Arts Reporting: Austin Creative Alliance Names Marcy Hoen as Interime Executive Director

Found at the Statesman's Austin360 "Seeing Things" blog:

Austin Creative Alliance names interim executive director

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin | Wednesday, March 9

Austin Creative Alliance has appointed Marcy Hoen as its new interim executive director of the organization.

Longtime director Latifah Taormina, announced in November that she would be retiring this from leading the arts service organization, formerly Austin Circle of Theatres.

Hoen is a hair stylist and has served on the board of FuseBox, the performing arts festival, and volunteered with the Rude Mechanicals theater troupe, the Bootstrap Network and Art Alliance Austin. She founded the artists representation venture Austin Art Start in 2006.

Alliance board chair David Sandal, said in a new release that Taormina and Hoen will work together during a transition period before Taormina leaves. “Latifah has been a leading figure in Austin’s art community for many years and continues to be an invaluable resource as we move forward,” Sandal said.

Arts Reporting: TCG Asks for Theatre Artists' Input

Received via Ann Marie McKaskle of the Greater Austin Creative Alliance, the request from the Theatre Communications Group for input from those employed or seeking to be employed in the not-for-profit theatre:

I wanted to pass along a survey that Theater Communications Group is conducting. It is the final initiative of their current Field Conversations between independent artists and theatres, focusing on individual artists who either are or are aspiring to be employed primarily in the not-for-profit theatre. If you have a moment please take this opportunity to share your thoughts with TCG. The link and details about the survey are below. Feel free to pass the survey on to fellow theatre artists.

Cheers!
Anne-Marie

Dear APASO Colleagues:

As the national organization for theatre in the U.S., one of Theatre Communications Group’s (TCG) key responsibilities is to listen to the needs of our field and to respond in ways that will help to strengthen, nurture and promote the U.S. theatre ecology. While we achieve this goal in a variety of ways, including the compilation of data about theatre organizations for over 35 years, for the first time, and with the generous support of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, we are gathering the opinions of theatre artists through the TCG State of the Artists Survey. For the purposes of this study, we are focusing on individual artists who either are or are aspiring to be employed primarily in the not-for-profit theatre. The survey is the final initiative of our current Field Conversations between independent artists and theatres.

In an effort to reach the broadest possible audience, we are passing the survey on to other service organizations and artist unions, and asking you to distribute the survey to your constituent independent artists. We want to know how artists feel about their careers, and ways they would like to see the field change to better meet their needs. The information gathered in this important pilot survey will inform TCG as we review our current programs and services and develop new ones that address artists’ concerns. The results of the survey will be incorporated into the Field Conversations report which will be circulated throughout the field, and the accompanying Field Conversations article to be published in the July/August issue of American Theatre.

The deadline to complete the survey is February 24, 2011. It will take about 15 minutes to complete. All responses will be kept completely confidential, but it is our intent to compile data from this survey and include it in a report to

be widely distributed. The survey is located at the link below. (If the link doesn’t appear, cut and paste the address in a Web browser.)

http://surveys.surveynetwork. com/wire/39169127/oo/main.php? projectpin=tr3ch5x2lp& starting=newsess&cacheBust= 5940

Any technical difficulties should be directed to Jason Kosakow at 301.656.0310 x107 or jkosakow@shugollresearch.com. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Warm regards,

Teresa Eyring
Executive Director

Theatre Communications Group

Austin's B. Iden Payne Awards, 2009-2010 season

Thanks to the B. Iden Payne Committee, here's a full list of the awards for Austin's stages for 2009-2010:

YOUTH THEATER

Outstanding Production of Youth Theater

There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom (UT Department of Theatre and Dance)

Outstanding Director of Youth Theater

Judy Matetzschk-Campbell (Just Bee)

Outstanding Performer in Youth Theater

Gricelda Silva (the Boy, The Red Balloon)

MUSIC THEATER

Outstanding Production of Music Theater

The Drowsy Chaperone (Zachary Scott Theatre Center)

Outstanding Director of Music Theater

Nick Demos (The Drowsy Chaperone)

Outstanding Lead Actor in Music Theater

Andrew Cannata (John 1, John 2, John & Jen)

Outstanding Lead Actress in Music Theater

Michelle Haché (Elsie Maynard, The Yeomen of the Guard)

Outstanding Featured Actor in Music Theater

Robert Pierson (Tom, Murder Ballad Murder Mystery)

Outstanding Featured Actress in Music Theater

Content Love Knowles (Tom’s Wife, Lincoln Lady, Murder Ballad Murder Mystery)

COMEDIES

Outstanding Production of a Comedy

The Taming of the Shrew – Original Practices (Hidden Room Theatre)

Outstanding Director of a Comedy

Beth Burns (The Taming of the Shrew – Original Practices)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy

Ryan Crowder (Katherina, The Taming of the Shrew – Original Practices)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy

Katie deBuys (Agnes White, Bug)

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Comedy

Jude Hickey (Milkman Moe, Pandora et al., Leave It to Beverly)

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Comedy

Xochitl Romero (Lauren, Circle Mirror Transformation)

DRAMAS

Outstanding Production of a Drama

Dionysus in 69 (Rude Mechanicals)

Outstanding Director of a Drama

Connor Hopkins (The Jungle)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama

Jacob Trussell (Peer Gynt, Peer Gynt)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama

Helen Merino (Mary Stuart, Mary Stuart)

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Drama

Garry Peters (Big Daddy, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Drama

Feliz Dia McDonald (Ariel, Sycorax)

TECHNICAL

Outstanding Set Design

Ann Marie Gordon (Sleeping Beauty)

Outstanding Lighting Design

Megan M. Reilly (Murder Ballad Murder Mystery)

Outstanding Sound Design

Eliot Haynes (The Jungle)

Outstanding Costume Design

Susan Branch Towne (The Drowsy Chaperone)

Outstanding Music Director

Allen Robertson (The Drowsy Chaperone)

Outstanding Choreographer

Robin Lewis (The Drowsy Chaperone)

Outstanding Original Script

Connor Hopkins (The Jungle)

Outstanding Original Score

Content Love Knowles (Sleeping Beauty)

SPECIAL

Outstanding Cast or Ensemble Performance

The Drowsy Chaperone (cast, Zachary Scott Theatre Center)

Outstanding Young Performer

Matthew Stellato (Falstaff, The Merry Wives of Windsor)

Special Certificate for Puppetry

Trouble Puppet Theater Company, The Jungle

Special Certificate for Translation

Graham Schmidt, The Cherry Orchard

Rudy Kloptik Award for Outstanding Work in Improvisational Theater
(nominated by members of the Austin Improv Collective)

Confidence Men: Improvised Mamet (The Institution Theater)

People’s Choice Award
(chosen by attendees at the awards ceremony)

A Little Night Music, Georgetown Palace Theatre, Georgetown

Upcoming: 'Leveraging Investments in Creativity,' Judilee Reed, November 4

Received directly from the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division:

Judilee Reed, Leveraging Investments in Creativity

Where: Austin Playhouse 3601 S. Congress Penn Field Austin, TX 78704 Driving Directions When: Thursday November 4, 2010 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM CDT Add to my calendar

Learn about LINC, national trends in the field, and how they connect to Austin! Please join the Cultural Arts Division, and our co-host the Austin Creative Alliance, for an evening with Judilee Reed, Executive Director of Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC). LINCis a ten-year national initiative to improve the conditions for artists working in all disciplines. LINC builds on research by the Urban Institute that identifies the need for new efforts that expand financial supports for artists' work; improve artists' access to essential material supports such as live-work space and insurance; and bolster knowledge, collaborations, and public policies that affect the work of artists and their contributions to communities. Launched in July 2003, LINC is quickly coming up to the end of its ten-year initiative. Judilee's presentation in Austin will offer an overview of the work of LINC, national trends in the field, and how they connect to what is happening in Austin now. Get more information RSVP Now! Please call 512-974-7860 if you have any questions about this event. You can also visit the Next Level website for more information about our workshops and speaker series. Sincerely, Cultural Arts Division City of Austin EGRSO culturalarts@ci.austin.tx.us 512 9747875

Mellon Foundation Awards $90,000 Planning Grant to Greater Austin Creative Alliance

Reproduced from Rob Faubion's AustinOnStage.com, October 16:

Mellon Foundation Awards $90,000 Planning Grant to Greater Austin Creative Alliance

The trustees of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation have awarded a grant in the amount of $90,000 to the Greater Austin Creative Alliance to fund 19 months of planning and collaborations among a collective of local artist-driven theater companies and theater artists who focus on creating and presenting new work.

The grant will support planning and research to create a formal system for sharing resources that can serve as a model for other communities devoted to creating and presenting new work in theater.

Awarded to the New Works Theater Community - a loosely affiliated, mutually supportive group of Austin small theatre companies and individual artists, designers, writers, technicians, performers and administrators - the "first of its kind" grant funds the efforts of an entire community of artists and artist-driven companies. The group includes presenting, producing, and service organizations of various sizes, both with and without
their own venues. The participating organizations and individuals include:

- Physical Plant - Katie Pearl, Steve Moore;
- VORTEX Repertory Company - Bonnie Cullum;
- Rubber Repertory - Matt Hislope and Josh Meyer;
- Fusebox - Ron Berry;
- Salvage Vanguard Theater - Jenny Larson;
- Austin Script Works - Christi Moore;
- Poison Apple Initiative - Bastion Carboni;
- Paper Chairs - Dustin Wills, Lisa Laretta, and Kim Ngo;
- Teatro Vivo - Jo Anne Reyes and Rupert Reyes;
- Pro-Arts Theater Collective - Lisa Byrd;
- Shrewd Productions - Shannon Grounds;
- Vestige Group - Susie Gidseg;
- Trouble Puppet - Connor Hopkins;
- Cambiare Productions - Travis Bedard and Will Snider;
- Loaded Gun Theory - Tim Thomas and Julie Winston Thomas;
- Da! Theater - Heather Huggins, Kirk German, and Jude Hickey;
- Rude Mechanicals - Kirk Lynn, Shawn Sides, Lana Lesley, Madge Darlington, and Thomas Graves;
- Greater Austin Creative Alliance - Latifah Taormina and Heather Barfield

The Creative Alliance - which, as Austin Circle of Theaters and as the Alliance, is or has been the fiscal sponsor for many of these groups - will serve as the fiscal sponsor for the initiative.

The project was initiated when David Dower, then the artistic director of Z Space Studio in San Francisco (and now with Arena Stage in Washington DC) visited Austin on behalf of a Mellon-commissioned national field survey on the infrastructure for new works and new voices in the American Theatre. Dower was especially excited by the work he discovered here in Austin and most especially, the community doing the work.

