Upcoming: Public Meeting with Non-Profit Arts Developer Artspace, City of Austin, Austin Playhouse, June 7

Received directly:

Austin Playhouse & City of Austin Cultural Arts Division
Host A Public Meeting with Artspace

Monday, June 7, 7:30 p.m.
Austin Playhouse at Penn Field, 3601 S. Congress, Bldg. C
Information: 512- 476-0084; austinplayhouse@aol.com; www.austinplayhouse.com

On Monday, June 7 and Tuesday, June 8 Austin Playhouse, in conjunction with the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division, will host a visit from the nation’s premier nonprofit real estate developer, Artspace. The purpose of the visit is to determine the feasibility of partnering with Austin Playhouse to build affordable live/work, studio, and gallery spaces for Austin artists in a sustainable arts development.

Austin Playhouse and the Cultural Arts Division will host a public meeting as part of the City’s Take it to the Next Level workshop series. We welcome artists of all disciplines, interested community members and members of the press to join us Monday, June 7, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. at Austin Playhouse to introduce Artspace to Austin and to hear about their successful project models, how they work, and the economic and social impact on a community; as well as give Artspace insights into Austin’s interest in having a project developed here.

Artspace is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to creating affordable space for the arts. Austin Playhouse is a professional nonprofit theatre currently operating year-round in a two-venue performance space located in Penn Field. Austin Playhouse plans to build a permanent home for their theatre after their lease expires at Penn Field in April 2011. In the proposed plan, Austin Playhouse would build, maintain, and run a new two-venue performance space with expanded support facilities. Artspace would build and manage the artist loft spaces above the Playhouse. The lofts would include a resident gallery and central rooftop courtyard/sculpture garden.

The purpose of Artspace’s visit is to help Austin Playhouse and the City of Austin understand the potential to create a successful, affordable, self-sustaining arts development project and to understand the key elements that determine feasibility (project concept, site selection, market need, funding and sustainability, local leadership, sustained community impact) as they relate to the project.

Artspace has built similar projects in several cities including three in Texas: El Paso, Galveston, and Houston. During their visit to Austin they will meet with a core group of Austin Playhouse and other arts representatives and public officials, conduct a public meeting, tour potential sites, gather information and in six weeks, issue a report. This feasibility study is the first step toward their possible involvement in a joint project with Austin Playhouse.

Ongoing: 69 Love Songs, Gnap Theatre Project,

UPDATE: Review by Patrick Kniseley for Austinist.com, May 29

UPDATE: NowPlayingAustin's Beth Cortez interviews Avimaan Syam, one of the writers for the 69 Love Songs project, uploaded May 26 (13 min.)

Found on-line:

69 Love Scenes Promo from Naughty Troll on Vimeo.

Gnap! Theater Projects presents 69 short plays very loosely based on the songs on the The Magnetic Fields's triple album 69 Love Songs. This is a workshop production of a show we intend to mount in its final form in 2011.

Each weekend of the run, we do one album each, and then add a Thursday night show to accomodate album 1 during the fourth weekend. Confused?

Click to view comments by Austin Actress, May 14

Click to view interview of director Kerri Lendo by Wayne Allan Brenner in the Austin Chronicle, May 20

Ticket info can be found here:

69album1.eventbrite.com
69album2.eventbrite.com
69album3.eventbrite.com

Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm
May 21--June 12 (with one Thursday show, June 10)
Salvage Vanguard Theater
$10
gnaptheater.org
Promo music by Alexander Franke and Nine Inch Nails, used under Creative Commons license.
alexanderfranke.jamendo.net
nin.com

Ongoing: Bug, Capital T Theatre at Hyde Park Theatre, May 27 - June 19

UPDATE: Review by Ryan E. Johnson at examiner.com, June 2

UPDATE: Review by Clare Croft for the Statesman's Austin360 "Seeing Things" blog, May 29

UPDATE: Feature by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin at the Statesman's Arts360 "Seeing Things" blog, May 26

Found on-line:

Capital T presents

Bug

by Tracy Letts
Directed by Mark Pickell
Starring Kenneth Wayne Bradley, Katie deBuys, Joey Hood, Melissa Recalde, and Joe Reynolds

May 27 – June 19
Hyde Park Theatre, 511 W 43rd St

Tickets are $15-$25 (sliding scale) and can be reserved by calling 479-PLAY or visiting www.capitalT.org

Insects bite, feed, and swarm in BUG, Tracy Letts' thrilling followup to KILLER JOE. BUG centers on Agnes (Katie deBuys), a lonely, middle-aged waitress victimized by her abusive ex-husband (Ken Bradley), and tortured by the kidnapping of her child in a supermarket almost ten years ago. After spiraling into a world of alcohol, cocaine, and seedy motel rooms, Peter (Joey Hood) a timid Gulf War veteran and drifter in search of a friend wanders into her life. As their interest in each other grows, so does their paranoid obsession with understanding what –or who – brought them together. Did we mention the infestation of bugs?

