Start Trekkin'
| Start Trekkin' | |
|---|---|
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| Theater | The Hideout Theatre |
| Directed by | |
| Cast | Various |
| Crew | Various |
| Initial Run | May 2004 |
| Subsequent Run(s) |
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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 2011
Event Appearances
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.
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.
- A photoset by Peter Rogers of the 1/8/11 performance.
- A photoset by Steve Rogers of the 1/14/11 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.
