Austin Improv

Interested in becoming a Moontower Comedy & Oddity Fest volunteer?

YES, we could use your help! This is destined to be one wild ride. We’ve got a good idea of how things will flow and where we might have some quirky stuff, but once we get ‘er going, who knows what might happen! So we’re looking for some very, very special Austinites who are willing to step up to something historical. Were you on the virgin team for SXSW year #1? How about ACL 2001? Yes? Then please jump in! No? Then we invite you to join us; create some memories, experience some challenges, celebrate success and enjoy the ride!

This is the FIRST year of what is sure to become an Austin institution. We really want things to go well. We are REALLY going to depend on the dedication of the dedicated few to make things run fluidly. We’re not gonna lie to you – we’re asking a lot. We’re looking for people who are willing to own this event; those who will play host to our guests. We are giving first dibs priority to those who will work 3 or more shifts over the 4 day festival.

Roles include:
Line liaison – People like to know what’s going on. What line should I be in? When will the seating open? I’m a VIP – where do I go? Can I park over there? Is this going to fill up before I can get in? Where’s ____ venue and who’s there?
Badge checker – The stinking badges are uber important. You’ll know who’s in and who’s a poser.
Counter – How many badges have entered? How many single ticket? How many VIP’s? How many total? What does the fire code allow? How close are we to capacity? Keep it all organized and up to date.
VIP area host – Here’s where you’re supposed to sit. Are YOU supposed to be sitting here? Anything you need? I’m sorry, we don’t supply...
General Help – Ticket taking or crowd seating or running an errand or setting up chairs or getting something for the stage manager or, well, you get the picture.

Oh, and everybody pitches in at the end of shows to clear the crowd out and re-set for the next set.

Which role will YOU have? That will depend on the Theatre Manager at your venue. S/he will make assignments as volunteers arrive based on immediate need, personality type, or general randomness. Go. With. The. Flow.

Hey, but what do I get out of this?

• A t-shirt!
• A wrap party!
• Free entry into shows (on the day you are volunteering at your venue before or after your shift).
• You will probably see most of the show(s) you work. Volunteers will tag-team with each other to keep an eye on the front
of the house while enjoying the fruits of your labor.
• You get to see how it happens and make it happen – a behind-the-scenes experience at how shows, and festivals, are done.

Things you’ll want to know (aka faqs)
1. There is a mandatory Volunteer Orientation on Sunday afternoon, 4/22, at the State Theatre, next door to the Paramount. You will get an email with a specific time (2ish) but mark your calendar and plan to come because it’s mandatory. Expect it to be fun. This is a comedy festival after all.
2. The shows vary in pricing. You might work a show that costs $40 to enter or you might work one that costs $10 to enter. Yep, we know, it’s not the same. But we still need folks to work shows all across the continuum. PLEASE work with us. PLEASE be flexible.
3. You must have an email address you check regularly.

Are U N? Yes, please!
Then please visit our website - moontowercomedyfestival dot com and fill out a volunteer application that can be found under General Information.

Hey, so you know the Austin improv forum exists.

Way to reach out when you need something.

Hey it's not like they're saying they didn't think anyone was good enough to apply for the festival....it's more like: "We think most of you are just better off just helping us out for free."

Oh wait....this is posted April 1st. It must be a April Fools Prank.

kbadr wrote:Hey, so you know the Austin improv forum exists.

Way to reach out when you need something.

HAAAAAAhahahahahahahhahahahahhahahahaaahhhahahahaha! That was very funny, Kareem. Have you considered performing at the Moontower Festival? I like your wry brand of humor.

Dear Paramount/State Theater,
Welcome to the Austin Improv Forums. I'm glad you're joining us here and hope that you're able to connect with us more often.

More broadly, thank you also for re-opening and investing in the State Theater after so may years of being closed. It's refreshing to see you being active again in programming as evidenced by this festival.

While stand-up and improv are distinct from each other, I know of several people who take an active interest in both and are no doubt very excited by your event and the talent you're bringing to Austin.

I, myself, am not available during that weekend, but hope that others in the community are able to volunteer and help out.

Good luck with the launch!