Warning: contains nudity, cigarette smoke, violence, and adult situations.

Running time 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . .

Ongoing: Lysistrata, Chaotic Theatre Company at City Theatre, May 28 - June 6

UPDATE: Review by Ryan E. Johnson for examiner.com, June 3

UPDATE: Review by Barry Pineo for Austin Chronicle, June 4

Received directly:

The Chaotic Theatre Company presents

Lysistrata

A Comedy of Sexual Politics
May 28 - June 6
Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m.
matinees on Sundays and on Saturday, June 5
City Theatre, 3823 Airport Boulevard (behind the Shell station)
Tickets available at www.ChaoticTheatre.com

ADVISORY: This production contains, strong language, adult content and nudity.

In the near future, war and sexual appetite rule the minds and bodies of our impassioned characters. In opposition to the lustful society, Lysistrata summons the women of the land to unite in a radical act of civil disobedience;vowing to withhold all sexual contact from every man until a peace treaty is signed. Come observe the heightened tension swell, until the climax of the show releases all.

This production, directed by Michael Floyd (A Midsummer Night's Dream), moves the action out of the past and sets it in the Athens, Greece of the distant future. However, this future is eerily similar to the Greece of Aristophanes' time. Proving that history tends to repeat itself, the men are sexually addicted war mongers. Women are mistreated and viewed only as sex objects. Even the politics and dress of these future citizens echoes Ancient Greece.

The women, tired of losing their lovers and sons to war, decide to turn the tables on the men! Led by our heroine, Lysistrata, the women vow to withold all sexual contact until the men declare peace in all of Greece. This sets in motion a battle of the sexes that ends in hilarity. Punctuated by personal observations from the actors and actresses themselves, the production sets out to not only make you laugh but also to think about the state of sexuality in our modern society.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Arts Reporting: KUT's Julie Moody Interview Ken Stein on Status of State Theatre

Found on-line from KUT-FM: Julie Moody interviews Ken Stein about status of renovation of the 325-seat State Theatre on South Congress Avenue. Click to view a slideshow and hear the interview (1 min., 25 sec.).

Renovations continue at Texas State Theatre from KUT News on Vimeo.

Arts Reporting: Renovation of Seguin's Texas Theatre, San Antonio Express-News, May 25

Found on-line:

Renovation progresses at Seguin's Texas Theatre

By Vincent T. Davis - San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted: 05/25/2010

The main sounds stirring these days in Seguin's Texas Theatre are saws buzzing, hammers banging and drills drilling.

Light fixtures that once burned an amber glow are coated with a thick film of construction dust that has been accumulating since October 2009. That's when work began on a $2.5 million renovation project — dubbed “A Star Is Reborn” — at the historic downtown structure that opened in 1931.

Architect Milton Babbitt, who restored the Majestic and Empire theaters in San Antonio, developed the expansion plans carried out by the Koehler Co.

The theater is scheduled to reopen in March on its 80th anniversary as the Stephen and Mary Birch Texas Theatre, in honor of the foundation that made the largest donation, $1 million, during a decadelong fund-raising drive.

The Seguin Conservation Society bought the Spanish Colonial-style theater at 425 N. Austin St. in 1996. It also bought the adjoining building in 2007, to add a concession lobby, dressing rooms and restrooms that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Once the expansion is completed, the society estimates an annual audience of 24,600 people for symphonies, community plays, recitals, films and concerts. The site also will be a venue for Teatro de Arts de Juan Seguin, Troupe Texas, Mid-Texas Symphony, Seguin Performing Arts Company, Seguin Independent School District, Texas Lutheran University, Cinema for All and other local arts groups.

Read more at www.mysanantonio.com . . . .

