The Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed improv comedy troupe has just opened their own permanent home! Created in 2002, NBOJU has been providing comedic relief to Tucsonans at a variety of venues such as Bookmans, Revolutionary Grounds, and Vaudeville Cabaret. After more than 10 years of hard work they are now performing a family friendly improvisational comedy show every Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 pm at the Unscrewed Theater located at 3244 E. Speedway Blvd (directly across the street from The Loft, with parking and entrance in the rear). With its clever quick witted comedy and general admission tickets sold for only five dollars, NBOJU will quickly become the most affordable and quality entertainment for every Tucson family.
On our way to visit the Unscrewed Theater for the first time, my 8-year-old daughter asked, “Mom, what’s imperved comedy?” “Well,” I replied, “Improv comedy is where actors get up on a stage and make up funny stuff to get you to laugh.” The little skeptic immediately retorted,“You know I don’t like it when people try and make me laugh” While thinking to myself, “Man I hope this is good.,” my reply out loud was, “Just give it a chance, okay?” With that said and three children in tow, we entered the lobby of the theater. The children were immediately drawn to the concession counter which, luckily for me, offered inexpensive bottled water, sodas, and two-for-a-dollar snacks. After all selections were made, we were greeted by a friendly usher who collected our tickets as we made our way inside. Once I managed to settle three kids, insistent on sitting in the front row, into two available chairs, I positioned myself a couple rows back and began admiring the theater’s large comfortable seating, red concrete floors, and modern décor and lighting.
The show, which is liken to “Whose Line is it Anyway,” was hosted by Mike Pierce and enacted by a rotating group of actors, working without a script, perform scenes and games based on suggestions from the audience. This variety ensures that no two shows will ever be the same. As promised the show was great fun and remained family friendly with the exception of one slip use of the “Hell” word. That actor was then made to wear the “Hat of Shame” for violating the family friendly ground rule. I found the whole thing delightfully hysterical and from my seat behind the kids, I could see that all three of their heads’ were bobbing with laughter, if not from the jokes then from the silly physical antics of the actors. One game that was especially funny was an interview with a teacher, who was a member of the audience, followed by an abridged reenactment of her entire day. In this skit some of the actors pretended to be the teacher’s young students which had my children near tears with laughter.
As the show came to an end I felt a sense of community and ease within the theater. As the audience, we had gotten to know some of our members, created a unique show with our suggestions, and shared in laughter. This show is truly a fun experience for everyone and exceeded our expectations, especially those of my eight-going on-20-year-old skeptical daughter, who left the theater saying, “It was amazing and incredible! I can’t wait to come back!”
Let’s hear what the Kiddo Critics have to say…
“Awesome! Funny!” Jovian, age 6
“It was super-duper cool and great!” Genian, age 7
“Funny and cool! I think it’s really fun for families.” Jazlyn, age 8
Author-Amber Villafane, South Tucson Macaroni Kid Editor and Publisher
