Auditions in Round Rock for New Year's even at Sam Bass Community Theatre, October 7

Auditions for the 2012 New Year's Eve event, The Back Room, will be held on October 7 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at Sam Bass Theatre. Director- Holly Provance Doggett; AD/SM - Laura Vohs. Seeking the following roles:

Cabaret singers - 5 to 6 singers. Each will sing 2 solo or duet songs (singer's choice) plus an opening and closing group number. Singers will submit their own selections for the director's approval. Songs must be from the 1920s or in the style of the 1920s. The singers are the performers in the The Back Room's nightclub. Please prepare 1 or 2 selections for the auditions. Think sexy, sultry, lounge style. The singers will perform 3 sets for 3 different audiences.

Waiters/waitresses - 2 or 3, can be male or female; Bartender - 1 male; Bouncer - 1 male; MC - 1 male; Fortune teller - 1 female (must be comfortable reading tarot cards); Box office girl - 1 female

These roles are interactive with the guests. There are no scripts for these performers. Each actor will create their own back story based on character descriptions provided by the director. Character descriptions will be emailed out the week before the auditions and actors will be asked to improvise for the audition.

Youtube auditions will be accepted for singers/actors who are unable to attend the auditions. Youtube links may be emailed to hpdoggett@yahoo.com. Video submissions must be received by 6:00 pm on October 6.

The Back Room is a different kind of event for SBCT. Guests will be transported to a 1920s speakeasy upon arriving at the theatre. Guests will not be told that the staff of the speakeasy are actors. The concept is to provide an interactive event for the guests. More details will be provided at the auditions, but questions are welcome.

The performances will be held on 12/31 from 7:00 to midnight. The rehearsal schedule will be flexible based on singers/actors schedules. Not all will be called for all rehearsals. Rehearsals will begin the week of 11/5/12. All roles, except one female singer, are open. We understand this is a different type of audition, especially for those interested in acting roles, so questions are welcome. Post here or email hpdoggett@yahoo.com

Upcoming: The Hallelujah Girls by Jones, Hope & Wooten, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, September 21 - October 6

THE HALLELUJAH GIRLS by Jones, Hope & Wooten, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, September 21 - October 13
  "The Hallelujah Girls" by Jess1e Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten opens September 21st at Sam Bass Community Theatre. Directed by Lynn S. Beaver.
Click to reserve via the Sam Bass website

Hilarity abounds when the feisty females of Eden Falls, Georgia, decide to shake up their lives. The action in this rollicking Southern comedy takes place in SPA-DEE-DAH!, the abandoned church-turned-day-spa where this group of friends gathers every Friday afternoon. After the loss of a dear friend, the women realize time is precious, and if they're going to change their lives and achieve their dreams, they have to get on it now! By the time these women rally together to overcome their obstacles and launch their new, improved lives, you've got a side-splitting, joyful comedy that will make you laugh out loud and shout "Hallelujah!"

Cast includes: Melita McAtee, Veronica Prior, Jan Phillips, Laura Vohs, Mary Southon, Gene Storie and Ken Ramsey. Presented by Sam Bass Community Theatre

Dates: September 21, 2012 - October 13, 2012 Times: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 8:00pm, Sundays 2:00pm Sam Bass Community Theatre, 600 N. Lee St., Round Rock (in Memorial Park) $18; $15 seniors, students, educators, military; $15 all Thursday performances Reservations: www.sambasstheatre.org

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Opportunity: City of Round Rock, TX, Seeks Arts and Culture Director, June, 2012

from http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/jobs/ (with a tip of the hat to Ryan Crowder of Penfold Theatre, Round Rock & Austin)

THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK
invites applications for the position of

Arts and Culture Director

An Equal Opportunity Employer

SALARY: Depends on Qualifications  

OPENING DATE: 05/31/12 CLOSING DATE: 06/30/12 05:00 PM 

SUMMARY OF POSITION:

The Executive Director of Arts is responsible for fulfilling the vision and goals of the City of Round Rock Arts and Culture Master Plan (Master Plan), serving the mission and vision of the Round Rock Area Arts and Culture Council (RRAACC), and professionalizing and building the organizational capacity of RRAACC

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES:

In collaboration with the RRAACC Board of Directors and City Grants Administrator, the Executive Director will conduct fundraising activities that support RRAACC and the fulfillment of the Master Plan.

The Executive Director will conduct ongoing long and short-term planning to achieve the elements of the Master Plan and support the mission and vision of RRAACC.

The Executive Director will develop, implement, and maintain community-wide plans and policies that encourage the presence and activities of local artists, arts organizations, and creative industries and promote community-wide arts participation.