All the best,
Michael

kbadr wrote:Hey, so you know the Austin improv forum exists.

Way to reach out when you need something.

Kareem is my hero for the morning.

"You’ll know who’s in and who’s a poser."



Haha. Yeah, we know already.

happywaffle wrote:

kbadr wrote:Hey, so you know the Austin improv forum exists.

Way to reach out when you need something.

Kareem is my hero for the morning.

Yep.

The gall.

While I certainly understand the frustration that Kareem and Shannon have over the seeming lack of outreach from this festival to the Austin improv community, I am reserving judgment until I see the actual list of improv acts scheduled. I haven't been able to find any indication of what that portion of the fest will look like.

I know that this inaugural festival's improv section is entirely curated, and it's quite possible that a submission process would have been too great an endeavor for the small number of spots that are available. It's possible that Chris reached out to local troupes and scheduled them, but we haven't heard anything about it because the lineup hasn't been released yet.

Granted, that's a lot of "it's possibles." It's also possible that Chris saw this curating gig as a way to showcase TNM talent and did not ask any other Austin acts to perform. It's also possible that he focused entirely on out of town acts and didn't program any Austin acts at all. My point is that until there's a list, or someone comes forward with more information than the wild speculation I'm spewing here, then we should all take a breath.

However, Moontower Volunteers, I doubt you'll be finding a whole lot of interested volunteers from the Austin improv scene until we know more about what form this festival will take, improv-wise.

Brad Hawkins wrote:
However, Moontower Volunteers, I doubt you'll be finding a whole lot of interested volunteers from the Austin improv scene until we know more about what form this festival will take, improv-wise.

I think this is the salient point behind my own lack of enthusiasm for the volunteer call.

Don't begrudge anyone for scheduling a festival how they want, but the lack of transparency coupled with the call for volunteers smacks of a sense of entitlement that I'm not too down with.

Also, don't begrudge anyone for volunteering based on this notice. There are a ton of killer standups it would be great to see through a volunteer shift or two.

But let's not kid ourselves, the lack of outreach to an improv community that has, well, nationally and internationally touring acts in its own right is a feature, not a bug, as they say.

Well that question got answered quickly:

https://www.facebook.com/events/3879590 ... ent_invite

Wednesday April 25th
8:00p: The Megaphone Show
9:30p: The Megaphone Show

Thursday April 26th
8:00p— Two Fancy Losers (Austin) + Kyle & Drew (DallaS)
9:30p — There’s Waldo (Austin) + Rare Bird Show (Philadelphia)

Friday April 27th
9:00p — Triggerfinger (Los Angeles) + Handbomb (Austin)
10:30p — Rogue (Houston) + Spirit Desire (Austin)

Saturday April 28th
9p — Unsuspectingly Sponsored By… (Austin)
1030p — Stupid Time Machine (New Orleans) + The Late 90’s (Chicago)

Can't wait to volunteer for OOB!

Brad Hawkins wrote:While I certainly understand the frustration that Kareem and Shannon have over the seeming lack of outreach from this festival to the Austin improv community, I am reserving judgment until I see the actual list of improv acts scheduled. I haven't been able to find any indication of what that portion of the fest will look like.

I believe there's a list up at: http://www.hellyesfest.com/schedule/

Of note, as mentioned by Steph Cook earlier, is her Harold team The Late 90's. I believe they were just voted Best Harold Team at iO Chicago.

bradisntclever wrote:

Brad Hawkins wrote:While I certainly understand the frustration that Kareem and Shannon have over the seeming lack of outreach from this festival to the Austin improv community, I am reserving judgment until I see the actual list of improv acts scheduled. I haven't been able to find any indication of what that portion of the fest will look like.

I believe there's a list up at: http://www.hellyesfest.com/schedule/

Of note, as mentioned by Steph Cook earlier, is her Harold team The Late 90's. I believe they were just voted Best Harold Team at iO Chicago.

Personally I think that's a pretty strong lineup, and fairly diverse as far as that goes. Some of the TNM house troupes I'm not familiar with, but that's on me. There's Waldo and Marshall from Rooster Teeth's projects are good inclusions.

Oh, and Rare Bird Show from Philly is really good.