Promoting Improv in Austin

Alex Gray · Post by **Alex Gray** » April 12th, 2010, 9:40 pm

I would like to add a bit to my web site about each act booked into the Lair - simple things such as "winner of so and so award" or maybe a few words about what they intend to perform. Some folk seem to like this idea - some not so much. Do y'all have any insights and/or advice?

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » April 13th, 2010, 12:03 am

I think it's important to get a marketable blurb from the troupe, and I think you'll find that if a troupe can't give you an adequate, intriguing description of what they're doing, their show will probably reflect that lack of for-thought.

Ask the troupes for a description that will sell their show, then ask them again, then write one yourself if they don't provide it. If and when they complain about what you wrote, ask them politely how they would change it. It's like herding cats, pulling teeth, or spinning aphorisms sometimes to get troupes to describe their show, but it's an important responsibility and a small price to pay on their part for the stage time you are giving them. Make them do it.

Asaf · Post by **Asaf** » April 13th, 2010, 8:01 am

Alex, I think particularly for the schedule that you guys have put together, you want blurbs so that troupes can stand out against each other. Otherwise, how is the layman going to know what show would appeal to them?

I do the newsletter every week so I have a list of troupe blurbs that I will email you to get you started.

Deano · Post by **Deano** » September 12th, 2011, 3:48 am

The crazy thing about these fucking Bots is that we have learned to ignore them. It's not even out of the ordinary to us that a machine is stammering into human conversations, creepily honing their conversation skills to someday trick us into not knowing they aren't people. And the day WILL come when we don't know the difference.

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » September 12th, 2011, 4:22 am

Some of them *are* people, and this is their awful awful job. I find that also disturbing.

Terry · Post by **Terry** » September 12th, 2011, 10:06 am

Some of them *are* people, and this is their awful awful job. I find that also disturbing.

That makes me sad.

ratliff · Post by **ratliff** » September 12th, 2011, 5:07 pm

Whoever deleted what was presumably 'bot spam, thank you for making the rest of this thread hilarious in its new context.

shando · Post by **shando** » September 13th, 2011, 7:51 am

ratliff wrote:Whoever deleted what was presumably 'bot spam, thank you for making the rest of this thread hilarious in its new context.

Agreed.

September 13th, 2011, 10:22 am

shando wrote:
ratliff wrote:Whoever deleted what was presumably 'bot spam, thank you for making the rest of this thread hilarious in its new context.
Agreed.

You're both welcome.