Theatres on Austin's Periphery, by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin in Austin Statesman's "XL" supplement

The Austin Statesman's arts editor provides snapshots of 12 community and regional theatres, in the July 23 "XL" arts supplement:

THEATER
Prosceniums on the perimeter
Throughout Central Texas, community theater troupes bring arts to the hinterlands

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN ARTS WRITER
Thursday, July 23, 2009

Mention Austin theater and most people will think of the venues and troupes that call downtown home or who have transformed East Austin warehouses into experimental venues.

But there are many other theaters on the greater Austin landscape. And in a way, they are the vestiges of tradition. For decades, small regional cities in America sported their own community theater troupes or built venues to house traveling shows. They were the cultural lifeblood of many a community providing the only live entertainment available.

Though our region's suburban sprawl might blur the line between where the metropolis ends and where neighboring small towns begin, the tradition of community theaters is alive and well in Central Texas. In some towns, theater enthusiasts have banded together to form busy troupes. And forward-thinking patrons have rescued historic buildings - including many historic theaters - from destruction and lovingly restored them.

Here, then, is a roundup of some of our region's busiest theaters that put on shows far from downtown Austin.

Click to read more from the Austin Statesman on-line.

Profile: Ken Webster and 30 Years in Austin Theatre, Claire van Ryzin, Stateman's XL, April 30

UPDATE: Click for ALT review of HOUSE





Published on-line:

Celebrating 30 years in Austin Theatre, Ken Webster Flies Solo in "House"

Perfecting the art of trenchant, witty, compact plays

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin

AMERICAN-STATESMAN ARTS WRITER
Thursday, April 30, 2009

You would think that in 30 years of doing something a person might have a few memorable low points.

Not Ken Webster. Currently celebrating three decades in Austin's theater scene, the 51-year-old producer/director/actor seems to recall only one true low point: the first half of the 1990s, when he had to take a day job to make ends meet and went to work in what is arguably the other kind of theater: politics. For a few years, Webster was a political consultant, advising — or should that be directing? — candidates on making effective public appearances.

The high point of 30 years in Austin theater? 'Meeting my wife Katherine (Catmull),' Webster says. Webster first met Catmull, an actress, in 1984 when he directed her in a play that was staged at the now-defunct club Liberty Lunch.

To celebrate the more than 100 shows he's had a hand in, Webster is re-mounting one his favorites: 'House,' a darkly comic one-man show by Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor.

Click to Read More at Statesman.com. . . .

Update: Arts Community Meets Candidates, April 1

UPDATE: Jeanne Claire van Ryzin's account of this meeting, published April 2 in the Statesman's Austin 360 "Seeing Things" blog


Received from Zach Scott Theatre:

Performing and Visual Arts
Organizations of Austin

INVITE YOU TO MEET THE CANDIDATES
FOR AUSTIN MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL

Support the Arts and Make Your Voice Heard!
Hear the Candidates' visions and positions on
City issues including those affecting Arts

WHEN: April 1, 2009 at 7:00 PM
(April 1, no foolin')

WHERE: Paramount Theatre, 713 S. Congress Avenue

MODERATOR: The Honorable Betty Dunkerley

QUESTIONS: cister@austin.rr.com

PARKING: Free, starting at 6 PM
One American Center, 600 S. Congress Avenue

Refreshments and Snacks Available

Partners: Austin Circle of Theatres and City of Austin's Create Austin

Article/Interview: Steven Dietz by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, Austin Statesman, March 1

A profile and interview of Steven Dietz, the prolific playwright based at UT since 2006 and author of Shooting Star, currently running at the Zach, by the Statesman's Jeanne Claire van Ryzin:

STEVEN DIETZ: PLAYWRIGHT AT WORK
Being prolific yields its own kind of fame
Playwright's hard work finds its way onto stages in Austin.

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN ARTS WRITER
Sunday, March 01, 2009

Steven Dietz doesn't mind that when you Google his name, a phrase like "the most famous playwright you've never heard of" might pop up.

"I love that," says the 50-year-old writer, whose latest, "Shooting Star," a charming bittersweet comedy of roads not taken in life, is getting its premiere at Zach Theatre.

Click for full text of profile of Steven Dietz

David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries, Zach Theatre, November 28 - December 11

(Click for reviews from Austinist.com and Daily Texan on-line)

from Jeanne Claire van Ryzin's December 2 review in the Statesman's 360 arts blog:

A regular with comedic troupe Esther’s Follies, Randolph pops as Crumpet, Sedaris’s elf self. Randolph unrolls a wonderland of character voices and body language from badly behaving children to a socially awkward co-worker to a self-righteous parent. Ricocheting around Zach’s round Whisenhunt Stage, he pops among the cheesy candy cane Santaland decorations, plops into the lap of an audience member or two and otherwise energetically claims the whole space for himself.

And that’s just fine because this elf delivers laughs.

Click for full review.