Difference between revisions of "History of Austin Improv"

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==Early Days==
==Early Days==
In 1996, the main improv venues were [[The Velveeta Room]], featuring [[Marc Pruter]]'s [[Monk's Night Out]] and [[The ComedySportz Playhouse]], featuring [[Les McGehee]]'s ComedySportz Players.


There was also a University of Texas troupe called [[Only 90% Effective]] directed by [[Brently Heilbron]]. [[The Velveeta Room]] was also producing other troupes like [[Code Blue]] and [[Los Paranoias]], directed by [[Pam Ribon]] and [[David Lampe]]. [[David Lampe]] was a member of [[Monk's Night Out]] and a founding member of [[The Oxymorons]] in San Antonio.
In 1985 [[the Comedy Workshop]] at 15th St. and Lavaca was home to [[The Hilarions | The Hilarions: Gladiators of Comedy]], possibly the first serious improv troupe in Austin. The owner of the Comedy Workshop in Houston (which gave Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison and the other so-called Outlaw stand-up comics their start) would drive up to Austin on Fridays and teach improv to anyone who would show up. The Hilarions formed in early 1985 and did late-night short-form shows Tuesday through Thursday for about a year and a half.
 
When the Austin Comedy Workshop closed, a few of the Hilarions made the leap over to [[Cap City Comedy Club|the Laff Stop]] (which would later become [[Cap City Comedy Club]]), and out of a series of workshops run by an actor named Rodney Rincon, a troupe called [[the Laff Staff]] was born. Making their debut in early 1987, they performed a 45-minute pre-show lounge slot four days a week for about five years.
 
Meanwhile, in 1986 the Austin [[ComedySportz]] franchise, owned by Les McGeehee, began producing shows in a series of spaces, starting in their own space above Headliner's East, then the original Vortex, The Ritz, the Laff Stop, eventually helping to open a comedy venue next to [[Esther's Follies]] called the Deep End (now known as [[the Velveeta Room]]). The Velveeta Room was also home to [[the Cheese Pistols]] and Austin's first local comedy festivals, [[Austin Comedy Festival]] and the [[Southwest Improv Festival of Texas]] (SWIFT). When ComedySportz opened [[the ImprovClub]] on the same block as Esther's and the Velveeta Room in 1994, the city briefly recognized the area as the "Austin Comedy District".
 
In 1996 ComedySportz relocated to [[the ComedySportz Playhouse]] in Northcross Mall, producing five shows a week with a kitchen and full bar. The Velveeta Room was still going strong, featuring troupes like [[Marc Pruter]]'s [[Monks' Night Out]], [[Code Blue]], and [[Los Paranoias]], directed by [[Pam Ribon]] and [[David Lampe]]. And at the University of Texas there was a troupe called [[Only 90% Effective]] directed by [[Brently Heilbron]].


==Austin Improv Goes National==
==Austin Improv Goes National==


In 1997, Austin was put on the national improv and sketch map with the first annual [[Big Stinkin' Improv and Sketch Comedy Festival]], which brought troupes, teachers, and talent scouts from around the nation to Austin for a fantabulous long weekend of comedy. Improv played some of the biggest venues in town from the Paramount to Palmer Auditorium. It was awesome.
In 1997 Austin landed on the national improv and sketch map with the first annual [[Big Stinkin' Improv and Sketch Comedy Festival]], which brought troupes, teachers and talent scouts from around the nation to Austin for a memorable weekend of comedy. Improv played some of the biggest venues in town from the Paramount to Palmer Auditorium.


In 1998, [[Sean Hill]] and [[David Lampe]] hosted auditions for "Austin Theatresports," [a.k.a. Austin Theatresports a.k.a. We Could Be Heroes a.k.a. [[The Heroes of Comedy]].] The first rehearsals were in a cozy classroom on 5th Street, in what was functionally nicknamed "[[The Batcave]]."
In 1998 [[Sean Hill]] and [[David Lampe]] hosted auditions for [[We Could Be Heroes|Austin Theatresports]] and their first show was a [[Maestro]] (aka [[Micetro]]), at the Public Domain Theater on Congress Ave. in February of 1999 with Dan O'Connor and Brian Lohman directing. Soon after Austin Theatersports began a run at the Hyde Park Theater, and then in late 1998, Sean started work on a new improv theater and coffee house called the Hideout.


Austin Theatersports did its first show, a [[Micetro]], at the Public Domain Theater on Congress Ave in February of 1999. Soon after, Theatersports began a run at the Hyde Park Theater, where they played [[Micetro]] and [[Gorilla Theater]]. Then, in late 1998, Sean started work on a new improv theater and coffee house called [[The Hideout]].
1999 Austin ComedySportz hosted the National Championship of ComedySportz with 22 teams from across the country (and won the National Championship). Around the same time ComedySportz players [[Owen Egerton]] and [[Jerm Pollett]] started the hit movie commentary show [[Master Pancake Theater | Mr. Sinus Theater 3000]](now known as [[Master Pancake Theater]]) at the Alamo Drafthouse.  


==The Boom and the Bust==
==The Boom and the Bust==


In 1999, the improv scene was booming. These times were the beginning of the heyday of Austin Improv. There were many venues: [[The Hideout]], [[The Velveeta Room]], [[The Bad Dog Comedy Theatre]], [[The ComedySportz Playhouse]], and even [[Capital City Comedy Club]] and [[Esther's Follies]] would host improv from time to time. There were lots of troupes: Austin Theatresports, ComedySportz, [[Monk's Night Out]], [[Well Hung Jury]], [[Code Blue]], [[The Cheese Pistols]], [[Ray Prewitt's 4th Grade Class]], [[Fatbuckle]], [[The Skinnies]], [[The Inflatable Egos]], [[Only 90% Effective]], and even more I don't remember or didn't even know about. The [[Big Stinkin' Improv and Sketch Comedy Festival]] was getting bigger and stinkier by the year, bringing in top talent from stage, television and film. But everything was booming back then -- remember the economy in Austin before 2001?
In 1999 the improv scene was booming. There were many venues: [[the Velveeta Room]], [[the Bad Dog Comedy Theater]], [[the ComedySportz Playhouse]] and even [[Cap City Comedy Club]] and [[Esther's Follies]] would host improv from time to time. There were lots of troupes: Austin Theatresports, ComedySportz, [[Monks' Night Out]], [[Well Hung Jury]], [[Code Blue]], [[the Cheese Pistols]], [[Ray Prewitt's 4th Grade Class]], [[Fatbuckle]], [[the Skinnies]], [[the Inflatable Egos]], [[Only 90% Effective]] and many more troupes lost to the mists of time. [[Big Stinkin' Improv and Sketch Comedy Festival]] was getting bigger and stinkier by the year, bringing in top talent from stage, television and film.
 
After 2000 the festival producers [[Ed Carter]] and [[Marc Pruter]], along with a lot of other Austinites, lost their shirts. Big Stinkin' shut down along with all of the other improv venues and troupes.


In 2000, [[The Hideout]] officially opened as a venue. [[Sean Hill]] and [[Shana Merlin]] ran the house troupe, [[We Could Be Heroes]], and opened the We Could Be Heroes School of Improvisational Theatre.
Meanwhile in 2000 [[The Hideout Theatre|the Hideout Theatre and Coffeehouse]] officially opened as a venue in a historic building on Congress Ave. downtown, and Austin Theatresports became [[We Could Be Heroes]]. [[Sean Hill]] and [[Shana Merlin]] ran the house troupe and the We Could Be Heroes School of Improvisational Theater, Austin's first full-time improv training center.


