by Rod Machen
Austin’s Out of Bounds Comedy Festival gave its city a real treat last Saturday night with a special reunion of that singular vestige of ’90s pop culture, MTV’s Austin Stories.
First and foremost, the event was a good time. Throw a bunch of funny people on a stage, give them a few mics, and the ha-has are bound to happen. That formula surely worked in this case, as an audience skewing slightly older than the standard improv crowd ate it up with laugh after nostalgic laugh.
The back story to this short-lived series is both fascinating and typical. MTV, living up to its moniker of music television, was still playing music videos, though not for long. The Real World and Beaver and Butthole (Beavis and Butthead to the initiated) were making the network crave more and more non-musical programming. In an attempt to harness the Gen-X cool of Richard Linklater’s Slacker, execs set off for the Lone Star State and made a go of crafting a show.
From first contact to production took years, and local comedians Brad “Chip” Pope, Laura House, and New Jersey transplant Howard Kremer were contacted about their interest in what would become very much like Singles, except in Austin and funny: a brash attempt at co-opting authentic outside culture.
By the time Austin Stories started filming its one and only season, it featured Heather Kafka, Matt Bearden, Jessy Schwartz, and Mark Miks, all of whom joined Matt Sadler on stage for some laughs and reminiscing.
In between panel discussions, the audience was treated a screening of the episode “Party.” It shows a day in the life of the characters where lounging around becomes an all day (and night) party. Lots of good stuff in this one. While the series holds up well, it is quirky to the extreme. It’s something to be bathed in, not dunked. Repeated viewings would probably be a good idea.
Kremer said off stage that another, more formal reunion is in the works, so Austin Stories fans, stay tuned. The history of Austin’s comedy scene isn’t done being written yet.
[All images courtesy of the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival]