Friday, May 31, 2013

Funding Appeal: Grease, the musical, City Theatre, August 23 - September 15, 2013


Grease funding appeal City Theatre Austin TX

Austin Creative Alliance TX

(*) Video Promo by Sigi Rangar: Hellcab by Will Kern, Attic Rep at Trinity University, San Antonio, May 16 - June 2, 2013


Video by Sigi Ragnar for the

Attic Rep San ANtonio TX





production of
Hellcab Will Kern Attic Rep San Antonio TX
HELLCAB
by Will Kern directed by Stacey Connelly
Production design by Andrea Caillouet


May 16-June 2, 2013 Thursday, Friday and Saturday @ 8pm, Sunday @ 2:30pm
at Ruth Taylor Fine Arts Bldg, Stieren Theatre, Trinity University, San Antonio


Featuring Keith Berry, Nico Bonacci, Elizabeth Anne Cave, Kareem Dahab, Taylor Mobley, EJ Roberts and Gloria Sanchez-Molina 


Hellcab is a eighty-minute joy ride created through a collection of scenes from a day in the life of a Chicago cabbie. Director Stacey Connelly, playwright Will Kern and visual artist Andrea Caillouet bring a cabbie’s long day’s journey to life. Fares from a dangerous trio of druggies, a piggish mini-capitalist, a benumbed rape victim, a drunken woman on welfare, and a randy couple on the way to a motel are alternately frightening, hilarious and poignant. These sharply etched blackouts and cameos are capped by a stunning and very touching final scene. (Adult content, not recommended for children)



Auditions in Leander for Shootout at Hole in the Wall, the annual melodrama at Way Off Broadway Community Players, June 10, 2013



Way Off Broadway Community Players, Leander TXWay Off Broadway Community Players will be holding open auditions on Monday, June 10, 2013 at 7 p.m. for our 12th Annual Melodrama and Fundraiser, Shoot Out at Hole in the Wall by Shubert Fendrich, and is being directed by Karen Miller. Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. There are roles for 5 women and 5 men, age range from mid teens – mid 60’s. All interested parties are encouraged to audition.


This fresh approach to the ever-popular western comedy takes place at the turn of the century in Wyoming’s notorious Hole-in-the-Wall country. When the good and honest Ma and Pa Fritter set up shop in the midst of this den of rustlers and outlaws and a wagon load of ladies takes refuge there from attacking Indians, problems erupt all over the place. One rollicking scene follows another ’til Horace, our brave but occasionally clumsy good guy, and Slick Mason, the scoundrel, meet in the final, hilarious show-down and shoot-out... at Hole-in-the-Wall. Add to this a wagon load of ladies taking refuge from attacking Indians and the swaggering Cattle Kate and it’s an evening of western fun and frolic.

Auditions are open to the public and will be held at Way Off Broadway Community Players’ theater, located in the 2243 Business Park at 11880 West FM 2243, Leander, 1 mile west of Hwy 183, just east of Bagdad Road. Performances will be: July 26, 27; August 2, 3; 9, 10, 2013 at 8pm and a Sunday Matinee August 4, 2013 at 3pm. 
 
Click to view a character list with descriptions at www.AustinLiveTheatre.com

SNAPSHOTS, the OUT OF INK PLAY FESTIVAL 2013, Scriptworks at the Salvage Vanguard theatre, June 20 - 29, 2013 -



Scriptworks









presents
OUT OF INK 2013

Snapshots
the 15th annual showcase of 10 minute plays

June 20-22 and 27-29, 2013 at 8 p.m.

Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Rd. - click for map$15 general admission, $12 students/seniors/ScriptWorks
June 20th is a Pay-What-You-Wish preview

RESERVATIONS/INFORMATION: www.scriptworks.org512-454-9727

Whether it's avoiding adjectives, employing superheroes, crickets, or trunks, or finding a way to incorporate the opening and closing lines of Finnegan's Wake, ScriptWorks members have been up to the challenge of combining three arbitrary ingredients into cohesive ten-minute plays for 15 years.
Every year for the past 15 years, members have worked feverishly for 48 hours during the Weekend Fling to pen their opuses built around that year's three ingredients. And every year for the past 15 years, eight of the plays have been produced in the Out of Ink 10 minute play showcase. Over the years, the showcase has been performed at six different venues, from the long-gone Public Domain to the recently-gone Blue Theatre with stops at ACC, The State Theatre, The Hideout, Hyde Park Theatre, and Salvage Vanguard along the way.
Dozens of national and local theatre artists have contributed ingredients including Robert Faires of the Austin Chronicle, Michael Barnes of the Austin-American Statesman, director and casting director Vicky Boone, actors Ev Lunning and Babs George, designers Leilah Stewart, Ia Ensterä, and Natalie George, and playwrights Sherry Kramer, Suzan Zeder, Sibyl Kempson, Zell Miller, III, Naomi Iizuka, Dan Dietz, and Lisa D'Amour to name just a few.

