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

"...stronger. This week sees the grand opening of the Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation and Gnap! Theater Projects Improv..."

Feb. 22, 2008 Arts Feature by Avimaan Syam

Merlin works? Gandalf goes on vacation?

DJ Manateemann warps space and time!

Nov. 22, 2011 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

Merlin Enchantment at Zach

Shana Merlin, that is – making improv magic with Wizards

"...January saw the debut of the Institution Theater. Now Merlin Works, the improv institute founded by Shana Merlin, blasts..."

Jan. 13, 2013 Arts Post by Robert Faires

MerlinWorks Works the Improv Wizardry at ZACH

Teaching that whole yes-and thing at the city's shiny core of theatre

"...The other schools remain with their originating venues, but MerlinWorks, that Shana Merlin-helmed powerhouse of improv training, has been..."

Jan. 16, 2015 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

Get Up Into the Arts Midwest Conference

Get Up – as in, Shannon McCormick & Shana Merlin

"...That amazing duo of improvisers. Merlin lately flexing her prodigious improv-teaching powers at Zach Theatre...."

Sept. 10, 2013 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

Guide to Austin Improv

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

"...acclaimed duo Get Up (the other half is Shana Merlin), the guiding force (and talented star) of such shows..."

Aug. 26, 2016 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Off the Cuff and in Your City

A roundup of Austin improv schools

"...noobs of all kinds. These schools offer classes and workshops in a variety of styles, schedules, and prices; we've..."

Aug. 28, 2009 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

"...The Hideout. Merlin Works. ColdTowne. The New Movement. The Institution Theater. Ladies..."

Aug. 29, 2014 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Unscripted: Sexy Future Space Lady

What says summer fun more than out-of-this-world lovin' with a Sexy Future Space Lady? Especially improvised!

"...plays, TV shows, or genres as springboards for new works they concoct on the spot. Last summer, Death by..."

May 18, 2018 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Do Women Rule The Austin Comedy Scene?

Kat Ramzinski suggests that, yeah, they sure as hell do

"...Crapshoot Improvised Comedy (Fridays at The Institution Theatre); Shana Merlin of Merlin Works: Improv at Zach Theatre; Alex Berry,..."

Feb. 21, 2013 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

FronteraFest 2013

Performance jamboree's 20th brings back old faves and welcomes new stars

"...night, Tuesdays through Fridays, 8pm, you get five different works of 25 minutes or less, and on Saturday the..."

Jan. 11, 2013 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Everybody Must Get 'Stoned'

Improv Guru Keith Johnstone brings his Maestro to the Long Center

"...he'll be here this week, teaching a few already-sold-out workshops and riding herd over some of the best improvisers..."

Jan. 15, 2010 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Wonder Stories: Artists in Space and Unstuck in Time

Austin artists and arts leaders reveal which work of science fiction affected them the most

"...Shana Merlin..."

July 25, 2008 Arts Feature

Improv Thanks

"...the excellent piece on the grand opening of the Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation and Gnap! Theater Projects Improv..."

Feb. 24, 2008 Postmarks

Five Things to Do Online Locally Right Now

Still not risking crowds? We've got your socially distanced virtual back

"...families of improv – the Hideout Theatre, Fallout Theater, Merlin Works, ColdTowne Theater – have "yes, and"-ed up a..."

Jan. 21, 2022 Arts Column by Wayne Alan Brenner

Ladies Are Funny Festival

More East Coast comics and a full night of stand-up add more laughs to LAFF

"...the other two are Valerie Ward of Parallelogramophonograph and Merlin Works' Shana Merlin – producing the diverse array of..."

April 30, 2010 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Comedy Out the Wazoo and In Your Weekend: Now!

Unless you'd rather just, what, twiddle your thumbs until Moontower?

"...the perfect capper to an improv weekend is the Merlin Works improv showcase at ZACH Theatre, featuring the all-star..."

April 9, 2014 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

Home Is Where the Art Is

Time for FronteraFest's 'Mi Casa Es Su Teatro' fun

"...3:30pm: The Brothers Merlin Loaded Gun Theory offers a sneak peek at its..."

Feb. 8, 2013 Arts Post by Robert Faires

Postmarks

Our readers talk back.

"...Shana Merlin..."

Sept. 1, 2006 Column

Improv Thanks

Aug. 25, 2006 Postmarks

Fallout Theatre Hosts Hardass Trivia Tournament of Champions

Comedy competition of cultural arcana comes to Twitch

"...And, no, we’re not forgetting that MerlinWorks continues its bring-improv-to-the-world teaching mission and that Tom Booker..."

Nov. 2, 2020 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

Austin’s Fallout Theater Phoenixes up from The New Movement Ashes

New bosses, different from the old bosses, herald a fresh start

"...received from the Hideout and Coldtowne, the Institution, and MerlinWorks. When all of the chaos was happening, we received..."

May 8, 2018 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

Still the Fading Stains of Some Bad Improv Blood

Because: You have Five Families, you're gonna have some dysfunction.

"...at what those Hideout, ColdTowne, New Movement, Institution Theater, Merlin Works, and OOB people had to say about this..."

Aug. 28, 2014 Arts Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

Home for Heroes (and Others)

Transforming the storefront at 617 Congress into The Hideout, a multilevel arts venue, has been a learning process for proprietors Shana Merlin and Sean Hill. But after $250,000 of investment, the developer's dance of securing permits, and many hours of hard labor, they have created one of Austin's most user-friendly theatre spaces.

"...of the Nineties, but as Sean Hill and Shana Merlin tell it, the building is not without history. The..."

Aug. 4, 2000 Arts Feature by Phil West

Humor, Introspection, Ecstasy

UT Composer Dan Welcher is one step away from greatness.

"...decades, during which time it's premiered more than 100 works. He's been composing steadily since the Sixties, and had..."

April 13, 2001 Music Feature by Robert Faires

Five Austin Arts Events That Celebrate Nature

Because you know we’re all just a bunch of animals

"...ecofeminist sensibilities through video, installation, sculpture, photography, and performance works.Through Sept. 24. 916 Springdale Bldg. 2 #101, 512/939-6665. bigmedium.org..."

Aug. 26, 2022 Arts Column by Wayne Alan Brenner

The Green Knight

Dev Patel and David Lowery enchant with this astounding Arthurian myth

"...present and immediately identifiable, but the names Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, and Excalibur are never mentioned. Similarly, those with deeper..."

July 30, 2021 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Short Fringe: Wednesday Jan. 26

The Short Fringe lineup on Jan. 26 covered juice enthusiasts, life in a small Texas county, an action TV parody with a ticking clock, and a fading friendship as a wrestling match

"...pushed on a register), performers Shannon McCormick and Shana Merlin hilariously created impromptu scenarios of government agents, Highland Mall..."

Feb. 4, 2005 Arts Review by Heather Barfield Cole

Girls Girls Girls' Broad Ambition

In this improvised musical, the women of this acclaimed troupe take it to the Eighties and take over the workplace

"...other people. Hella scary, right? Well, not for Shana Merlin, Cynthia Oelkers, Amy Averett, Kimberly Cox, Caitlin Sweetlamb, and..."

April 27, 2018 Arts Review by T. Lynn Mikeska

Austin Improv

Three of Austin's top improv troupes get to play away this summer

"...channel the testosterone-fueled attitude and style of David Mamet's works, and Parallelogramophonograph, the B. Iden Payne Award-winning creators of..."

July 2, 2010 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

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