Cap City Comedy Club
Cap City Comedy Club is a professional stand-up comedy club in Austin, Texas and home to the Funniest Person in Austin competition. It also played a part in the early history of improv comedy in Austin.
In the 1980s Cap City was known as the Laff Stop. In 1986, from a series of workshops run by an actor named Rodney Rincon, a troupe called the Laff Staff was born, included Robert Faires, Dee Llewelyn, Joel McKean (Michael McKean's younger brother). Making their debut in early 1987, they performed a 45-minute pre-show lounge slot four days a week for about five years.
According to Robert Faires:
"When the Austin Comedy Workshop closed, I think most of the Esther's performers had had enough of improv. But a few of the folks more closely aligned with the stand-up and theatre scenes made the leap over to the Laff Stop, and out of a series of workshops run by an actor named Rodney Rincon (who moved to LA many years ago), the Laff Staff was born. I remember the workshops running in the fall of 1986 and the group debuting in early 1987, but I'm not sure I have any solid documentation on that. Angela, Chris Bonno, De Lewellen, and I were the four Hilarions who were in the first cast of the Laff Staff, and there were three or four other regulars: Ed Toutant, Mike Emody, and Andy Weisberg are the ones I recall now, with a wonderful keyboardist named Joe Coleman who accompanied us at every show. We were given a 45-minute pre-show slot in the Lounge Tuesday through Thursdays and Sundays, and I think that lasted 5 or 6 years."
"The Laff Staff did do a week headlining at the Comedy Workshop in Houston, and I think that may have been a first for a local improv troupe to get a professional gig outside of Austin. The only other thing I can think to say is that we were all shortform back in the day. We all knew what the Harold was, and we would always try Harolds in rehearsal, but I don't recall ever doing one in performance, and I don't recall anyone else making that a thing. I think for the first 10 years or so that improv was getting a footing in Austin, it was all about the games."