Video Trailer: Bug by Tracy Letts, Capital T at Hyde Park Theatre, May 27 - June 19

Capital T presents

Bug

by Tracy Letts
Directed by Mark Pickell
Starring Kenneth Wayne Bradley, Katie deBuys, Joey Hood, Melissa Recalde, and Joe Reynolds

May 27 – June 19
Hyde Park Theatre, 511 W 43rd St

Tickets are $15-$25 (sliding scale) and can be reserved by calling 479-PLAY or visiting www.capitalT.org

Insects bite, feed, and swarm in BUG, Tracy Letts' thrilling followup to KILLER JOE. BUG centers on Agnes (Katie deBuys), a lonely, middle-aged waitress victimized by her abusive ex-husband (Ken Bradley), and tortured by the kidnapping of her child in a supermarket almost ten years ago. After spiraling into a world of alcohol, cocaine, and seedy motel rooms, Peter (Joey Hood) a timid Gulf War veteran and drifter in search of a friend wanders into her life. As their interest in each other grows, so does their paranoid obsession with understanding what –or who – brought them together. Did we mention the infestation of bugs?

Warning: contains nudity, cigarette smoke, violence, and adult situations.

Running time 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission

Click for more information

Upcoming: Conference, Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed, University of Texas, June 3 - 6

Found on-line:


The 16th Annual Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference

"Flex and Flexibility:When to bend? When to stretch? When to engage?"

hosted by The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas at Austin, with co-sponsorship from the university's Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS)

Austin, Texas, June 3-6
with pre-conference workshops beginning June 1 and post-conference workshops concluding June 8

Winship Drama Building, 23rd Street and San Jacinto Boulevard

Special Conference Guests

• Julian Boal (pre-workshop and post-workshop facilitator and opening ceremony joker)
• Dolores Huerta (keynote speaker)
• Bárbara Santos (post-workshop, keynote speaker)

Workshops

Forum Theatre and Jokering with Julian Boal Pre-Conference Workshop (3 days)

Introduction to Theatre of the Oppressed with Julian Boal Post-Conference Workshop (1 day)

Rainbow of Desire with Bárbara Santos Post-Conference Workshop (3 days)

View more information at www.ptoweb.org

Upcoming, again: Suitors and Tutors, La Fenice at Ruta Maya, June 4-5, 11-12

Received directly:

Suitors and Tutors

June 4 - 5, 11 - 12 at 7 p.m.

Arrive early at 6 p.m. to enjoy happy hour with the cast!
Ruta Maya, 3601 South Congress Avenue

Admission: $5 - $15 sliding scale

Adult material

There are 4 more chances to see the premiere production of Suitors and Tutors, presented by La Fenice!

The Austin Commedia Society, known for its enthusiastic and hilarious modern interpretation of the influential style of Commedia dell'Arte, has reformed under the name of La Fenice, Italian for The Phoenix. Suitors and Tutors, directed by Dr. Gian Giacomo Colli of international Commedia dell'Arte fame, is their first new scenario in nearly 7 years, and can be seen Fridays and Saturdays, starting at 7pm, June 4^th-12^th at Ruta Maya (3601 South Congress Avenue).

Read more and view image at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

The Red Balloon, Tongue and Groove Theatre, Rollins Theatre, May 20 - 30

In 1956 the 34-year-old French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse wrote and filmed the slim, imaginative, 34-minute fantasyThe Red Balloon. His son Pascal played the central role, that of a quiet, lonely schoolboy who discovers a magical red balloon -- one that recognizes him, follows him with the simplicity and loyalty of a pet dog, and provides an escape from the emptiness of barren city life. Lamorisse's daughter Sabine plays the little girl who has found a similar but blue balloon. The film is a lyrical meditation on the imagination of childhood. It won award after award, including a U.S. Academy Award for best original screenplay -- the only time in the history of the Oscars that a short film received a major Academy victory outside the short film category.

It's a wonderful piece, largely without dialogue and scored to a whimsical score by Maurice Leroux. It was widely distributed and admired; copies of the 16 mm film resided in many school libraries in the United States, where successive generations were surprised and enchanted by it.

