(*) 2014-2015 Theatre Season at Playhouse San Antonio

Playhouse season focuses on women

By Deborah Martin : January 9, 2014

The Playhouse San Antonio is starting the new year by looking ahead to next season.

The theater's 2014-'15 season focuses heavily on women, featuring several pieces written by female playwrights, including a world premiere, and a number of juicy roles for actresses.


Here's the lineup for the Russell Hill Rogers stage upstairs:

The Wizard of Oz, Oct. 3-Nov. 2: Odds are, you know the story — tornado-displaced Dorothy tries to make her way home — as well as the music, including “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” and “Over the Rainbow.”

Fiddler on the Roof, Dec. 5-22: Patrons frequently request the musical, said Playhouse President and CEO Asia Ciaravino. It follows a family in a time of transition, as the parents cleave to tradition and their daughters start to venture into a changing world.

Gypsy, Feb. 13-March 15: The musical is based on the childhood of burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee, who was raised by a stage parent who went by the handle Mama Rose.

Drood (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), May 29-June 21: The musical is based on Charles Dickens' unfinished novel “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.” The audience determines the ending.

Grease, July 17-Aug. 16: The final audience fave of the upstairs season looks at the greasers and their gals at Rydell High in 1959.

Sheila Rinear (via Express-News)

And here's what the Cellar Theater lineup holds:

End of the Rainbow, Oct. 10-Nov. 2: The piece, which looks at Judy Garland's final days, will run concurrently with “Wizard of Oz,” Ciaravino said. The film version of “Wizard” helped establish Garland's place as a pop culture superstar, so offering the two shows will allow audiences to explore her work from two perspectives.

Merry Gentlemen, Dec. 11-14: San Antonio-based playwright Sheila Rinear will spend this year working with students and community members to develop this piece, a holiday-themed work that will premiere in the Cellar.

The Last Five Years, Jan. 30-Feb. 22: Jason Robert Brown's musical about the end of a relationship is built around a nifty gimmick: The wife tells her version of events beginning at the end and moving backward through time, while her soon-to-be-ex-husband tells things in chronological order.

Crime and Punishment, March 13-April 5: Marilyn Campbell's and Curt Columbus' script boils the Dostoyevsky novel into a taut 90 minutes.

4000 Miles, May 15-June 7: Amy Herzog's play is about a young man who suffers a loss and recovers by moving in with his 91-year-old grandmother.

Water by the Spoonful, July 3-26: Quiara Alegría Hudes's Pulitzer Prize winning drama is about an Iraqi war veteran trying to forge a life for himself stateside.

In addition, plans are afoot for Motherhood Out Loud, a Vagina Monologues-like look at parenting; it's slated to run May 8-10. Ciaravino is making plans to present it away from The Playhouse. The production will be a fundraiser for the theater's education programs.


dlmartin@express-news.net

(*) Jump-Start Performance Company Moves Out of Blue Star, Express-News, January 7, 2014

 

Jump-Start bids farewell to Blue Star

By Deborah Martin : January 7, 2014

SAN ANTONIO — Billy Muñoz was a little startled last weekend to discover that the stage at Jump-Start Performance Co.'s current home in the Blue Star Arts Complex was gone.

“I felt a little saddened by it,” said Muñoz, who became a Jump-Start company member in 2002. “I don't really pray, I don't really do any of that. But any time that I did a show, I would go and touch the stage and just kind of have this moment — 'Treat me well.' And now it's gone.”

That particular ritual will continue in a different form before he takes part in “Performance Party 29: Wrecking Ball” on Saturday, he said: “I'll touch the platforms or the floor.”

ARTHeism by Samantha Beasley and Topher Sipes (photo: Kevin Bradley)

The stage — along with virtually everything else that the company has accumulated in its 20 years in the space — has been moved out. “Performance Party 29: Wrecking Ball,” which starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, will be the company's final performance in the Blue Star Arts Complex.

