On January 16, 2004, five friends decided that playing improv games in a classroom at Southern Utah University wasn’t enough for them. They wanted to perform. TJ Penrod, Wendy Penrod, Dave Armour, Mary Armour, and Richy T. Steadman formed Off the Cuff that night, and began playing at the Grind Coffeehouse without any thought of being successful or making money. They chose some games, found some other players, charged a dollar at the door, and went onstage to a wonderful surprise. There were one hundred and one people in attendance that night. From that moment, the five of them knew that Off the Cuff was something truly special.
Since that day, over forty-five different improvisers have performed with Off the Cuff through the years. Through changing times and venue and audiences coming and going, the Crystal Inn is still packed every Friday night. There has even been the formation of a small group of followers known affectionately as “Cufflinks.” With the promise of family-friendly comedy and the most entertaining show in Southern Utah, it’s a win-win situation.
The show is made up of two hours of performance-style short form improvisation. “Short form” consists of scene-based “games” that take a normal scene and add specific twists and objectives for the actors to execute and fulfill. The cast is made up of seven full-time cast members and one alternate. The alternate improviser rotates each week, adding a new dimension and allowing for a unique experience. TJ Penrod, Wendy Penrod, Dave Armour, Mary Armour, Ian Durant, Ryan “Rev” McLean, Chris Bodily, and Wade Arave reside as the full-time cast. Some current alternate cast members are Chase Johnson, Nate MacLee, Anatasha Blakely, Alex Watson, Bradford Garrison, and Shane Salk, among others.
“Cedar City isn’t always the most exciting place to live, but with Off the Cuff, there’s something for everyone and it brings the community together each week with clean, relevant humor,” says Wade Arave, the newest full-time cast member.
Skip to Wade / Dave / Mary / Chris / Travis / Nathan / Lindsay / Rev / Ryan / TJ / Wendy / Justin
Wade Arave has been a full time member of Off the Cuff for two years. Wade has studied
with Charna Halpern, James Grace as well as his high school theatre teacher who was
a professional improviser in his English troupe, The Amazing Spectacles. Wade is a
high school theatre teacher himself and his favorite book is Where the Wild Things Are.
Dave ArmourDave is a founding member of Off the Cuff and thus has been with the troupe for seven
years this January. He has nine years experience Improvising and has been trained by
such improv greats as James Grace and Charna Halpern. Dave has also trained at the
iO West theatre in Los Angeles as part of the 2010 LA Improv Festival where he also
performed with Off the Cuff. Dave is a licensed therapist, one of eight children and like
other great men before him was born in Bethlehem.
Mary Armour is a founding member of Off the Cuff and has been with the troupe for seven years
this January. Mary has trained with the unrivaled Charna Halpern & James Grace. She
has also trained with Annie Hoff & Levin O’Connor, Matt Craig, and Eric Hunicutt
at the iO West Theatre in Los Angeles as part of the 2010 LA Improv Festival where
she performed with Off the Cuff. Mary loves to read fantasy books, play with her two
beautiful daughters and eat chocolate.
Chris Bodily has been a full-time member of Off the Cuff for four and a half years. Chris has
studied improv under such talents as Charna Halpern, James Grace, Dave Razowsky, Joe
Bill, and Mark Sutton and at the iO West Theatre in Los Angeles as part of the 2010 LA
Improv Festival where he performed with Off the Cuff. Chris also works as a freelance
artist and his incredible work can be seen at www.hatrobot.com.
Travis Coxhas been a full time member of Off the Cuff for three months but it feels like
forever (in a good way.) Travis has studied improv with the amazing players of Off the
Cuff at Improv University and has used the text of Charna Halpern and Del Close as a
key ingredient to his craft. He also participated in a life changing workshop by iO West
Artistic Director and improv legend James Grace. Travis has an extensive background in
theatrical acting and singing spanning nine years. Travis loves Cinnamon Toast Crunch,
the lake, music, writing, his wife, improv, acting, life, and all forms of art.
Nathan Fergason One of the newest members of the Off the Cuff family, Nate has been a full time member
of the troupe for 3 months. Nate has taken workshops from improv legends Charna
Halpern and James Grace. He also studied with Eric Hunicutt at the iO West Theatre
in Los Angeles as part of the 2010 LA Improv Festival. Nate has piloted and driven the
Monorails at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
Lindsay Kolbenschlag joined Off the Cuff as a Stage Manager in November 2007 after being a dedicated fan for a year. She is currently a Junior in the BFA Graphic Design program at SUU (and loving every minute of it) and plans on getting an MFA after graduating in the hopes of getting into the field of art direction. She also does a lot of the design work for Off the Cuff, and her "real" job is working from home as a multimedia developer for SkyWest Airlines. Beyond design, her interests include aviation, travel, music, anything retro, lindy hop, charleston and blues dance. Her favorite thing about Off the Cuff is all the free entertainment, the entrepreneurial spirit that everyone brings to the table, and being part of a troupe that is like family.
Ryan "Rev" McLean has been a full-time member of Off the Cuff for five years. Rev trained with The
Second City at Summer Arts at CSU Fresno with Dave Razowsky and Rick Kuhlman.
He has also participated in workshops with Charna Halpern, James Grace, Brian
Gallivan and Eric Hunicutt at the iO West Theatre in Los Angeles as part of the 2010
LA Improv Festival where he performed with Off the Cuff. Rev loves to play all sorts
of “nerd games” as he calls them; card games, video games, and role-playing games.
Ryan Orcutt has been a member of Off the Cuff for 2 and half years. An extremely talented
technical director, Ryan has over 10 years of technical theatre background, spanning
educational and professional theatre experience. Ryan can also place both his feet
behind his head.
TJ Penrod is a founding member of Off the Cuff and has been with the troupe for seven years
this January. TJ has trained with some of the greatest names in improv: James Grace,
Charna Halpern, Eric Hunicutt, Irene White, Dave Razowsky, Joe Bill, Mark Sutton, Jean
Villepique, Rick Kuhlman, Ryan Locante, Jokyr & Jesster, Craig Cackowski and Pat
Finn (to name a few.) He has also studied with iO West and The Second City at Summer
Arts at CSU Fresno and performed with Off the Cuff at the 2010 LA Improv Festival at
the iO West theatre in Los Angeles. TJ loves chili verde, video games, punk music and
watching Netflix with his wife.
Wendy Penrodis a founding member of Off the Cuff and has been with the troupe for
seven years this January. Wendy has trained with some of the greatest teachers in
improvisation; James Grace, Charna Halpern, Eric Hunicutt, Dave Razowsky, Joe Bill,
Mark Sutton, and Jean Villepique. She has also studied with The Second City Summer
Arts program at CSU Fresno and performed with Off the Cuff at the 2010 LA Improv
Festival at the iO West theatre in Los Angeles. Wendy loves leopard print and has an
extensive collection of all things leopard. Her favorite is her husband who made this all
possible.
Justin Scholl is pleased to join the Off the Cuff family. He has been a member since February of 2009 and looks forward to his future years in helping Off the Cuff's business take off! Justin has an Bachelor of the Arts in Stage Directing/Management/Technical Theatre, and is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in Arts Administration at Southern Utah University. Justin has been seen around town recently as Marcus/Andrew in Theatre Crescendo's production of Facing East, as consultant for the fast growing Utah Center for Arts Administration, and most recently he is working for the Utah Shakespearean Festival as the Assistant Production Manager. In the future he hopes to be seen up on stage as featured Improvisor with his Off the Cuff family. Justin is extremely thankful for the endless support from his family in the pursuit of his dreams, and thanks Ryan very much for being a great best friend and an inspiration.