This year the mini-festival returns to Salvage Vanguard and with eight plays inspired by the following ingredients:

1) The play must contain or involve a photograph--which two or more characters interpret the meaning of differently.
2) One character speaks only in commercial lingo, using known tag-lines or slogans.
3) The play must contain a gunshot or a birth.

At the end of the Weekend Fling, the plays were read in a ScriptWorks Salon at Hyde Park Theatre. A selection committee picked eight of the plays for production in Out of Ink. The selection committee included director Sharon Sparlin and non-applying members Elizabeth Cobbe and James Venhaus.

The Snapshots scripts were written by James Burnside, Trey Deason, Amparo Garcia-Crow, Kirk German, Zac Kline, Max Langert, Jason Rainey, and Anne Maria Wynter.

The plays will be performed by an ensemble of actors including Roxy Becker, Pete Betcher, Amy Chang, David DuBose, Nathanael Dunaway, Joe Hartman, Heather Huggins, Katie Kohler, Jordan Marrett, Don Sneed, Rommel Sulit, and Katy Taylor. They'll be directed by Lowell Bartholomee, Heather Huggins, Ellie McBride, Christina J. Moore, and Sharon Sparlin. Designers for the project are Pam Friday, George Marsolek, Jennifer Rogers, and Bryan Schneider.

ABOUT SCRIPTWORKS ScriptWorks (formerly Austin Script Works) is a playwright-driven organization that seeks to promote the craft of dramatic writing and protect the writer's integrity by encouraging playwright initiative and harnessing collective potential. ScriptWorks is funded and supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin’s future.

For more information about ScriptWorks call 512-454-9727 or email: info@scriptworks.org

 


(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)


Thursday, May 30, 2013

(*)Deobrah Martin Reports: Storm Damage at Playhouse San Antonio Forces Friday Cancellation, San Antonio Express-News

Report by Deborah Martin on her arts blog at the San Antonio Express-News:

San Antonio Express-News TX

 

Storm damage claims another ‘Spring Awakening’ performance

Posted on 05/29/2013 by Deborah Martin

Days after last weekend’s storm, the Playhouse is still drying out and coping with the damage. It has also had to cancel a third performance of “Spring Awakening.”


The storm sent chunks of plaster from the ceiling plummeting to the seats in the Russell Hill Rogers theater upstairs sometime late Friday or early Saturday (May 24 or 25), said Playhouse CEO and President Asia Ciaravino.


“The plaster that’s on the ceiling has been saturated with water,” Ciaravino said. “When that plaster is wet, it dissolves. ”

Chunks of plaster fell onto seats in the Russell Hill Rogers theater at the Playhouse. Photo courtesy of Asia Ciaravino
Chunks of plaster fell onto seats in the Russell Hill Rogers theater at the Playhouse. Photo courtesy of Asia Ciaravino



There was also standing water in the theater. And so, every piece of electrical equipment in the space — and it’s a lot of stuff, given that “Spring Awakening” is a high-tech show — had to be unplugged and stashed in the lobby. That included everything in the orchestra pit.

“We had a structural engineer come in from the city — we had a lot of people come today (May 29) to assess it. And we are structurally sound,” Ciaravino said.


Hot air is being pumped into the Russell Hill Rogers theater to dry it out after last weekend's storm. Photo courtesy of Asia Ciaravino
Hot air is being pumped into the Russell Hill Rogers theater to dry it out after last weekend’s storm. Photo courtesy of Asia Ciaravino
But it will take a few more days to dry out the space, clean everything up and re-install all of that equipment, she said. And she doesn’t expect to get the “all clear” from the city until sometime Friday afternoon.




And so, Friday’s (May 31) performance had to be cancelled. Instead, once the theater gets the OK that the space is useable, the cast, crew and musicians will use that night as a rehearsal. They will have been away from the show for a week — all but one of last weekend’s shows were cancelled due to the storm damage. They’ll also use that time to make sure that all of the tech equipment is ship-shape.


“The city (which owns the building) is going to be working on funding the repairs for this, which we are so grateful for,” Ciaravino said.


The situation does illustrate the need for an endowment fund to cover maintenance for the building, she said.

“This is an old building; there’s always going to be a need for repairs,” she said. “Lets say the air conditioning goes out. We don’t have the reserve that we need to be able to pay for those things.


