Classes FAQ

Register for one of our Level One: Intro to Improvisation classes. It’s a life-changing six-week introduction to the style of improv we teach and perform at The Hideout Theatre.

If you’d like to sample our classes, we offer a weekly Free Improv Class. Or you can come see a show to get a feel for what we do; check out our Upcoming Show Schedule.

You can read many MANY glowing student quotes on our Student Testimonial page. Quotes like, “Improv classes are THE MOST FUN thing I have ever done. I immediately felt very close to all my classmates, as if we were going through an adventurous and exotic rite of passage.”

The Hideout’s approach to improv is unique enough that if you haven’t studied with us before we strongly encourage you to go through the early levels to pick up the vocabulary and basic principles. Because we know it’s a hassle to start over in a new program we offer a half-off discount on Level One if you’ve already been through improv classes in another training program. Email our registrar for the Level One discount code—or if you’d like to ask about skipping levels.

Yes! We have multiple sessions of most classes going on at any given time, so making up missed classes on another day of the week is usually pretty easy. Email our registrar for details on how to make up a missed class.

Only if you want to. There’s no showcase at the end of Level One, but every Level after that culminates in a Student Showcase for friends and family. You can always opt out, but at that point most people are itching to try it out on stage.

Levels Two through Nine culminate in student showcases, but if you’re hungry for more performance opportunities sooner than later, there are lots of options: Level Three students (and above) are eligible to submit availability for The Hideout’s weekly Saturday night show Maestro. And ANYONE can submit to play in Maestro Raw, Fancy-Pants, and Free Fringe when they come up on the schedule. Hideout auditions (for mainstage, incubator and stargazer shows) are also open to the general public. The best place to see info on all of these is our students and performers Facebook group.

We do! Click here to see if you’d be a good fit for The Hideout Diversity Scholarship Program.

Totally possible! Email our registrar for details on how you can break up your class registration payment.

Levels One through Three make up our introductory series that is rated E for Everyone—whether you’re looking for a fun thing to do once a week, a strong intro to improv, or some mind-blowing life skills. Levels Four through Six are our performance series—for students who are having so much fun that they’d like to keep going and give this improv thing a shot as a hobby, social group, art form, or profession. Levels Seven through Nine train students in The Hideout’s signature style: Narrative Longform (improvising stories, plays, or movies). And then you’re a Hideout Graduate!

Not at all! Improvisers are life-long learners. Beyond our Level classes we offer Specialty Workshops—one-off workshops and multi-week elective series covering special topics, including three levels of Improv Singing. We also regularly bring in out-of-town instructors for workshops and intensives. AND we believe that multiple points of view are essential to your improv education, so we encourage students to check out classes at other improv theaters in Austin and beyond (after they’ve taken all of our classes of course 😁).

Sure, but let’s talk about it. Email our registrar to make a plan for doubling up on classes.

Yes! Retaking classes with different instructors is a great way to kick your improv training up a notch. In fact, if you repeat a Level class that you have taken at The Hideout before, we offer a half off discount. Email our registrar for the discount code.

We have run hundreds of corporate training and team building events over the last 25 years! You can find more info at our corporate training page HideoutAtWork.com. Sharing the incredibly useful tools and ideas from improv with companies, schools and non-profits is one of our favorite things ever. You can also email corporate@hideouttheatre.com to start the conversation and get a quote.

Yes. You can either sign them up directly for a class using their name in the registration process OR if you want to make it more flexible for them, you can buy them a gift certificate that they can use to register for a Level One class at their convenience.