Our Story
OUR STORYSince before we existed we created engaged, empathetic comedy without formal limits.
Recent graduates Aaron Garrett & Dustin Tannahill start Be Kind To Strangers, the only independent sketch comedy troupe in Houston at the time of their founding.
From conventional spaces to found ones and everything in between Pronoia Theater doesn’t get hung up on what we’re doing, as long as we’re doing something meaningful to us.
—Aaron Garrett & Steven Saltsman
We believe theater is relevant to everyone’s lives and we want to create work that proves this.
2012
In order to stay connected to the Houston improv community Aaron creates Magical Lying Hour, a melding of acting and improv. The show will feature a rotating cast, along with three permanent members: Aaron, Ruth Hirsch, and Steven Saltsman.
2014
With most of the original members leaving, BKTS switches from it’s bimonthly new productions to a larger original show every six months.
Magical Lying Hour begins to travel nationally to improv festivals.
2015
2016
Aaron choose the name “Pronoia” to encompass his various creative projects while creating the sketch comedy teaching curriculum at Station Theater.
Aaron Garrett and Andrew Stout write “The Life of Bertie” an experimental blending of sketch comedy and traditional narrative that will become the go-to model for BKTS shows over the next six years.
Aaron and Steven officially form Pronoia Theater as a separate entity dedicated to the creation of high-quality original theater.
In order to bring theater to where people are they start a residency with Eureka Heights Brew co. where they will perform a mixture of improv, sketch, and plays mostly monthly until 2024.
2018
During Covid Pronoia explores online-native forms of storytelling and improv, eventually settling into a rhythm of producing an hour-long serialized story every month based off a Eureka sketch, Space Train.
Space Train would continue for 27 episodes before ending its online run in preparation for a higher-quality podcast format.
2020
Today
After ending their run at Eureka, Pronoia retooled to focus on creating fewer, but higher-budget productions, their first being Start Your Endings in March of 2024. Since then they have continued traveling the country, performing, teaching, writing, and creating thoughtful, bizarre, and passionate comedy in Houston.