“It’s constantly a struggle. But it’s worth it.”


The theater is creating a fund — called (what else?) Can’t Rain on Our Parade — to help offset costs of the storm damage, including clean-up. Information will be posted on the Playhouse Web site.

AGGADOT BAYA'AR, FOLKTALES IN THE FOREST by Zachary Christman, Theatre at the J, Dell Jewish Community Center, June 9, 16, 23, 2013



Theatre at the J Dell Jewish Community Center Austin TX









presents

Aggadot Baya'ar, Folktales in the Forest, Dell Jewish Community Center TX

This one-of-a-kind, interactive performance is sure to entertain and engage every member of the family! Set on the JCC’s wooded trail, the show will transport audiences into the magical world of Jewish folktales, where you never know quite what you’ll find around the bend. Young audience members will be enlisted by our characters to assist in a special quest as they journey together through an enchanted forest, providing a fun, hands-on introduction to the world of Jewish folklore through theater. But this world-premiere production by Houston playwright Zachary Christman, commissioned especially for JCC Austin/Theater at the J, isn’t just for kids; audience members of every generation will revel in encountering the mythic scenes that await throughout each segment of this unique theatrical adventure!

Running Time: 50 Minutes; Some walking required.

Directed by Adam Roberts, this show features: Robert Deike, Toby Minor, Joseph Dailey and Evelyn Lalonde. Costumes and props by Talena and Trudy Martinez.


Registration to participate and tickets -- click image:
 
Dell Jewish Community Center Austin TX






(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Opinion: Are Theatre Critics Too Soft?, Lyn Gardner, The Guardian (UK), May 29, 2013


Lyn Gardner Guardian Newspaper UK



 

Are theatre critics too soft?

Spectator reviewer Lloyd Evans says his colleagues do theatre a disservice by raving about mediocre shows. Do you agree?

I think it might have been Alan Bennett who once charmingly referred to theatre critics as "giddy chorus girls just waiting to be fucked". Spectator critic Lloyd Evans seems to agree. In his latest column, where he runs the rule over Pastoral at London's Soho theatre and Fallen in Love at the Tower of London, Evans looks to some of the positive national reviews of the same shows and asks of their authors: "Are these people on drugs?"

He goes on to say: "Critics who go into raptures over near-flops risk turning their columns into the sort of perfumed screeds recited at the funerals of Asian dictators."


It's often bloggers who get accused of star inflation, while national critics are perceived as being jaded and hard to please. But it's true there are certainly plenty of four and five star reviews in the mainstream press, and personally I'm guilty as charged. In the past week, I've given five stars to two shows, Not I at the Royal Court and the epic Life and Times at the Norfolk and Norwich festival (although you'd have to go back almost a year before I last got quite so enthusiastic).


Evans may be right in thinking we do a disservice to theatre and audiences when we hyperventilate over the mediocre. There are undeniably masses of three-star reviews, but very few two- and one-star reviews.

Yet are critics more inclined to rave than they once were? Perhaps recession has encouraged kindness, although it's no kindness if people spend their money and are then disappointed. Equally, perhaps the tendency of audiences to rise to their feet and cheer the merely competent is having some kind of effect on reviews. Are reviewers too keen to praise, as Evans suggests – and do you feel critics should be more critical? Tell us what you think.

Click to go to the article at The Guardian Newspaper on-line

GEORGETOWN''S GOT TALENT, Georgetown Palace, June 2, 2013



Georgetown Palace Theatre, Georgetown, TX





[Georgetown Palace Theatre, 810 S. Austin Ave., Georgetown, Texas -- click for map]

presents


Georgetown's Got Talent, Georgetown Palace, TX

On Sunday, June 2nd at 7.30pm The Palace Theatre in Georgetown will host “Georgetown’s Got Talent” live on stage – a regional competition open to children and adults of all ages and talents.

Last season’s finalist Hannah Weison will be performing, and our semi-finalists are as follows

Colin Huntley-15 Singer Songwriter
Rashod Holmes-27 Christian Singer Songwriter
The Last Domino-21 One man band
Ben Blaise-24 Singer Songwriter
Drew Rinewaldt-14 Singer
Sierra Edmundson-16 Singer
Loud Chemistry11-13 Rock band
Colin Bowling-12 Singer Guitar player
Hilary Pace-13 Singer Guitar player
Bayleigh and Abby-11 dancers
Erik Yanez-22 hip hop dancer

Robert Cross, our Emcee will present the performances to the audience, and a panel of judges will be on stage evaluating the 10 acts - they will have the task of selecting 6 finalists at the end of the evening. Tickets will be available to watch this live show.