David Yeakle, animator Leah Lovise and composer Justin Sherburn have taken that elegantly minimalist film, inflated it, expanded it, decorated it and rescored it. Their production of The Red Balloon, "adapted freely from the film 'Le Ballon Rouge,'" is equally captivating but in a different way.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Auditions: Hamlet, Scottish Rite Theatre

Received directly:

HAMLET Auditions

The Scottish Rite Theatre is seeking professional male and female actors for the upcoming production of Hamlet (Sep. 16 – Oct 3). Some Shakespeare training and/or experience required. To schedule an appointment, please email: gwenkelso@srct.org . No walk ups, please. Actors will need to prepare a 1-2 minute Shakespearean monologue preferably in verse (actors may use pieces from Hamlet). Please bring a headshot and resume to the audition. Actors should arrive a few minutes early to fill out paperwork. Please note the roles of Hamlet and Gertrude have been cast. All other roles are open. There is some pay.

AUDITIONS
Auditions June 1 and 2 will be held at the ZACH Theatre Education portables, 1510 Toomey Rd.
PLEASE DO NOT GO INTO THE ZACH THEATRE BUILDING. Portables are located in the ZACH parking lot across from the Softball Fields.

June 1, 7 - 10 p.m.: ZACH Theatre Education portables, 1510 Toomey Rd.
June 2, 7 - 10 p.m.: ZACH Theatre Education portables, 1510 Toomey Rd.
Callbacks will be held June 6, 6:30 - 10 p.m. at Scottish Rite Theatre (207 W. 18th St)
Please provide a phone number and email when scheduling your audition appointment.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

LA Progressive on Campaign against City Theatre's Staging of Most Fabulous Story

Found on-line:

I Will Defend My Mother’s Purity!

by Carl Matthes posted on Wednesday, 19 May 2010
(Pholo: Michael Mahoney, Hat Head Studios)

The letter headlined “I Will Defend My Mother’s Purity!” in large, all-red caps arrived the day after Mother’s Day. Inside, was a fundraising letter from America Needs Fatima (ANF). Their appeal? Send some money to save the reputation of Mary, Mother of God, from a “terrible attack!” (For Catholics, Our Lady of Fatima is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary.)

It turns out that the good folks at ANF have drawn battle lines around The City Theatre (TCT) in Austin, Texas (seating capacity 80). Why the battle? TCT is mounting a production of Paul Rudnick’s 1999 play “ The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told!,” a long-running Broadway hit. “Fabulous,” by openly gay playwright Rudnick, contains updated Biblical stories where “…instead of Adam and Eve, our lead characters are Adam and Steve, and Jane and Mabel, a lesbian couple with whom they decide to start civilization.” And, even more upsetting for Robert E. Reich, Executive Director of ANF, is Rudnick’s own description of his play, “I wanted the Garden of Eden in Central Park, and Mary as a lesbian mother, which would certainly help me comprehend immaculate conception.”

Mr. Reich’s appeal also discloses that the play shows Adam and Steve in “full frontal nudity!” (Perhaps Mr. Reich is unaware that some refer to Austin as being the San Francisco of Texas!)

Read more at the LA Progressive on-line. . . .

Upcoming: American Volunteers, staged reading and talk-back, May 23 (only)

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We are proud to announce that The University of Texas at Austin's English Department is hosting a free staged reading of American Volunteers, the award-winning play by UT student and former Army ranger Johnny Meyer. The performance will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 23rd at the Jessen Auditorium, located in the six-pack at the University of Texas. The staged reading will be followed by a Q&A session with the cast and playwright.

American Volunteers was recently nominated for the David Mark Cohen New Play Award by the Austin Critics' Table, and won the $20,000 George H. Mitchell Co-op Award.

American Volunteers follows a squad of special operations Rangers as they patrol the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The play focuses on the three sergeants responsible for leading the squad, and the conflict that arises as each pursues life, liberty, or happiness. The plot unfolds under the eyes of a female soldier briefly attached to the squad, and a metamorphic Chorus. Warning: Strong language, violence, and meter.

Click for news accounts and reviews of the performance staged at the Blue Theatre in January, 2010.

Images by Christopher Loveless: Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Austin Playhouse, May 22 - June 27

Click for ALT review, June 3

Received directly from Austin Playhouse, production photos by Christopher Loveless. Augmented with some YouTube videos of the real Jacques Brel. (Subtitles are in Italian and in English, though Brel sings in French.)

Click to view additional images and video at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .

Classes for Youth: 15 summer sessions at the Georgetown Palace

The Georgetown Palace Theatre offers no fewer than 15 workshops for youth this summer, tied to specific productions and themes, and targeted by ages. Here's a summary; more information is available at the workshops page on their website (scroll down to the bottom of the page for full descriptions of each of the workshops).

