Face Off Unlimited is an

improvisational comedy 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, a ...

production company based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 2003,

Jay Painter A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

and Eric Robinson founded Friday Night Face Off, a weekly improvised comedy show in

Port Jefferson, New York Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

featuring two teams of comedic improvisers engaged in a mock competition, a concept originated by

TheatreSports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

. Friday Night Face Off (often abbreviated as FNFO) has since become the longest continuously running improv comedy shows in Long Island history. In 2009, Painter and Robinson formed Face Off Unlimited, A

Limited Liability Company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

, and brought on former FNFO creative director Joe Tex as Partner and Chief Operating Director. Face Off Unlimited produces various comedy stage shows, has a writing division who specializes in creating content for robots, video games, and iOS applications, including French robotics company, Aldebaran Robotics and its NAO and

Pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

humanoid robots. Face Off offers multi-level improv and writing classes and workshops that utilize techniques of improvisation and creative ensemble. In 2010 Face Off Unlimited opened Face Off University at

The Secret Theatre The Secret Theatre is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre that was established in The Long Island City Art Center in July 2007 by Actor/Director Richard Mazda Richard Mazda (born 5 May 1955) is a record producer, writer, musician, actor and director. M ...

in Long Island City, New York, offering classes on improvisation and their approach to the art form. Since 2014, they have moved their school to Face Off Unlimited Headquarters in Astoria, Queens. On January 10, 2011, Face Off debuted their live Japanese game-show comedy in New York City's East Village called Face Off Unlimited presents BATSU! Translated from the Japanese word for "penalty game", BATSU! was named one of the "Best Things To Do In NYC" by CBS New York and was made a Time Out New York 2011 Critics' Pick and an official Village Voice, Voice Choice. BATSU! was also called "one of the most entertaining...nights in NYC" by Backstage Magazine. BATSU! is now in its 7th year. Face Off Unlimited co-produced the 2011 and 2012 Queens Fringe Festival in partnership with the Long Island city Arts Open, featuring the All Day Improv Festival. The All Day Improv Festival featured UCB Theatre house team Standard Oil, iMusical: The reunion Show!, and International Stinger, a comedy team from Chicago founded at the Playground Theatre. In 2013 Face Off Unlimited partnered with radio personality and writer Lyle Pinder to create the In The Room podcast. Former guests, called roommates, include actors

Tyler Posey Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

Joel Murray Joel Murray (born April 17, 1963) is an American comedy actor. He is well known for his roles in the television series ''Mad Men'', ''Grand'', '' Love & War'', ''Dharma & Greg'', '' Still Standing'', and '' Shameless''. He has also appeared in f ...

, Academy Award Winner

Jim Rash James Rash (born July 15, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He portrayed the role of Dean Craig Pelton on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Bes ...

, Broadway actor and star of Frozen,

Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action adap ...

, Canadian comedian Scott Thompson, and YouTube star

Lloyd Ahlquist Lloyd Leonard Ahlquist (born January 18, 1977), better known by his online alias EpicLLOYD, is an American internet personality best known for the YouTube video series ''Epic Rap Battles of History'', along with Peter Shukoff ("Nice Peter"). Ahlq ...

, better known as EpicLLOYD. In 2014 Face Off Unlimited opened The NYC Improv Face Off in Times Square at Times Scare. 2014 also saw successful runs of Face Off Unlimited Presents Goon River, a completely improvised storytelling experience in complete darkness, and NADS, an improv comedy meets Magic Mike that boasted the hottest men in comedy. On June 10, 2016, Face Off Unlimited opened BATSU! Chicago in the upstairs Hachi Lounge at Kamehachi at 1531 N Wells, St, in Chicago's Old Town. In 2017, FOU created their BATSU! Tour Co after signing with Metropolis Management Also in 2017, Face Off Unlimited launched FOU STUDIOS, a full-service video and podcast production company based at FOU Headquarters.

References

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-batsu-japanese-game-show-ent-0618-20160617-column.html

External links

*
Face Off Unlimited Official Website
{{authority control Improvisational theatre American comedy troupes

See also

References

External links