Jump-Start learned in April that its lease was not being renewed. After a few months of hunting, they found a new home in a cozy spot at 710 Fredericksburg Road, in the heart of the nascent Beacon Hill arts district.

Read more at www.MySA.com

Read CTXLT article of December 31 about Jump-Start's Wrecking Ball fundraiser

(*) Deborah Martin: Rose Theatre's 2014 Season, San Antonio

Rose Theatre's 2014 season holds dramas and original comedies

 

By Deborah Martin : January 2, 2014

Jesse Rose (photo: Rose Theatre company)

The folks at the Rose Theatre Company have gone through a rough patch financially in the past few months. 

To put them on firmer footing, they're making plans for a fund-raising gala on Feb. 1. The evening will include live music, sketch comedy and previews of upcoming shows, as well as a silent auction and an auction of services provided by Rose actors.


The company is also strongly pushing VIP memberships, which go for $15 a month and which include tickets to evening and kids' shows, as well as preferred seating on comfy couches.


As a thank you for the added support, the company is also going to be doing a lot of community outreach, including free performances for schools and shelters.


“A lot of schools don't have the money to take kids to see shows,” said Jessie Rose, who owns the theater with her husband, Chris Manley. “We'd love to be able to provide that for them. We're going to do as many free shows as we can.


“I think our goal this year is to be able to help other people. It's important.”


The company will continue producing a blend of Rose-directed contemporary dramas and Manley-penned comedies. The comedies include some raunchier stuff in the same vein as the Shock Puppets shows the company made a splash with shortly after opening in 2009; to make the explicit content clear to audiences, those shows will be designated “Shock Puppets Theatre” offerings. (The puppets themselves were killed off last year, so don't expect to see them onstage.)

Click to view details about the season at MySA.com

(*) Deborah Martin: Overtime Theatre's 2014 Season, San Antonio

Overtime's 2014 season holds all-new material, including a weekly serial

By Deborah Martin : January 2, 2014

Overtime Artistic Director Kyle Gillette (via MySA.com)

SAN ANTONIO — When the folks at the Overtime Theater sat down to choose their 2014 lineup, they had a lot to choose from.

After their call for original work went viral, the company ended up getting around 300 scripts, a huge increase in the usual pool, said Kyle Gillette, the company's artistic director: “I'd say it was three or four times what we normally get.”

The scripts came from all over the country.

A total of 15 wide-ranging pieces — including a new serial — made the final cut. One piece, Overtime Executive Director Michael Burger's “The Beasts of Baverly Grove,” will take place in both of the Overtime's theaters.

To get the complete story, audiences will need to check out the show in each space. It plays Oct. 17-Nov. 15.

For the most part, the smaller, more experimental pieces this year can be seen in the Overtime's smaller space. That theater, which has been informally known as the Li'l OT, has been named The Stables. The name is a nod to the stables where director David Lynch shot some of his surreal 1977 classic “Eraserhead,” Gillette said.

Click to view Express-News listing of season by titles, dates and Overtime venues

(*) Deborah Martin's Favorites for San Antonio Theatre in 2013, Express-News, December 26, 2013

Best of 2013: Stage

December 26, 2013

This was a very good year for fiercely original work, including several pieces created out of whole cloth and fresh takes on “Hamlet” and “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Here's the best of the best:

• “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Woodlawn Black Box Theatre
• “The Book of Mormon,” Broadway in San Antonio
• “Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” Overtime Theater
• “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Sheldon Vexler Theatre
• “Hetarae,” Jump-Start Performance Co.
• “I Am Celso,” Teatro Farolito
• “In the Heights,” Woodlawn Theater
• “Les Miserables,” Playhouse
• “Little Shop of Horrors,” Sheldon Vexler Theatre
• “Method & Madness: Hamlet 2013,” Jump-Start Performance Co. and Classic Theatre
• “Other Desert Cities,” Inception Theatre
• “Painting Churches,” Classic Theatre
• “Picnic,” Playhouse Cellar Theatre
• “Port Cove,” Overtime Theater
• “Ragtime,” Playhouse
• “Red,” Playhouse Cellar Theater
• “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Klose/Seale Productions
• “Treasure Island,” Magik Theatre
• “Waiting for Lefty,” Proxy Theatre Company:
• “White,” AtticRep and the Aesthetic of Waste
• “Wittenberg,” Playhouse Cellar 