The 6 finalist performances will be published on line, the final winner will be determined by the highest number of online votes received during the 2 week period following the live show.


The winner will receive a $1000 cash prize as well as a professional video shoot – this audition video will be submitted to the “America’s Got Talent” production team to be considered for their 2013 season.


Audition registrations are now being accepted via www.GeorgetownsGotTalent.com, adults and children, individuals and groups from any city in the region are encouraged to participate.

Tickets for the live show are on sale now, and can be purchased via our website www.georgetownpalace.org. Ticket proceeds will benefit The Georgetown Palace Theatre Guild.



(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)


LGBTQ Stories Sought for OUT IN AUSTIN, Untitled Theatre Works



Out in Austin Untitled Theatre Works





 DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL? ARE YOU A LGBTQ PERSON LIVING IN AUSTIN? WE NEED YOU!

Untitled Theatre Works is seeking participants for our latest theatre project: 

OUT IN AUSTIN

OUT IN AUSTIN is a docu-drama about the experiences of various members of Austin’s LGBTQ community. The text of the piece will be derived from interviews with real people just like you. It will focus on the trials and joys of living and loving in the State Capitol of Texas.

How you can help:
Have you had an exceptionally exciting, emotional, strange, funny, unusual life in Austin, TX? Do you want to talk about your experiences in our city, both good and bad? We want to hear from you! We are currently seeking 10-12 LGBTQ of varying ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds to have their words featured in our upcoming theatrical production OUT IN AUSTIN.

How it works: Email us at untitledtheatreworks@gmail.com with the subject “OUT IN AUSTIN Interview Project” to let us know that you are interested. We will respond with a basic questionnaire. Fill out all of the answers honestly and return it to us via email. After reviewing your questionnaire, we will contact you if we’d like to follow up with an in-person interview where we will sit down and listen to your story. Your interview will be recorded and used as the basis for OUT IN AUSTIN.

What’s in it for you: If chosen for an in-person interview, UTW will provide one complimentary ticket to any performance of OUT IN AUSTIN when it premieres in late 2013. Participants will be listed in the final script/playbill as a contributor, although you may remain anonymous, if desired. UTW Membership will also be offered at a reduced cost. Aside from these perks, you would also get to be involved in a unique theatrical experience that speaks to you, your city and your community.

If you have any further questions about OUT IN AUSTIN please email us at untitledtheatreworks@gmail.com.

Funding Appeal: Zeb L. West Takes Don Quijote and Jonah to Canada with 'Innocent While You Dream,' Appeal Closes June 9


Zeb appeals for help via

IndieGoGo





 to take his show to seven Canadian festivals this summer. Click on the Kickstarter logo to go to the information page to learn more and check on the progress of the campaign, which closes on June 9.

Innocent While You Dream Zeb L. West Austin TXInnocent When You Dream

by Zeb L. West, directed by Steve Moore
 

Don Quixote spends most of this comedy adventure re-telling the story of Moby Dick! See Sancho Panza (as Ishmael) and Ahab battle the white whale windmill! This solo adventure uses puppets, masks, old-timey stagecraft, physical comedy, and sea shanties to smash two literary epics into an hour of shameless antics!

"I'm taking this work up to 7 fringe festivals in Canada this summer! This play takes place inside the belly of a whale! A castaway has been swallowed and driven mad by only having two books to read. It's an irreverent and silly one-man comedy about getting dragged along rock bottom and figuring out how to get out of the belly of the beast, told through masks, puppets and sea shanties."


Zeb West studied physical theater, clown and mask-making at the Dell'Arte School in California, and is a member of Austin's Trouble Puppet Theater Company and Brooklyn's Alphabet Arts.

Shakespeare at Winedale Schedule, 2013




Shakespeare at Winedale University of Texas
2013
presents
The Comedy of Errors
The Tempest
Henry IV, Part IV

and Christopher Marlowe's

Dr. Faustus

Shakespeare at Winedale 2013 University of Texas

(*) Video Promo by Sherry Wehner: In The Heights, Woodlawn Theatre, May 24 - June 13, 2013

Sherry Wehner's video promo for the
Woodlawn Theatre San Antonio








 In the Heights Woodlawn Theatre San Antonio

production of


IN THE HEIGHTS
by Quiara Alegría Hudes Lin-Manuel Miranda


Featuring the band Bombasta!


