Upcoming: Mariachi Girl by Roxanne Schroeder-Arce, Teatro Vivo at Zach Theatre, October 6 - November 4

AND

WITH

present
MARIACHI GIRL


Written by ROXANNE SHROEDER-ARCE
Music and lyrics by HÉCTOR MARTÍNEZ MORALES
Directed by BRANT POPE, Chair of the University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance 

Premieres October 6. Saturday and Sunday performances continue through November 4, 2012. 
 
Public Shows: Friday: October 5 at 7 p.m.; Saturdays: October 6, 20, 27 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; Sunday: November 4 at 6 p.m.

ZACH’s intimate Whisenhunt Stage, 1510 Toomey Road (click for map) (Toomey intersects S. Lamar Blvd. between W. Cesar Chavez and Barton Springs Rd.)


TICKETS
To order tickets call 512-476-0541 ext. 1 or visit www.zachtheatre.org. Children’s tickets are $14, and adult tickets are $16. Concessions will be open one hour before showtime. Drinks welcome inside the theatre.

Mariachi Girl is a new bilingual Spanish/English musical for children and family audiences. This is the world premiere production of the play, which had its first reading at Teatro Vivo’s 2011 Austin Latino New Play Festival. Mariachi Girl is a co-production with ZACH Theatre and Teatro Vivo, in partnership with the University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance.

Full of vibrant original mariachi music, this play explores how one girl can challenge her identity in a modern society while embracing her rich heritage. Eight-year-old Carmencita dreams of being in her father’s mariachi band, but her father insists that mariachi groups should only include men. When Carmencita reads a book about a famous female mariachi, it expands her world and notion of what is possible.


ZACH’s Education Director Nat Miller says: “ZACH is partnering with Teatro Vivo to expand our reach in to the Latino community with shows for schools and families. We already have more than 10,000 students from dual language schools attending our school matinees and think it is important for ZACH to produce stories that represent their lives. Teatro Vivo is one of the only bilingual theater companies in Texas, and it is their mission to produce culturally relevant Latino theatre that addresses critical social issues. ZACH is honored to partner with Teatro Vivo to bring more Latino families to ZACH. More than 4,000 students will be attending the production, a large percentage of them from low income schools who will be coming for a reduced cost.”

ZACH and Teatro Vivo’s production features an all-star cast: MARIO RAMIREZ, ALEJANDRA MCGUIRE, AISHA SAN RAMON, SARAH WALKER, JULIAN CASTILLO, & RUPERT REYES with Mariachis: DAVID PERALES, OLLIN CHAVEZ, JAVIER TORRES, & MIGUEL MACHADO.


For real-time updates on ZACH Theatre news, events and happenings, visit http://www.zachtheatre.org/blog, be a fan of ZACH Theatre on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/zachtheatre, and follow ZACH on Twitter @zachtheatre http://www.twitter.com/zachtheatre.

ZACH’s production of Mariachi Girl is sponsored by: Carolyn and Marc Seriff, Silicon Labs, Texas Gas Service, Applied Materials, Dollar General Literacy Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, and Target.


About ZACH Theatre ZACH Theatre is Austin’s leading professional producing theatre. Founded in 1932, ZACH is the longest running theatre company in Texas, serving 85,000 adults and youth annually. ZACH creates its own nationally recognized dramatic, musical and comedic productions that elevate, motivate and stimulate the human spirit under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Now in its 80^th season, ZACH continues to expand and engage with Austin, adding a third theatre to its Central Austin performance campus. The 420-seat, 32,000-square-foot Topfer Theatre will nearly double ZACH’s capacity while retaining its hallmark intimate theatre-going experience upon its completion in the fall of 2012. The Topfer Theatre Campaign has currently raised more than $20 million of its $22 million goal. Visit www.zachtheatre.org for more information.

ZACH Theatre is sponsored, in part, by Austin Catering, Four Hands Home, Holiday Inn-Lady Bird Lake, Kirk Tuck Photography, Marquee Events, OnRamp, Austin American-Statesman, Austin News TV 36, and Time Warner Cable; and by grants from The Shubert Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division, which believes an investment in the arts is an investment in Austin’s future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.


About Teatro Vivo  Teatro Vivo is a popular, viable and culturally necessary arts organization for the entire Austin community. Committed from the beginning to developing a new theatrical aesthetic that is based on and draws from the culture, history and mythology of Latino experience, Teatro Vivo continues to be one of the only bilingual Latino theater companies in the state of Texas. Since its first year in 2000, Teatro Vivo has produced more than 24 full-length productions, a variety of performance collaborations with other arts organizations, and several theatre workshops for traditionally underserved populations in the Austin community. Teatro Vivo garnered numerous nominations for acting, writing, and design from both B.Iden Payne Awards (Austin Creative Alliance) and the Austin Critics Table awards, including the Cohen New Play Award. The National Association of Latino Arts and Culture also recognized Teatro Vivo with a grant as part of NALAC Fund for the Arts national funding program.

As a bilingual theater company, Teatro Vivo’s mission is to produce culturally relevant Latino theatre that addresses critical social issues. All of Teatro Vivo’s productions have Latino roots and branch into every corner of human experience, exploring age-old themes and modern dilemmas. Teatro Vivo serves the community by telling the Latino story, positively reflecting the Latino community and uniquely celebrating the vibrancy of the Latino culture and the power of the human experience. Visit www.teatrovivo.org or contact JoAnn Reyes for information, images and interviews. 512-413-6791 or joannreyes@yahoo.com.

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Upcoming: The Cherry Orchard by Chekov, University of Texas, September 17 - 24

Received directly:

The University of Texas presents

The Cherry Orchard

by Anton Chekhov

directed by Brant Pope

Sept 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24 at 8 p.m. and Sept 18, 25 at 2 p.m.
Venue: Oscar G. Brockett Theatre; 300 East 23rd Street (click for map) Parking available at UT's San Jacinto garage
Tickets: 512 471-1444 or on-line at Texas Performing Arts

In The Cherry Orchard, the audience is introduced to a charming yet exasperating Russian family that does nothing to save their beloved estate. Both poignant and comical,the story is a literary feat only Chekhov could compose.

The Cherry Orchard showcases a cast of student talent, accompanied by Lauren Lane, from television’s The Nanny, and most recently, ZACH Theatre’s production of August: Osage County.

Department of Theatre and Dance General Information: 512‐471-5793 or online

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. . . .