Austin
What's on
Shows, comedy, open mics, jams and classes across the metro. The recurring listings come from the venues' own published schedules — always confirm with the venue before you drive.
Austin has one of the best improv-per-capita scenes in the country. The Hideout Theatre — the city's longest-running improv house, now on North Lamar — stages shows Fridays and Saturdays with family shows and student showcases on Sundays, and teaches nine levels of classes rooted in Keith Johnstone's work. ColdTowne runs live comedy seven nights a week in East Austin and hosts UCB Harold Night every Thursday, Fallout packs two to four shows a night into its downtown basement seven nights a week, and Esther's Follies has been doing its sketch-and-magic revue on Sixth Street for generations.
The calendar below comes from the venues' own published schedules, links to their own box offices, and the classes page compares every school in town — including the free ways to try it first.
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The theatres
Every active improv house we know of in Austin, with tickets booked at the venue's own box office — we never resell or mark up.
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ColdTowne Theater
the homepage states ColdTowne 'showcases a diverse variety of improv, sketch, stand up comedy, and more 7 nights a week'. Dated on the live-shows listing for Sep 13 - 26 2026: Sundays a 5:00pm show (Excused Absence: All-Ages Improv on Sep 13, UCB Class Show: Improv 201 on Sep 20), 7:00pm All Night, All Night, All Night!, 8:00pm Clown Carbonara: Pantalone's and an 8:30pm show (UCB Lloyd Night on Sep 13, Fun-Employed! + Emails From My Father on Sep 20); Thursdays 7:00pm UCB Harold Night and an 8:30pm show (Geeese! 3-On-3 Improv Champions Night on Sep 17, The Knuckleball Now on Sep 24); Fridays 7:00pm Stool Pigeon: Storytelling & Improv Comedy, an 8:30pm show (Misterios Presents on Sep 18, Temptress on Sep 25), 10:00pm The Late Mic alongside a second 10:00pm show (1-800-Changed My Life on Sep 18, Pistol Besmo on Sep 25), plus The C Word: Ladies Comedy Night 8:00pm on Sep 25; Saturdays 11:00am Story Starts: Improv for Kids and Their Adults, then on Sep 19 UCB Class Shows (Improv 101 1:00pm, Improv 201 3:00pm), Father Figures 7:00pm, Coming Out: A Queer Stand Up Showcase 8:00pm, The Players 8:30pm, Star Sync lip-sync competition 9:30pm and Clown-Towne 'Bring Us Your Garbage' 10:00pm. No prices are printed on the listing.
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The Hideout Theatre
'We currently host and produce improv shows Fridays and Saturdays with some student showcases and family shows on Sundays'. The Sep 13 - Oct 4 2026 calendar bears this out: Fridays Glitter Witch 7:30pm ($8-$15), then The Big Bash 8:30pm on Sep 18 or PGraph 8:30pm on Sep 25 and Oct 2 ($10-$15), and Y'Honor Presents 10:00pm ($8-$15); Saturdays Maestro 9:30pm ($12-$20); Sundays Hideout Kids 4:00pm ($5-$10, through Sep 27) and Student Showcase 7:00pm ($5-$15), with a second showcase at 8:30pm on Sep 13. All events at the Hideout Annex, 5555 N Lamar Blvd B103. No Thursday dates at all.
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ComedySportz Austin
'Saturday 7:30-9 PM' - 'Austin's longest-running improvised comedy show', running since 1986, short-form made up on the spot from audience suggestions, family-friendly. Shows are at Premier Music Academy, Round Rock - the venue has moved out of central Austin. Private events, corporate team building and applied-improvisation training are also offered.
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Esther's Follies
'Shows Every Thursday, Friday, & Saturday' on 6th Street. Thursday night show 7:00PM-8:30PM; Friday early show 7:00PM-8:30PM and Friday late show 'The After Hours Experience' 9:00PM-10:30PM; Saturday early show 7:00PM-8:30PM and Saturday late show 9:00PM-10:30PM. Each runs 90 minutes, 'Starting from $30.00 + $5.75 service fee'. Sketch, political satire, Vegas-style magic and musical numbers at 525 E Sixth Street; 50 years running.
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Fallout Theater
'SEE LIVE COMEDY AT FALLOUT THEATER 7 NIGHTS A WEEK'. Read date by date for Sep 8 - 19 2026: Mon Sep 14 8:00pm Fuck This Week and 9:30pm Bomb Shelter (BYOB open mic); Tuesdays 8:30pm Critical Hit D&D comedy on Sep 8, then BEANS! presents: Night School 7:00pm and Pandora's Bucket improv 8:30pm on Sep 15; Wed Sep 16 7:00pm Hot Take ($9 online plus fees, $13 at door) and 8:30pm Silly Billies: An Evening of Clown; Thursdays 7:00pm Comedy Fusion and 8:30pm Garage (women and nonbinary comedians) on Sep 10 and 17; Fridays 7:00pm TIGERS, then on Sep 11 Girls Girls Girls! improvised Broadway-style musicals 8:30pm and Who's Patricia Anyway? 10:00pm, on Sep 18 EGG PARTY PRESENTS… 8:30pm and The Chicken Strip Club – Volume 1 10:00pm; Sat Sep 12 7:00pm Deck & Balls: Magician vs. Clown, 8:30pm Secret Stash all-star improv, 10:00pm Murder by Moonlight and 11:45pm Midnight Church, and Sat Sep 19 7:00pm Love. It's Blind! An Improvised Reality TV Series; Sun Sep 13 6:00pm Whose Slide Is It Anyway and 7:30pm TexAss. Hacksfest runs 'September 13 – September 15 at Fallout Theater'.
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Excused Absence Comedy (Move Your Tale)
'Year Round Classes, Camps & Shows at ColdTowne Theater'. Its Saturday morning show, Story Starts, runs 'Saturdays at 11am' at ColdTowne Theater, 1700 E. 2nd Street — 'Show runs about 50 minutes', 'All ages are welcome'; ColdTowne's own listing prints it for Sep 19 and Sep 26 2026 at 11:00 AM, plus an 'Excused Absence: All-Ages Improv' show on Sun Sep 13 at 5:00 PM. Tickets through ColdTowne.
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Gravy Shakes Improv (The Chambers Theatre)
an occasional rather than weekly run — the next Gravy Shakes Improv Night is 'Gravy Shakes Improv Night @ Buda Arts Festival' at The Chambers Theatre, 121 Main St, Buda, on Fri Oct 16 2026, 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM. No price published on the page.
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Penfold Theatre Company
a producing theatre company rather than an improv house - no improv show schedule. Improv appears as classes: an adult Level One run in partnership with The Hideout Theatre at Penfold's Round Rock venue (no dates or prices published), and Penfold Academy's own Teen Improv for grades 7-12, Wednesdays at 6:00 PM, in a fall term that 'starts the week of August 31' and concludes 'the week of November 16' 2026, tuition $240.
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The Creek and the Cave
a stand-up comedy club open seven days (Mon-Thu 5:30pm-2:00am, Fri 6:30pm-2:00am, Sat 3:30pm-2:00am, Sun 3:00pm-2:00am) at 611 E 7th St. Listed for Sep 13 - 14 2026: Sun Sep 13 3:30pm Writers' Room (free), 6:00pm The Creek and the Cave Open Mic (free with RSVP, $5 at door), 8:00pm Creek Featured and 10:00pm Banana Phone (free); Mon Sep 14 6:00pm The Monday Gamble Mic (free). No improv shows are listed.
Schedule unconfirmed — check with the venue.
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Quick answers
Where can I see improv in Austin tonight?
ColdTowne runs live comedy seven nights a week in East Austin, Fallout's downtown basement runs two to four shows a night seven nights a week, and The Hideout stages shows Fridays and Saturdays on North Lamar with family shows and student showcases on Sundays. The calendar above shows tonight's verified listings.
Where can I take improv classes in Austin?
The Hideout's nine-level program is the deepest in town, ColdTowne's Conservatory teaches improv, sketch and stand-up tracks, and Fallout's School of Comedy covers improv through clown. The Austin classes page compares them all with sign-up links.
Can I try improv in Austin for free?
Yes — The Hideout runs a free two-hour Improv Class twice a month, and its Level One course starts every month if you want to carry on. It is listed on the Austin classes page.
Run a theatre, class or team?
Listings are free and always will be. Submit your event and it goes on the calendar once a human checks it — this calendar is built with the venues, not scraped behind their backs. Something wrong or missing in your listing? Tell us and we'll fix it, usually same day.