May 24 - Jun 23, 2013 


Fri &Sat @ 7:30PM Sunday @ 3:00PM

Tickets: $15 - $23

Additional Website for the Show: woodlawntheatre.com/portfolio-view/24-jun-23-2013/


 


Funding Appeal: Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare, City Theatre, June 13 - July 7, 2013


An Indiegogo appeal for contributions to help compensate the cast of 19 for the

City Theatre Austin TX








production of

Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare City Theatre Austin

by William Shakespeare
directed by Bridget Fairas
June 13 - July 7, 2013
Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
(3823 Airport Rd. at 38 1/2 St., behind the Shell station)

Shakespeare’s Sublime Battle of Wits and Wills. 

Click the IndieGoGo logo for more information and to check progress of the campaign:


IndieGoGO





Considered one of the most popular and charming comedies, Much Ado About Nothing features the classic couple Benedick, an arrogant and confirmed bachelor, and Beatrice, his favorite sparring partner, who would rather exchange scorching insults than sweet nothings. However, the pugnacious pair is forced to forge a partnership in order to defend house and honor, and salvage the true love of Hero and Claudio after deceptions destroy the lovers’ wedding day. Will the earnest endeavor to restore a young romance elicit an unexpected change of heart for the effort’s unlikely collaborators as well? Witty wordplay, passionate poetry and clever plot twists make this the perfect romantic evening to share love and laughter.



(*) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Company Theatre at Little Italy Restaurant, San Antonio, June 14-15, 2013



Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged!
The Company Theatre with youtube.com/watch?v=cB10L3GAk5c
Times: June 14th & 15th Doors open 6pm, Show at 7:30pm
Playwright(s): The Reduced Shakespeare Co.
Shakespeare-in-the-park? How about Shakespeare in the dark! The Company continues The Dinnerbox Series - presenting LIVE theatre in local restaurants, with "The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged!)" in the Big Apple Room at Little Italy!

About the show:
An irreverent, 90-minute fast-paced romp through the Bard's 37 plays by THREE actors! "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged!)" was London's longest-running comedy 10 years at the Criterion Theatre. This show is a high-speed roller-coaster type condensation of all of Shakespeare's plays and is not recommended for people with heart ailments, bladder problems, inner-ear disorders and/or people inclined to motion sickness.

Deborah Martin from the S.A. Express News says: "Their performances are laugh-out-loud funny all the way through."

WHEN: June 14 & 15 (one weekend only!)
Doors open at 6PM.
Show at 7:30PM

WHERE: The Big Apple Room at Little Italy (824 Afterglow)
PRICE: $30 in advance, $40 at the door.
Use ONLINE SATCO discount "WILLY" to get $25 Dinner & Show Combo!!!!

Join our mailing list for DISCOUNTED tickets & ticket givaways!!!
More info: www.thecompanytheatre.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB10L3GAk5c
Cast:
John Chevront, Brandon Curry and Damian Gillen
Location: 824 Afterglow, San Antonio, Texas, 78216
Tickets: Dinner & Show for $30, in advance, Tickets are $40 at the door. (ONLINE SATCO discount $25)
For More Information:
800-838-3006
Additional Website for the Show: brownpapertickets.com
Purchase online
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)


(*) JEKYLL AND HYDE, THE MUSICAL, J. Pennington Studios at the Cameo Theatre, September 7 - October 6, 2013



Cameo Theatre San Antonio TX





presents

Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical

Cameo Theatre with Jonathan Pennington Studios
Playwright(s): Conceived for the Stage by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn; Book and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse; Music by Frank Wildhorn; Based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson
A true musical theatre phenomenon, JEKYLL & HYDE attracted legions of loyal fans even before the show began its smash-hit Broadway run.

An evocative tale of the epic battle between good and evil, JEKYLL & HYDE is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story about a brilliant doctor whose experiments with human personality create a murderous counterpart. Convinced the cure for his father's mental illness lies in the separation of Man's evil nature from his good, Jekyll unwittingly unleashes his own dark side, wreaking havoc in the streets of London as the savage, maniacal Edward Hyde.

Times: September 7 - October 6; 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 4pm on Sundays
Tickets: $33 Adults, $25 Seniors, $20 Mititary
For More Information:
210.212.5454
Additional Website for the Show: jonathanpenningtonstudios.com
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Call for Scripts and for Director Applications, Oh Dragon Theatre Company, Austin, Texas, Deadline of July 1, 2013


Oh Dragon Theatre Company Austin TXOh Dragon Theatre Company is accepting directorial applications and script submissions for our next season starting in October 2013. We are a new theatre company with a small budget, but we are passionate about bringing great live theatre works to our community. We cannot offer compensation at this time for directors, actors, or crew. If Oh Dragon selects your submission, we will produce the full-length version of the show as part of our regular season.

You may submit:
• A script with no director selected.
• A script with a director selected.
• A director with no script selected.

