With an intimate atmosphere and a large variety of coffees and treats on the menu, the Hideout Theatre on Congress Avenue is a popular improv spot specializing in two things that college students seem to love: entertainment and caffeine.

Roy Janik, co-owner of The Hideout, said the improv scene has been growing every year. The Hideout’s roster of improv shows and classes are no exception.

Perhaps the popularity is due to The Hideout’s unique style.

“Trying to be funny is the quickest way to not be funny,” Janik said. “Our emphasis is on unscripted theater and the acting side of improv. The laughs follow naturally.”

And they do, according to St. Edward’s University freshmen Meagan Solis and Ali Vasko, repeat Hideout patrons who have experienced the entertaining sensation firsthand.

“We were just looking for something fun and inexpensive to do on a Friday night,” Solis said. “We googled ‘fun things to do in Austin’ and found The Hideout.”

What Solis and Vasko also found was a sidesplitting evening of intimate, genuinely entertaining and interactive improv.

“They had different ways of including the audience,” Solis said. “I remember they asked for us to shout out different types of relationships and they used my suggestion, hero and sidekick”.

Solis and Vasko believe incorporation of audience members draws people to improv shows because they can become part of the fun. For example, audience members can suggest an idea for a skit or get called on stage to join the performance.

With such an emphasis being placed on audience participation, Janik said many become interested in starting their own improv troupes.

“It’s like being in a band,” Janik said. “You get together at least once a week to practice, and you book shows.”

Janik said the improv scene in Austin is incredibly friendly and open with some troupes and actors performing at multiple venues without maintaining exclusiveness to any particular theater.

In addition to the live improv performances, The Hideout has improv classes of various levels for those who want to learn the craft for themselves. The comedy club also offers a free session for those who are uncertain of their capability to perform.

On select Sundays, The Hideout hosts an improv event geared towards children.

Specifics on dates of shows, ticket pricings, etc., are posted on The Hideout’s website, hideouttheatre.com.

More popular improv spots:

•Cold Towne Theater  

4803-B Airport Blvd.

 coldtownetheater.com

 

•The New Movement Theater

1819 Rosewood Ave.

newmovenmenttheater.com/austin

 

•Comedy Sportz at Cafe Caffeine

909 W Mary St.

cazaustin.com