A Thanksgiving Week Note

Hi!  Mike here.  I wanted to take a moment in this season of Thanksgiving to extend the Hideout Theatre’s appreciation to the improv community and the larger community of Austin.

November, each year, brings with it many highlights: Thanksgiving, of course, Wafflefest, and the Austin Improv Collective (AIC) Family Picnic and Awards Banquet.  This past Sunday, the AIC celebrated Shana Merlin, ColdTowne and the Hideout Theatre with a series of roasts and toasts.  I was doubly honored to also receive an individual award for service to the community.

During the awards ceremony, I reflected back on writing the AIC’s first funding application to the City’s Cultural Arts Division. I spent most of my time and most of the space in that application explaining what improv was and justifying it as an art form. We did extraordinarily well in the city’s evaluation process but regardless of the amount of support involved, I see the required logos as little badges of honor – our city, our state, and our nation acknowledge and support our all too underappreciated art form.  It’s my very real hope that future treasurers of the AIC never have to worry in the same way about whether or not they are considered an equal member of Austin’s creative community.

In addition to my work with the AIC, one of my most gratifying experiences has been the nearly two years it took to transition the Hideout to new management under a new lease.  My role, too, has transitioned as those negotiations finalized and I am now proudly working on the Hideout Theatre’s community outreach.  During some of the bleakest days of that transition, we looked at packing up the theater and finding a different location. Fortunately, we pulled it out and have been able to stay and thrive in our 7th & Congress location.  There are certainly cheaper addresses to be had, but we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities our location affords to being a contributing part of the life of this city right in its downtown – whether that means collaborating with neighboring businesses or partnering with major events and festivals – we’re here in the heart of it.

Our commitment to integrating community into the improv and improv into the community is embedded in our mission statement and also in how we have been working to operate our business from day one.  Our grand opening weekend raised money for the Theatre Action Project (a local youth education program), we’re looking forward to hosting the annual AIC benefit, Same Year’s Eve, in December, as well as bringing Improv to the Long Center for the first time in January.  In addition, we are proud members of the Greater Austin Creative Alliance (GACA), Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA), Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA), and the Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA).

As improvisers are well aware, some of the best performances come not from craving the lead role, the spotlight or the third beat in a scene – they come from understanding your partners on stage and from giving support or gifts that allow the overall show to succeed.  So with the Thanksgiving spirit upon us, when we neither give nor receive gifts, but rather give thanks for those already received, I would like to again extend my appreciation to everyone who does bravely get up on stage – you make being your bench support incredibly gratifying.  You are a big, fun, creative gift to this larger community of Austin.

There is a lot of work still to be done, both for the AIC and for the Hideout, before we fully realize our vision for the potential of improv in Austin – but I couldn’t be prouder of this community’s progress to date or my little part in helping it along.  To everyone, everywhere who ever helped make this community happen – thank you.

~Michael McGill
Hideout Theatre
Cultural Liaison and Financial Advisor