"David came to town to talk to us about the possibilities for our community," said Kirk Lynn of the Rude Mechanicals. "He felt like we could get together and ask for support as a community. Having an outsider recognize and value what you do is amazing. Austin is famous; we are known nationally as a hotbed for new collaborative work."

The Greater Austin Creative Alliance - formerly Austin Circle of Theaters - builds on ACoT's 36 years of work to greater public awareness, appreciation, and support for Austin's performing arts community to serve the wider Austin creative community across all disciplines and sectors. A nonprofit, community-based organization, the Creative Alliance grew out of the CreateAustin initiative and works to advance, connect, and celebrate Austin's creative life. For more information, visit www.AustinCreativeAlliance.org.

GLITCH??: Free Night of Theatre 2010 Tickets: Now You See 'Em. . . .

Found on-line:

FURTHER UPDATE and ALT comment: "What we have here is a failure to communicate. . . .":

On its website today the Greater Austin Creative Alliance cheerfully explains that the only sold-out tickets for the Free Night of Theatre so far are those for the events for this coming weekend (11 listings). GACA says that because in previous years some lucky ticket holders forgot about the show dates later in the month, the organization has decided to release the remaining tickets (50 listings by ALT's count) week by week, making them available on the Tuesday beforehand. Just sign up on the site's "stand-by list," which is not a stand-by list at all but rather a list-serve that will remind you that Tuesday is coming around again. More tickets/opportunities will be added during the month.

There is no acknowledgment that the national web site does not mention GACA'S change in procedures. And there's no evident sensitivity to the fact that misleading prospective audiences with your marketing is one of the quickest ways in the world to motivate them to stay home in front of the television with their feet up .

UPDATE/AFTER ACTION REPORT, eight minutes into the release period:

just received:

ChrisNAustin has left a new comment on your post "Upcoming: Free Night of Theatre 2010, Tickets avai...":

What a joke!!! How at 11:01 are everyone one of these events "Sold Out"? Obviously they were available to someone prior to 11am, Tuesday September 28th as advertised here. Utterly dissappointing.

Posted by ChrisNAustin to Austin Live Theatre at September 28, 2010 11:08 AM

AustinLiveTheatre checked and can confirm that every item on the lengthy list for Austin is designated SOLD OUT. ALT forwarded Chris's comment to the info e-mail at the Greater Austin Creative Alliance.

as advertised:

Free Night of Theater 2010

during October

presented by Greater Austin Creative Alliance (GACA) at multiple locations

ALT note: beginning at 11 a.m., Tuesday, September 28 you can reserve two free tickets for shows listed for Austin at the Theatre Communication Group's Free Night of Theatre website (click to go there).

Performances occur during the period October 1-October 31, 2010.

Listed as of Tuesday morning, September 28:

Austin Chamber Music Center (one Saturday matinee of the Hispanic Heritage Concert)

Austin Community College (6 dates for Mauritius)

The Baron's Men (2 performances of Midsummer Night's Dream at the Curtain Theatre)

Coldtowne Theatre (11 performances)

The Georgetown Palace (6 dates for Cinderella by Rodgers and Hammerstein)

The Long Center (Drumline Live, Straight No Chaser and a Wednesday performance of Jaston Williams' Cowboy Noises)

The New Movement Theatre (21 performances)

Paradox Players, Unitarian Universalist Church (2 dates for Incorruptible)

Southwestern University (1 listing for a Thursday performance of The Man Who Came to Dinner by Kauffman and Hart)

Tapestry Dance Company (a Saturday matinee and evening for Voices of Rhythm)

UT (1 Sunday matinee for The Fantasticks)

The Vortex Repertory (1 Sunday evening listing for Vampyress)

Zach Theatre (2 matinees for Rent)

(GACA's listing indicates that more productions may be added to the list.)

The GACA pitch:

Enjoy free tickets to events at theaters and galleries across Austin all this month! A national program of Theatre Communicatios Group, Free Night is presented locally by Greater Austin Creative Alliance.

The program was developed to make the experience of live performance available to people who may not have ever seen live theater, dance, music. We encourage you to use this opportunity to visit theaters or see events you have not seen before. Do encourage others to use this opportunity as well.

We thank all the arts organizations in Austin that make these offers available to you this year:

Austin Chamber Music Center; Austin Community College Department of Drama; Austin Film Society; The Baron's Men; Coldtowne Theatre; Georgetown Palace Theatre; Paradox Players; Sight Ain't Seen Productions' Tapestry Dance Company; The Hideout Theatre; The Long Cneter for the Performing Arts; The New Movement Theatre; University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance; Vortex Repertory Companuy; Weird City Theatre; Zach

YOU MUST RESERVE YOUR FREE NIGHT TICKETS ONLINE AT THE TCG LINK.

