Austin Improv

Community outreach and participation are vitally important to making a nonprofit organization an asset to the community. Here are some outreach, community service, and educational ideas for the AIC that I've been kicking around. Discuss:

• Improv in the schools (late jr. high and high schools)
• Theatre Action Project (what do Shana & Ted know about this?)
• Teaching improv at the Texas State School for the Deaf (aka Deaf Improv Jam!)
• Girls' summer improv camp (possibly with GGG.) I shamelessly stole the idea from the Off Center / Rude Mechs so we should at least keep the price comparable and choose a different week so we don't compete with them. Hell, maybe even coordinate with them at their space.
• Work with Adrian at the Latino Comedy Project for a week of free theatre/improv/comedy workshops (get a grant to rent a space and pay LCP to teach a week of classes for free)

Any others?

shows for kids. elementary or junior high.
workshops/panels at various theatre conventions.
panels at various conventions that come to town.

i think a run for family friendly free improv shows on sunday afternoon would be great. the alamo drafthouse does this with free family friendly movies on sunday somteimes. the adventures of young sherlock holmes rocked!

Parallelogramophonograph has a show for the deaf in the works. We're hoping it'll happen in the next round of show scheduling.

dood. i'm totally down to help with the pgraph deaf show. let me know if youz guys need anything.

val and i did some planning for an improv summer camp, and we were going to briefly talk about it at the general body meeting on sunday. oh yeah, can we put that on the agenda?

I've already worked out opportunities for myself/some others to teach several workshops at High Schools in the Austin area through personal connection. Honestly, when it comes to improv, and the Austin Improv committees the MOST IMPORTANT thing to me is teaching improv to high-schoolers and middle-schoolers. If there's any talk about this, please bring it to me, and I'll gladly help you. This issue is something that I have so much passion about that I'll be practically INSULTED if you DON'T run your ideas by me first. haha.

I've even discussed with andy the ideas of creating a league of high-school based improv troupes around Austin. Andy suggested structuring this like Theatresports and having different schools compete. Honestly though, I'm not a very strong supporter of this. However, I'm working through other ideas and attempting to figure some things out.

I'm not trying to cut anyone out of the action, and believe me, I'm probably the last person who should be doing outreach. I want to spark discussion and get some concrete plans under way (who's doing what when, where, and for whom, how much will this cost, who's the project leader, etc.) I also want to know what we can realistically accomplish in the forseeable future and what people are interested in pursuing. Ideas are great, but ideas with people championing them & taking ownership are even better.

One big reason I'm on the outreach kick right now is that when I get around to filling out the 501(c)(3) forms, I can tell the IRS what we're doing or planning to do and I won't be totally talking out my ass, what the IRS calls 'knowingly making materially false statements', 'perjury', or 'lying'. You get to spend quality time with Scooter Libby in Club Fed for shit like that, and my plans don't include spending time in a federal ass-pounding facility, thanks.

On a more positive, less butt-focused note, I think outreach is a great way to give back to the community and raise awareness of improv which is part of our mission (so sayeth I, Keeper of the Mission Statement )

So keep thinking of what we can do with the community beyond performance and our normal classes.

Well, I did post the information about the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, and how we could get a group of improvisers together to participate...


only one person responded
aparently our youngest improviser
is the only one with a heart of gold
and she's not even a hooker

Not all hookers have hearts of gold, you know.
The really sweet ones have platinum.

sure rub your wealth in my face. you know i've only been with copper hearted hookers aka my christmas bonus. damn you wes, and all your wealth.

Well...I've been working on ideas for how to use improv to support a non-profit afterschool outreach program. I used to work with an organization that did the same damn thing, except with poetry. They set up after-school poetry clubs at local highschools and were supported entirely by city/state/federal grants.

I'll get more to you on this idea Bob. Soon enough. VERY soon.