Guide to Austin Improv

The venues, events, troupes, and individuals who have transformed Austin into a "Yes, and" boomtown

"...adepts of spontaneity, practitioners of the unpredictable. They are improvisers, and Austin is overrun with them...."

Aug. 26, 2016 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

The Hideout Improv Marathon

Eight players improvise for 40 hours straight to help save their artistic home

"...If ever you questioned the degree to which Austin improvisers love to make shit up, swing by the..."

June 26, 2009 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Merlin Works Institute and Gnap! Theater Season: Making the improv pie higher

Austin's strong improv scene is about to get even stronger, with a new training center and performance space

"...With two venues catering almost full-time to improv, three festivals on the calendar that spotlight improvisers, and..."

Feb. 22, 2008 Arts Feature by Avimaan Syam

Top 10 Wonderful Things About Austin Theatre in 2008 (In No Particular Order)

Chronicle Arts writer Avimaan Syam recalls 2008, in the theatre

"...7) Ka-Baam!! (Austin Improv Collective) Austin's improv scene has grown to include..."

Jan. 2, 2009 Arts Feature by Avimaan Syam

Live! Nude! Improv!

They’re getting naked at the Hideout

"...the theatre run by that venue’s talented cadre of improvisers, some of the performers, male and female, are doffing..."

Aug. 11, 2011 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

The Austin Visual Arts Awards

A new set of honors for the city's hardworking painters, sculptors, and other artists

"...have the B. Iden Payne Awards for theatre, the Austin Improv Collective awards, the Austin Fashion Awards, the American..."

Dec. 4, 2009 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Miyazaki, Hot Boys, Jane Austen Improv, and More Recommended Events

The weekend is looking ... a little weird

"...the years permeated and collaborated with myriad layers of Austin artists to make for a flavorful, well, future. Shridhar..."

July 12, 2024 Arts Feature by James Scott

Austin Sketch Fest Rocks Our City All Week Long

The ninth annual festival puts scripted comedy front & center

"...Because you’ve got stand-up, and you’ve got improv, and they pretty much comprise the scene. Everybody’s always..."

May 17, 2018 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

Austin Psych Fest Announces Night Shows With the Zakary Thaks, METZ, Luna Li

As well as set times for the main fest at Far Out Lounge

"...Austin Psych Fest has announced Downtown kickoff and night shows,..."

April 3, 2024 Music Post by Miranda Garza

BS4 Improv & Sketch Comedy Fest Schedule

Fri, Apr 2 - Thu, Apr 8

"...Watson declares it King of the Hill Day in Austin...."

April 2, 1999 Arts Feature

BS4 Improv & Sketch Comedy Fest Schedule

Thursday, Apr 8

"...Henry Faulk Living Theatre Spoo (Chicago, IL) Drunk Baby Collective (Minneapolis, MN)..."

April 9, 1999 Arts Feature

Austin Sketch Fest

Rise of the planet of the skits

"...line supremacy (see elsewhere on this page) and the improvisers are resting up for their annual weekend-long endurance test..."

May 18, 2012 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Austin's Artspace Crisis and Microvenues

Are home art galleries and mini-performance venues the answer to the space crunch?

"...art shows and artists on Shady Lane in East Austin. As a result of its landlord not renewing the..."

June 22, 2018 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Me Nd Adam’s Keep Austin Cheer’d and More Crucial Concerts This Week

Get in the holiday spirit with Spaceflight Records or Spiritualized

"...Looking for the best shows happening in Austin this week? Check out the Chronicle music team’s handpicked..."

Dec. 8, 2023 Music Column by Rachel Rascoe

Inside Austin’s Fantasy Roleplaying Speakeasy With Oakda Malkuth

Straddling two worlds with Tiny Minotaur's bartending orc

"...At Austin's Tiny Minotaur tavern – a roleplaying speakeasy in an..."

Nov. 12, 2021 Food Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

99 Austin Acts at SXSW Music

Support the home team!

