Number of Shows at the Hideout

acrouch · Post by **acrouch** » November 3rd, 2006, 2:47 pm

I've been mulling this over, and we should probably have a discussion at the General Meeting on Sunday. Which I'm out of town for, so here are my musings to date:

We're struggling with low audience in the late shows (and many of the shows in general) at the Hideout. And with ColdTowne open and active, our improviser manpower is spread that much thinner. What do people think about moving the Hideout back to an 8pm and 10pm schedule? No 11:30pm slots.

If we're going to do this, January seems like the natural transition point. The Threefer could absorb Double Barrel (and Kaci and Roy if they're still willing). The Cage Match could move to 10:00pm. Maybe we could lengthen the sets in each and include an intermission (at least in the Threefer). We could put the Blank Show to rest, or somehow make it more functional (less pressure to put a show up every week).

We created these extra show slots because we needed them, and at this point, it feels like we don't necessarily need them. What do you guys think?

Roy Janik · Post by **Roy Janik** » November 3rd, 2006, 3:10 pm

I don't have anything intelligent to say about this (yet), but I say keep 'em. I like having the variety and opportunities that the slots allow. The Blank Show's not greatly attended, but it does give us the chance to experiment, and with various owners each week, the onus doesn't fall on any one person.

Plus, I'd hate to see the Double Barrel go away in favor of the Threefer. I love having a show where troupes are given a little extra time. 10 minutes or so really makes a difference, and I'm not sure you'd want a show as long as giving 3 troupes that same amount of time.

kristin · Post by **kristin** » November 3rd, 2006, 3:27 pm

I like the double barrel. It really does have a different feel to it.

Late shows are tough. Was having CageMatch on Thursday at 10 ever discussed?

Jastroch · Post by **Jastroch** » November 3rd, 2006, 3:53 pm

With the exception of last week, it seemed to me that our attendence was back up after the students got back, but I haven't looked at any numbers.

The cage match has definetly been down for a long time. Not sure what to do about this, but looking back, the vote tallies were like 27-17 for those first few cage matches. What changed?

as for CT theater, we've made a conscious effort NOT to do improv on Friday nights for that very reason, so there's that... Cutting a Friday night slot won't help, since for the time being there's no "AIC" slot scheduled by the AIC scheduling comittee. Right now, scheduling at CT is done in two month runs and is entirely at our whim, which means there's only gonna be a couple of troupes effected, and even then on Thursday and Saturday nights (And Sundays, You Me & Greg).

A few people have stepped up the plate to help us run the joint, but a lot of that will be aleviated by our interns...

mcnichol · Post by **mcnichol** » November 3rd, 2006, 4:04 pm

Roy Janik wrote:I don't have anything intelligent to say about this (yet), but I say keep 'em. I like having the variety and opportunities that the slots allow.

I agree completely -- I'd prefer to keep all of the slots. For what its worth, I don't think we will ever fill up the audiences with consistency.

And I personally think of the Double Barrel and three-fer as two very distinct things. If anything needs to be absorbed, I'd argue the 3-fer be absored into the Double Barrel.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » November 3rd, 2006, 4:09 pm

One thing I *do* like is that the Double Barrel gives you more time. Similarly, the 3-Fer gives you less time, which is a positive thing for some troupes. Some troupes don't want to fill 35 minutes all the time.

I also like the Cagematch a lot, but I agree that it's been lacking in audiences lately.

We should at least see if the latest round of postcards that Jeremy ordered (that include all of the Hideout show brands) boost attendance before we can them. Or rather, we should *do* something to try to get more audience, rather than cutting bait. If they had audiences that were considered good at some point, what's changed and how can we fix it?

Nothing really useful there...just idle ramblings.

Jastroch · Post by **Jastroch** » November 3rd, 2006, 4:22 pm

I tend to think ambitiously. Like my eyes are bigger than my stomache.

Is it smart to downsize? Or should we soldier on and make this happen?

I think there's an element of non-religious faith involved in this whole thing. If you build it, they will come.

Mike · Post by **Mike** » November 3rd, 2006, 4:48 pm

I think it's time to retire the Cage Match. Yes, I know I said it, but it seems that audiences don't really want to either attend an 11:30 show, or stick around for another show if they've seen the 3 fer and the Double Barrel. I have racked my brains trying to think of something to get this in the public intrest, but I haven't been able to keep the momentum going after the first few weeks. And with the Coldtown theater opening and doing their thing, I think the 11:30 audience will disappear almost altogether.

I'm all for revamping this thing a second time, but I need a bit more help. The last time I asked for an AIC T-shirt to give away at the show, I was asked for a 'donation' in order to get the shirt, however if I asked for 20 free tickets, I would have easily gotten them. The main question is "Do we want an 11:30 slot? And are there people willing to stick around and help out? And this means even staying the course on nights when there are parties and 'more interesting' things to do. I've just done all I can as an individual, and I'm in over my head at times. But it's up to the masses. Is this something you would help promote and support?
Maybe we shoudl begin to offer prizes. This is one of the few shows that all of the money made doesn't get divided between the AIC and the performers. Maybe if people were paid, they would bring in a larger audience.