Submitted scripts may be:
• An original work (not published, royalty-free).
• A royalty-free play
• A published play with a plan to raise funds to pay performance royalties

To include with your submission (if applicable):
• Date suggestions (does not guarantee dates will be chosen).
• Resume of directing experience *Directors only.
• Copy of submitted script (may mailed or emailed).
• Completed contact form
• Show elements (Set, lighting, sound design, etc). *Directors only.
• Fundraising plan *Published play submissions only


Submissions begin June 1st, 2013 and end July 1st, 2013 at midnight. We will notify all applicants by August 1st, 2013.

If you are interested in submitting a show, applying to be a director, or both, please contact Lacey Cannon at ohdragontheatrecompany@gmail.com.

Available: Tailored Public Performance Events, Generic Ensemble Company, Austin, TX



Generic Ensemble Company Austin TX

Sitelines--Site-specific Performance as Public Art! We are working toward a series of site-specific performances throughout Austin during the summer. If you want to see us perform in any space, please email us! We are also looking for: a theme you want explored, a thing to include in the piece, and potential partners in the process. Each performance will be roughly 30 minutes long, be developed over less than two-weeks, take place in a public place and be announced less than 24 hours ahead. 

TELL US WHAT YOU LIKE, DUDE! Send a message via our Facebook page. . . . and click here to join our mailing list.  Or click the logo to go to our blog.

Auditions for Man of La Mancha, Austin Playhouse, June 10, 2013 by Appointment



AustinAuditions for the Austin Playhouse production of the musical Man of La Mancha will be held on Monday, June 10 at Austin Playhouse. Don Toner will direct the production with musical direction by Michael McKelvey.

Man of La ManchaAll performers are compensated.Equity and non-Equity will be hired. All ethnicities encouraged.

Rehearsals begin August 10, 2013.
Performances are September 6 - October 6, 2013

Auditions are by appointment only.


Please email info@austinplayhouse.com or call (512) 476-0084 for an audition slot. Please bring a headshot and resume and prepare 16 bars to show your range (traditional/classical musical theatre preferred). An accompanist will be provided.



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Auditions of Actors 40 years and older for The ReSet Project, Lucky Chaos Theater Projects, June 3, 2013


Lucky Chaos theatre projects Austin TXAsaf Ronen and Lucky Chaos Theater are currently auditioning people for an upcoming semi-scripted, mostly improvisational dramatic theater production: The ReSet Project.

What if you could revisit a point in your life and ReSet it to something else?
We’re currently seeking actors of all types age 40 and older for a show where we will examine the ‘what-might-have-been’ of points in our lives. Actors are highly encouraged to bring real-life experiences to this intentionally personal theater piece. Some writing will be involved.

Auditions will be in 30-minute slots on Monday, June 3rd from 7pm through 10pm. Email Asaf Ronen at yesandasaf@gmail.com with your preference of audition time as well as a writing sample if you have one.There are total of 6 performance on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm on 8/2, 8/3, 8/9, 8/10, 9/5 and 9/6 at Salvage Vanguard Theater (Studio).

Bio for Asaf Ronen: Hailing from NYC, Asaf Ronen is nationally recognized, longtime improvisation teacher and performer and in addition to a multitude of improvisational work, he has taught improvisational techniques as a process for devised theatre at theatre companies in Austin.He is the creator and Editor-in-Chief of YESand.com, a website devoted to improvisation, and is the author of the book, Directing Improv: Show the Way By Getting Out of the Way. He has taught improvisation in Canada, Great Britain, Norway and in twenty-two of The United States. He has also taught throughout NYC’s public school system as a resident artist through LEAP and New Horizons and as part of Weist-Barron’s ACTeen. Asaf has worked with Cirque du Soleil as a scout for improvisational talent. His directing credits include the all-girl group goga, the improvised comic book adventure show Ka-Baam!!, and Death in the City, a dramatic longform improv piece, at the NY Fringe Festival. His Austin directing credits include True West (Blue Theatre), Spirited: Improvised Dreamscapes (Hideout Theater), Only Three Will Survive...(Institution Theater) and Firefly The Musical (Institution Theater). He was also a producer on Trust Us, This Is All Made Up, a documentary on legendary improvisers TJ & Dave that had its world premiere at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival and a writer on the soon-to-be-released Days of Delusion. Asaf is the co-founder and education director at the Institution Theater in Austin.

ABOUT LuckyChaos Theater Projects: LuckyChaos Theater Projects produce works by or about Asian Americans as well as other under-represented communities. We hope to increase dialogue about these experiences through the performance arts. Our projects are stories from a different point of view and range from published works to original works including submissions from the community. We explore all mediums including scripted, experimental, improv and movement. Come checkout our shows – every 1st and 2nd weekends of the month at Salvage Vanguard Theater (Studio) – Fri/Sat 8pm and 1st Sat 10pm. “Create Art. Create Identity. Create Possibilities. Play On!”

TCG Interview: Amparo Garcia-Crow on Latino Theatre, May, 2013

From Theatre Communications Group -- a post as part of the Diversity & Inclusion blog salon led by Online Curator Jacqueline E. Lawton for the 2013 TCG National Conference: Learn Do Teach in Dallas. Check out further Diversity and Inclusion interviews on Jacqueline’s blog.)
Theatre Communications Group Circle








Plays Are About Humans

JACQUELINE LAWTON: First, tell me about the work you do as a theatre artist or administrator.

AMPARO GARCIA-CROW: Amparo Garcia-Crow (via www.tcg.com)I am an inter-disciplinary artist who acts, directs, sings, writes plays, screenplays and songs; I am also a film artist currently working on a documentary film and supplement all of these delights by being a teaching artist at Austin Community College where I teach playwriting, intro to theatre and stage movement. A strong focus (and area of employment) for the last few years has been in storytelling and the development of solo work; I direct and coach a handful of performance artist/storytellers.

JL: How do you identify in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, and heritage? How has this identity influenced the work that you do?

AGC:I am Mexican American with a Chinese Mexican great grandmother and I am also a Tejana. (original Texan of Mexican descent) As a writer my race, ethnicity, culture and heritage became “a burden of representation” at the beginning, meaning I was committed to giving expression to every nuance of being exactly the combination I embody; as I mature I no longer limit what I write to any one focus, I let the muse dictate what wants to be created; as a professional actor, I still struggle with the narrow opportunities available to what used to be termed in film and television as “the exotic”; thankfully the breakdowns are finally stating after the name of the character– “all ethnicities considered”, however, the reality is that they still do not cast outside the box kind of the way Latino plays might be read at new work stage reading events but rarely produced; the most freedom I experience is in directing (and dramaturgy) where I get to cross all boundaries, bringing to life what the piece requires with the added awareness I have that I wish to create realities that are not bound by race, in fact the more I can push the expectations in any of these areas, the better.

JL: How has this identity impacted your ability to work in the American Theatre? Have certain opportunities been made available to you owing to “who” you are? Have certain doors been closed to you?

AGC: When my play Under a Western Sky was produced Off-Broadway and received a stellar New York Times review, I was disappointed to receive letters from mainstream publishers (Broadway Play Publishing, Samuel French and Dramatists Play Service) to whom I submitted the play for publication–in essence they were saying similar things: “We think this is a provocative play but we do not think it will have a big enough audience” which was essentially saying, “we don’t think a play about a small Mexican American town in Texas where all but one of the characters is white” will sell. This was in the 1990s, don’t know that I would get that response now but it certainly was telling at the time that they had unquestioned beliefs about what an audience is willing to view if it involves characters outside the mainstream “ethnic” and racial demographics. I personally have never thought of plays that way–I’ve never said, “I don’t want to read or see Chekhov cause he writes about Russians.” It is assumed that plays are about humans and then we go from there.


CIRCUS GIRL by Rocky Hopson, Hat Tree Theatricals at the Museum of Human Achievement, June 6 - 16, 2013



Hat Tree Theatricals
presents


 Circus Girl by Rocky Hopson Hat Tree Theatricals Austin TX
Circus Girl
by Rocky Hopson
June 6th - 16th, Thursdays-Sundays at 7:30
at The Museum of Human Achievement. (located across from The Blue Genie)
Thursdays are pay-what-you-wish and there will be ASL interpretation on Thursday, June 13th.

Purchase tickets here: http://thehattreetheatricals.com/

Circus Girl takes you on a journey through America during the 1890s—from Kansas City to Chicago to Denver. It is the story of Circus Girl, a young performer who has lived in the circus or vaudeville her entire life. She knows very little about the outside world, and suddenly has to fend for herself in rapidly changing and precarious surroundings.
Much like our present decade, the 1890s were a time of exciting innovation as well as economic crisis and uncertainty: New technologies like the recording of sound and film changed the way people perceived the world and themselves in it. The Chicago World's Fair took place in 1893 and was considered the biggest event in human history.
On the flip side of that was the Panic of 1893. The railroads had overbuilt and went bankrupt. The banks closed. The country was in chaos. —Amidst this upheaval Circus Girl is out of a job and left alone. She has to adjust to her new environment or be sucked into the harsh reality of a country in turmoil. Through the eyes of Circus Girl this challenging new play shows an epic struggle between fantasy and reality that also reflects the problems and turmoils we face in 2013.


Circus Girl is written and directed by Rocky Hopson, starring Kim Adams, Jen Brown, Dallas Tate, Zac Crofford, Dawn Youngs, Judd Farias, Kelly Hasandras and Michelle Keffer and designed by Monica Gibson, Jamie Urban, Ia Enstera, Steven Shirey, and Lee Webster.

The Hat Tree Theatricals is Rocky Hopson and Michelle Keffer.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Monday, May 27, 2013

BRIDES OF THE MOON, Weird Sisters Theatre Collective at the Red Barn, June 20 - 29, 2013





Brides of the Moon Weird Sisters Theatre Collective Austin TX

The Weird Sisters are back and heading to deep space! We’re taking a break from our usual commentary on the Bard and working our magic on a seriously funny space mission including 4 Brides of the Moon, 2 NASA scientists, a superfan, a mopey husband and one sexy monkey. We’re excited to be performing at the Red Barn on Burnet Road, and honored to be first and last performance of its kind as the barn and farmer’s market buildings will be torn down in August to make way for new construction. Come see our campy comedy, toast to the future and say good bye to this old Austin landmark. 

When the CokTek mission to the moons of Pygo gets lost in space, it's up to a scorned ex-crew member and a futuristic family on Earth to bring them home. Brides of the Moon explores relationships between women in a wacky-yet-poignant style. Join the Weird Sisters Women’s Theater Collective June 20, 21, 22 and 26, 27, 28, and 29 in an out-of-this world fantasy.

Brides of the Moon, A Five Lesbian Brothers play written by Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, Lisa Kron

Opens: June 20 at 8pm
Runs: June 20, 21, 22, 26 (industry night), 27, 28 & 29  at 8 pm, doors open at 7:30


Tickets: Available via
brown paper tickets


and at the door. Sliding scale, $10-$30

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

(*) METHOD & MADNESS: HAMLET, Jump-Start Performance Company and Classic Theatre, San Antonio, June 14 - 23, 2013




Method & Madness Hamlet 2013 Jump-Start Classic Theatre San Antonio TX

Method & Madness: Hamlet 2013

Based on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Adapted by Laurie Rae Dietrich
Directed by Diane Malone & S.T. Shimi

June 14-16, 21-23 2013
Friday, Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m.


$20 general admission, $15 students and seniors
Pay-What-You-Can on June 21st

Click to purchase tickets online

“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.”

The play’s the thing as two resident companies with two very different aesthetics take on one quintessential Shakespearean standard this summer. Jump-Start Performance Co., known for its experimental and original works, and Classic Theatre of San Antonio, known for their professional productions of popular classics, collaborate on this exciting show…one of the last things that both companies will be presenting in the Sterling Houston Theater in the Blue Star Arts Complex before the lease is up mid-January.

Method and Madness: Hamlet 2013 is a fast-paced, edited (with a run-time of 90 minutes) and visceral interpretation of the well-known tale of the indecisive Dane that focuses on the twisted family dynamics in a minimalist style with steam-punk detailing. From co-direction (Diane Malone and S.T. Shimi) to design (including a lighting co-design by Rick Malone and Billy Muñoz) to a talented ensemble comprising members of Jump-Start and Classic (including Billy Muñoz and Linda Ford playing the split personalities of Hamlet), this production showcases the best aspects of both companies including physical theater, movement work, creative design and compelling performances.

Directed by Diane Malone and S.T. Shimi
Dramaturgy & Adaptation by Laurie Rae Dietrich
Lighting Design by Rick Malone
and Billy Muñoz
Sound Design by Rick Malone
Costume Design by Kitty Williams


Performed by Christie Beckham, Erik Bosse, Laurie Dietrich, Linda Ford, Dino Foxx, Pamela Dean Kenny, Billy Muñoz, Robert Rehm, Joseph Urick and Kitty Williams.


Twitter Row: Tweeting, updating your Facebook or text messaging during shows is usually looked down upon, but we encourage it! Excited by what you see on stage and want to share it with your social network? The back row of the theater has been dedicated for the patron who can’t put their phone down. Help us grow our audiences by talking about the work we’re doing. #TwitterRow #M&M2013 #JSPC
For more info or to purchase tickets for Method & Madness: Hamlet 2013 please call (210) 227-5867 or visit www.jump-start.org!

Jump-Start Performance Co. is generously supported by the Department for Culture and Creative Development, Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the Fund.

The Classic Theatre of San Antonio is generously supported by Art Works, the King William Assocation, Frost Bank, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Department for Culture and Creative Development, San Antonio Area Foundation, H-E-B, Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation and Rackspace Hosting.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)