http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase ... id:1028144
How can we get improv represented here?
I mean, they give out awards in various facets of theatre, music, art, and dance.
We have several theaters and dozens of shows a week committed to this art form. Though, I don't have to tell you guys that, you know.
Maybe we don't need more awards to worry about, but to me it's more about being included in the larger Austin arts scene.
Austin Critics Table Awards
Everything else, basically.
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- kaci_beeler Offline
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- Asaf Offline
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The people in charge of these accolades don't have the metrics by which to judge, critique and award improv theater. We have to help them create those.
We can try using the traditional theatric metrics like acting, directing and such, but they have no way to apply this to a show that is always different. That acting you did, what tells me if it is representative of ALL the acting you do?
We can try using the traditional theatric metrics like acting, directing and such, but they have no way to apply this to a show that is always different. That acting you did, what tells me if it is representative of ALL the acting you do?
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- TigerStripes Offline
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Hey y'all,
I'm actually on the Austin Critic's Table. The main difficulty is that there aren't enough people out there reviewing/seeing lots of improv. Right now the reviewers would probably consist of me and Brenner, both of whom work at the same entity, the Chronicle, and Brenner is not nor does I think want to be on the Critic's Table.
I would point out, that if other entities other than the Statesman or the Chronicle began reviewing improv, there is no reason they couldn't be included in the deciding of these awards.
I have spoken to Robert Faires many times about getting more improv into the Chronicle, it's really a matter of very limited space for reviews, as lame as that sounds. Additionally, and I know it doesn't totally help, but Dear Frailty came incredibly close to making the short list of nominations.
I know this is not a very satisfactory answer, but it is a reality. Creating more awareness in other entities like the Austinist and the Austin AV Club will hopefully rub off on the papers at some time.
--Avimaan
I'm actually on the Austin Critic's Table. The main difficulty is that there aren't enough people out there reviewing/seeing lots of improv. Right now the reviewers would probably consist of me and Brenner, both of whom work at the same entity, the Chronicle, and Brenner is not nor does I think want to be on the Critic's Table.
I would point out, that if other entities other than the Statesman or the Chronicle began reviewing improv, there is no reason they couldn't be included in the deciding of these awards.
I have spoken to Robert Faires many times about getting more improv into the Chronicle, it's really a matter of very limited space for reviews, as lame as that sounds. Additionally, and I know it doesn't totally help, but Dear Frailty came incredibly close to making the short list of nominations.
I know this is not a very satisfactory answer, but it is a reality. Creating more awareness in other entities like the Austinist and the Austin AV Club will hopefully rub off on the papers at some time.
--Avimaan
First of all:
I am tired.
I am true of heart!
And also:
You are tired.
You are true of heart!
--Dave Eggers
I am tired.
I am true of heart!
And also:
You are tired.
You are true of heart!
--Dave Eggers
We could shamelessly create an all-improv publication that reviews us favorably. Does the Critic's Table only require that you be a published critic?
The Quiet One
Improv For Evil
Improv For Evil
Hey guys,
I just happened to be talking with Robert Faires as this post came up and I asked him (before I saw Avi's answer.) Here is his kind and deep response.
PS - can someone figure out how to make it possible for him to post?
I saw some mention of the Critics Table Awards on the Austin Improv Forum and was going to speak to it there, but for some reason I get blocked out whenever I try to log in. Perhaps you can share my response there or pass this along to some other folks in the community.
First, the improv community is clearly on the Austin Critics Table's radar. Speaking for myself, the Chronicle has done dozens of features and reviews over the past few years, including a cover story, and I'm always trying to figure out how to build more coverage for it. And given the Statesman's coverage of Dear Frailty and the Dickens show, to name I feel confident saying Jeanne Claire does, too.
The problem is not, with all due respect to Asaf, that the local critics don't have the metrics to judge improv. Avi, Brenner, and I are all experienced improvisers, and JC and Michael have certainly been around long enough and seen enough to know how to evaluate the form. When we see it, we get it. The problem is we don't see it, often enough anyway. And the reason for that, as Avi rightly points out in his post on the forum, is too much going on and too few people to cover it.
By my rough estimation (based mostly on Chronicle listings), every year there are about 200 theatre productions, 200 classical concerts, 50 dance productions, and 300 visual art shows in town. I haven't tried to figure out how much improv activity there is annually, but given what I see in the newsletters from y'all every week, 1,000 seems like a conservative estimate. That's a lot of ground to cover.
And right now there are only 10 of us on the Critics Table trying to cover it. I don't know how much other people see, but I consistently make it to only about 100 things a year, which feels like a lot to me but barely scratches the surface. When we sit down to talk about the awards, we really rely on one another to have seen different things, so we can feel like we really have a sense of all the stuff that's going on. With six of us seeing theatre regularly and four of us seeing dance, those areas are pretty well covered. With just three people for classical and art, it's a lot harder, and I know we miss stuff.
