The FRISCO Performance Company is not a class but instead an actual working group of improvisers, who perform in one or more public shows a week. Utilizing all of the techniques and skills learned through the three levels of Frisco instruction, the performers created their own show formats and pieces, to be performed on stage in front of real paying audiences in venues in San Francisco and around the Bay Area.
Officially, they are the resident “house” improv group for the San Francisco Comedy College, performing every Sunday at the Clubhouse, 414 Mason Street, 5th floor, in downtown San Francisco. (Advance tickets for Sunday nights are available online at Brown Paper Tickets.) They lead off every Sunday Nite Improv Jam and also make a cameo appearance on Saturday nights at the The Clubhouse as part of the Standup Project shows.
Only graduates of the Advanced level of instruction are eligible to audition to be part of the FRISCO Performance Company. Once in the company performers are required to remain sharp as, once or twice a year, auditions are held to seek new members and existing Company members must audition to retain their spot.
Here are the members of the FRISCO Performance Company:
Stacy Beckley
Stacy chose improv as her drug of choice after realizing how much more pricey all the other options would be. Improv has given Stacy focus, added excitement to her life, and has made it ok for her to say socially inappropriate things both on stage and in real life. When not performing with FRISCO, Stacy appears as a volunteer coordinator, theater education administrator, and an architect of countless awkward moments with friends and acquaintances.
Chris Blair
Did someone order the funny? Because Chris Blair is bringing it. This teacher/ladies man hopes to one day show up within the first three pages when his name is googled. He joined FRISCO because he lost a bet.
Austin Broyles
As the founding and only surviving member of his self-titled solo rock group, Austin Broyles is no stranger to the stage. Austin crossed over from music to comedy after studying with Sammy and Marc at FRISCO and is pumped to be a member of the performance company. Improv gives Austin a welcome respite from his day job, where he tinkers with the interwebs. He also has a strange fascination with robots.
Philippe Debaty
Philippe grew up in the French Alps and first set foot on a stage for a comedic theater play while in college in Lyon, France, not realizing that this powerful moment would trigger a chain reaction of events ultimately bringing him to take classes at FRISCO and become part of the performance company! Among other side effects of this long chain of events are his playing and singing in a local San Francisco rock band, his acting in indie films, and his day job clearing out the "intertubes"! Check out his website at www.philippedebaty.com
Brian Fields
Thirty years ago, Brian realized his life was going nowhere. Since then, he's learned to brush his teeth and ride a bike; eventually learning to dress himself and get a PhD. Now he does improv. When not on stage, he plays poker for money. He recently bought his first sportcoat. He loves easily and has a reasonable relationship with his parents. His life goal is to lower his expectations to the point that he can meet them.
Colin Higgins
“At its best, an improv troupe is like a big ol’ litter of puppies” says Colin Higgins, business owner, actor, and improviser with the newly formed FRISCO house troupe. “Playful, curious” he motions with his hands, “silly, adorable… c’mon, you know what I’m talking about!” He glances off in the distance. “It’s like they don’t know what they’re doing, but they’re really psyched to figure it out, and — except when they’re covered in pee — everything’s an AWESOME time!” A Boston native who loves living in San Francisco, Colin always washes his hands after touching an animal.
Anthony Hill
Growing up in Oroville California (where gravy is considered a beverage) Anthony Hill soaked in and rebelled against his redneck surroundings. Since then, he’s performed comedy all over the country from L.A to Canada to the Eastern Seaboard to the Hawaiian Islands. When he’s not appearing in every major comedy club in the Bay Area including the Punch Line, Cobbs Comedy Club and the San Jose Improv, Anthony is rocking it as a mainstay of the FRISCO tribe.
Brendan Hill
Brendan Hill, long lost son of FRISCO star Anthony Hill, left the woodland realm of New Hampshire and journeyed far west to the fog-bound shores of San Francisco. A jester by trade, he sought the approval of the highest court in the land, FRISCO. After much toil, sacrifice, knee injuries, and velociraptor impressions, Brendan was accepted at the Improv round table, where he currently sits proudly. Oh, he also does a bit of Hip Hop under the alias “Opey”.
Peter Kim
After portraying the "Artful Dodger" in his 2nd grade production of Oliver Twist, Peter Kim realized that the stage was an addictive and often contemptuous shrew. After taking some time off from the dizzying limelight, Peter found himself pulled back onto the stage hosting, singing and dancing in the Korean Culture Shows @ the University of Michigan. Today he is a rock star in the advertising world but moonlights as an amateur stand-up comedian performing in open mic venues around the city; and now a proud member of the FRISCO Performance Company! One of his life goals is to become the first Asian player on SNL.
Allison Page
Allison Page is thrilled to be the first and only female member of the FRISCO performance troupe. She always operates under the rule of "Seven men for every one Allison." Allison has been entertaining tourists in the popular interactive comedy, Tony 'n Tina's Wedding, for over a year at Castagnola's in Fisherman's Wharf. As an actress, she has performed in various plays and films all over the country. Allison is not only unbelievably beautiful, she's also shockingly hilarious. And vain. Allison can be seen all over the Bay Area doing stand up comedy and in December, she will debut as the better and funnier half of Wegent & Page, a two-person comedy team she formed with her ex-boyfriend. Don't ask.
Natasha Muse
Natasha Muse is pretty funny, for a comedian. She first climbed on stage a few years ago when she began working at AsiaSF as "Ginger." All her friends claimed she was much too shy to be a good performer, and the fact that they were kinda right didn't stop her from trying it anyway, and sorta proving them all wrong. Now she's moved from lip-synching into comedy, which is a pretty big leap, if you think about it. And since that leap she has created what some people refer to as a 'buzz' in the San Francisco comedy scene, which she's just going to go ahead and take as a compliment. When she’s not performing with FRISCO, Natasha appears all over the Bay Area, including the Punchline, the SF Comedy Clubhouse, the Purple Onion, the Dark Room, Castagnola's and the Actors' Theatre, where she produces and hosts "A Funny Night for Comedy" on the second Sunday of every month. First runner-up of the 2009 Battle of the Bay competition, Natasha personally guarantees that she's at least the second-funniest transsexual you know.
Shasta Phillips
In the early 1990’s Shasta Phillips began his performance career after joining a little known R&B group called Tony Toni Shasta. Due to creative differences and for obvious marketing reasons, Shasta was replaced by Tone within a year. Though a troubling experience, Shasta knew from that day forth that he belonged on stage. Shasta met Improv in 2005 backstage at a Color Me Badd reunion concert. They hit it off immediately due to their mutual appreciation of team sports, their enjoyment of living in the moment and their interest in the organ donor black market. Improv later drugged Shasta and sold his kidney.