For ages 7-8

6/28-7/10 101 Dalmatians

7/12-24 Unity Tree

7/26-8/7 Going Buggy

8/9-21 Welcome to the Jungle

For ages 9-11

6/14-26 The Hundred Year Snooze

6/28-7/10 A Whale of a Tale

7/12-24 Willy Wonka Kids

7/26-8/7 Tall Tales and Heroes

8/9-21 Go West!

For ages 12-13

6/14-7/10 Mulan, Jr.

7/12-24 Shakespeare Unshackled

7/26-8/21 Aladdin, Jr.

For ages14-17

6/14-7/10 High School Musical 2

7/12-24 Shakespeare Unshackled

7/26-8/21 Godspell, Jr.

Arts Reporting: DA's Heron and Crane Goes to New York

DA! Theatre Collective
proudly presents…

Heron & Crane
an original children’s production
written by Kirk German, adapted from a Russian Folk-Tale
The New York International Fringe Festival - Fringe NYC
a production of The Present Company
August 13 - August 29
Tickets: $10 -- FringeJR
for tickets visit www.FringeNYC.org

DA! Theatre Collective is proud to present Heron & Crane as part of the 14th annual New York International Fringe Festival -- FringeNYC. FringeNYC is the largest festival of its kind in North America and will include the productions of 200 companies this August.

Heron & Crane is honored to be selected as ONE of only THREE FringeJR selections this year; FringeJR is the children and families portion of FringeNYC.

Heron & Crane is the story of two strong-willed swamp-birds who discover that becoming friends requires a little give-and-take... or maybe a lot. This dynamic comedy explores diversity, problem-solving, and ecology through music, dance, and audience interaction. Adapted from a Russian folk-tale, with a new ending every time!

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .

Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Paladin Theatre at the Off Center, May 6 - 30

Charles Stites fits so entirely and comfortably into the horrible male characters of David Mamet that one has to wonder if the man is, in fact, acting.

Mind you, he is an actor of great presence and élan vital, as anyone could see when he was onstage in City Theatre's Glengarry, Glen Ross by Mamet and in the title role of its Tartuffe by Molière. It's just that for this new theatre grouping Stites chose Mamet's 1974 one-act, he directed it, and he portrays the central character Bernie Litko, an assertive, energetic total asshole who entirely dominates this series of blackout sketches.

The press photo captures pretty precisely the relationships among these four characters. Bernie expostulates; the self-effacing Danny listens to Bernie as if he were Moses coming down from the Sears Tower with a long list of commandments on sexual relations; Deborah the illustrator is sweet and uncertain; and Joan the kindergarten teacher, with no male in her life, is the outsider, Deborah's coach and her neglected roommate.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Call for Actors: Dead White Males by William Missouri Downs, Sustainable Theatre Project

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Sustainable Theatre Project is currently looking for actors for its upcoming production...

Sustainable Theatre Project is currently looking for actors for their upcoming production of Dead White Males by William Missouri Downs and directed by recent ALT APPLAUSE award recipient Derek Kolluri. The production is still in the early stages of development and we are looking for interested parties. The tentative dates for the production run are 3 weeks in August with rehearsals starting around July 1st. All actors will receive a stipend. The roles that we are looking to fill are:

Doris: An older science teacher certified to teach history. 30-50ish.
Ms. Woods: An art teacher certified to teach science. 30-40ish.
Principal Pettlogg: The principal. 40-50ish.
Master Teacher Burns: A master teacher. 30-50ish.
Dr. Ozy Mandias: A new member of the school board. 40-50ish.

Once we've recevied your info we'll contact you with more information about audition dates and send a set of sides for you to read and prepare.

For information about our company's mission and previous productions, please visit our website at www.sustainabletheatreproject.org

If you are interested in setting up an audition please send a resume to sustainable.theatre.project@gmail.com

Contact: Sustainable Theatre Project sustainable.theatre.project@gmail.com
Website: www.sustainabletheatreproject.org

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Georgetown Palace, May 7 - June 6

With Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the Georgetown Palace Theatre demonstrates once again the blend of professional standards and excitement of community theatre that makes it the premiere venue in the greater Austin area for musical theatre.