Since its inception in 2005, Free Night of Theater has boosted awareness of the nations arts organizations, while building new audiences and driving single ticket sales. Continuing in this tradition, Free Night 2010 will seek out new audiences, invite current theatergoers and arts patrons to try a new theater or arts venue, as well as ignite interest and create awareness about the variety of arts options in Austin and across the country. In 2009 Free Night of Theater celebrated its 5th anniversary in over 120 cities from coast to coast with 714 arts organizations offering over 65,000 tickets to more than 2,000 performances across the nation! Free Night of Theater 2010 will kick-off nation wide on October 14th. Tickets will be offered between October 1 and October 31

Nominations for B. Iden Payne Austin theatre awards, 2009-2010

Published September 29:

2009-2010 nominations for B. Iden Payne theatre awards

published September 28, 2010 at
http://www.bidenpayneawards.com/2010/09/2009-2010-nominations/

YOUTH THEATRE

Outstanding Production of Youth Theatre

* Call It Courage (Zachary Scott Theatre Center Performing Arts School)
* Everything About a Day (Almost) (Zachary Scott Theatre Center Performing Arts School)
* Greeks Alive! (Pollyanna Theatre Company)
* Just Bee (Pollyanna Theatre Company)
* There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom (UT Department of Theatre and Dance)

Outstanding Director of Youth Theatre

* Brian C. Fahey (There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom) – UT Department of Theatre and Dance
* Jaclyn Loewenstein (Everything About a Day (Almost)) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center Performing Arts School
* Judy Matetzschk-Campbell (Greeks Alive!) – Pollyanna Theatre Company
* Judy Matetzschk-Campbell (Just Bee) – Pollyanna Theatre Company
* Adam Roberts (Call It Courage) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center Performing Arts School

Outstanding Performer in Youth Theatre

* Stevi Baston (Carla Davis, There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom) – UT Department of Theatre and Dance
* Jon Cook (Bradley Chalkers, There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom) – UT Department of Theatre and Dance
* Steven Fay (Mr. Kirby, You Can’t Take It With You) – VORTEX Repertory Company
* Rachel McGinnis (Queen Honey, Just Bee) – Pollyanna Theatre Company
* Gricelda Silva (the Boy, The Red Balloon) – Tongue and Groove Theatre

MUSIC THEATRE

Outstanding Production of Music Theatre

* The Drowsy Chaperone (Zachary Scott Theatre Center)
* Murder Ballad Murder Mystery (TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company)
* Sleeping Beauty (VORTEX Repertory Company)
* Sweet Charity (Summer Stock Austin)
* The Yeomen of the Guard (Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin)

Outstanding Director of Music Theatre

* Bonnie Cullum (Sleeping Beauty) – VORTEX Repertory Company
* Nick Demos (The Drowsy Chaperone) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Ralph MacPhail, Jr. (The Yeomen of the Guard) – Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin
* Ginger Morris (Sweet Charity) – Summer Stock Austin
* Dustin Wills (Murder Ballad Murder Mystery) TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company

Outstanding Lead Actor in Music Theatre

* Andrew Cannata (John 1, John 2, John & Jen) – Penfold Theatre Company
* David Gallagher (Ash, Evil Dead) – Doctuh Mistuh Productions and Salvage Vanguard Theater
* Jamie Goodwin (Stine, City of Angels) – St. Edward’s Mary Moody Northen Theatre
* Holton Johnson (Col. Fairfax, The Yeomen of the Guard) – Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin
* Scott Shipman (Oliver Warbucks, Annie) – Zilker Theatre Productions

Outstanding Lead Actress in Music Theatre

* Emily Bem (Miss Hannigan, Annie) – Zilker Theatre Productions
* Patricia Combs (Phoebe Meryll, The Yeomen of the Guard) – Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin
* Michelle Haché (Elsie Maynard, The Yeomen of the Guard) – Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin
* Corley Pillsbury (Cheryl, Evil Dead) – Doctuh Mistuh Productions and Salvage Vanguard Theater

Outstanding Featured Actor in Music Theatre

* Matt Connely (Jake, Evil Dead) – Doctuh Mistuh Productions and Salvage Vanguard Theater
* David Fontenot (Wilfred Shadbolt, The Yeomen of the Guard) – Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin
* Kirk German (Rooster, Annie) – Zilker Theatre Productions
* Jon Wayne Martin (Pancho Vargas, Lt. Munoz, City of Angels) – St. Edward’s Mary Moody Northen Theatre
* Robert Pierson (Tom, Murder Ballad Murder Mystery) – TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company

Outstanding Featured Actress in Music Theatre

* Jill Blackwood (Rona Lisa Peretti, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Florinda Bryant (Stagger Lee, Murder Ballad Murder Mystery) – TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company
* Lucy Jennings (Olive Ostrovsky, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Content Love Knowles (Tom’s Wife, Lincoln Lady, Murder Ballad Murder Mystery) – TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company
* Liz Newchurch (Little Red Riding Hood, Into the Woods) – City Theatre Company

COMEDIES

Outstanding Production of a Comedy

* Becky’s New Car (Zachary Scott Theatre Center)
* Body Awareness (Hyde Park Theatre)
* Bug (Capital T Theatre)
* The Cherry Orchard (Breaking String Theater)
* The Taming of the Shrew – Original Practices (Hidden Room Theatre)

Outstanding Director of a Comedy

* Beth Burns (The Taming of the Shrew – Original Practices) – Hidden Room Theatre
* Heather Huggins (Direct Object) – DA! Theatre Collective
* Derek Kolluri (Dead White Males) – Sustainable Theatre Project
* Mark Pickell (Bug) – Captial T Theatre
* Graham Schmidt (The Cherry Orchard) – Breaking String Theatre

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy

* Ryan Crowder (Katherina, The Taming of the Shrew – Original Practices) – Hidden Room Theatre
* Judd Farris (Petrucio, The Taming of the Shrew – Original Practices) – Hidden Room Theatre
* Joey Hood (Augustine Early, The Atheist) – Hyde Park Theatre
* Robert Matney (Albert Einstein, Picasso at the Lapin Agile) – Austin Playhouse
* Matt Radford (Yermolay Lopakhin, The Cherry Orchard) – Breaking String Theatre