Deborah Martin

Playhouse's Tribe Brings Theatre to Teens, by Deborah Martin, San Antonio Express-News

 

Playhouse's Tribe brings arts to teens

By Deborah Martin  December 20, 2013

Daniel Quintero (photo: Jim Reel via San Antonio Express-News)SAN ANTONIO — Daniel Quintero remembers really, really wanting to be involved with theater, and not being entirely sure how to make that happen.

Quintero, 18, eventually found his way to The Playhouse San Antonio, scoring an internship and launching the Daniel the Intern blog, where he provides a behind-the-scenes look at goings-on at the theater.

A few months ago, he started working on a project to give other teens a similar experience.

“I want other kids that have that same yearning to have the opportunity to engage themselves in theater,” Quintero said. “I'm a senior (at Keystone School); I'll be gone in a year. I want to leave behind something I didn't have.”

That something is The Tribe, a group of high school and college students based at The Playhouse. The roughly 20 members — all of whom have made cash donations to the theater as part of the program, giving them a literal investment in the theater — help market The Playhouse. They also see Playhouse productions and serve as an informal welcoming committee at performances, chatting with audience members about the theater and whatever show is taking place. 

They've also helped facilitate events: Quintero recently mediated a Q&A following a performance of the play “Wittenberg” in the Cellar Theater.

They host some of their own events, too. Their first was a preview of the spring shows in the Cellar Theater; all of the Tribe members delivered spirited readings from the plays.

The program was modeled, in part, on the Young Adult Council, a teen group based at the acclaimed Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago.

Amy Mireles, Naomi Villegas, Andrew Gutierrez (photo: Jim Reel via San Antonio Express-News)

Read more at San Antonio Express-News

(*) Theatre for Youth: Salzburg Marionette Theatre at Trinity University, November 20,. 2013

(via San Antonio Express-News)

The Salzburg Marionette Theatre is bringing two shows to Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium on Wednesday, November 20, courtesy of the Children's Fine Arts Series. First up is Engelbert Humperdinck's opera “Hansel and Gretel,” which can be seen at 10 a.m.; next is a marionette production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's “The Sound of Music,” which takes place at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $7 for the morning show and $12 for the evening performance.

Visit childrensfineartseries.org to buy tickets online; call 210-340-4060 for information.

Deborah Martin

(*) Jump-Start Performance Company Moves to Smaller Space in Beacon Hill, San Antonio

Booted from Blue Star, Jump-Start lands in Beacon Hill

By Deborah Martin : November 14, 2013

(photo: Helen L. Montoya)

Jump-Start Performance Co. has found in Beacon Hill its new home. 


The theater company learned in April that its lease at the Blue Star Arts Complex in Southtown would not be renewed. After looking at about 10 spaces, it has landed at a one-time artist's studio at 710 Fredericksburg Road, and are renting it from artist Rolando Briseño.


Jump-Start plans to announce its new home at a press conference Friday. The company also will announce changes to its programming approach and in its leadership structure.


“We're really happy to be in the neighborhood, because it's a revitalized neighborhood,” said Felice Garcia, the company's technical director, who will be overseeing much of the move into the new space.


Jump-Start has been based at the Blue Star Arts Complex for nearly 20 years. It plans to have its administrative offices moved out completely by Christmas. Its final performance in the space will be “Performance Party,” its annual New Year's show/party/fundraiser, on Jan. 11.


The company has a one-year commitment to the new space, said Erik Bosse, who handles the company's public relations.


