The Hideout Theatre

The Hideout Theatre
Address	617 Congress Avenue
Homepage	http://www.hideouttheatre.com
Years of Operation	1998-Present

The view from Congress of the Hideout Theatre.

The Hideout Theatre is an improv theater in downtown Austin that draws its primary inspiration from the work of Keith Johnstone.

History

1998-1999: Austin Theatresports

Inspired by the improv he had seen in San Francisco, Sean Hill founded Austin Theatresports in 1998. This is the group that would shortly form the core of the Hideout Theatre, but they didn't have a theater space yet. Instead, they performed Theatresports shows at a number of venues in town, including The Hyde Park Theater.

1999-2004: Sean Hill Starts the Hideout

In the first years of the theater's operation, Sean Hill led building/renovating the initial theater space, and he produced the first shows there, starting with Theatresports, and expanding the program out to other Keith Johnstone formats such as Maestro and Gorilla Theater. He included some traditional longforms that weren't strictly Johnstonian, such as More or Less and Six Degrees.

2005-2009: The AIC Years

In the mid-2000s, Sean Hill took a more hands-off approach to the theater, and the Austin Improv Collective started to produce shows there, creating programs like The Threefer and The Double Barrel.

2009-Present: New Management

By mid-2009, Sean Hill's lease on the property came to an end, and he chose not to renew. Eager to see the Hideout Theater continue, Jessica Arjet, Kareem Badr and Roy Janik acquired the property. They immediately scheduled regular two-month mainstage runs for Saturday nights. Over time, they steadily expanded the education program, and the weekly show schedule.

On November 1st, 2012, The Hideout Theatre acquired The Hideout Coffee House business and operations. In January of 2013, the Saturday mainstage shows, as well as Maestro, were moved to the building's larger, downstairs theater. In April, the Coffee House hours were extended, so performers could, at last, grab a drink or a bite to eat at the Hideout after finishing their shows. A second, smaller, Hideout Coffee location is scheduled to open in January 2014.

Shows

The Hideout Theatre puts on regular shows that run weekly or monthly for long periods, and mainstage shows, which are weekly with one- or two-month runs. For information about the mainstages, see the List of Hideout Mainstage Shows in Chronological Order.

Ongoing Shows

• Hideout Kids
• The Free Fringe
• Gorilla Theater
• Maestro
• More or Less
• Six Degrees
• The Spectacle
• The Threefer
• The Weekender
• The Wheel, a regular Friday-night slot, has included the following monthly shows:
  • 2x4
  • Control Issues
  • Dubbed Indemnity
  • The Fancy-Pants Mashup
  • The Lottery
  • Maestro Raw
  • The Narrative Improv Jam
  • The Nightmare Video Project
  • The TV Set
  • "TheatreDome"

Media

Videos

• A "tribute video" by Troy Miller from 2009.
• Theater promo from 2013.

More Information

• A text adventure written about the Hideout.
• Post about the theater by Andrew Buck.