Hit and Run Theater & Friends performed for the Mendocino Stories & Music Series starting with the Sadie Hawkins Improv Show on February 29, 2008. Since then they have become regulars in the Series, with their improvised fun, games and stories, now at the Hill House Inn of Mendocino.
This group has been a force for local comedy since the late 1970s and has done over 30 original shows, including 10 Mendocino Comedy Festivals, events with Mendocino Stories & Music Series and a variety of improvised spectacles. Their show features Hit and Run veterans Steve Antler, Jill Jahelka, Doug Nunn, Kathy O’Grady, Christine Samas, Dan Sullivan, and Steve Weingarten as well as musical accompanist Laura Derry.
photo by Ken Krauss
Kathy O’Grady has been a Hit and Runner since their first shows back in the late 1970s. She has been directing both MTC and Jumpstart children’s theatre productions over the past decade. Jill Jahelka continues to hold down the postmaster position at Gualala, and commute to Hit and Run practices while Steve Weingarten has returned to his sculpture studio, outside “Weinchester Cathedral”, south of Fort Bragg. Doug Nunn coaches the Mendocino High School Improv Club each year and migrates to work in German theatres each summer.
Steve Antler is a long-time practicing attorney and a recent convert to improvisational theatre. He brings his legal skills to the improv stage for his fourth HRT show. The delightful Christine Samas had a splendid debut with Hit and Run in March, while Dan Sullivan, an improviser since the sixth grade, has been working with the group for three years. He is presently developing a stand up act in the Bay Area. And Laura Derry is a veteran Bay Area Theatresports improviser and musical accompanist who has worked with a variety of groups across Northern California since 1990.
A History
It's origins do indeed remain shrouded in mist, but we can safely say that Hit and Run Theater was actually named in the lead up to the Christmas comedy revue, "Tis the Season" in December1979. Hit and Run veterans acknowledge that Jim Noyes, former group member and local musician made up the name. Jim even added a sound effect, the sound of a car crash and a hectic driveaway that seemed to perfectly fit the attitude of a smartaleck bunch of wannabee sketch comics.
photos by Ken Krauss
A group of performers, notably Ellen Callas, Antonia Lamb, Kathy O'Grady, Bobby Markels, and others had been meeting on and off since "200 Years of Madness", a bicentennial celebration show in 1976. In July, 1979 they were joined by Doug Chateau, Pamela Stoneham, Richard Albright, and Laura Jean Cardinal for "Happy Birthday Mendocino", an irreverent look at coastal history.
photos by Ken Krauss
In the fall of 1979, Jim Noyes, Kay Rudin, and Doug Nunn joined the group for that Christmas revue, which led to the group name and identity. From that point on, rehearsals and shows came more frequently. In 1980 there were shows at the Caspar Inn, followed by "Improvaganza", "Laugh Em Down", "Winestock", and "The Fighting MOMS" in 1981. 1982 was a very productive year, which included the "Oh Velveeta", "National Velveeta", and "The Arnold Vicious Punk Opera". Tracy Burns and Steve Weingarten became group regulars, Matt Rowland supplied set designs, and Richard Feinbop, Margy Crowningshield, John Chamberlin, Louis Demitri, and Louie Callas coalesced as the group's "Orch".
photos by Ken Krauss
In 1983 Hit and Run Theater worked at making it's rewrite of "The Arnold Vicious Punk Opera" roadworthy. The ensuing "Rockalypse" played in San Francisco and Berkeley for two months in late '83 before collapsing financially. It was quite a ride, but it did lead to contacts with Bay Area comics, culminating in the monthly "LaffFest '84" comedy series which ran from March through September 1984. In the fall of '84, Hit and Run Theater took a new revue "Democracy in Traction" on the road through Northern California, ending in a nice run at the Julian Theater in San Francisco.
Since the mid 1980s, the group has come together semi-regularly even as various members have spread out to work in other locations. Tracy Burns and Doug Nunn formed a double act and worked extensively in Europe and the western USA into the early 90s, Ellen Callas became production manager of the SF Mime Troupe, Harry Rothman was their Tech Director for awhile, Pamela Stoneham worked with a variety of improv groups in the Bay Area and the Rockies, and Richard Albright, Kathy O'Grady, and Steve Weingarten continued to be involved in various theatrical and creative projects.
photos by Ken Krauss
These days Hit and Run Theater works out regularly at Weinchester Cathedral. Jill Jahelka and Ute Rowland have been a solid players for some time, while the group has recently been delighted with energetic young improvisers like Alonya Eisenberg, Dan Sullivan, and Jason Castle. Hit and Run looks to come together for shows and reunions as often as they can be in the same geographical area. We thank our long time fans and friends for 27 years of support! Let there be laughs!
photos by Ken Krauss