Webber wrote this piece well before his hit Jesus Christ Superstar, for a school performance in London. The structure hints at that, for when the lights go down, cheery Patty Rowell comes on stage, beckoning, and down the aisles of the Palace come two scampering files of young persons in jeans and white t-shirts. They hug her and squat in a semi-circle in front of the curtain; the music starts, Patty smiles, gestures, and then launches into a lilting melody. We understand quickly that this is a class, probably a Sunday school class, as she and her classroom assistant Stephen Jack begin the story.

From that spare but charming beginning the story of Joseph expands.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

UT Selects Brant Pope to head Theatre and Dance

Announced by the University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance, May 18:

Pope Named Chair of Theatre and Dance Department at The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Brant Pope, head of the Department of Theatre at the University of Illinois, has been appointed chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin, effective June 1.

Pope also has been appointed as holder of the Z.T. Scott Family Chair in Drama in the university's Department of Theatre and Dance.

Pope succeeds Holly Williams, interim chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, who will continue in her position as professor and head of the master of fine arts in dance program after having been interim chair of the department since 2009, and senior associate chair from 2006-09.

"Brant Pope is equally at home and accomplished in the world of professional theatre and the world of university and conservatory theatrical training programs," said Douglas Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts. "He has extensive credits as a practicing actor, director and theatrical manager in professional regional theatre while at the same time holding a Ph.D., publishing as a scholar and teacher, and leading the best theatre training programs in the country. He will set a new high standard of academic excellence and artistic professionalism for the Department of Theatre and Dance and for the Austin theatre community."

As a teacher and administrator, Pope has held academic positions at Pennsylvania State University, Florida State University and Virginia Commonwealth University. He was director of the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training and associate artistic director of the Asolo State Theatre, in Sarasota, Fla., from 1991-2001.

As an actor, director and author, Pope has been seen off-Broadway and in regional theatre with the Hartford Stage Company, Asolo Theatre Company and Park Square Theatre. He is the author of the play, "Sins of Omission" and has made significant contributions to literature in his field, including, "The Theatrical Imagination," "Method Acting Reconsidered" and the acting edition of "Three Sisters."

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .

Call for Actors: Austin Drama Club, revived

Received directly:

Austin Drama Club seeks new company members

All shows to perform at our new location in the hills west of Oak Hill near Fitzhugh Rd. and 290 west. We encourage any and all artistic young men and women in that area to come hang out with us this summer and see if you might be into putting on costumes and make up and acting like a fool half the time.

We are also looking for someone who will commit to doing 2 shows with us this summer..someone who wants to begin working on 2 parts at the same time.

We also want to welcome any elder community style actors who have the urge to swagger and bray and talk loudly in a thick British accent.

Romeo and Juliet will open on July 22nd and run through August 10th and needs the following:

3 young men between the ages of 14 and 17 to play the part of Romeo or Benvolio or Tybalt in the Saturday and Sunday afternoon performances.
1 young lady around the age of 15 to play Juliet on Saturday and Sunday afternoons only.
The show also seeks a stage manager who will understudy the role of Lord Capulet.

Merchant of Venice opens August 19th and runs through Sept 5th.

Again we're looking for a group of young guys and gals to understudy some big supporting roles and perform on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Anthony and Cleopatra comes soon after and has many parts still available

If you have any questions please email JaphyFernandes@live.com or call the theatre at 512 569 7435

To see some pictures and read about our history please search us on the web and visit our MySpace site.

Wonderland High, Red Dragon Players, Austin High School, May 13 - 22

The Red Dragon Players at Austin High School invest themselves gallantly in this first-anywhere musical theatre premiere. The music by James Merillat in Wonderland High is challenging and stage-quality, with several clever numbers, cleverly staged. The Players workshopped some of this material last year, according to Billy Dragoo, who runs the AHS program, and they've delivered on his promise to Merillat to stage the piece when he finished it.

The book, by Merillat and Jesse Johnson, doesn't live up to the music. It's a confused effort to meld a stereotypical "new kid in high school" story with Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. An occasional jokey reference comes through -- the Tweedle sisters are really dumb, for instance -- but most of the time it doesn't connect. The new arrival at Wonderland High is Arthur (Andrew Murray), son of the new English teacher Dr. Bloom (??). Alice Little (Kaylie DeLauri) is already in Wonderland, reigning witlessly as head cheerleader and girlfriend to the dumb leading football player Paul (Corbin Chase). New arrival Arthur gets a bloody nose from the jealous jock, then covers up cheating by Alice and her cronies, not fooling his teacher-father Dr. Bloom (Blake Nixon) for a moment. That sacrifice awakens Alice's consciousness, showing her it's okay to have your own friends and actually to be smart rather than popular. "Bad girl" Alicia (cf., the Red Queen) engineers a coup, taking over as girlfriend to the football player. Alicia's arrant manipulation of voting for homecoming king and queen rouses the citizenry to reject traditional ballot stuffing. There's some confused stuff about a time capsule and about the school store.