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy

* Katie deBuys (Agnes White, Bug) – Capital T Theatre
* Lauren Lane (Becky Foster, Becky’s New Car) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Rebecca Robinson (Maxine, Sick) – Capital T Theatre
* JoJanie Segura (Carolina, Keeping Track) – Teatro Vivo
* Nikki Zook (Clarissa Hailsham-Brown, Spider’s Web) – Different Stages

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Comedy

* Dennis Kelleher Bailey (Pettlogg, Dead White Males) – Sustainable Theatre Project
* Jude Hickey (Milkman Moe, Pandora et al., Leave It to Beverly) – DA! Theatre Collective
* Doug Lebelle (Milt Fields, Laughter on the 23rd Floor) – City Theatre Company
* Stephen Mercantel (Jared, Body Awareness) – Hyde Park Theatre
* Nigel O’Hearn (Trofimov, The Cherry Orchard) – Breaking String Theatre

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Comedy

* Suzanne Balling (Doris, Dead White Males) – Sustainable Theatre Project
* Elizabeth Bigger (Peggy, Cheryl, Mom 2, Fluffy, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told) – City Theatre Company
* Katherine Catmull (Marty, Circle Mirror Transformation) – Hyde Park Theatre
* Liz Fisher (Varya, The Cherry Orchard) – Breaking String Theatre
* Xochitl Romero (Lauren, Circle Mirror Transformation) – Hyde Park Theatre

DRAMAS

Outstanding Production of a Drama

* Agnes of God (City Theatre Company)
* Bash: Three Plays (vestige group)
* Dionysus in 69 (Rude Mechanicals)
* Dying City (Capital T Theatre)
* The Jungle (Trouble Puppet Theater Company)

Outstanding Director of a Drama

* Andy Berkovsky (Agnes of God) – City Theatre Company
* Madge Darlington and Shawn Sides (Dionysus in 69) – Rude Mechanicals
* Jeff Hinkle (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) – City Theatre Company
* Connor Hopkins (The Jungle) – Trouble Puppet Theater Company
* Derek Kolluri (Dying City) – Capital T Theatre

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama

* Sean Martin (Walker, Ned, Three Days of Rain) – Penfold Theatre Company
* Josh Meyer (Stork, A Brief Narrative of an Extraordinary Birth of Rabbits) – Salvage Vanguard Theater
* Mark Scheibmeir (Peter, Craig, Dying City) – Capital T Theatre
* David Stahl (Galileo Galilei, The Life of Galileo) – St. Edward’s Mary Moody Northen Theatre
* Jacob Trussell (Peer Gynt, Peer Gynt) – St. Edward’s Mary Moody Northen Theatre

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama

* Kristen Bennett (Ruth Younger, A Raisin in the Sun) – City Theatre Company
* Liz Fisher (Kelly, Dying City) – Capital T Theatre
* Rachel McGinnis (Maggie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) – City Theatre Company
* Helen Merino (Mary Stuart, Mary Stuart) – Austin Shakespeare
* Bernadette Nason (everyone, A Christmas Carol) – Austin Playhouse
* Nicole Swahn (Eurydice, Eurydice) – Different Stages

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Drama

* Aaron Alexander (Zeus, Cinyras, Ceyx, Morpheus, Spirit of the Tree, Hades, Metamorphoses) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Marc Balester (Nasty Interesting Man, Lord of the Underworld, Eurydice) – Different Stages
* Duncan Coe (Button Moulder, Groom’s Father, Bugelbrain, ensemble, Peer Gynt) – St. Edward’s Mary Moody Northen Theatre
* Gabriel Luna (Lover, Machinal) – Paper Chairs
* Garry Peters (Big Daddy, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) – City Theatre Company

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Drama

* Terri Bennett (Big Mama, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) – City Theatre Company
* Jen Brown (woman, “Medea Redux,” Bash) – vestige group
* Smaranda Ciceu (Cassandra, The Trojan Women) – UT Department of Theatre and Dance
* Sheila Gordon (Åsa, ensemble, Peer Gynt) – St. Edward’s Mary Moody Northen Theatre
* Lindsley Howard (Jean, Early Girl) – Paladin Theatre Company
* Feliz Dia McDonald (Ariel, Sycorax) – Weird Sisters Women’s Theater Collective

TECHNICAL

Outstanding Set Design

* Ann Marie Gordon (Sleeping Beauty) – VORTEX Repertory Company
* Connor Hopkins (The Jungle) – Trouble Puppet Theater Company
* Lisa Laratta (Murder Ballad Murder Mystery) – TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company
* Anne McMeeking (Three Days of Rain) – Penfold Theatre Company
* Mark Pickell and Tommy Grubbs (Bug) – Capital T Theatre

Outstanding Lighting Design

* Jason Amato (The Red Balloon) – Tongue and Groove Theatre
* Jason Amato (Sleeping Beauty) – VORTEX Repertory Company
* Mark Pickell (Bug) – Capital T Theatre
* Stephen Pruitt (The Jungle) – Trouble Puppet Theater Company
* Megan M. Reilly (Murder Ballad Murder Mystery) – TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company

