Improvising Your Weekend: Start Trekkin' and Coldtowne's Weekend of Free

Summer was for superheroes and boys singing with girls, but fall at The Hideout Theater belongs to the United Federation of Planets. Starting this Saturday, Start Trekkin’ brings fully-improvised “Start Trek” episodes back to Congress Avenue for an eight-week run. This year, the show boasts members of Parallelogramophonograph, Girls Girls Girls, Junk, Improv for Evil and The Starter Kit, with music by Girls Girls Girls maestro Michael Brockman, and production values just slightly lower than those of the original "Star Trek." This time around, the aliens are supposed to look ridiculous.

Meanwhile, Coldtowne Theater (4803 Airport Blvd) speaks to an issue more contemporary than intergalactic exploration: our tanking economy. Look, you’ve got no money, and Coldtowne wants to help you not spend what you don’t have with a weekend of free shows and free beer. The free shows are Saturday's Jam City, the monthly, late-night audience-participation show, and Sunday's first-ever Coldtowne Theater Open House, featuring Girl Trap, Unfurled and 1 A.M. Technically, Jam City is always free, but whatevs, this weekend it’s EXTRA FREE!

The free beer is Dos Equis, which will flow like (free) wine during Saturday's Stool Pigeon (with KLBJ’s Charlie Hodge as guest monologist) and Coldtowne’s performance with The Frank Mills. Tickets, a mere $8.75, can be grabbed online.