After 2000, well, the festival producers [[Ed Carter]] and [[Marc Pruter]], along with a lot of other Austinites, lost their shirts in the coming years. [[Big Stinkin']] shut down, along with all of the other improv venues and troupes -- except [[The Hideout]].
==The Ongoing Austin Improv Renaissance==


==Austin Improv Renaissance==
In 2004 and 2005 a variety of factors led to a second renaissance in Austin improv. [[Andy Crouch]] was hired to run the day to day operations at the Hideout, and he made a concerted effort to grow the community of active Austin improvisers through weekly shows and social events, and eventually a nonprofit organization called the [[Austin Improv Collective]]. A handful of improvisers moved to Austin from Chicago and Cleveland eventually coming together as the troupe [[The Frank Mills|Tight]] (now [[The Frank Mills]]) bringing with them the performance styles of famous Chicago theaters like Improv Olympic and the Second City. The New Orleans troupe [[ColdTowne (troupe)|ColdTowne]] landed in Austin in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And the [[Out of Bounds Comedy Festival|Out of Bounds Improv and Minigolf Festival]], started in 2002 by [[Jeremy Sweetlamb|Jeremy Lamb]] as a local, experimental improv festival, had been slowly but surely gaining momentum and national attention.


In the past few years, several factors has led to a renaissance in Austin Improv. Most of the previously mentioned troupes have died and like a phoenix from the ashes have been able to be reborn at [[The Hideout]] because of new leadership by [[Andy Crouch]] and collaborative projects like [[The Austin Improv Collective]], [[The Out of Bounds Improv Festival and Miniature Golf Tournament]], and [[Waffle Fest]].
Things began to bubble up at the Hideout and by October of 2006, ColdTowne struck out and opened a self-titled theater and conservatory on Airport Boulevard, offering improv, sketch and stand up comedy.  


There has been an influx of experienced improvisers from out of town coming to Austin to perform and study. And because of the collapse of other venues, Austin now has a central home for improvisation where troupes from different background and styles perform. Thankfully, the Austin economy has picked up so people have more money for improv classes and shows.
In March of 2008 [[The Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation]] and [[Gnap! Theater Projects]] began teaching classes and performing shows at the [[Salvage Vanguard Theater]] on Manor Road.  


ComedySportz resumed weekly shows at [[Cafe Caffeine]] in south Austin in the fall of 2008.


==Proliferation of Theaters==
In 2009 former ColdTowne members [[Chris Trew]] and [[Tami Nelson]] opened [[The New Movement]] in east Austin as a home for all forms of comedy. (In 2012 they opened a branch of the New Movement in New Orleans.
Beginning in the mid-2000s, more improv venues began to crop up in Austin.


Following [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina Hurricane Katrina] in 2005, New Orleans-based improv troupe [[ColdTowne (troupe)|ColdTowne]] relocated to Austin. In 2006, they opened [[ColdTowne Theater]] on Airport Blvd.
In 2010 LA transplant [[Tom Booker]] and New York transplant [[Asaf Ronen]] opened the [[Institution Theater]] in south Austin.  


[[Shannon McCormick]] founded [[Gnap! Theater Projects]] in 2008, sharing use of [[Salvage Vanguard Theater]] with [[Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation]] and producing weekly improv shows.
In recent years there has been remarkable stability in the various Austin theaters, with only minor adjustments: The local ComedySportz franchise is currently inactive; the New Movement relocated to a new downtown location on Lavaca (and opened a second theater in New Orleans); Gnap! shifted focus from the production of improv to scripted work; and the Merlin Works training center found a new home at the longtime Austin theater venue [[ZACH Theater]].


[[The New Movement Theater]] was founded in 2009 by former ColdTowne members [[Chris Trew]] and [[Tami Nelson]]. Originally based out of space on East 11th St, The New Movement moved into its present facility on Lavaca St in 2012.
Currently the number of improvisers in Austin is estimated at between 400 and 600. Austin has gained national attention for the vibrant community of improvisers and quality work in a variety of styles. A Johnstone-inspired, short form and storytelling focus can be found at the Hideout Theatre and Merlin-Works. Various Chicago and New York influences are prevalent at ColdTowne, the New Movement and the Institution. But Austin is ultimately a melting pot. The intentional building of a scene and community has resulted in an environment of collaborative competition, and many improvisers study and perform at multiple theaters, coming together throughout the year for events like Out of Bounds, [[the Improvised Play Festival]], [[Sketchfest]], [[the Improv Wins Conference]], [[Wafflefest]], [[The Austin Improv Potluck]], [[Same Year's Eve]] and more.