Outstanding Sound Design

* Craig Brock (The Drowsy Chaperone) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Eliot Haynes (The Jungle) – Trouble Puppet Theater Company
* Adam Hilton (Bug) – Capital T Theatre
* Adam Hilton (The Cherry Orchard) – Breaking String Theatre
* Content Love Knowles (Eurydice) – Different Stages

Outstanding Costume Design

* Ia Enstera (Just Bee) – Pollyanna Theatre Company
* Pam Fletcher-Friday and Griffon Ramsey (Sleeping Beauty) – VORTEX Repertory Company
* Kim H. Ngo (Murder Ballad Murder Mystery) – TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company
* Susan Branch Towne (The Drowsy Chaperone) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Cherie Weed (The Taming of the Shrew – Original Practices) – Hidden Room Theatre

Outstanding Music Director

* Jeffrey Jones-Ragona (The Yeomen of the Guard) – Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin
* Content Love Knowles (Sleeping Beauty) – VORTEX Repertory Company
* Adam Roberts (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Allen Robertson (The Drowsy Chaperone) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Mark Stewart and Andy Tindall (Murder Ballad Murder Mystery) – TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company

Outstanding Choreographer

* Lisa del Rosario (Leave It to Beverly) – DA! Theatre Collective
* Robin Lewis (The Drowsy Chaperone) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center
* Adam Roberts (Call It Courage) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center Performing Arts School
* Vincent Sandoval (Sweet Charity) – Summer Stock Austin
* Nicole Whiteside (Metamorphoses) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center

Outstanding Original Script

* the company (Suitors and Tutors) – La Fenice
* Connor Hopkins (The Jungle) – Trouble Puppet Theater Company
* Adam Overett (Call It Courage) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center Performing Arts School
* Louis Sachar (There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom) – UT Department of Theater and Dance
* Erica Saenz (Keeping Track) – Teatro Vivo

Outstanding Original Score

* Matt Hines (Melancholy Play) – Palindrome Theatre
* Content Love Knowles (Sleeping Beauty) – VORTEX Repertory Company
* Kevin O’Donnell (The Trojan Women) – UT Department of Theatre and Dance
* Justin Sherburn (The Jungle) – Trouble Puppet Theater Company
* Mark Stewart and Andy Tindall (Murder Ballad Murder Mystery) – TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company

SPECIAL

Outstanding Cast or Ensemble Performance

* Agnes of God (cast, City Theatre Company)
* Dionysus in 69 (cast, Rude Mechanicals)
* The Drowsy Chaperone (cast, Zachary Scott Theatre Center)
* Murder Ballad Murder Mystery (ensemble, musicians, pimps, TUTTO Theatre Company and VORTEX Repertory Company)
* Sleeping Beauty (ensemble, the Fae, VORTEX Repertory Company)

Outstanding Young Performer

* Sarah Burke (Charity Hope Valentine, Sweet Charity) – Summer Stock Austin
* Josean Rodriguez (Oscar Lidquist, Sweet Charity) – Summer Stock Austin
* Olivia Schuh (Molly, Annie) – Zilker Theatre Productions
* Matthew Stellato (Falstaff, The Merry Wives of Windsor) – Austin Shakespeare’s Young Shakespeare Program
* Alina Vega (Mother, ** performances, Call It Courage) – Zachary Scott Theatre Center Performing Arts School

Special Certificate for Puppetry: Trouble Puppet Theater Company, The Jungle

Special Certificate for Translation: Graham Schmidt, The Cherry Orchard – Breaking String Theatre

Rudy Kloptik Award for Outstanding Work in Improvisational Theatre
(nominated by members of the Austin Improv Collective)

* Austin Secrets (The Hideout Theatre)
* ColdTowne (ColdTowne Theater)
* Confidence Men: Improvised Mamet (The Institution Theater)
* Dusk: Improvised Tween Erotica (Gnap! Theater Projects)
* The Frank Mills (ColdTowne Theater)

GLITCH??: Free Night of Theatre 2010, Tickets available on-line from 11 a.m. on Tuesday, September 28

Found on-line:

UPDATE and ALT comment: "What we have here is a failure to communicate. . . .":

On its website today the Greater Austin Creative Alliance cheerfully explains that the only sold-out tickets for the Free Night of Theatre so far are those for the events for this coming weekend (11 listings). GACA says that because in previous years some lucky ticket holders forgot about the show dates later in the month, the organization has decided to release the remaining tickets (50 listings by ALT's count) week by week, making them available on the Tuesdays beforehand. Just sign up on the site's "stand-by list," which is not a stand-by list at all but rather a list-serve that will remind you that Tuesday is coming around again. More tickets/opportunities will be added during the month.

There is no acknowledgment that the national web site does not mention GACA'S change in procedures. And there's no evident sensitivity to the fact that misleading prospective audiences with your marketing is one of the quickest ways in the world to motivate them to stay home in front of the television with their feet up .

UPDATE/AFTER ACTION REPORT:

just received:

ChrisNAustin has left a new comment on your post "Upcoming: Free Night of Theatre 2010, Tickets avai...":

What a joke!!! How at 11:01 are everyone one of these events "Sold Out"? Obviously they were available to someone prior to 11am, Tuesday September 28th as advertised here. Utterly dissappointing.

Posted by ChrisNAustin to Austin Live Theatre at September 28, 2010 11:08 AM

AustinLiveTheatre checked and can confirm that every item on the lengthy list for Austin is designated SOLD OUT. ALT forwarded Chris's comment to the info e-mail at the Greater Austin Creative Alliance.

