the revolving cast. "It's ensemble work —we each think everyone of us is funny," Scott said.
"That's what's so fun about watching us perform. If you get tired of watching one of us, you can just switch channels," Hansen added.

The flow of the show is influenced as much by who's in it as it is by the collective intellectual makeup of the audience and by what mood the performers are in.
"If the audience gives us dorky suggestions, they get a dorky show," Hansen said. "Sometimes, in a place like Santa Cruz, we get a sophisticated audience that wants a lot of political stuff. Others want a real dorky show. We can go either way."

While the nature of the act is flexible, there are some places it doesn't work as well. Television and northern Germany, for instance. 
Hansen said Femprov has appeared on some local television spots, and on a broadcast benefit telethon. Not a raving success, though. "Improv doesn't translate well on television. You can't see what's really going on. It's like magic —that doesn't work well on TV either," Hansen said.

As for Germany, Scott and Hansen toured Europe last year and managed to book a couple of shows in a Northern German town. "Jeannene and I took a couple of chances. It was very interesting, but we had to talk very slowly, it's slowed us down and that's not the nature of improv," Scott said.
And there were problems other than language. "We do this thing called an emo freeze," Hansen said "We freeze in the middle of a scene and ask the audience for an emotion. We found out that the people in northern Germany don't talk about their emotions, and that part of the act got dropped rather quickly."

O.T, Price's Entertainment roster • August 13, 1986

We opened with LA Tag at O.T. Price's. Watch the show in its entirety.

Queen for a Day, Haight-Ashbury Style

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Contestants determine for themselves what evening gown, bathing suit and talent mean. 

In the past: 

Talent has been interpreted as meaning curing athlete's foot, imitating castanets, mixing martinis in a vibrating chair, reciting "all of 'Gone With the Wind' in 3 minutes", demonstrating a snake bit kit and playing Beethoven on the recorder with one's nose.

Swimsuit winners have paraded with a fish taped to one leg (1982 Queen Terry Sand), wearing a shark tank (1984 Queen Barbara Scott) and in a wetsuit and pearls (Patterson).

~Robert S. Wieder • SF Datebook

Comedy Day 1985

Femprov appears at the 5th Comedy Day in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park Bandshell. Our Blues number, and shameless hawking of our t-shirts, was created on the spot from a suggestion of "rainy day" as the skies miraculously cleared, avoiding a cancellation of this annual free SF comedy institution. This rare snippet ends abruptly before Debi Durst has a chance to bring it all home.

SF Chronicle sponsors Comedy Celebration Day with an infusion of cash and balloons.

Stage time includes hawking red T-shirts @ 8 bucks a pop… such a deal.

Joshua "Righteous Raoul" Brody onstage for the musical assist.

Despite the rain we performed under a rainbow of balloons

The fifth year saw increasing numbers flocking to the park. 35,000 comedy lovers filled the 'orchestra seating' benches in the grove of trees, and created standing room beyond. 

Comedy Day 1984

1984 in Golden Gate Park, adding a bit of funny as counterpoint to the Democratic National Convention in town for a visit.

On the move, perpetually.

Denise Schultz, Pat Daniels, J'nene Hansen and Barbara Scott charm the facts

Interviewed by Tom Scheuber for a long-lost PR moment