Start Trekkin'

Start Trekkin'
Theater	The Hideout Theatre
Directed by	Sean Hill Troy Miller Jay Michael
Cast	Various
Crew	Various
Initial Run	May 2004
Subsequent Run(s)	Apr-May 2005 Sep-Nov 2005 Sep-Nov 2007 Sep-Nov 2008 Nov-Dec 2010 Jan-Feb 2012

Start Trekkin' was an improvised longform narrative show inspired by the original Star Trek television series.

History

Start Trekkin' was originated by Lawrence Wolf in San Francisco around 2000. The show was very successful there, with a large number of performances and sci-fi-convention appearances.

Sean Hill saw the show in San Francisco, and decided to bring the format to Austin. In 2003, Richard Ross, a founding member of the original San Francisco show, taught a brief workshop in the format at The Hideout Theatre. A year later, Jay Michael and Troy Miller produced season one of Start Trekkin' there. (Note: the people involved in Start Trekkin' refer to their runs as "seasons".)

Subsequent seasons followed almost once per year. In early 2011, Start Trekkin' ran as half of The Sci-Fi Comedy Double Feature.

Season six ran at The Highball; all other seasons ran at The Hideout Theatre.

Mr. Ross would return in the summer of 2008 to teach a more in-depth workshop on Start Trekkin', establishing many tropes that are hallmarks of the format: fights with three exchanges in which the loser is called ahead of time; onstage transporter effects; and focusing on the relationships among the ship's crew.

Start Trekkin' has had several special performances outside of regular season runs. These include:

• 11/10/09 Alamo Drafthouse (S. Lamar)
• 02/10/10 Alamo Drafthouse (Ritz)

Season Dates

• Season 1: May 15-29, 2004
• Season 2: Apr-May 2005
• Season 3: Sep-Nov 2005
• Season 4: Sep-Nov 2007
• Season 5: Sep-Nov 2008
• Season 6: Nov 28 and Dec 5, 2010
• Season 7: Jan-Feb 2012

Event Appearances

The season-two cast at the convention.

In August 2005, the season 2 Start Trekkin' cast was invited to perform at the official Star Trek convention in Las Vegas. They performed twice in the convention's main hall to audiences of up to 1,000 people each.

Start Trekkin' performed at the Star Trek Premiere Party at the Bob Bullock State History Museum on May 8th, 2009.

Casts

David Lampe, Jay Michael and Troy Miller are the only improvisors to appear in all seven seasons of the show.

Season 1

This list is incomplete

• Andy Crouch
• David Lampe
• Jay Michael
• Kevin Miller
• Sean Hill
• Tim Giradot (Musical improviser)
• Troy Miller

Season 2

• Andy Crouch
• Ben Sterling
• David Lampe
• Jay Michael
• Kacey Samiee
• Kevin Miller
• Shana Merlin
• Tim Giradot (Musical improviser)
• Troy Miller

Season 3

This list is incomplete

• Andy Crouch
• Ben Sterling
• David Lampe
• Jay Michael
• Jordan T. Maxwell
• Kareem Badr
• Kacey Samiee
• Kevin Miller
• Shana Merlin
• Troy Miller

Season 4

This list is incomplete

• Christina DeRoos
• David Lampe
• Jay Michael
• Kacey Samiee
• Kaci Beeler
• Kareem Badr
• Roy Janik
• Sean Hill
• Troy Miller
• Wesley Bain

Season 5

• Aden Kirschner
• Andy Crouch
• Audrey Rachel Sansom
• Chris Allen
• Dario Konjicija
• David Lampe
• Jay Michael
• Jon Clinkenbeard
• Justin Davis
• Kacey Samiee
• Kaci Beeler
• Marc Majcher
• Michael Brockman (musical improvisor)
• Sean Hill
• Topping Haggerty
• Troy Miller
• David Zimmerman (Sound FX)
• Neal Tibrewala (Lights)

Season 6

This list is incomplete.

• Aden Kirschner
• David Lampe
• Jay Michael
• Kaci Beeler
• Kareem Badr
• Roy Danger
• Troy Miller

Season 7

• Alex Dobrenko
• Andy Crouch
• Chris Allen
• Courtney Hopkin
• David Lampe
• Jay Michael
• Lauren Buck
• Nicole Beckley
• Peter Rogers
• Ruby Willmann
• Sean Hill (co-director)
• Steve Harwood
• Troy Miller (co-director)

Media

Videos

• Video of the 4/23/05 performance (season 2, episode 4).
• Video of the 5/28/05 performance (season 2, episode 5).
• Video of 'episode seven' from season 2.
• Video of the 9/27/08 performance, in three parts: 1, 2, 3.
• Video of a scene from the 10/11/08 performance.
• Video of the 11/15/08 performance, in four parts: 1, 2, 3, 4.
• Video of an audience-participation "Kobayashi Maru" scene from their performance in The 2009 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival.
• Promo videos for season six by Troy Miller: "Alien Love", "Fight", "Sacrifices", "The Landing Party" (version 1), and "The Landing Party" (version 2).
• A 2011 video compilation of Start Trekkin' fight scenes.

Photos

• A photoset from season 5.
• Photoset by Peter Rogers of their 6/26/09 performance.
• Photoset by Michael Yew that includes their 9/3/10 performance at The 2010 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival.
• Photoset by Michael Yew that includes their 11/28/10 performance at The Highball.
• Photoset by Roy Moore which includes their 12/5/10 performance at The Highball.
• Photoset by Steve Rogers of their 6/4/11 performance in The 42-Hour Improv Marathon.
• A photoset by Peter Rogers of the 1/5/12 dress rehearsal.
• A photoset by Peter Rogers of the 1/8/12 performance.
• A photoset by Steve Rogers of the 1/14/12 performance.
• A photoset from Steve Rogers, and another from Michael Yew, of the 3/8/12 Free Fringe performance, which included a Start Trekkin' adventure with an all-female cast.
• A photoset by Steve Rogers that includes their 9/1/12 performance at The 2012 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival.
• Photoset by Steve Rogers of their 7/27/13 performance.

More Information

• The show's facebook page.
• The premiere announcement for season 4.
• Casting announcement for season 5.
• The show's web page for season 6.
• A review of season 2, episode 4 in The Austin Chronicle.