Free Night of Theater 2010

during October

presented by Greater Austin Creative Alliance (GACA) at multiple locations

ALT note: beginning at 11 a.m., Tuesday, September 28 you can reserve two free tickets for shows listed for Austin at the Theatre Communication Group's Free Night of Theatre website (click to go there).

Performances occur during the period October 1-October 31, 2010.

Listed as of Thursday, September 23:

The New Movement Theatre (21 performances)

The Georgetown Palace (6 dates for Cinderella by Rodgers and Hammerstein)

Paradox Players, Unitarian Universalist Church (2 dates for Incorruptible)

Zach Theatre (2 matinees for Rent)

UT (1 Sunday matinee for The Fantasticks)

Southwestern University (1 listing for a Thursday performance of The Man Who Came to Dinner by Kauffman and Hart)

The Vortex Repertory (1 Sunday evening listing for Vampyress)

Tapestry Dance Company (a Saturday matinee and evening for Voices of Rhythm)

(GACA's listing indicates that more productions will be added to the list.)

The GACA pitch:

Enjoy free tickets to events at theaters and galleries across Austin all this month! A national program of Theatre Communicatios Group, Free Night is presented locally by Greater Austin Creative Alliance.

The program was developed to make the experience of live performance available to people who may not have ever seen live theater, dance, music. We encourage you to use this opportunity to visit theaters or see events you have not seen before. Do encourage others to use this opportunity as well.

We thank all the arts organizations in Austin that make these offers available to you this year:

Austin Chamber Music Center; Austin Community College Department of Drama; Austin Film Society; The Baron's Men; Coldtowne Theatre; Georgetown Palace Theatre; Paradox Players; Sight Ain't Seen Productions' Tapestry Dance Company; The Hideout Theatre; The Long Cneter for the Performing Arts; The New Movement Theatre; University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance; Vortex Repertory Companuy; Weird City Theatre; Zach

YOU MUST RESERVE YOUR FREE NIGHT TICKETS ONLINE AT THE TCG LINK.

Since its inception in 2005, Free Night of Theater has boosted awareness of the nations arts organizations, while building new audiences and driving single ticket sales. Continuing in this tradition, Free Night 2010 will seek out new audiences, invite current theatergoers and arts patrons to try a new theater or arts venue, as well as ignite interest and create awareness about the variety of arts options in Austin and across the country. In 2009 Free Night of Theater celebrated its 5th anniversary in over 120 cities from coast to coast with 714 arts organizations offering over 65,000 tickets to more than 2,000 performances across the nation! Free Night of Theater 2010 will kick-off nation wide on October 14th. Tickets will be offered between October 1 and October 31

The State of Austin Theatre: Robert Faires' World Theatre Day Address, March 27, 2010

Robert Faires, noted actor, writer and arts editor of the weekly Austin Chronicle, has kindly allowed AustinLiveTheatre to publish his address on the state of Austin theatre, delivered at the commemoration of World Theatre Day, March 27, at the studios of the Greater Austin Creative Alliance. Notes are appended by AustinLiveTheatre.

THE STATE OF AUSTIN THEATRE

World Theatre Day Address, March 27, 2010

On Sunday I started the week as one of a dozen people watching one of the longest established independent companies in the city mount its production of a drama by a master playwright of the American theatre.[1]

Yesterday, I ended the week as one of a dozen times a dozen people watching the city’s most renowned theatre collective present one of its original works at perhaps the most prestigious festival for new plays in the country.[2]

That continuum says a lot about the state of theatre in Austin in 2010.

On the one hand, our city is one in which small, independent companies produce the vast majority of the work on our stages. They are the spine of our theatre scene, as they have been for decades, doing the hard work of mounting dramas and musicals in converted storefronts and warehouses with fewer than 100 seats for little financial reward and often no pay at all -- purely for love of the art. Recognition for their efforts is meager compared to their sizable contributions: the occasional mention in the press or online, the praise of friends and family, and the applause of appreciative and devoted audiences that sometimes aren’t even sufficient in number to field a softball team. On the radar of the larger community, unfortunately, they are a blip that registers but faintly.

On the other hand, our city has a reputation around the country as having an active and lively theatre scene. People who know the art form know of companies that work here, of playwrights who have written and write here, and of the audiences who attend their work and who are the envy of many cities these days because they include in substantial numbers people in their twenties and thirties, the generation needed in the theatre to keep it thriving and relevant in the 21^st century. Over the last decade, Austin theatre artists have worked or presented work outside the city in greater numbers and with greater frequency than ever before, with media outlets across the nation covering what they’re creating on a regular basis now in a way that was unheard a generation ago. And why shouldn’t they? Austin is home to one of American theatre’s leading companies of ensemble-developed new work and to the country’s most produced living playwright,[3] to playwrights who have been recognized with national awards and to universities drawing students from all over the U.S. with programs that are models in developing dramatists and musical theatre artists,[4] and to companies open to experimentation. Indeed, artists of national reputation are increasingly choosing to work here because of the city’s openness and receptivity to new work.

Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

ALT: From the Audience on World Theatre Day

FROM THE AUDIENCE

comments prepared by Michael Meigs, AustinLiveTheatre.com
at World Theatre Day observance, March 27, 2010
organized by the Exchange Artists
at the Greater Austin Creative Alliance

Thanks to Susie Gidseg, and to Ken Webster and Robert Faires, who have just spoken.