[[Tom Booker]], formerly of Chicago and Los Angeles, relocated to Austin in 2007 and soon founded [[The Institution Theater]]. At first, the Institution taught classes out of a photography studio on East 7th St, but moved into its own facility in 2011.
==Articles on Austin Improv==
* [http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2001-01-26/80278/ The Austin Chronicle], "Livin' Lavaca Loca: Laughing It Up at the Comedy Workshop" by Angela Davis
* [http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2000-08-04/78074/ The Austin Chronicle], "Home for Heroes (and Others): Comedy Comes Up Congress in the Storefront Theatre The Hideout" by Phil West
* [http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2006-08-25/397677/ The Austin Chronicle], "Mission: Improvable: Austin's improv community gathers intelligence" by Wayne Allen Brenner
* [http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2013-08-23/improv-educated/ The Austin Chronicle], "Improv-Educated: Out of Bounds Comedy Festival makes more room for Austin's increasingly savvy audiences" by Robert Faires

Latest revision as of 09:56, 18 February 2016

Early Days

In 1985 the Comedy Workshop at 15th St. and Lavaca was home to The Hilarions: Gladiators of Comedy, possibly the first serious improv troupe in Austin. The owner of the Comedy Workshop in Houston (which gave Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison and the other so-called Outlaw stand-up comics their start) would drive up to Austin on Fridays and teach improv to anyone who would show up. The Hilarions formed in early 1985 and did late-night short-form shows Tuesday through Thursday for about a year and a half.

When the Austin Comedy Workshop closed, a few of the Hilarions made the leap over to the Laff Stop (which would later become Cap City Comedy Club), and out of a series of workshops run by an actor named Rodney Rincon, a troupe called the Laff Staff was born. Making their debut in early 1987, they performed a 45-minute pre-show lounge slot four days a week for about five years.

Meanwhile, in 1986 the Austin ComedySportz franchise, owned by Les McGeehee, began producing shows in a series of spaces, starting in their own space above Headliner's East, then the original Vortex, The Ritz, the Laff Stop, eventually helping to open a comedy venue next to Esther's Follies called the Deep End (now known as the Velveeta Room). The Velveeta Room was also home to the Cheese Pistols and Austin's first local comedy festivals, Austin Comedy Festival and the Southwest Improv Festival of Texas (SWIFT). When ComedySportz opened the ImprovClub on the same block as Esther's and the Velveeta Room in 1994, the city briefly recognized the area as the "Austin Comedy District".

In 1996 ComedySportz relocated to the ComedySportz Playhouse in Northcross Mall, producing five shows a week with a kitchen and full bar. The Velveeta Room was still going strong, featuring troupes like Marc Pruter's Monks' Night Out, Code Blue, and Los Paranoias, directed by Pam Ribon and David Lampe. And at the University of Texas there was a troupe called Only 90% Effective directed by Brently Heilbron.

Austin Improv Goes National

In 1997 Austin landed on the national improv and sketch map with the first annual Big Stinkin' Improv and Sketch Comedy Festival, which brought troupes, teachers and talent scouts from around the nation to Austin for a memorable weekend of comedy. Improv played some of the biggest venues in town from the Paramount to Palmer Auditorium.

In 1998 Sean Hill and David Lampe hosted auditions for Austin Theatresports and their first show was a Maestro (aka Micetro), at the Public Domain Theater on Congress Ave. in February of 1999 with Dan O'Connor and Brian Lohman directing. Soon after Austin Theatersports began a run at the Hyde Park Theater, and then in late 1998, Sean started work on a new improv theater and coffee house called the Hideout.

1999 Austin ComedySportz hosted the National Championship of ComedySportz with 22 teams from across the country (and won the National Championship). Around the same time ComedySportz players Owen Egerton and Jerm Pollett started the hit movie commentary show Mr. Sinus Theater 3000(now known as Master Pancake Theater) at the Alamo Drafthouse.