“I'm very excited that Jump-Start is moving there,” Briseño said.


The company's new neighbors include a ceramics studio, Clamp Light Artist Studios and Gallery and the Uptown Studio, which offers dance classes and other arts-oriented activities.

Read more at Arts Beat, MySanAntonio.com

(*) Profile by Deborah Martin: Chet Walker Directs Pippin at Trinity University

Quick on his feet for 'Pippin'

By Deborah Martin : November 7, 2013

Jonathan Moore, Chet Walker, Alberto Moore (photo: Robin Jerstad, Express-News)

Broadway director and choreographer Chet Walker is all about saying yes.

Would he be willing to come to Serbia to work with autistic kids? Yes. Would he like to come to Tel Aviv to choreograph “The Producers”? Absolutely. How about spending a few weeks at Trinity University as part of the Stieren Arts Enrichment Series, directing and choreographing a student production of “Pippin”? Why not?


The musical, which follows a young man's quest for fulfillment, opens Friday at Trinity.


Directing and choreographing weren't the only tasks Walker fulfilled during his stay here. He also gave a lecture about his career, and saying yes to things was the big take-away from it.


“I told them how (whether) you're coming up, you're coming down, you just don't know where you're going to be,” said Walker, 59. “So you kind of have to be open to anything.”


Saying yes has worked out pretty well for Walker. He started dancing on Broadway when he was a teenager; the original run of “Pippin” was his second professional credit. Most recently, he choreographed the circus-themed revival of “Pippin” on Broadway, a big-buzz show for which he received a Tony nomination and a slew of other awards. (His favorite is the Fred and Adele Astaire Award for Choreography “because that's why you do the things you do, is because of that man.”)



His decision to come to Trinity while “Pippin” is still wowing crowds on Broadway owes something to serendipity. The university's theater department had lined up someone else as part of the Stieren series this fall; when that deal fell apart in May, there was some scrambling to find a replacement.

Click to read full article at MySanAntonio.com

Changes at the Classic Theatre, San Antonio, from the San Antonio Express-News, October 28, 2013

From Deborah Martin's 'Art Beat' column at the Express-News:





by Deborah Martin  October 28, 2013

There’s been some shifting behind the scenes at Classic Theatre.

Renee Garvens, who had been the company’s education director and also handled its marketing, has moved to Magik Theatre as a development associate.

Joseph Urick, an actor who is also on the faculty at San Antonio College, came on board several weeks ago to handle the company’s PR. Urick is also Classic’s resident fight choreographer, a skill he has also put to use with other companies. Most recently, he took care of the fight choreography for “Les Miserables” at the Playhouse.

And Christie Beckham, who has often appeared on stage in Classic productions and taught drama at Clark High School, is joining the company as its education director.

Both will also appear onstage in Classic’s “Taming of the Shrew,” which opens Nov. 8 at the Sterling Houston Theater at Jump-Start.

San Antonio's Classic Theatre Relocating to Woodlawn Theatre

It’s official: Classic Moving to Woodlawn

By Deborah Martin : Friday, June 28, 2013

Classic Theatre and the Woodlawn Theatre have formally announced that the former will be moving into the latter in January.
Classic will stay at the Sterling Houston Theater at Jump-Start for the rest of the year. Then it will be running the Woodlawn’s black box space.

Classic’s current home is leased by Jump-Start Performance Co. Jump-Start’s lease was not renewed; it will be moving in January, as well, and is looking for a new home.

In Classic’s press release about the move, Woodlawn Executive Director Kurt Wehner says, “We are very excited about this new collaboration with the Classic Theatre. We love the universal themes of unity and understanding that are celebrated through their work and are delighted to join forces with them in bringing even more quality theatre into the Deco District.”

