Out of Bounds Comedy Festival, often abbreviated OOB, is a recurring comedy festival in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2002 by Jeremy Sweetlamb, then known as Jeremy Lamb, the festival presents improv, sketch comedy, stand-up comedy, films, and other forms of comedy. It began as a grassroots improv festival and miniature-golf tournament at The Hideout Theatre and developed into a multi-venue event drawing performers from Austin, elsewhere in the United States, and internationally. History
Founding and early development
Out of Bounds emerged from the void left when the Big Stinkin' International Improv & Sketch Comedy Festival ended in 1999. The Hideout Theatre and the Bad Dog Comedy Theatre housed a new wave of local improv and sketch comedy.
Sweetlamb, a member of Well Hung Jury, founded Out of Bounds in 2002 after the troupe had traveled to other comedy festivals. He wanted to retain the elements he enjoyed while avoiding aspects he found less appealing.
The first Out of Bounds was held over two nights at The Hideout Theatre, with Austin performers joined by visiting acts from Dallas, College Station, and Kentucky. The inaugural festival operated on a budget of $400 and broke even.
The festival began as an alternative to the larger-scale approach associated with Big Stinkin'. OOB placed greater emphasis on camaraderie among performers and experimentation rather, than industry attention or professional discovery. Mike D'Alonzo and Shannon McCormick were among the festival's early producers.
Growth during the festival's early years came largely through the improv community, by visiting performers spreading interest in the festival through word of mouth. By 2007, OOB was hosting 43 improv troupes, including about a dozen from outside Texas. It expanded to seven nights at four venues, with more than 75 troupes from across the United States and a group from Australia.
Expansion
As OOB grew, its programming expanded beyond improv. The festival presented a wider range of live comedy, as an effort to showcase varied and original forms of comedy. Performers arrived from increasingly distant locations, including Europe and the Middle East, while sketch and stand-up became larger parts of the festival.
OOB had grown from a single-stage event to seven nights on six stages, with more than 120 improv and sketch troupes, stand-up comics, and films. In addition to the United States and Canada, performers came from Europe as well. Venues included The Hideout Theatre, ColdTowne Theater, The Velveeta Room, and the State Theatre.
As the festival grew in the following years, it needed to accommodate larger audiences. When OOB expanded from six venues to eight, the change was to increase available seating. Some highly rated acts received repeat performances.
By the middle of the decade, OOB had settled into a scale of more than 500 performers and roughly 130 shows spread among multiple Austin venues. CultureMap Austin described OOB as Austin's longest-running comedy festival and the largest multi-disciplinary comedy festival in the South, that brought together hundreds of improv, sketch, and stand-up performers from to Austin from across North America.
The festival later went on hiatus following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in 2025, and continued annually.
Format
OOB has presented improv, sketch comedy, stand-up, filmed comedy, and hybrid forms of performance. In addition to performances, there were workshops from visiting performers, as well as longer master classes that allowed participants more time to work with the instructors.
Miniature golf was a social component of the festival in its early years. The tournament gave visiting and local performers an informal activity in which they could socialize with other performers. The winning team was awarded the Ridiculous Jacket, which its members wore until the end of the festival, then returned it to be awarded to the following year's winner. See also
List of improvisational theater festivals Improvisational theatre Sketch comedy Stand-up comedy The Hideout Theatre The Velveeta Room
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