For this program I represent the audience. My comments are a late addition to the program, which is just fine with me. I was surprised and gratified when the Creative Alliance offered me the chance to speak tonight. I couldn’t resist the opportunity.

The Audience. Normally mute and appreciative, happy to applaud. And now facing the old vaudeville dilemma –how can I follow acts like those?

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: World Theatre Day in Austin, March 27

Received directly:

The Exchange Artists with
The Greater Austin Creative Alliance
present

SPECT-ACTOR
An Austin Celebration of World Theatre Day
Saturday, March 27 All Day, All Over Town
Austin On Stage Magazine, presenting media sponsor

On March 27, theatre artists will take to the streets, busses, shops, parks and fountains of Austin to engage unsuspecting audiences as participants in Spect-Actor, Austin's World Theatre Day celebration. These diverse performances - theatrical acts for random audiences in everyday settings - will take place between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. in various locations around Austin, followed by a 7 p.m. party at the ACoT Studio, 701 Tillery Street.

The evening's highlights will include Judy Dench's International World Theatre Day message, read by Ken Webster (Artistic Director, Hyde Park Theatre), a delivery of the first-ever State of the Arts in Austin Address and a screening of videos of the day's acts of theatre. Cambiare Productions will stream the event live online, linking Austin to World Theatre Day Celebrations around the globe.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Call to Artists: World Theatre Day in Austin, coordinated by Greater Austin Creative Alliance, March 27, 2010

GACA, formerly the ACOT, the Austin Circle of Theatres, has picked up the torch for World Theatre Day. This just received directly:

Call for Proposals: SPECT[ACTOR] World Theatre Day Event March 27, 2010, all over Austin

Proposals due by January 11, 2010 by email to exchangeartists@gmail.com

March 27, 2010 is World Theatre Day - designated by The International Theatre Institute (ITI) and observed as a day for the celebration and empowerment of theatre artists and audiences around the globe. This year The Exchange Artists are teaming up with the Greater Austin Creative Alliance to organize a World Theatre Day event titled SPECT[ACTOR] in Austin, TX.

Austin’s celebration of World Theatre Day, SPECT[ACTOR], will include a full day of theatrical happenings in non-traditional settings around town, turning the unsuspecting public into participants and witnesses of random acts of theatre. A team of inconspicuous videographers will capture all of the random acts of theatre that they can on camera and an evening screening of the evidence of the day will bring everyone together to enjoy discussion and a reading of the World Theatre Day International Message through which at the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. The first World Theatre Day International Message was written by Jean Cocteau in 1962. Last year Augusto Boal wrote the message. This year’s author is yet to be confirmed. The evening will be streamed live online, directly connecting Austin, TX to other theatre communities all over the world. A potluck and party will close the day’s celebration.

All theatre artists are encouraged to submit proposals for random acts of theatre that they would like to stage around town as a part of the World Theatre Day SPECT[ACTOR] event. Why not dance on the blurry line between reality and performance and give the gift of theatre to someone who doesn’t expect it? The Exchange Artists and The Greater Austin Creative Alliance are not obtaining legal rights or protection for performances in public places, so thoughtful and respectful planning is required. Proposals are due by email to exchangeartists@gmail.com by January 11th, 2010 and an informational meeting for confirmed participants will be held on January 13th -17, 2010.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Arts Reporting: Full List of 2008-2009 B. Iden Payne Awards for Austin Theatre

The official list, from GACA's "Now Playing Austin" blog, October 19:

2008-2009 B. Iden Payne Awards

MUSIC THEATER

Outstanding Production of Music Theater
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Summer Stock Austin)

Outstanding Director of Music Theater
Michael McKelvey (Sweeney Todd)

Outstanding Lead Actor in Music Theater
Andrew Cannata (Sid Sorokin, The Pajama Game)

Outstanding Lead Actress in Music Theater
Kathleen Fletcher (Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd)

Outstanding Featured Actor in Music Theater
Aaron Moten (Judge Turpin, Sweeney Todd)

Outstanding Featured Actress in Music Theater
Julia Duffy (Gladys, The Pajama Game)

COMEDIES

Outstanding Production of a Comedy
Black Snow (TUTTO Theatre Company)

Outstanding Director of a Comedy
Mark Pickell (Killer Joe)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy
Martin Burke (Bastian, House of Several Stories)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy
Lauren Lane (Sue, House of Several Stories)

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Comedy
Travis Dean (mugged shopper, “Windchimes and Varicose Cream,” I ♥ Walmart)

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Comedy
Suzanne Balling (Maryamma, Miss Witherspoon)

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Arts News: ACOT becomes GACA, so Get Your Art On in October

This just in, as the newscasters used to say, waving a teletype:

On September 24 Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell will proclaim October the month to Get Your Art On, and the Austin Circle of Theatres will announce the replacement of its 35-year-old organizational title with a new one: The Greater Austin Creative Alliance.

Here's the digital tear-sheet from ACOT:

WHO: Mayor Lee Leffingwell and The Greater Austin Creative Alliance (formerly Austin Circle of Theaters), in partnership with the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division and CreateAustin, with sponsor Capital One Bank

WHAT: Mayoral Proclamation that October is time to “Get Your Art On,” Austin’s month-long celebration of art, culture and creativity in honor of National Arts and Humanities Month. Immediately following the Mayoral Proclamation, Austin Circle of Theaters will hold a press conference to announce their re-branding as The Greater Austin Creative Alliance.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .