Austin Sketch Fest started off strong on Thursday, and the weekend-long comedy party still has two more nights to go. Tonight at The Spiderhouse Ballroom, catch Austin's Midnight Society with Chicago's Saddle Dads at 8 pm, and at 10, don't miss local troupe Your Terrific Neighbors performing with Delicious Moments, an LA duo known for blurring the lines between performance and reality. Tomorrow, the festivities wrap up with a Best of the Festival show at 7 pm, followed at 8 by local group Rattlesnake and Broadminded, an all-lady team from Milwaukee. After the jump, Joel Osbourne of Your Terrific Neighbors gives a few takes on why you shouldn't miss tonight's show. more ›

This weekend, sketch groups from across the country will flock to town for the second annual Austin Sketch Fest, an event organized by ColdTowne Theater to spotlight some of the most innovative scripted comedy groups in the game -- including nine troupes from right here in Austin. Josh Krilov, host of ColdTowne's The Night Show with Josh Krilov, spoke with several local comics performing in the first night of the fest (which closes with a special edition of the eponymous talk show). Learn how troupes Turn of the Century Paris, The P! Company and Ghetto Sketch Warlock are preparing for the weekend, which features acts from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Milwaukee. Check out the video interviews (complete with potty humor and mom joke one-upmanship) after the jump. more ›

Austin Sketch Fest takes over ColdTowne Theater and the Spiderhouse Ballroom May 26-29, and they've just announced a lineup that features comedy troupes from Austin, Brooklyn, Chicago and Milwaukee. The full schedule is up and boasts an impressive roster of performers and workshop leaders you might recognize from The Tonight Show, MST3K -- even The Alamo's own Master Pancake Theater. more ›

Still not sure what you're doing tonight? Both Coldtowne Theater and The New Movement just announced late-night stand up shows. At 11 p.m. (directly following open mic night Block Party), Los Angeles club The Comedy Store will take over The New Movement with sets from surprise guests. And at midnight, Coldtowne hosts Lucas Molandes, Brian Gaar, Ryan Cownie, Seth Cockfield, Bryson Turner and some unannounced out-of-town guests. Both theaters are BYOB, and both shows are free. more ›

Election season's over, holiday vacations are fast approaching and our post-FFFFest burnout gives us a chance to catch up on the latest episode of The Walking Dead -- life's pretty great, huh? Making sure we don't get too comfortable in our mid-Fall laziness, our friends the Coldtowne Theater Main Stage players present Rapture the Flag, a satirical account of those Left Behind (...like, by the rapture. Get it?) The full-length comedy revue, directed by theater co-founder Michael Jastroch, combines sketch, improv, song and dance, and gives us a primer on what to do -- and who to avoid -- in this futuristic landscape. We sat down with My Backyard News, Rapture the Flag's official news team, to learn more about the situation. more ›

ColdTowne Theater's most recently formed house troupe just announced their name: Journey to the Big Water. They are the ninth official improv house troupe to be formed out of ColdTowne Theater's Conservatory. One of the more successful and hardest working troupes that preceded them is Midnight Society, the second troupe to emerge from ColdTowne. Midnight Society's hard work has been rewarded with a nomination for a B. Iden Payne Award in 2009, appearances in festivals all around the country, a weekly improv slot and a regular slot for sketch comedy at ColdTowne Theater. One of the yearly highlights for Midnight Society has become their annual Halloween sketch show, dubbed the Halloween Spooktacular. more ›

Over the past several years, ColdTowne Theater has been steadily expanding its weekly comedy offerings to the point now that there are improv, sketch and stand-up shows every night Thursday through Monday, with most nights having three or four different shows. ColdTowne Theater has been located snugly next to and below I Luv Video at 4803 Airport Boulevard. more ›

This Friday night ColdTowne Theater's newest main stage sketch revue, Shanty Town Lake debuts. Shanty Town Lake, the successor to ColdTowne Theater's first main stage sketch revue, Eye for an iPhone, is described as "a mix of social and political satire, music and straight up nihilistic comedy." The writer/performers have been developing the show's material through improv in front of audiences in addition to writing sessions. The show consists of two acts for a total run time of 90 minutes. Count on well thought out sketches and an improv set, which may wind up featuring scenes that are mined for future sketches. more ›

Coldtowne founder and comedy showman Chris Trew told Austinist that See.Hear.Speak.4 is a "movement," and he's brought in friends from across the country to make sure the movement-ing is as movementous as possible. Tonight, L.A.'s Brock Laborde of Studio8 fame will join Trew in a send-up of a certain ubiquitous fast-food restaurant chain, while Austin's own Chuck Watkins brings his wacky, playful wit to the stage. more ›

Befitting a theater that's home to a troupe named The Midnight Society, every Friday this month will find Coldtowne Theater asking its patrons "Are you afraid of the dark?" more ›

Starting this Saturday, Start Trekkin’ brings fully-improvised “Start Trek” episodes back to Congress Avenue for an eight-week run. Meanwhile, Coldtowne Theater speaks to an issue more contemporary than intergalactic exploration: our tanking economy. With free shows and free beer. Yes, you read that right. more ›

Come to the Midnight Special variety show at Coldtowne Theatre for Austin comedy savant Fred Bothwell, but stay for the show. Over the course of the hour, there is much to enjoy, from a gong show (which you, too, can win!), to improv, to musical goodness. more ›

Switchboard, the all-female improv super-troupe comprised of Second City alumnae Debra Downing-Grosz (UCB theater, Second City Chicago), Rebecca Sohn (The Annoyance Theater, Second City Chicago), and Jean Villepique (iO Chicago, Sceond City, The Office, 30 Rock), performs at the Coldtowne Theater tonight and tomorrow night. more ›

The most overrated aspect of mainstream film is production quality—3, 2, 1 Kill! proved that in November when the improvised movie event was scripted, filmed, and edited live at the Alamo Ritz. Luckily enough for the film snobs among us—this script is so indie that it doesn’t even exist—3, 2, 1 Kill! returns to the Alamo Ritz this Sunday for another round of seat-of-its-pants storytelling. more ›

Upright Citizens Brigade founders Matt Walsh, Matt Besser and Ian Roberts perform tonight (United States Art Authority) and tomorrow (ColdTowne Theater). Tickets online. // At the SXSW South Tent tomorrow, the Bowery Poetry Club and others perform, from 11:30-3pm. Wammo emcees! Full schedule after the jump. more ›

It has been almost eight years since the last episode of the Upright Citizens Brigade aired on Comedy Central. But beginning well before the series took to television—from its roots as an improv and sketch comedy troupe in Chicago to the opening of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres in New York City and Los Angeles—the Upright Citizens Brigade has been in the process of constructing a comedy empire. more ›

The third annual see.hear.speak fest opens on Thursday and closes on Saturday, with shows nightly at 8 & 10 at Coldtowne Theater. Bringing a few big-name comedy groups to town, this year's fest has quite the lineup. more ›