The Executive Director is responsible for positioning and communicating Round Rock as a creative class community.

Develop a centralized marketing and communications plan for community-wide arts activities via print and digital platforms.

Act as an advocate and spokesperson for the local cultural community, RRAACC and the City’s cultural activities within applicable local, regional and state circles.

Program Development: The Executive Director will develop a programming strategy for the City and RRAACC, leading to the creation of a comprehensive set of programs to serve local and regional performing and visual artists and arts organizations and advocate for arts and culture within Round Rock and the region.

The Executive Director will be responsible for developing budgets and cash flow forecasts for RRAACC, maintaining the accuracy of the general ledger, completing annual audits, filing required tax reports, and regularly reviewing the financial position and outlook of the organization with the City.

The Executive Director will build the leadership base of RRAACC, starting with the cultivation and management of board leadership and volunteer core in support of RRAACC programs and activities. Additionally, the Executive Director will sit on the RRAACC board and be responsible for coordinating board activities

EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:

A Bachelor’s degree is required and an advanced level degree is preferred.

At least 5 years of arts policy, advocacy, and administrative experience, and a proven record of accomplishment in fundraising and fund development.

Click for additional information at AustinLiveTheatre.com, including required questions; apply on-line at the website

Auditions in Round Rock for An Evening of Austin Playwrights, Sam Bass Community Theatre, May 20-21

AUDITIONS at Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock: "An Evening of Austin Playwrights"
Parts are available for MEN and WOMEN.  Auditions will be held at SBCT Old Depot Stage, 600 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)
Mon. May 7 & Tues. May 8 from 7-9 PM.  Auditions will consist of cold readings from the 5 show plays that will make up the evening.

Upcoming: An Evening of Austin Playwrights, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, May 25 - June 2

in Round Rock

UP NEXT 

at Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock:

 An Evening of Austin Playwrights 

5 short comedies from the creative minds of the playwrights at Loaded Gun Theory. 

May 25, 26, 31 at 8 p.m.; May 27 at 2 p.m.

June 1 and 2 at 8 p.m.

Sam Bass Community Theatre

600 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)

General admission $18, students and seniors $15, Thursdays $13

These riotously funny plays will be directed by Laura Vohs, Valerie Liebersbach, Ashely Zeh, CiCi Barone and Michael Vohs. You won't want to miss these new works by some of Austin's best and brightest. Opens May 25. Performances are May 25, 26, 31 and June 1 & 2 at 8:00 PM and May 27 at 2:00 PM.

Round Rock HS Thespians present Austin Mime Theatre for one night only, Saturday May 5

Round Rock HS Thespians present

for one night only...

Austin Mime Theatre

featuring Michael Lee, Amelia Turner, Kyle Connealy, Melissa Trevino Parga, Joseph Guerra, and Lucas Riley

Saturday May 5th, 2012; 7:30pm

Round Rock HS Black Box Theatre

Tickets: $15 students, $20 adults (cash/check only at the door)

Reservations: ph: 512.636.5914 email:johanna_whitmore@roundrockisd.org

Michael Lee and Austin Mime Theatre are performing in Round Rock in a very special fundraiser which will benefit the RRHS Thespian Troupe’s trip to the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, NE.

Appearing along with Michael Lee will be principals, talented Austin movement artists Amelia Turner, Melissa Trevino Parga and Kyle Connealy (RRHS alumnus), and newcomers Joseph Guerra and Lucas Reilly. The company will perform a repertoire of solo, duet and ensemble pieces, including The Conversation, critiqued by the great French mime Marcel Marceau. 

The repertoire has been developed by artistic director Michael Lee over the past 20 years with his Michigan-based company, Opus Mime. Austin Mime Theatre also has several new pieces to reveal for the first time in the Austin area.

Michael Lee is one of the last and most advanced students of the late French mime, Marcel Marceau, who spoke of his work, “You have a distinct drama and strength...the calibre of my own company.” He also studied for many years under Polish master Stefan Niedzialkowski, as well as with other masters in dance, improvisation, clowning and circus.

Hamlet, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, February 10 - March 3

Why climb a mountain? Because it's there.

Sam Bass Community Theatre in Round Rock is a small, hard working group of friends who know their public and regularly serve up dramatic fare that's been tested and approved in the community kitchens across the country. Those Futrelle sisters of the mythical small town of Fayro, Texas, imagined by the trio of Hope, Jones, and Wooten, for example; or other kinder and more thoughtful staples of middle class dramatic life. The company does a good job on their tiny stage and the familiar faces satisfy and console.

About once a year they stretch. Not a little, but a lot. In 2008 with Romeo and Juliet and in 2010 with Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett's mid-20th century absurdist existentialist masterpiece. In 2011 with Frank Benge's magical steam-punk Tempest Project. This year director Lynn Beaver takes on the Mt. Everest of English-language theatre, the story of the much-wronged and much-haunted prince of a Denmark that never really existed except in imagination.

In the compiled version that has come down to us Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest text, more than4000 lines of unforgettable verse that takes more than four hours to play entire. Just about everyone knows the story. The language, expressions and imagery live deep in the shared culture.

Beaver's version at the Sam Bass plays start to finish in two hours, including an intermission. Key scenes are there but in order to achieve that concision the text has been amputated again and again. Those who know it only vaguely won't be disturbed, for the story remains as strong as ever, but devotees of Shakespeare's language may experience the gaps as disconcerting.

Arts Reporting: Penfold Theatre's Summer Youth Program Goes to Edinburgh in 2013

Feature by Dawn Youngs for www.austin.culturemap.com with interview of program director Patty McMullen, January 26:

ATX TO THE WORLD

Local performance group The Penfold Theater Company set to hit the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

By Dawn Youngs

The Penfold Theater Company, a young and ambitious theater serving North Austin and Round Rock, has been making waves in the Austin community since its formation in 2008. [. . .] Now the theater is launching a new education program, Penfold Players, and it is already going global.

Penfold Players has been selected by the American High School Theater Festival (AHSTF) to present a student production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in August 2013. The invitation is an exciting kick-off to Penfold's “Carpe Aestatem” (Seize the Summer) program, which aims to give high school students a theater travel experience every other summer.

Click to go to Penfold's page on its summer programs for teens

Read full text at www.austin.culturemap.com

Upcoming: Hamlet, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, February 10 - March 3

Received directly:

presents

Hamlet

by William Shakespeare

directed by Lynn S. Beaver

February 10 - March 3, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

Old Stage Depot, 600 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)

Tickets available on-line via the Sam Bass Community Theatre website or by calling (512) 244-0440

Treachery. Madness. Murder. Shakespeare's masterwork Hamlet comes to the Old Depot Stage! Something is rotten in Denmark, a king is dead. His brother, Claudius, has snatched the throne and the widowed queen. Life goes on-for everyone but Hamlet. The prince, fixated on his uncle as the murderer, is charged by his father's ghost to avenge the wrong. Disconnected from the foul world around him, Hamlet strains under the weight of his task. SBCT's production of Shakespeare's disturbing and psychologically rich masterpiece digs into the enigma of a manics mind.

Upcoming: An Evening at Minsky's, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, December 30 and 31

Received directly:

An Evening at Minksy's

Vaudeville with a script by Frank Benge

December 30 and 31, 8 p.m.
Sam Bass Community Theatre, 600 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)

$20 for Friday the 30th; $35 for Saturday, New Year's Eve Click to purchase tickets on-line

Sam Bass Theatre is proud to present our third annual New Year's Eve celebrations now on TWO nights! Written and directed by Frank Benge with some of your favorite Austin area performers. Comics, show girls, magicians, singers and more. It's vaudeville Sam Bass style!


Come ring in your New Year's right at our post-performance Gala Extravaganza on December 31 or come see the special one night early at our Not New Year's Eve Show on December 30 and enjoy holiday refreshments with us at intermission.

Either way you're sure to have a great evening at Sam Bass Theatre!

An Evening at Minksy's
	Dec 30/11 to Dec 31/11 Sam Bass Theatre is proud to present our third annual New Year's Eve celebrations now on TWO nights! Written and directed by Frank Benge with some of your favorite Austin area performers. Comics, show girls, magicians, singers and more. It's vaudeville Sam Bass style! Come ring in your New Year's right at our post-performance Gala Extravaganza on December 31 or come see the special one night early at our Not New Year's Eve Show on December 30 and enjoy holiday refreshments with us at intermission. Either way you're sure to have a great evening at Sam Bass Theatre!

Auditions for Hamlet, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, December 5 and 6

Found on-line:

announces Auditions for Hamlet by William Shakespeare

adapted and directed by Lynn S. Beaver

Auditions December 5 and 6, 7 p.m. at Sam Bass Theatre, 600 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)

Treachery. Madness. Murder. Shakespeare's masterwork Hamlet comes to the Old Depot Stage! Something is rotten in Denmark and a king is dead. His brothe, Claudius has snatched the throne and the widowed queen. Life goes on - for everyone but Hamlet. The prince, fixated on his uncle as the murderer, is charged by his father's ghost to avenge the wrong. Disconnected from the foul world around him, Hamlet strains under the weight of his task. SBCT's production of Shakespeare's disturbing and psychologically rich masterpiece digs into the enigma of a maniac's mind.

Rehearsals January 2 thru February 9, Monday thru Friday - Performances February 10 thru March 3 (14 performances)

Needed are 12 men ages 20 thru 70 and 3 women ages 18 thru 60; there are also non-speaking roles for males and females available.

Upcoming: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, December 2 - 17

Found on-line:

presents

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

based on the award-winning book by Barbara Robinson

directed by Veronica Prior

December 2 - 17, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

Sam Bass Community Theatre, 600 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)

Tickets $13 - $18; click to purchase on-line

Just in time for the holidays comes a wonderful story about the beauty of the season and the true meaning of Christmas...Wrong! When two well-intentioned parents decide to direct the school play, they make the terrible mistake of casting the Herdman kids; probably the most inventively awful kids in history! Chaos and hilarity results as the cast and crew collide with the Christmas story head on!

Upcoming: The Tempest Project, Steam Punk Shakespeare, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, May 20 - June 11

Found on-line:

presents

The Tempest Project

by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by Frank Benge

May 20 - June 11

Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

Sam Bass Community Theatre, 610 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)

General admission $15, Students and Seniors $13, Thursday nights $10

Click to purchase tickets on-line

Betrayed and cast adrift... Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! The sorceress Prospera, rightful Duchess of Milan, and her daughter, Miranda, have been stranded for twelve years on a magical island after Prospera's jealous sister Antonia, aided by Alonso, the King of Naples, deposed her and set her and her daughter adrift. From this remote island Prospera plots to restore her daughter Miranda to her rightful place, using her skills as a sorceress. When she learns that her sister, Antonia, is on an airship passing close by the island, she raises a storm that runs them aground. Antonia and her companions suddenly find themselves in a place unlike anything they have experienced before. The Tempest Project, adapted from William Shakespeare's The Tempest, by Frank Benge, is a steampunk fantasy of love, betrayal and revenge.

Auditions for Godspell, St. Philip's United Methodist Church, Round Rock, March 25 - 26

Found at AustinActors.net:

Auditions for the St Philip’s Community Theater Project’s production of Godspell will be held on Friday, March 25th at 7:30 PM and Saturday, March 26th at 10AM at St Philips United Methodist Church in Round Rock. All roles are currently available. If possible, please come prepared to sing a number from the show for the part for which you wish to audition. Rehearsals will run from March 31st to May 31st.

Performances will be June 2nd through June 5th. For more information, please contact Don Lancaster (694-1445).

Upcoming: A Company of Wayward Saints, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, March 25 - April 9

Received directly:

presents

A Company of Wayward Saints

by George Herman

directed by Veronica Prior

March 25 to April 9

Sam Bass Community Theatre

600 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)

Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., tickets $10-15

Hoping to raise enough money to make their way home, an eccentric troupe of commedia dell'arte actors are commissioned to improvise the History of Man. From the Garden of Eden to the Voyage of Odysseus, these stock characters from the Italian Renaissance maneuver to upstage one another in a battle for the spotlight.

We hope you will come join us on this journey. Come see some of your favorite Sam Bass actors, along with some new faces. We promise it will be an evening of theatre to remember!!

Upcoming: A Simple Murder by Barbara Vance, Friends of the Round Rock Public Library, March 25 - April 3

Info via Penfold Theatre:

Mystery Night at the Round Rock Library:

A Simple Murder

by Barbara Vance

dinner theatre at the library!

March 25 - April 3
Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
Round Rock Public Library
216 Main Street, Round Rock (click for map)
Cost: $18

The exciting mystery play A Simple Murder written by Barbara Vance will be presented during the last weekend in March and the first weekend in April at the Round Rock Public Library. The production is sponsored by the Friends of the Round Rock Public Library.

The play is about an old man and his dysfunctional family. The birthday party may have been mandatory but the murder was optional. Now you have the opportunity to play detective. A murder occurs and you will be asked to solve it. Come and join hands at the pre-performance séance!

Performances and ticket prices are as follows:

* Friday evenings, March 25, April 1 - $18 includes box dinner
* Saturday evenings, March 26, April 2 - $25 includes spaghetti dinner
* Sunday afternoons, March 27, April 3 - $15 includes desserts

Curtain times: 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun.

Chianti available to adults with their spaghetti meal.

Tickets will be available March 1 at the Round Rock Public Library.
For more information, please contact Chip Hadley, (512) 218-7000. Proceeds of this fundraiser will be used to support various programs at the library.

