A troupe member reading a missed connection post from Craiglist at Missed Connections ATX (Credit: Wright Sulek)
Austin improv is thriving, as is the city’s dating scene. If you put the two together, you get one hell of a improv comedy show called Missed Connections ATX, at ColdTowne Theater. If you aren’t familiar with the term, I urge you to take a look at your local Missed Connections section on Craigslist. It’s used as a type of personal advertisement, posted and sent into the abyss after two people meet (or not), but are too shy (or not) to exchange contact details. This is comical, sometimes heart-wrenching stuff.
The brilliance of Missed Connections ATX is the way the improv group takes these online gems and runs with them in the most hilarious and creative ways. The event is lovingly described as, “an improvised show about lovesick Austinites seeking a second chance at romance online.” If you aren’t intrigued yet, keep reading.
Missed Connections ATX Improv Troupe
Missed Connections ATX comedy troupe (Credit: Wright Sulek)
Wowzers, the laughs are endless with this group of talented locals. When going to an improv show, it’s always inspiring to witness true collaboration. The dynamic these people have has undeniably evolved to a place where you are sucked into each scene, forgetting for moment that you’re even in a theater.
Actual Missed Connections
Credit: Wright Sulek
How it works is simple: a troupe member reads an actual Missed Connection post from Austin Craigslist. Then the other members riff on it, bringing each comical or devastating situation to life.
Chelsea Bunn, the show’s director, shared, “I have always had a fondness for Craigslist Missed Connections. My college roommate and I would stay up late scouring for the quirkiest ads. Additionally, I’m really drawn to a style of long-form improv which is premise-driven, and recently started practicing short form games. The show is a hybrid of these two forms of improv. In a way, it’s a marriage of the things that are really interesting me right now as a maker/performer.”
Witness Vulnerability
Getting physical! (Credit: Wright Sulek)
The act of putting yourself out there online (even anonymously) just to score a date with a cutie you were eyeing at the grocery store is straight-up brave. There’s something incredibly sweet about that sort of faith in the Internet gods. Hey, what could it hurt? Similarly, that’s the vibe at ColdTowne: let’s try it out. The result is hilarious, more often that not.
Golden Moments
Making connections at Missed Connections ATX (Credit: Wright Sulek)
When I asked Bunn about her favorite moments so far, she responded, “This cast is so funny, it’s hard to choose just one! The first time we ran “He said, she said” in rehearsal, I laughed so hard that I cried. Other favorite moments include a scene about a sub/dom couple playing putt-putt golf, and a scene about a witch whose murder of crows were doing evil deeds around Austin.” I mean, who doesn’t want to jump into that world for a hot minute?
The last Missed Connections ATX show is this Saturday, March 11, 2017. If you can’t make it, no sweat. You really can’t go wrong when it comes to live comedy at ColdTowne Theater.
4803 Airport Blvd. – Website
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