Right now, we just don't have the numbers that would give us an adequate consideration of the improv scene. (And you should know you aren't alone; the stand-up community has the same problem.) The folks best poised to cover improv are Brenner, who doesn't take part in the Critics Table, and Avi, who may do more improv than he sees (though I've never actually asked him how much he sees). I'd like to see more and add to the coverage, but I don't know how I can slice myself any thinner to make that happen, at least without taking away from the other areas I'm also trying to stay on top of.
The answer would seem to be getting some new writers about improv in the Critics Table. Well, I'll just be frank and say I'm not sure how to go about that. I've not had anyone beating down the door at the Chronicle to cover the improv beat, and the economy has made it tough on both the Chronicle and the Statesman as far as hiring freelancers. If there's somebody already doing that for established online publications, like the Austinist or the Onion, maybe they could get on board. The Critics Table hasn't always been consistent at extending invitations to new critics, but it's not that we're not open to folks outside the Statesman/Chronicle axis.
I don't mean to make it sound hopeless. I'll bring it up at the next critics happy hour and sound people out. Maybe it's as simple as getting the six people who cover theatre currently to agree to see one improv show a month throughout the next year. That would at least give us a substantial pool of work to consider and wouldn't require a huge sacrifice in the number of shows people see. And maybe I can persuade Brenner to participate in the awards just in the improv category. There are options to pursue. I'll give it some more thought.
I just happened to be talking with Robert Faires as this post came up and I asked him (before I saw Avi's answer.) Here is his kind and deep response.
PS - can someone figure out how to make it possible for him to post?
I saw some mention of the Critics Table Awards on the Austin Improv Forum and was going to speak to it there, but for some reason I get blocked out whenever I try to log in. Perhaps you can share my response there or pass this along to some other folks in the community.
First, the improv community is clearly on the Austin Critics Table's radar. Speaking for myself, the Chronicle has done dozens of features and reviews over the past few years, including a cover story, and I'm always trying to figure out how to build more coverage for it. And given the Statesman's coverage of Dear Frailty and the Dickens show, to name I feel confident saying Jeanne Claire does, too.
The problem is not, with all due respect to Asaf, that the local critics don't have the metrics to judge improv. Avi, Brenner, and I are all experienced improvisers, and JC and Michael have certainly been around long enough and seen enough to know how to evaluate the form. When we see it, we get it. The problem is we don't see it, often enough anyway. And the reason for that, as Avi rightly points out in his post on the forum, is too much going on and too few people to cover it.
By my rough estimation (based mostly on Chronicle listings), every year there are about 200 theatre productions, 200 classical concerts, 50 dance productions, and 300 visual art shows in town. I haven't tried to figure out how much improv activity there is annually, but given what I see in the newsletters from y'all every week, 1,000 seems like a conservative estimate. That's a lot of ground to cover.
And right now there are only 10 of us on the Critics Table trying to cover it. I don't know how much other people see, but I consistently make it to only about 100 things a year, which feels like a lot to me but barely scratches the surface. When we sit down to talk about the awards, we really rely on one another to have seen different things, so we can feel like we really have a sense of all the stuff that's going on. With six of us seeing theatre regularly and four of us seeing dance, those areas are pretty well covered. With just three people for classical and art, it's a lot harder, and I know we miss stuff.
Right now, we just don't have the numbers that would give us an adequate consideration of the improv scene. (And you should know you aren't alone; the stand-up community has the same problem.) The folks best poised to cover improv are Brenner, who doesn't take part in the Critics Table, and Avi, who may do more improv than he sees (though I've never actually asked him how much he sees). I'd like to see more and add to the coverage, but I don't know how I can slice myself any thinner to make that happen, at least without taking away from the other areas I'm also trying to stay on top of.
The answer would seem to be getting some new writers about improv in the Critics Table. Well, I'll just be frank and say I'm not sure how to go about that. I've not had anyone beating down the door at the Chronicle to cover the improv beat, and the economy has made it tough on both the Chronicle and the Statesman as far as hiring freelancers. If there's somebody already doing that for established online publications, like the Austinist or the Onion, maybe they could get on board. The Critics Table hasn't always been consistent at extending invitations to new critics, but it's not that we're not open to folks outside the Statesman/Chronicle axis.
I don't mean to make it sound hopeless. I'll bring it up at the next critics happy hour and sound people out. Maybe it's as simple as getting the six people who cover theatre currently to agree to see one improv show a month throughout the next year. That would at least give us a substantial pool of work to consider and wouldn't require a huge sacrifice in the number of shows people see. And maybe I can persuade Brenner to participate in the awards just in the improv category. There are options to pursue. I'll give it some more thought.
Thank you for that insight. I know we all appreciate your taking the time to clear the situation up from your end. Sometimes I feel like the critics/reviewers world is this puzzle we're all trying to figure out. And, like in most situations, some simple open communication thrusts the effort miles forward.
Maybe it's just a matter of time before dedicated improv and stand-up reviewers emerge who gain the respect of their peers and are invited to the Critics Table.
Or maybe there IS a way that we can speed up that process. Maybe there could be some kind of organization of people from different aspects of comedy from the city could be dedicated to seeing a certain number and certain types of comedy shows around town per year and they could vote. Perhaps it could be something like the OoB committee that votes on submissions.
Obviously we would need to figure out how to select these people and their criteria and a bunch of different aspects. But I think it all starts with a name. I nominate the 'Comedy Comity Committee.' [But please don't substituted the 'C's for comedy 'K's.]
Maybe it's just a matter of time before dedicated improv and stand-up reviewers emerge who gain the respect of their peers and are invited to the Critics Table.
Or maybe there IS a way that we can speed up that process. Maybe there could be some kind of organization of people from different aspects of comedy from the city could be dedicated to seeing a certain number and certain types of comedy shows around town per year and they could vote. Perhaps it could be something like the OoB committee that votes on submissions.
Obviously we would need to figure out how to select these people and their criteria and a bunch of different aspects. But I think it all starts with a name. I nominate the 'Comedy Comity Committee.' [But please don't substituted the 'C's for comedy 'K's.]
"Every cat dies 9 times, but every cat does not truly live 9 lives."
-Bravecat
-Bravecat
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- kaci_beeler Offline
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Tonight Get Up and The Hideout Theatre were both given special awards at the Austin Critics Table Awards at Cap City Comedy.
None of us had any idea this was going to happen, we were just invited by the generous and kind Mr. Robert Faires to attend. Shannon and Sara accepted the Get Up award and Jessica and I accepted the Hideout award.
It was a true honor and such a surprise to be included in this event that honors so many amazing people, productions, ensembles, and artists here in Austin. We are so lucky to live in such an inspiring and supportive city with such a fantastic community of artists of all sorts.
I can't say my acceptance speech onstage was entirely coherent (my brain is still fuzzy), but Shannon, Avimaan, and Robert did a wonderful job talking about the Austin improv community and its prolific, tireless, abundant, amazing body of work and workers. I am so thankful for their inclusion of improvisation in the overall Austin arts scene. I know we feel passionately about our work, and it's nice to know that they see us and believe in us.
It is my sincere hope that in the coming years we are able to emerge as collaborators, supporters, patrons, and friends with the larger Austin arts community. I think improv has such an amazing ability to be collaborative and I can't await to take advantage of this invaluable trait.
Yay! I'm so thankful to be apart of this community. I love and believe in us all so much.
None of us had any idea this was going to happen, we were just invited by the generous and kind Mr. Robert Faires to attend. Shannon and Sara accepted the Get Up award and Jessica and I accepted the Hideout award.
It was a true honor and such a surprise to be included in this event that honors so many amazing people, productions, ensembles, and artists here in Austin. We are so lucky to live in such an inspiring and supportive city with such a fantastic community of artists of all sorts.
I can't say my acceptance speech onstage was entirely coherent (my brain is still fuzzy), but Shannon, Avimaan, and Robert did a wonderful job talking about the Austin improv community and its prolific, tireless, abundant, amazing body of work and workers. I am so thankful for their inclusion of improvisation in the overall Austin arts scene. I know we feel passionately about our work, and it's nice to know that they see us and believe in us.
It is my sincere hope that in the coming years we are able to emerge as collaborators, supporters, patrons, and friends with the larger Austin arts community. I think improv has such an amazing ability to be collaborative and I can't await to take advantage of this invaluable trait.
Yay! I'm so thankful to be apart of this community. I love and believe in us all so much.
I want to echo what Kaci said about tonight's 2 improv awards. It was great to see all the different artists being recognized -- especially for those artists trying new things, collaborating and crossing over into other art forms. I look forward to seeing more collaborative projects between improv, scripted theater, visual art, dance, and music.
Community was a theme for the night, and the presenters addressed the fact that the group hasn't paid a lot of attention to the improv community before this, but that they are trying to rectify that a little this year with the presentation of special awards to the Hideout (being crazy enough to do a 40 Hour Marathon involving the greater improv community, on top of the theater's contribution to offering a performance space, shows and improv classes that all help support the community) and Get Up (representing Austin Improv & the USA at the International Improv Festival, as well as a nod to the work Merlin Works and Gnap! Theater Projects do to build the improv community). Though only the Hideout and Get Up were formally recognized tonight, it was clear that the Critics Table wanted to recognize the entire improv community, and encouraged the room to go see improv at any of the theaters. At the end of the ceremony, Robert Faires also gave a shout out to the Improvised Mamet guys, and encouraged everyone in the house to go see it.
Community was a theme for the night, and the presenters addressed the fact that the group hasn't paid a lot of attention to the improv community before this, but that they are trying to rectify that a little this year with the presentation of special awards to the Hideout (being crazy enough to do a 40 Hour Marathon involving the greater improv community, on top of the theater's contribution to offering a performance space, shows and improv classes that all help support the community) and Get Up (representing Austin Improv & the USA at the International Improv Festival, as well as a nod to the work Merlin Works and Gnap! Theater Projects do to build the improv community). Though only the Hideout and Get Up were formally recognized tonight, it was clear that the Critics Table wanted to recognize the entire improv community, and encouraged the room to go see improv at any of the theaters. At the end of the ceremony, Robert Faires also gave a shout out to the Improvised Mamet guys, and encouraged everyone in the house to go see it.