Arts Reporting: Classic Theatre Explores Potential New Homes, by Deborah Martin of the San Antonio Express-News, April 23

from the paper's Art beat page at www.mysanantonio.com:

Brendan Spieth, Dru Baucus (photo: Dwayne Green)

 

Classic Theatre explores potential new homes

Posted on 04/23/2013 by Deborah Martin

In the short time since they learned they’ll have to move, the folks at Classic Theatre have looked at potential new homes at the Woodlawn Theatre, the Josephine Theatre, Performing Arts San Antonio and Fox Tech High School.


The big take-away so far? “There’s a lot of unused space in San Antonio,” said Diane Malone, a co-founder of the company.


The company currently shares space with Jump-Start Performance Co. at the Blue Star Arts Complex. Jump-Start learned nearly two weeks ago that their lease on the building will not be renewed. The company was able to negotiate an extension that allows them to stay through January.


Classic closes its fifth season with the farce “Scapin,” slated to open May 10 at the Sterling Houston Theater at Jump-Start. The company has not yet decided whether they’ll begin their sixth season there and then move, or if they’ll do their entire season at a new space, Malone said.


Ideally, Classic’s new space will include room for an office, storage and rehearsal space.


“We’re asking for the moon,” Malone said.


A lot of other theaters have stepped up and offered to house the company, she said.


“A lot of people are talking about, it giving us suggestions: There’s a place here, a place there, museums and theaters and storefronts,” she said.


There is also a possibility that Jump-Start will go in together on a new space.

At this point, nothing is off the table: “We’re not eliminating any options,” Malone said.

(*) Another Two Theatre Companies Evicted from Blue Star Arts Complex, report by Deborah Martin, San Antonio Express-News, April 17

Jump-Start getting the Blue Star boot

By Deborah Martin, Staff Writer

Updated 6:14 pm, Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Jump-Start Performance Co., which has been based at the Blue Star Arts Complex for nearly 20 years, is losing its lease there.

The group will be moving in January, said Producing Director Lisa Suarez. Jump-Start's lease ends in September, but company members were able to negotiate a four-month extension.

Jump-Start is the latest arts group to leave the complex as owner James Lifshutz carries out renovations to add more retail.

Lifshutz did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.

The news that Jump-Start will have to move came as a surprise, said Dino Foxx, the theater's public relations director. The company had met with Lifshutz last year as renovations moved forward, Foxx said, and had been told they could rest easy.

“At that time, they assured us that we were definitely a tenant they wanted to keep,” Foxx said.

They received a phone call April 10 informing them otherwise.

The move also will leave Classic Theatre, which shares Jump-Start's space, homeless.

Classic is slated to open the farce “Scapin” May 10. That show's run will take place as planned.

Both companies are determining how to move forward.

“Many options are being brought to the table,” Suarez said. “I was continuing to remind everyone, we are not about this facility necessarily. We are about the creativeness that comes from the company.”

The possibility of the two theater troupes finding a new space together has been floated, Foxx said, but it's too early to say how likely that is to happen.

“There are so many question marks,” said Renee Garvens, who handles publicity and oversees the education program for Classic. “At this point, we want to make sure that we contact all of our big donors and let them know we're full steam ahead.”

The Overtime Theater left Blue Star last year, also as a result of the renovation. The company found a new home near the Pearl Brewery.

Leaving Blue Star turned out well for them, said Artistic Director Kyle Gillette.

“The Pearl is the area right now that is promoting exciting new work and where things are happening,” he said. “And Blue Star, unfortunately, has decided to shun its artists. It's a real shame what they're doing.”

Click to go to on-line article

Reviews from Elsewhere: Deborah Martin on 'Black Box-er Shorts,' One-Act Plays by Bexar Naked Playwrights at Northwest Vista College, San Antonio, February 21 - March 2

Review by Deborah Martin, San Antonio Express-News, of the program of Black Box-er Shorts, via www.mysanantonio.com, February 21:

The Bexar Naked Playwrights (formerly the SAT Playwrights) are offering theater-goers quite a deal: Five short plays for $10.

It’s good stuff, too. All five plays are fully realized, offering laughs, poignancy and strong production values. The action takes place in five different diners; the set, designed with an eye for detail by the gifted Nathan Thurman, accommodates the very different circumstances for each piece. And it’s fun to watch the stage crew transform it.

The evening begins with Rebecca Burroughs’ “The Guessing Game,” in which a couple (Lindsay Van de Kirk and Evans Jarnefeldt) stops into a diner to confront a young man (Louis Valdez) whom they believe impregnated their teen-aged daughter. The piece, directed by Marisela Barrera, is well-structured and well-acted.

Next up is Van de Kirk’s “American Optic,” the often laugh-out-loud funny tale that spins from things having gone awry at the ill-considered Mountain Cedar Festival, which an old codger named Gordon (Evan Frazier) believes has been ill-planned. He winds up hiding out from his daughter (Hannah Brogdon) in the diner, run by the cedar-fever-afflicted Lyle (Esteban Reyna). Van de Kirk weaves a bit of romance into the tale, directed with wit by David Rinear.

“The Roadside,” written by Alejandro Urdiales and directed by Barrera, is the magical realism-laced tale of a diner that helps lost souls find what they need. It’s run by Tom (Peter Northrop), who helps a drifter named Finn (Anthony Ross) and a troubled single mother (Alexandra Perez) get together. The actors sell the concept well, and the piece ends on a lovely note.

“The Outskirts,” written by Sheila Rinear and directed by her husband David Rinear, opens with an older woman (Laurie Fitzpatrick) arriving early one morning at the diner run by Gabbie (Sonya Schuler). The older woman talks about the difficulties she’s been having with her daughter (Heather Kelley), who seems to be more interested in her inheritance than in caring for her mom; she finds a friendly audience in Gabbie, a caring woman whose own mother recently passed away. The piece is moving, funny, and whets the appetite for more tales of Gabbie and her new friend.

The evening ends with its darkest, funniest and most romantic piece: Mike Greenberg’s “Max and Maggie,” directed by Aaron Aguilar. In it, three people (Jarnefeldt, Ross and Brogdon) in blood-spattered clothes are waiting; eventually they are joined by a fourth (Lisa Valle). To say more would ruin some of the fun of the piece.

“Black Box-er Shorts” plays through March 2 in the Black Box Theatre at the Palmetto Center for the Arts at Northwest Vista College. Call 210-486-4527 for reservations.

Click for additional information at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

(*) 2013 Season for The Playhouse, San Antonio, via Deborah Martin in the San Antonio Express-News

Playhouse to open season with 'Les Misérables'

By Deborah Martin, January 18, 2013

Playhouse President and CEO Asia Ciaravino read a lot of plays before hitting on what she thinks is the best lineup for the 2013-14 season.

She was looking for pieces that lent themselves to community outreach for the theater, including talk-backs and performances outside the space. And she looked for works that would stretch the artists.

“It's a really good opportunity for our talent to shine,” she said.

To that end, the Russell Hill Rogers stage upstairs will offer:

“Les Misérables”: The sprawling musical, which spawned the current big-buzz movie, spins a tale of redemption, romance and revolution. The Playhouse will be the first non-school in the city to produce the piece; the North East School of the Arts staged the school edition in 2011.

“Guys and Dolls”: The 1950 musical offers up the lively story of gamblers trying to keep a game going and the women who exasperate and enchant them. The score includes such classics as “Adelaide's Lament,” “Luck be a Lady,” “Sue Me” and “Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat.”

“Company”: Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical drama follows a man as he reflects on his relationships and the fact that he's never married. The score includes “Another Hundred People” and “The Ladies Who Lunch.”

“Funny Girl”: The musical digs into the life of performer Fanny Brice. The score includes “People,” “Don't Rain on My Parade” and “The Music That Makes Me Dance.”

“Tommy”: The rock opera brings The Who's 1969 double album about a “deaf, dumb and blind kid” who “sure plays a mean pinball” to the stage. The score includes “See Me, Feel Me,” “Listening to You” and “I'm Free.”

As for the Cellar season, it holds:

“Wittenberg”: David Davalos' comedic drama brings together Hamlet, Faustus and Martin Luther for a piece exploring philosophical concepts.

“The Waiting Room”: Lisa Loomer's comedic drama explores shifting ideas of female beauty and the cost of that pursuit.

“Venus in Fur”: David Ives' drama is set at an audition for a theatrical adaptation of the erotic novel “Venus in Fur.” The playwright/director and an unlikely contender for the role find themselves drawn to each other, and lines between the play and reality begin to blur.

“Dead Man's Cell Phone”: Sarah Ruhl's exploration of technology and metaphysics begins with a woman snatching up an incessantly ringing cellphone that turns out to belong to a dead man. She starts taking messages and, eventually, sets out to try to make things right on that stranger's behalf.

“Clyborne Park”: Bruce Norris' 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner updates “A Raisin in the Sun,” exploring race and gentrification in both 1959 and in the 21st century.

dlmartin@express-news.net

Auditions in San Antonio for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Allegro Theatre Company, January 26

From Deborah Martin via the Art Beat blog at www.mysanantonio.com:


Next up for Allegro Stage Company: “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” slated to play April 11-20 at Northwest Vista College’s Palmetto Center for the Arts.


Director Tim Hedgepeth has already cast Rick Sanchez, who gave a memorable performance as the Emcee in Allegro’s “Cabaret” earlier this year, as Pseudolus. The rest of the roles are up for grabs.


Auditions start at noon Jan. 26 at the Palmetto Center, 3535 N. Ellison, San Antonio, 78251 (click for map). Those who want to try out are asked to show up ready to perform 16 bars of “an upbeat, comical song,” according to the audition notice; an accompanist will be on hand. Also in the notice: “Pratfalls encouraged!” And dress comfortably for the dance audition.

Another date for potential cast members to note: Rehearsals start March 3.


Besides Hedgepeth, the creative team includes choreographer Wendy Ellis, music supervisor/co-producer Tom Masinter and co-producer Mellissa Marlowe.

Arts Reporting: Woodlawn Theatre Lights The Marquee in San Antonio

Published in the Arts Beat column at www.MySanAntonio.com:





Woodlawn Lights Up

by Deborah Martin, October 18

The relatively new crew at the Woodlawn Theatre will light up the theater’s marquee for the first time in 40 years this weekend.

The neon tubes have been restored, according to a press release from the theater, and the sign will be lit in a ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 19).

The event will include an appearance by City Councilman Diego Bernal and a performance by the theater’s youth group. Admission is free.

Overtime Theatre San Antonio Signs Lease on New Locale with Two Theatre Spaces

Deborah Martin of the San Antonio Express-News lets the cat out of the bag:

Overtime Theatre has a new home

Posted on 05/23/2012 by Deborah Martin

 

On Wednesday afternoon, the Overtime Theater folks signed a five-year lease for a new home at 1203 Camden, just off the Museum Reach of the Riverwalk and close to the Pearl Brewery. [ALT note: click to view map]

 

It’s right in the nick of time, too: The theater has to leave its current home in the Blue Star Arts Complex by the end of the month.

The spacious building will allow the troupe to have two theater spaces, as well as a roomy lobby gallery and classroom space for Andrew Thornton’s acting studio. The smaller space will, among other things, allow the theater to help out other companies and theater artists in need of a home; Proxy Theatre will present its 2012-’13 season there, said Overtime Artistic Director Kyle Gillette.

The larger space will be named for playwright Gregg Barrios, who donated $7,500 to the company.

The first full Overtime production in the theater will be Barrios’ “i-DJ,” slated to open in July.

Scott McDowell, the theater’s technical director, hopes to have the theater in good enough shape for an improv show in two weeks.