The smart and savvy Red Dragons aren't learning any lesson from the predictable moralizing of this concoction. It's a cautionary tale invented by some old guy, one that might best be aimed at junior high students wondering about the big, bad world of high school pressures.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Arts Reporting: Annika Johansson On the National Tour of 'Phantom'

Found on-line:

Annika Johansson, cited in 2009 both for ALT Applause and by the Austin Critics' Table for Penfold Theatre's The Last Five Years, is currently a cast member of the national tour of Phantom of the Opera. She recently visited her alma mater Abilene Christian University and recorded a 28-minute interview with KACV television, the PBS station there.

Johansson describes events that led to her audition in New York City after the Austin success, including especially the KUT-FM interview by John Aielli on "Aielli Unleashed." She describes life on the tour, which winds up in November.

Read the article from her alumni magazine and follow the link to the interview, via AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Arts Reporting: UIL AAAAA One-Act Play Results, Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle

The University Interscholastic League competition in one-act plays last weekend completely filled Bass Concert Hall twice over -- and that was only for the eight productions selected from among Texas' largest high schools (AAAAA division). I attended the 7:30 seating, which featured the Red Dragons' Reckless, a cheerfully quirky piece in which Haleigh Holt as Rachel faced wild catastrophes, one after one, with the aplomb of the Little Engine That Could.

The Dragons' piece was a charmer but faced stiff competition from others on the bill, including a rousing, well-choreographed Canadian piece on a successful labor strike, presumably in the 1930s, and an exceptionally effective and mature presentation of Arthur Miller's 1955 one-act play A View from the Bridge, a meditation about immigration and family that involved illegals from Italy, not from Mexico.

By the way, Austin's Mark Pickell of Capital T Theatre was the judge for the productions by small high schools (A division).

It was a full evening, starting at 7:30 and winding up near 11 o'clock. I slipped away while the legions filling the concert hall were waiting for the judge's results. Fortunately, Robert Faires has just published some partials today in the Austin Chronicle:

• Austin High School's Red Dragon Players faced stiff competition in their bid to win back-to-back state championships in the 5A category of the University Interscholastic League State One-Act Play contest May 8 at Bass Concert Hall. Their production of the Craig Lucas comedy Reckless was well-received, but in the end, Keller High School took home the title for its production of Richard III, fueled by a powerful lead performance that earned Bret Finholt the Best Actor award and the Samuel French Award. That's not to say Austin High went home unrecognized: Haleigh Holt was named to the state All-Star Cast for her performance as Rachel and Derek Dorman was named to the state Honorable Mention All-Star Cast for his performance as Lloyd.

Arts Reporting: Critics' Table Nominations

Published today, nominations for the period May, 3 2009 - May 2, 2010, in various categories, by the Austin Critics' Table, comprised of the Austin American-Statesman's Michael Barnes (arts), Claire Canavan (theatre), Clare Croft (dance), and Jeanne Claire van Ryzin (arts); ... might be good's Claire Ruud (visual arts); and the Chronicle's Elizabeth Cobbe (theatre), Michael Kellerman (music), Jonelle Seitz (dance), Avimaan Syam (theatre), and Robert Faires (arts).

Nominations for theatre include:

