Volunteers Needed for the Moontower Comedy Festival!

[happywaffle]

Heiberg and Jesse: Kareem put it quite nicely.

Which Moontower troupes have you personally seen perform? Which specific troupe are you enraged didn't make it in?

"Enraged" isn't the word, but anyway I'm not mad about any specific troupe. I was quite clear that I think the lineup itself is strong and talented. It's just pulled from a very specific and limited pool, with no consideration given to the 80% of Austin improvisers who aren't connected to TNM. (Referring of course to the Austin-based troupes here, obviously there are out-of-town invites—though even some of them are connected to TNM.)

With regards to the double standard - I'm referring to a PM I received in the past. The nature of the PM was "in general its thought to be disrespectful to call out casting decisions on this forum. Instead email any concerns privately." This was in response to Maestro being cast on three hour notice.

Fair enough. I still think casting a single Maestro, vs. an entire multi-day festival, is a completely different animal, but I wasn't privy to that conversation and it's all tangential to the topic, so never mind.

The difference here is that you guys haven't responded to or shown disrespect directly to Chris Trew. Or myself.

You're replying to Shandra or one of her employees who has absolutely no connections or ties to your qualms. You are responding to Shandra, who no doubt is attempting to be inclusive and offering opportunities to get on the ground floor of the future of the festival.

This is an extremely fair point. Shandra probably had no involvement in casting the festival. If I were speaking to her, I'd apologize if my hostile reaction caused any offense, and then explain where it came from.

But then, you can't begrudge us too much for viewing the festival as a single organism. The left hand (which needs volunteers) is being inclusive, while the right hand (which collects talent) is not. Which is how many festivals operate, of course—and Jesse, I expect this is your true point of view—but the difference is, most festivals don't fill out their lineup with performers from their own venue.

Believe me, folks who responded to the volunteer call are being treated royally. Yep, volunteers get to see shows for free. And they're being offered positions as house managers & the possibility for growth next year and the year after that.

I never thought otherwise. Like Shannon and Heiberg, I don't begrudge anyone who volunteers. Really. But we're talking about two different things: the opportunity to help house-manage and do other background work, vs. the opportunity to actually participate in the festival.

Y'all enjoy your festival. I mean that sincerely. I just can't get enthused about it myself. Nor can many other members of the AIC. Which is everyone's loss, in the long run.

[Spots]

Kevin, I appreciate your thoughtful reply.


I admit that I enjoy the cross-pollination aspect of this community. When it stops being fun is when certain individuals, say like Kareem, hold that fact as leverage against a single entity. It stops feeling like a community and feels more like an organized union. Is there an improv council we have please? A panel of elders?

In short, no there isn't. If you opened your own business tomorrow you could run said business any way you feel appropriate. But Kevin you just phrased it in a way to say, "This festival won't be ordained by the community at large."

I don't know what that is. Or means. While we're speaking of entitlement? I personally booked There's Waldo & others -- and I stand by my choices. You won't succeed in stressing me out over a comedy festival.

[happywaffle]

Kevin, I appreciate your thoughtful reply.

And, just to take a deep breath for a moment, I appreciate yours. It helps me clarify my own opinions to have an opposing point of view.

I admit that I enjoy the cross-pollination aspect of this community. When it stops being fun is when certain individuals, say like Kareem, hold that fact as leverage against a single entity. It stops feeling like a community and feels more like an organized union. Is there an improv council we have please? A panel of elders?

I kind of want to ask for more specifics, but I won't, since that would just spill this thread in an entirely new direction. Even if I just take you at your word, that Kareem has leveraged the AIC community against TNM in some way, it doesn't make me any happier about how the HYF was curated. One thing doesn't cancel out the other.

But Kevin you just phrased it in a way to say, "This festival won't be ordained by the community at large."

"Ordained by," no. "Supported enthusiastically," maybe.

It's entirely possible that many non-TNM improvisers will attend the Hell Yes Fest, and I have no doubt that they'll have a great time if they do—since you mention There's Waldo, I'm one of their biggest fans. But it's a certainty that some improvisers, like myself, just have a bad taste in our mouth about the whole thing, for reasons previously specified.

Sounds like you're satisfied with the TNM-centric way in which you cast the thing, and as we've said several times, it's certainly your right to do it that way. Just know that you're generating some ill feelings in the process. If that doesn't cause you any stress, if you don't see any area for improvement, then no problem and have a great festival.

[kbadr]

I admit that I enjoy the cross-pollination aspect of this community. When it stops being fun is when certain individuals, say like Kareem, hold that fact as leverage against a single entity.

Seriously?

I told people to call me out, so you have. But you're going to have to do more than speak in general terms. Give me specific examples. If you want to pin your negative feelings about the improv community on me, I am more than happy to be the face of it, but you can't make statements like that without backing it up. I'll start a new thread so we don't derail this conversation.

[Spots]

When has casting a festival not caused resentment and ill feelings?


Again, you are speaking on behalf of an undefined number of people. Please have that undefined number of people email me personally.

[happywaffle]

When has casting a festival not caused resentment and ill feelings?

It's not the casting choices, it's the casting process. Most festivals either put out a call for submissions or make an effort to reach out to local talent. Yours did neither.

Again, you are speaking on behalf of an undefined number of people.

I'm only speaking for myself and the other talented improvisers on this thread who seem to feel the same way.

[Lants]

I don't think we need to start another forum fight over this (as entertaining as they can be to watch).

I think Moontower thought that teaming up with HYF would cover the Austin Improv portion of comedy for the Moontower festival. I don't think they did the research to see that it would be mostly represented by TNM (a decision that is fully within TNM's rights to make... when a theater backs a festival, they're usually going to pull mostly from their own troupes).

Or maybe they did do the research... I also don't think that Moontower cares that much about improv being a big part of the festival. It's not what sells tickets. This is a festival out to make money... this is also something they have the right to do.

It's also our right to be a little ticked that after they overlook a majority of the Austin Sketch and Improv scene, they come here looking for volunteers.

[beardedlamb]

I'm just like... when are they gonna release the schedule of oddities?

[chicocarlucci]

Kareem,

Thanks for the explanation. The reason I didn't pick up on that as the gist of your annoyance the first time was because that's not how the thread started out and I was wondering if the "volunteer/performer" thing was "drift" from the original annoyance.

Hope that makes sense.

[Justin D.]

I can't believe I have explain this but I will.

Moontower comedy chose to ignore the greater improv community in Austin and instead made the improv portion by invitation only. Fine. That's the perogative of the producers I get it. By doing so, they sent the implied message of "we do not need the Austin Improv Community."

But now, when it is time to solicit volunteers, it is convenient for them to reach out to the Austin Improv Community at large. When they need something (the aspect of a festival less fun than performing), they are more vocal and reach out to us.

That is rude. To me at least. So I said as much. Because I was replying to an account created solely to ask for volunteers from the community (or forum that is the internet presence of said community), I was a little brusk.

Point is, if you were selective about how you solicited performs from the improv Community, use the same standard for getting volunteers to do the hard behind the scenes work. Fish from the same exact pond.

This makes perfect and absolute sense. If you can't understand that, then you're trying to not understand it on purpose.

"Hey, Austin and your huge pool of comedians that make up improvisers, sketch performers, and stand-up comics, here's this huge comedy festival we're going to do in your town that we're not going to ask for submissions for or invite the vast majority of you to be a part of, unless you come from one particular theater in town for the most part. Also, we're billing this as the first comedy festival in Austin even though you apparently have multiple others and have had so for years. Cool? Good, we thought so too."

Time passes and then: "Hey, Austin and your huge pool of comedians that make up improvisers, sketch performers, and stand-up comics that we didn't want to be part of our comedy festival, can you help us put on our festival by checking people's tickets and badges? Cool?"

The first part may seem dickish, but it's business and most people let that go. The second part seems dickish and purposefully ignorant. It doesn't take much to type the word Moontower in the forum's search engine to see what's been said about the festival before. Doing so would most likely tell someone that asking this here would generally be seen as a bad idea.

That all said, like others, I wouldn't harbor ill feelings toward anyone who volunteers to help out this fest, because some of the guests look great.

But to not understand where a feeling of annoyance or frustration comes from with this call for volunteers is bizarre.

[happywaffle]

Also, we're billing this as the first comedy festival in Austin even though you apparently have multiple others and have had so for years.

God, I forgot about this. Saw it called that in two different places. Grr.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

it's basically like deliberately not inviting people to your party (which is fine, it's YOUR party), and then coming over and asking them to cater it.

(and yes, then also telling everyone how it's the first party EVER, when some of us have been busting our asses throwing and attending parties for over a decade. is this analogy stretched thin? i may be watching too much Party Down...)

[ratliff]

Way too late for this, but ...

A good friend of mine is working for Moontower as a volunteer coordinator. She has lived in Austin for years and is one of those people without whom the music scene could not exist, even though she's not a musician. She's not connected with the comedy scene in any way. She's just enthusiastic about supporting local culture, and because she's almost as old as I am, she's done more of that than most of the people on this forum. She wanted to help out at Moontower in the same way that she's helped out at music events for years.

She asked me if I would scout for volunteers and I told her the best thing to do would be to post on the forums. I knew that there was a certain amount of resentment toward Moontower, but clearly I was unaware how much, or I never would have suggested she post this. I really thought the worst-case scenario was that her post would go completely unanswered.

If your vitriol was brought forth by the chutzpah of Moontower posting on the AIC forums, please redirect it toward me. As far as I know I was the person who suggested doing this, and I suggested it to someone who had no idea what she was walking into. I just called her to apologize for sending her into the lions' den with a platter full of steaks without a word of warning, and I apologize to you if you were harmed or offended by this post.

[TexasImprovMassacre]

I appreciate kareem's presence in this discussion.

I would love to hear from Chris or Tami on this issue, or on any of the issues regarding the decisions they have made that have caused people in the community to feel alienated.

I feel like hearing responses directly from them would probably be the best way to bring clarity to these matters.

I think that the theaters in this town are of course free to operate however they please, but I often take the absence of their responses on issues that they could easily lay speculation to rest on as them hiding from the truth.

[happywaffle]

Thanks Ratliff. No apology needed. As I said somewhere in the mess up there, my vitriol is aimed at the festival organizers (I'll just say the name: Chris Trew), not at anyone involved in volunteer-roping.

So on the off chance she sees this, I apologize to her for being one of the metaphorical lions, since she's certainly done nothing wrong. Volunteering for this festival would be a good use of somebody's time. Just not mine.