The Boom and the Bust

In 1999 the improv scene was booming. There were many venues: the Velveeta Room, the Bad Dog Comedy Theater, the ComedySportz Playhouse and even Cap City Comedy Club and Esther's Follies would host improv from time to time. There were lots of troupes: Austin Theatresports, ComedySportz, Monks' Night Out, Well Hung Jury, Code Blue, the Cheese Pistols, Ray Prewitt's 4th Grade Class, Fatbuckle, the Skinnies, the Inflatable Egos, Only 90% Effective and many more troupes lost to the mists of time. Big Stinkin' Improv and Sketch Comedy Festival was getting bigger and stinkier by the year, bringing in top talent from stage, television and film.

After 2000 the festival producers Ed Carter and Marc Pruter, along with a lot of other Austinites, lost their shirts. Big Stinkin' shut down along with all of the other improv venues and troupes.

Meanwhile in 2000 the Hideout Theatre and Coffeehouse officially opened as a venue in a historic building on Congress Ave. downtown, and Austin Theatresports became We Could Be Heroes. Sean Hill and Shana Merlin ran the house troupe and the We Could Be Heroes School of Improvisational Theater, Austin's first full-time improv training center.

The Ongoing Austin Improv Renaissance

In 2004 and 2005 a variety of factors led to a second renaissance in Austin improv. Andy Crouch was hired to run the day to day operations at the Hideout, and he made a concerted effort to grow the community of active Austin improvisers through weekly shows and social events, and eventually a nonprofit organization called the Austin Improv Collective. A handful of improvisers moved to Austin from Chicago and Cleveland eventually coming together as the troupe Tight (now The Frank Mills) bringing with them the performance styles of famous Chicago theaters like Improv Olympic and the Second City. The New Orleans troupe ColdTowne landed in Austin in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And the Out of Bounds Improv and Minigolf Festival, started in 2002 by Jeremy Lamb as a local, experimental improv festival, had been slowly but surely gaining momentum and national attention.

Things began to bubble up at the Hideout and by October of 2006, ColdTowne struck out and opened a self-titled theater and conservatory on Airport Boulevard, offering improv, sketch and stand up comedy.

In March of 2008 The Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation and Gnap! Theater Projects began teaching classes and performing shows at the Salvage Vanguard Theater on Manor Road.

ComedySportz resumed weekly shows at Cafe Caffeine in south Austin in the fall of 2008.

In 2009 former ColdTowne members Chris Trew and Tami Nelson opened The New Movement in east Austin as a home for all forms of comedy. (In 2012 they opened a branch of the New Movement in New Orleans.)

In 2010 LA transplant Tom Booker and New York transplant Asaf Ronen opened the Institution Theater in south Austin.

In recent years there has been remarkable stability in the various Austin theaters, with only minor adjustments: The local ComedySportz franchise is currently inactive; the New Movement relocated to a new downtown location on Lavaca (and opened a second theater in New Orleans); Gnap! shifted focus from the production of improv to scripted work; and the Merlin Works training center found a new home at the longtime Austin theater venue ZACH Theater.

Currently the number of improvisers in Austin is estimated at between 400 and 600. Austin has gained national attention for the vibrant community of improvisers and quality work in a variety of styles. A Johnstone-inspired, short form and storytelling focus can be found at the Hideout Theatre and Merlin-Works. Various Chicago and New York influences are prevalent at ColdTowne, the New Movement and the Institution. But Austin is ultimately a melting pot. The intentional building of a scene and community has resulted in an environment of collaborative competition, and many improvisers study and perform at multiple theaters, coming together throughout the year for events like Out of Bounds, the Improvised Play Festival, Sketchfest, the Improv Wins Conference, Wafflefest, The Austin Improv Potluck, Same Year's Eve and more.

Articles on Austin Improv

  • The Austin Chronicle, "Livin' Lavaca Loca: Laughing It Up at the Comedy Workshop" by Angela Davis
  • The Austin Chronicle, "Home for Heroes (and Others): Comedy Comes Up Congress in the Storefront Theatre The Hideout" by Phil West
  • The Austin Chronicle, "Mission: Improvable: Austin's improv community gathers intelligence" by Wayne Allen Brenner
  • The Austin Chronicle, "Improv-Educated: Out of Bounds Comedy Festival makes more room for Austin's increasingly savvy audiences" by Robert Faires