Friday Night in downtown Austin is crazy, filled with street musicians on every corner and bars brimming with local musicians. Most people know Austin is known for its music, but little is known about its theater scene. Heck, I've lived here and I don't know too much about it. But last night at the Hideout Theater on Congress Avenue, my sister and I got to see an improv showcase that made me laugh harder than most theater has in a long time. Actors and comedians came from all over the states and even the world (there was a Canadian in the bunch!) just to study the art of improv in Austin. The Hideout theater hosts 11 productions every weekend, and everything it produces is improv and comedic. The Hideout's weekend production "Process" showcases both the audition and final rehearsal of a play, but it's all happening in front of you. Even the cold reads are off blank paper. It's all improv. By the end of the show, the actors are in full makeup and costume made by a team of designers upstairs during the act. This small theater also will be apart of the Out of Bounds Comedy festival starting August 30, Austin's biggest comedy festival. That's a lot going on at what looks like a hipster cafe with office chairs in it at first.
Since studying in New York City, I've gained a growing appreciation for small and regional theater. I had a Professor that works in the Theater industry as a playwright tell us that Off-off Broadway, in the theaters with sometimes no more than 50 seats, is where the real theater happens. On Broadway you can't take risks. Nothing changes. But off broadway, in the small theaters is where the risks and creativity get unleashed. I worked as a Stage Manager for Match: Lit, a company that produces Shakespeare plays, and got to see this in action in an 80's themed "Taming of the Shrew." The same goes for regional theaters outside of New York. Places like the Creede Repertory Theater in Creede, CO and The Hideout in Austin allow actors to practice their craft to become better while also participating in important regional events like the "Out of Bounds" festival.
Small theaters are wonderful, and they're the ones that are keeping the art alive. Whether it be improv and comedy, or all over drama and children's theater, places like these are making theater better and growing it everyday. Theater is an experience, and these places are making it a good and real one. So hurrah for small theater, and may you keep producing, writing, creating and doing this craft proud.
(For more information on the Hideout Theater and their productions such as Process, visit http://www.hideouttheatre.com/)
