Backpack Picnic is the latest comedy troupe/flower to evolve/blossom from the creative minds/plants that fester/sprout in the brains/humus of Mitch Baker and David Bewley, who have been performing original comedy together for 11 years. Ren Pinnell joined the troupe when he directed their MTV pilot in 2005, and Shannon McCormick and Jeremy Lamb have been integral players since 2003. Though Backpack Picnic's history is short, it comes from a long line of absurdist-comedy incarnations dating back to a performance in HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival in 2000. They've been compared to Kids In The Hall, Monty Python, and most recently, flowering plants. Backpack Picnic is happy to have recently played The Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, New York Sketchfest, San Francisco Sketchfest, Chicago Sketchfest, and Out of Bounds West.

completely off-the-wall, unpredictable short-form insanity. We're regularly trying out new formats to keep shows fresh for the audience and ourselves. It's important to us that not only the audience enjoy seeing us perform, but that it?s clearly evident we are also enjoying our time on stage. Other improvisers have referred to us as playful and willing to go to unexpected places on stage. It?s not about broaching taboo subjects, which we have done from time to time, but thinking outside the box in a way where the huge leaps seems like logical steps. One of our goals is to provide the audience with an escapist outlet and a good memory to take away. You can expect The Starter Kit to put on a fun and engaging show.

The Heroes of Comedy have been bringing Austin's best, brightest, and most hilarious improv comedy to The Hideout for nigh on 8 years. Every Saturday at 10pm the Heroes present 10 to 12 of Austin's virtuoso improv comedians on the Hideout stage, but only one of them will make it to the end of the show. They play games and scenes, you score them, and the director's eliminate low-scoring players after each round. The surviving improviser is declared the winner and MAESTRO before being awarded a crisp, new Canadian five-dollar bill. But for Out of Bounds, Maestro included some of the best from around the country as various members of the festival's performing groups submitted to the will of the directors and to the scoring whims of the audience.

Available Cupholders is a nationally touring improv comedy institution dedicated to expanding the horizons and expectations of what improvised theatre, film, and tv can accomplish. They have toured universities, festivals, and theatres for the past few years, gaining the respect of peers and enemies alike. They are involved in countless side projects, some enjoying great success, some are incredible failures. Awesome Fact: They all went to the same high school but none of then graduated in the same year. An Available Cupholders show is most often an experiment in form, usually designed to tell a story, and always hilarious. We sold the van so stop asking us to help you move.

Scatter! is Houston?s high energy troupe that makes the Energizer Bunny look asmatic. With the combination of short form energy and the standard of a long form set, Scatter! delivers a performance more enjoyable than any opening monologue of Carson Daly could ever hope to achieve. Come check the performance of one of Houston?s best improv troupes and really see "It?s Happening..."

Austin's The Knuckleball Now was born one night in October 2004, when the Boston Red Sox began their historic comeback against the Yankees which lead to an eventual World Series Title. Their love for baseball was great, but their love for performing improv was even greater. TKN was founded by David Modigliani (Harvard's Instant Gratification Players), Mike D'Alonzo (Gravy, Austin TheatreSports, Catch 24, Players to be Named Later), Craig Kotfas (Gravy, Austin TheatreSports, Catch 24, We Could Be Heroes), and Mike Dolan... TKN prides itself on providing a smarter, more thought provoking show, than most improv troupes. After Debuting at Waffle Fest they quickly became one of Austin's most exciting and anticipated troupes. Mike Dolen (who will always be missed) soon gave way to Michael Joplin (Available Cupholders, Gravy) and eventually Lee Eddy (Fatbuckle, Think Tank, SVT.) Not afraid to touch upon political topics, or comment on society, TKN strives to make you think, make you laugh.. make you realize that there's more to life than work and bills, all the while making themselves feel the same way.

88improv is a professional improv comedy team established in Omaha in 2003. With over 45 years combined experience, the members of 88improv are dedicated to raising the bar of comedy with their signature style of "smart. clean. comedy!" 88improv enjoys experimenting with both short and long-form styles of improv, discovering the humor in everyday life, and perpetrating bad accents. 88improv performs locally, regionally and nationally for public, private, corporate and community events.

Underpaid, overeducated, and unstoppable. Chris and Stephen are typical southern boys. Stephen holds a degree in poetry, and Chris wrote his thesis on the Harlem Globetrotters. This love of William Carlos Williams and Sweet Georgia Brown led directly to the birth of Nerdvana, a two-man improv and sketch group that finally answers the question "Is semantics really the right word here?"

Jon Pack and Jason Kalter met while taking a class at The P.I.T. instructed by Kevin Allison (The State). That class spawned a 5 person sketch comedy group- Buddy System, which ultimately gave birth to Rue Brutalia. Jason even though you hate yourself.

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