The Hideout Theatre returns to its roots this September and October with the Austin Theatresports Tournament. In 1999 the Hideout began life as Austin Theatresports, but this thrilling format hasn’t been seen around these parts for years. We’re bringing it back in a big way as eight teams of the finest improvisers in the city go head to head Saturdays at 8pm for the love of the audience and ultimate bragging rights.

Theatresports™, created by improv guru Keith Johnstone in the 1970s, was designed to bring theater to the masses. Modeled on the only other blue-collar theater of the time, professional wrestling, Theatresports is competitive improv in which two teams of performers challenge each other to feats of improvisational virtuosity, games, scenes and just about anything that can legally happen on a public stage. Judges award points and at the end of the evening the scores are tallied and one team emerges victorious. In the Austin Theatresports Tournament the winning team from each night will advance to the next round, and on October 30 the two teams still standing will compete in the Finals to determine once and for all who owns the Austin Improv scene and who will receive the golden Cup of Cups!

And like any respectable sporting event, each night of Theatresports will include a free giveaway for the first 30 audience members promoting Austin’s best-loved institutions like the Cathedral of Junk, Bennu, Taco Deli and the Alamo Drafthouse. October 23 is the big All-Star Game with the most valuable players from each night, and October 30 is the Finals featuring the two winningest teams.

This is the unmissable improv show of the season, so paint half of your body blue, dig your comically large foam finger out of the closet and Let’s…Get…Ready…To… RUMBLE!