Just my 0.02

beardedlamb · Post by **beardedlamb** » November 3rd, 2006, 6:27 pm

a)
there has been very little marketing happening for the whole time i've lived here officially, which started in may. i think we need to step up our individual committments to marketing. on tuesday of next week, we'll have 10,000 flyers promoting he big hideout shows. let's see if we can't build a little buzz with those. actually, let's see if we CAN build a little buzz. the potential is there but we need manpower.

b)
i think two things hurt the cagematch.
1) no one recognizes the group names because they're weird fake names. having actual troupes in there with name recognition (or at least existing groups trying to build name recognition) would help. i think people come to see groups more than they just show up for comedy, and it's a shame for us to lose our ability to throw a group together of people we want to play with, but if it's for the sake of the show then we may have to lose that.
2) i have never seen a cagematch set end well. time expires and the group just stands there awkwardly in the dark. maybe this is the group's fault for not realizing their time was nearly over. or maybe we need to be less stringent on when the blackout happens. i've said it a thousand times, the audience doesn't care if it's exactly 22 minutes. they want a set to end on a fucking laugh. it makes the whole show better to end on a laugh. and the "hardcore rule restriction" vibe is not getting across to the audience. those stakes aren't there for them. and where's the coin i made? i understand if it isn't going to be used, but is it lost? cuz that would suck.
so, i don't think the cagematch should be retired. just tweaked. and marketed.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » November 3rd, 2006, 6:35 pm

beardedlamb wrote: 1) no one recognizes the group names because they're weird fake names. having actual troupes in there with name recognition (or at least existing groups trying to build name recognition) would help. i think people come to see groups more than they just show up for comedy, and it's a shame for us to lose our ability to throw a group together of people we want to play with, but if it's for the sake of the show then we may have to lose that.

I'm not sure that troupe name recognition matters so much. It's not like we're out flyering and doing radio ads saying "COME SEE PUSSY CAKE TAKE ON THE FROGTOWN HOLLOW JUBILEE JUGBAND!!" I think if we promote the hell out of the concept of the Cagematch, we can keep the ad-hoc teams. I really hope we can, anyway, because that's a huge part of what keeps improvisers interested in watching and participating in the cagematch.

2) i have never seen a cagematch set end well.

I have. But I've also seen them end awkwardly. It's something we'll have to play with for sure, but at the very least, we should be "allowed" to pull the lights at a good button after the 20 minute mark or something.

so, i don't think the cagematch should be retired. just tweaked.

Agreed. Tweaked like a hilarious, audience-drawing pair of comedy nipples.

Jastroch · Post by **Jastroch** » November 3rd, 2006, 6:41 pm

To add to what Jeremy said:

There's been talk about people not going out to see individual troupes so much as they're going out to see improv. I don't think that's the case at all. In my experience, some groups have consistently larger draws then others owing to the shows they put on and how they market themselves. So I'm all for "real" groups being put into the cage match, cause my opinion matters dammit.

Mike · Post by **Mike** » November 4th, 2006, 1:34 am

Jeremy: I have the coin. I didn't want it to get lost at the Hideout during the cleaning and OoB hullabaloo, so I took it home and it is sitting in a box above my entertainment center. I was going to pass it on to the person that took the cage match next. I can return it to you if you want.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » November 6th, 2006, 10:19 am

Jastroch wrote:So I'm all for "real" groups being put into the cage match, cause my opinion matters dammit.

The only proble with this theory, from a scheduling standpoint, is that real troupes do not want to be tied down to the cagematch if they win (except YM&G). When I get avaialibilties, I frequently get requests to NOT be put into the Cagematch...

and in the last few schedules I have had to assign teams like The Leading Brands and Roy!Roy!Roy!Roy! and Pussycake to play, even though they did not request as such. I feel bad having to round up teams to play and assigning them to commit to a cagematch run if they win.

The truth is that, currently, the Cagematch is barely being supported by audience, staff or teams to play in it.

Roy Janik · Post by **Roy Janik** » November 6th, 2006, 10:33 am

Dave wrote: The only proble with this theory, from a scheduling standpoint, is that real troupes do not want to be tied down to the cagematch if they win (except YM&G). When I get avaialibilties, I frequently get requests to NOT be put into the Cagematch...

I can tell you right now that Parallelogramophonograph would be willing to commit to the Cagematch should we win. The only reason we don't enter is because 1) I think the Cagematch is more fun when there are ad-hoc teams, and 2) I though that ad-hoc teams were being encouraged over 'regular' teams.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » November 6th, 2006, 10:53 am

Roy Janik wrote:I though [sic] that ad-hoc teams were being encouraged over 'regular' teams.

Official statement from AIC Scheduling Chair: I will schedule any team that wants to be any show slot, within reason.