In recent years, Austin has become a bastion for edgy, right-leaning comedians like Joe Rogan and Tony Hinchcliffe—but a revered comedy school with roots in Chicago and New York could bring significant change to the capital city’s “anti-woke” comedyscape.
Arguably one of the most famous comedy institutions in the world, Upright Citizens Brigade was originally started by the likes of Amy Poehler and Matt Besser in Chicago in the ’90s and has since expanded to New York and Los Angeles.
Now, UCB has a new home right here in Austin, as the revered institution quietly purchased the locally beloved ColdTowne Theater this past March.
“We were getting close to the point where we would either need an angel investor to really keep going successfully, or we would have to close down completely,” says co-founder Rachel Madorsky. She and husband Dave Buckman helped establish ColdTowne in its original location off Airport Boulevard back in the early aughts and have been co-owners of the theater since 2015.
In the last decade, they’ve shepherded the theater through rising rent prices, a changing Austin, a pandemic, and most recently, a move to a new location off East Second Street. In Austin’s changing comedy landscape where things seem to be getting more right-leaning and expensive each day, independent theaters have been struggling. But lucky for ColdTowne, this is the precise moment when UCB’s new owners Mike McAvoy and Jimmy Miller swooped in to purchase the theater. (Or rather, the precise “six-month process with lawyers and negotiating and making sure everyone got what they needed,” Buckman says.)
For ColdTowne, the partnership means new UCB-branded classes and shows, a huge glow-up and expansion at their new location, plus potential future shows featuring big name comedians like Matt Jones (Mom, Breaking Bad), John Lutz (30 Rock), and Peter Grosz (Veep, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!), to name a few. The acquisition also allows aspiring comics to come to Austin, rather than New York or LA to take classes from the famed comedy troupe. However, this won’t be a complete takeover.
“We’ll have two tracks [of classes],” says Madorsky. “A ColdTowne track and a UCB track. People can choose one or both, plus we’ll have advanced classes and electives and all the other creative things we do.”
The husband-and-wife duo will still be running things; they’re just technically employees of the new parent entity.
“I’m now the ‘UCB Head of Operations in Austin,’” says Buckman, “so that’s very cool.”
Perhaps the biggest upside is how the couple hopes this new partnership affects Austin’s recent shift toward what they call “bro comedy.”
“Whatever Kill Tony is trying to do in comedy—we’re trying to do the opposite of that at ColdTowne; bring people together and punch up, not down,” Buckman says. “[UCB’s purchase of ColdTowne] is an investment in that sort of comedy.” Madorsky adds that with their new backing, they hope to deliver even more diverse, queer, female-led, and socially conscious shows.
ColdTowne has been relatively slow in announcing the news, because they’ve wanted to be absolutely sure of what they’re offering before letting people know. Right now, they’re in the process of training their teachers in UCB’s style. If Austinites see a UCB-branded show or take one of their classes, it’ll be the same quality they’d get in New York or LA.
Ultimately, this means in the coming months (owners estimate August or September), Texans will be able to say “yes, and” to both ColdTowne’s original and UCB-branded classes and shows, without having to travel to the coasts. With our homegrown theater’s heart and UCB’s muscle, Austin’s comedy scene isn’t just evolving—it’s staging a whole new act.
Great Job Natalie Grigson & the Team @ Austin Monthly Magazine Source link for sharing this story.