"...Out of the City. The shift allowed the decadelong Austin scene veteran to fully embrace brooding indie rock, full..."

March 16, 2018 Music Feature

Austin Noise Enters the No Zone

Anarchist Scott Crow tops Jan. 16 anti-music bill

"...And it’s your typical weekend show presented by Austin Noise, the semi-organized local community dedicated to the promotion..."

Jan. 12, 2015 Music Post by Waylon Cunningham

Off the Cuff and in Your City

A roundup of Austin improv schools

"...Consider improvisation, comedic and otherwise. What it takes to make something..."

Aug. 28, 2009 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

De-Spurring the Moment

The making of the 2007 Out of Bounds Improv Festival

"...The thing about improvisation, comedy or otherwise, is that it's done on the..."

Aug. 31, 2007 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Making Offers No One Can Refuse

The Five Families of Austin improv go Out of Bounds with the 13th annual comedy festival

"...Ladies and gentlemen, these are the Five Families of Austin improv...."

Aug. 29, 2014 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

In Memoriam: Robin Goodfellow

Singular Austin improviser has taken his final bow (wow wow)

"...loss of Uggie, that furry scene-stealer from The Artist, Austin is still grieving for the loss of its own..."

Aug. 12, 2015 Arts Post by Robert Faires

ColdTowne

In just months, New Orleans improv troupe ColdTowne has become deeply involved in Austin's comedy scene, and now it's close to getting its own venue

"...than a year since the members of New Orleans improv troupe ColdTowne made our town their town (after escaping..."

June 2, 2006 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Out of Bounds Comedy Festival

In its eighth year, the annual Austin comedy festival did this city proud

"...humans, so we won't be surprised to see the Austin Improv Collective's Andy Crouch lurching zombielike across the cityscape..."

Sept. 11, 2009 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

McNichol & May: Harking back with style

Bob McNichol & Erika May are among the most literary improvisers in town, each of their spontaneous narratives carried along by the depth of the characters they create

"..."McNichol & May are a Chicago-trained improvisation duo that also happens to be married." So begins..."

June 22, 2007 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Top 10 Favorite Arts Events Across the Disciplines (In No Particular Order)

Chronicle Arts writer Wayne Alan Brenner on his favorite arts events in 2008

"...1) Cult of Color: Call to Color (Ballet Austin) So Ballet Austin took a creation myth from the..."

Jan. 2, 2009 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

New Year's Eve Dining & Lodging

It's time to start making reservations, party people

"...AUSTIN STEAM TRAIN: TWILIGHT FLYER If you're looking for a..."

Dec. 21, 2007 Food Feature by Sara Robberson

Free Night of Theater 2006: The list

Take your pick of 21 performances being offered at no charge with Free Night of Theater 2006

"...Thursday, Oct. 19Austin Improv Collective: Thursday Night Awesome; The Hideout Theatre, 617..."

Oct. 6, 2006 Arts Feature

Is That Science?: The elements of smile

The initial results of the experiment Is That Science? – wherein members of the theatrical company St. Idiot Collective interacted with the element Improvium – were fast, furious, and funny

"...The Austin improv scene, like all improv scenes, comprises many elements...."

June 29, 2007 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Sugar, Water, Purple: Can We Kick It? at ColdTowne

This showcase showed how improvisers from disenfranchised groups can provide meaningful support for one another and make damn good improv

"...Unsurprisingly, this sort of fraternity makes for damn good improv – as evidenced by ColdTowne Theater's weekly showcase Can..."

Jan. 4, 2019 Arts Review by Trey Gutierrez

'2 Awkward 2 Heavy'

Art collective Ink Tank unleashes its sequel to last summer's blockbuster 'More Awkward Than Heavy'

"...Ink Tank, the artist collective known for its encompassing, unconventional installations and performances, seeks..."

Aug. 9, 2013 Arts Feature by Caitlin Greenwood

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