Production, Drama

The Cherry Orchard, Breaking String Theater

Dionysus in 69, Rude Mechanicals

The Jungle, Trouble Puppet Theater Company

Long Day's Journey Into Night, Ar Rud

Rabbit Hole, City Theatre Company

Three Days of Rain, Penfold Theatre Company

Production, Comedy

Black Snow, Tutto Theatre Company

bobrauschenbergamerica, Mary Moody Northen Theatre

Body Awareness, Hyde Park Theatre

House of Several Stories, Imagine That Productions

Killer Joe, Capital T Theatre

The Taming of the Shrew, The Hidden Room Theatre

Production, Musical

Bat Boy: The Musical, Texas State University

Evil Dead: The Musical, Doctuh Mistah Productions

John & Jen, Penfold Theatre Company

Murder Ballad Murder Mystery, Tutto Theatre

Company/Vortex Repertory Company

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Zach Theatre

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

Educating Rita, Sidetrack Productions at Austin Playhouse, April 23 - May 9

Educating RIta slipped through with a low profile during its short run at the Larry L. King stage at Austin Playhouse. That off-key, self-effacing approach seems typical of big Michael Stuart, the show's director and the male lead in this two-person production. He did something similar in last summer's theatre off season, sharing the Austin Playhouse stage with Zeb West in David Mamet's A Life In the Theatre.

Stuart can do that because within the season subscribers to his home-base theatre, the Austin Playhouse, there is a goodly number of admirers for this man's gentle, rumpled humor. He doesn't have to advertise. For love of Stuart they queue up to fill the seats in that space, which serves literally as a sideshow to the much more extensive Austin Playhouse season.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Bash, three plays by Neil LaBute, Vestige Group at Creative Alliance Studio, May 6 - 22

The Vestige Group is a small band of purists in an unpure world. They believe that theatre, up close and personal, has something to teach about the human condition. Something that you won't get from video or even from books. They like extremes. Celebration, as in the goofily outrageous Gorilla Man or in Lonestar, A Popcorn Throwing Musical or examinations of the lost and extreme, as in Marisol, in Touch and in this grim trio of plays by Neil LaBute.

When presented off-Broadway in 2000, LaBute's Bash carried the title Bash, Latter-Day Plays, a transparent reference to the Mormon world of Utah and Brigham Young University, where he had studied and taught theatre for years. That was a cheap shot, I think, perhaps even a New York marketing ploy, for LaBute has drawn characters whose twisted lives could play out anywhere. He stresses his intent of universaility that with two of the titles: "Iphigenia in Orem" (Utah) and "Medea Redux." The middle piece, "A Gaggle of Saints," describes a high spirited overnight trip to New York, and none of the happenings have much to do with saints, sainthood or the Church of the Latter Day Saints (LDS).

He sets these events pretty solidly in the early 1980's, with passing references to flashbulbs, to the BeeGees and to daily viewing of Hogan's Heroes. That is, indeed, the period when he attended BYU as an undergraduate and accepted the Mormon faith. Bash put paid to that, however, for after the show played in New York, the LDS Church formally excluded him from fellowship, presumably because the play's portrait of dark, murderous individuals offended the elders of the church.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Agnes of God, City Theatre, April 29 - May 23

Agnes of God is a dark piece, in a dark place in the soul and in the universe. The three gifted actresses in this cast are glittering points of an enigmatic constellation in that darkness.

A crime has been committed in a convent. Jennifer Underwood, admant and authoritative as the mother superior, clashes with Dawn Erin's Dr. Livingston, the skeptical, chain-smoking psychiatrist appointed by the court. Laura Ray's performance as a stressed and confused young novice demonstrates impressive intensity and maturity. Taken together, these three actresses embody for us the ages and the fragilities of women in our time.

Partly a crime investigation and partly an examination of troubled souls, Pielmeier's play is a mystery in two senses. The first, almost banal, is the puzzling out of the facts of a murder, through interrogation, speculation, and, finally repeated sessions of hypnosis. The second sense of mystery in this piece is that of human motivation.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Auditions for Youth: Shakespeare Under The Stars, EmilyAnn Theatre, Wimberley, May 15

Received directly:

Shakespeare Under the Stars, the only high school intensive Shakespeare program of its kind in the country, is holding auditions for this summer's play, Romeo and Juliet.

AUDITIONS ARE THIS UPCOMING SATURDAY, MAY 15 from 1 - 5 p.m. at the EmilyAnn Theatre in Wimberley. All candidatess must audition with a one two-minute memorized Shakespeare monologue.

The program will begin June 28 with a 3 day acting workshop with Clarence Gilyard (Officer Trebek from Walker Texas Ranger). The students assist in building their own sets and costumes during the day and rehearse in the evening for the play.

The usual 'Shakespeare Under the Stars' day is from 1 p.m. - 9 p.m. That schedule is consistent for four weeks, ending with two weeks of consecutive evening performances of the play. Please email bridget@emilyann.org for more information and to set up an audition time.

Read more, view brochure, download application at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .