10-03-06 Tuesday Night Jam

vine311 · Post by **vine311** » October 4th, 2006, 10:12 am

I just wanted to let you folks know that the jam last night was a big success. It was well attended (about 15 - 20 folks I'd guess) and ran very smoothly. There were several new faces in the crowd and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. (there was even one guy who showed up to do the mask workshop but ended up staying and jamming) I'd like to send a big thanks to Mike, Matt and Eric for helping me run things and keeping the momentum going. There is a lot of new, untapped talent showing up on Tuesday nights and I'm excited to see what these folks are capable of.

We even had a guest appearance from our shiny new Executive Director.

Some things that I plan to do different during the next jam:

1. Make a list beforehand of warmups

2. Make a list beforehand of sceneic excercises that all focus on one general area. (characters, heightening, physicality, etc.)

3. Announce all new classes that are starting up both at the Hideout and Coldtowne theatre

4. Announce all show times, especially to brand new folks

5. Try not to lose my voice halfway through the class

If any of you folks that attended the jam last night would like to offer any suggestions on how to run it better or make it more fun I'd love to hear what you have to say. If anyone that has experience running them in the past has any pointers, I'd love to hear that too.

Viva la Jam!

Roy Janik · Post by **Roy Janik** » October 4th, 2006, 10:27 am

Ah, that's so very awesome.

Thanks for doing this, Jason. I hope one day to be able to make it to the jam again.

For those of you interested in helping to run a jam or two, and make it ( in the words of Andy Crouch) "Rock Ass", sign up in this thread here.

Jason brings up some excellent points, too. When running/helping a jam, try and mention:

1) the availability/awesomeness of classes
2) Maestro and the other shows going on
3) the forums

I'll be making up a small flier specifically geared towards jam participants.

ChrisTrew.Com · Post by **ChrisTrew.Com** » October 4th, 2006, 1:51 pm

In addition to classes at the Hideout let's not forget about Shana Merlin's classes or the ColdTowne/Frank Mills classes at the Conservatory.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » October 4th, 2006, 1:52 pm

ChrisTrew.Com wrote:or the ColdTowne/Frank Mills classes at the Conservatory.

There are Frank Mills classes at the Conservatory? Where me read details?

vine311 · Post by **vine311** » October 4th, 2006, 2:07 pm

A comprehensive list of all classes/locations/times/rates and such would be most helpful. It might be a good idea to make a nice big poster to hang in the hallway for all to see. We could maybe do this in addition to having handy little flyers for folks to take home with them. In the interim, could someone compile said list and post in on the boards so that we can start informing folks sooner rather than later? Chris, are you privy to all of this info?

Roy Janik · Post by **Roy Janik** » October 4th, 2006, 2:10 pm

And once that list is made, I'll update Austinimprov.com with some the relevent info too.

ChrisTrew.Com · Post by **ChrisTrew.Com** » October 4th, 2006, 2:43 pm

Okay, this list will get made.
Also, ColdTowne and The Frank Mills teach the same curriculum at the Conservatory.

To clarify, there are not seperate classes, it's the same curriculum with 11 teachers. ColdTowne, Frank Mills, Jen Cargill, and Erin Plischke.

acrouch · Post by **acrouch** » October 4th, 2006, 4:32 pm

ChrisTrew.Com wrote:In addition to classes at the Hideout let's not forget about Shana Merlin's classes or the ColdTowne/Frank Mills classes at the Conservatory.

First of all, I love that we have multiple classes happening in town and that the improv community is going to grow exponentially as a result of that.

That said, part of the agreement that allows the Jam to happen for free at the Hideout on Tuesday nights (without paying any rent) is that it encourages people to take Heroes classes and see shows at the Hideout. So if we could at least continue to push those above and beyond everything else, that would be sweet.

Jastroch · Post by **Jastroch** » October 4th, 2006, 5:26 pm

acrouch wrote:
ChrisTrew.Com wrote:In addition to classes at the Hideout let's not forget about Shana Merlin's classes or the ColdTowne/Frank Mills classes at the Conservatory.
First of all, I love that we have multiple classes happening in town and that the improv community is going to grow exponentially as a result of that.

That said, part of the agreement that allows the Jam to happen for free at the Hideout on Tuesday nights (without paying any rent) is that it encourages people to take Heroes classes and see shows at the Hideout. So if we could at least continue to push those above and beyond everything else, that would be sweet.

Is the Jam a HideOut/Heroes thing then, or is it an AIC thing?

Roy Janik · Post by **Roy Janik** » October 4th, 2006, 5:57 pm

Jastroch wrote:Is the Jam a HideOut/Heroes thing then, or is it an AIC thing?

Who knows what the jam is. Sara Farr and Vince wanted to start a jam and do it at the Hideout, rent-free. Andy/The Hideout agreed, provided that the participants agreed to bring people/family/friends to come see Maestro... an exchange of space for increased ticket sales, more or less.

That ne'er really panned out (or rather, not in a quantifiable way), and then all this awesomeness happened with the AIC forming and the shows expanding, and Maestro getting a consistent audience on its own. And Vince moved to Mexico, and Sara got busy.

So now the jam is just the jam, so it's sort of an AIC thing by default.

So I think Andy's deal is that The Hideout needs something in return for providing a space for the jam, because in theory the space needs to be rented to make Sean Hill happy.

I could be wrong.

This will all end in tears, I know it.

shando · Post by **shando** » October 4th, 2006, 6:13 pm

Jastroch wrote:
acrouch wrote:
ChrisTrew.Com wrote:In addition to classes at the Hideout let's not forget about Shana Merlin's classes or the ColdTowne/Frank Mills classes at the Conservatory.
First of all, I love that we have multiple classes happening in town and that the improv community is going to grow exponentially as a result of that.

That said, part of the agreement that allows the Jam to happen for free at the Hideout on Tuesday nights (without paying any rent) is that it encourages people to take Heroes classes and see shows at the Hideout. So if we could at least continue to push those above and beyond everything else, that would be sweet.
Is the Jam a HideOut/Heroes thing then, or is it an AIC thing?

This is at the root of every discussion we end up having. Maybe a better angle then is to ask not what the AIC is but to ask what is the Heroes/The Hideout?

arclight · Post by **arclight** » October 4th, 2006, 7:56 pm

acrouch wrote:
ChrisTrew.Com wrote:In addition to classes at the Hideout let's not forget about Shana Merlin's classes or the ColdTowne/Frank Mills classes at the Conservatory.
First of all, I love that we have multiple classes happening in town and that the improv community is going to grow exponentially as a result of that.

That said, part of the agreement that allows the Jam to happen for free at the Hideout on Tuesday nights (without paying any rent) is that it encourages people to take Heroes classes and see shows at the Hideout. So if we could at least continue to push those above and beyond everything else, that would be sweet.

As an alternative, figure out who takes responsibility for the Jam (I'm assuming AIC but it could be more than one entity), and have them pay something reasonable for the use of Hideout facilities,

I'm uncomfortable having the AIC favor a particular venue or school, but I believe the Jam is a worthwhile endeavor and I don't expect the Hideout to waive rent for the space (that's unrealistic - they need to get something in return, monetary or not.) So what does the Jam cost and who should pay for it?

acrouch · Post by **acrouch** » October 6th, 2006, 5:17 pm

Renting the classroom for three hours on a Tuesday night costs $45.

The Heroes is the resident production company at the Hideout Theatre. It produces the 8:00pm and 10:00pm shows on Saturday nights and the Heroes classes. Roy gave a very accurate description of the arrangement with the Jam.

shando · Post by **shando** » October 6th, 2006, 7:44 pm

Andy, I was just being snide about our ongoing questions about what constitutes an AIC show. There's no internal consistency on that issue. Take a good look at www.austinimprov.com's front page and you will see what I mean.

I am working with Chris on the other theater models adn we will have a summary and proposal about these things for the next meeting.

sara farr · Post by **sara farr** » October 6th, 2006, 10:57 pm

So... are all shows in the 8pm Saturday are "Heroes of Comedy" produced shows? My understanding was that David Lampe & Troy Miller (both former/current? Heroes) were producing the "Cops & Lawyers" show. But are they using their own money, or money from the Heroes income? Or is it a Heroes show because they are using the name "Heroes of Comedy" in the advertising?

Also, am I a "Hero of Comedy" since I have taken Level 3 with the Heroes school and am currently doing tech for "Cops & Lawyers" show? (I am not getting paid for that show, but I don't know if anybody else is getting paid). Hm.

And it is my memory that the deal with the Jam and the Hideout was this...

There were a bunch of us who wanted a central location to keep practicing improv. This included the people exiting Shana Merlin's Improv 201 class from the "State Theatre School of Acting", those finishing Andy Crouch's Level 3 class at the "Heroes of Comedy School of Improvisation", as well as experienced improvisers like Dave Buckman and Rachel Madorsky. For us, the Hideout was an ideal choice with it's central location, empty classroom & stage. So we met with Andy and he told us that if we could bring in 10 people EACH to 3 weeks of Micetro shows, he would let us use the upstairs rent free... as long as it didn't interfer with others wishing to rent the space, or the scheduling of "Heroes" classes.

I think Dave & Rachel's vision was that the Jam would grow into a real show, with experienced and new improvisers jamming together in freestyle scenes, in front of a paying audience. This was what I'd seen in San Francisco Improv Co-op's Monday Night Jam, and what gave me the idea that we should have one too. BTW, that show in San Fran was attended by a member of the National Endowment for the Arts who had come to see and decide if he should give funding to the SFIC. It was a great show, populated with improvisers from all around the Bay Area. I think I and the Arts guy were the only non-improvisers in the audience -- which was packed solid with people.

My vision was more immediate. I thought the Jam would just be those of us who were already taking or had taken all the classes and were already going to see shows. And was for a while. Until word got out about the Jam.

But before any of that happened, it was also understood that we would encourage any new people at the Jam to go see the shows at the Hideout, as well as let them know about the classes.

But, if we are doing that, I don't see what's wrong with also pimping other improv happening around town. It's that kind of collaborative marketing that will make IMPROV thrive in Austin.