Upcoming: A Marvelous Party, featuring Noel Coward's music, Penfold Theatre at Kindred Oaks, March 24

Found on-line:

A Marvelous Party!

an elegant evening of scenes and songs by Noel Coward
Adapted from the works of Noel Coward
Compiled and directed by Michael McKelvey
Also featuring Andrew Cannata, Sarah Gay, Annika Johansson, and Jill Leberknight

Thursday, March 24, 2011
7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Dress is Cocktail Attire.

The doors open at 6:30 pm and dinner begins at 7:00. The evening concludes at 9:45.
Tickets are $65 per person or $700 for a table of ten. Buy tickets

Get away for a magical evening of music, fine-dining and the sparkling comic imagination of Noel Coward. The grounds at Kindred Oaks provide a beautiful, central Texas backdrop against which guests will enjoy an elegant meal while actors and singers from Austin's vibrant theatre community delight with selections from the Noel Coward canon.

Famous for comedies like Private Lives, Hay Fever and Blithe Spirit, as well as for musical theatre classics like “I Went to a Marvelous Party”, Sir Noel Coward and his work have been enchanting audiences around the globe for nearly 100 years.

Menu
Entrees: Chicken Marbella and Pork Chop with Duxelles Sauce
Sides: Herb Butter Fettuccini, Roasted Vegetable Medley
Salad: Arugula Salad with Roasted Red Grapes & Shaved Pecorino with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette
Bread: Cracked Pepper & Rosemary Focaccia
Drinks: Sweet Orange Iced Tea/Unsweet Iced Tea/Coffee*
Desserts: Chocolate Amaretto & Walnut Brownie, Stuffed Strawberries, and Cheesecake Bites
* The bar will offer complimentary beer and wine. Donations accepted.

The night will also include live and silent auctions. Proceeds support Penfold Theatre Company's 2011-12 season and its ongoing efforts to open a new performance venue in Round Rock.

For more information, or to reserve a table of ten, please contact us at (512) 850-4849 or email info@penfoldtheatre.org.

Kindred Oaks (Map it)
2100 C.R. 176
Georgetown, TX 78628

Free parking is available on site. All areas are wheelchair accessible.

Visit the Kindred Oaks website.

Upcoming: Round Rock's Public Sessions on Strategic Plan for Arts & Culture, January 20

From the website of the City of Round Rock:

Arts and culture community discussion sessions

January 20, 7 a.m. - 9 a.m., noon - 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

McConico Building Community Room

January 20, 7 a.m. - 9 a.m., noon - 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

301 W. Bagdad Avenue, Round Rock, Texas 78664 (Map)

The City of Round Rock invites you to coffee and conversation to discuss your thoughts on arts and culture. This will be the first in a series of three public workshops as the City embarks on a strategic plan and implementation guide to support the arts.

There will be three get togethers on Jan. 20: a morning session from 7 to 9 a.m., afternoon from noon to 2 p.m. and evening from 5 to 7 p.m.

A flourishing artistic and cultural environment enhances the quality of life for residents and has proven to be an effective economic development tool for communities across the country. In short, success and rapid growth has in some ways created a cultural gap that needs to be filled in Round Rock. Filling this gap will help retain and attract residents, a competitive workforce, and ensure that Round Rock is a destination of choice. With your input we believe the initiatives that evolve out of the plan can lead to outcomes that promote civic pride, differentiate the city within the region, and play an important role in sustainable economic development through the power of the arts.

New York City-based H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, LLC, and Webb Management Services, Inc., have been retained by the City to complete the study. Both are nationally recognized firms in providing cultural programming, research, planning, design, and fundraising initiatives for public and private sector clients. H3 was recently named one of the top five design firms for cultural facilities by New York Construction Magazine.

For more information, please contact Nancy Yawn at (512) 218-7094.

Upcoming: Going with Jenny, Penfold Theatre, Round Rock, January 14 - 30

Found on-line:

Penfold Theatre presents

Going with Jenny

By Thomas and Sherry Jo Ward
Directed by Ryan Crowder
Regional premiere

January 14-30, Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3 p.m.

Round Rock Public Library Complex (Map it), 216 E. Main Street, Round Rock, TX 78664

A special Chocolate & Champaign Reception will be held opening night after the show.
A special Saturday matinee at 3pm on January 29th.

Free parking is available on the street and in adjacent lots.

Ever wish you could read your spouse's mind? Join us as we eavesdrop on the secret thoughts of a young married couple on the brink. While sharing their sometimes laugh-at-loud inner monologues, this Mr. and Mrs. grapple with deep-rooted anxiety over domestic life, fleeting youth, regrets, fidelity, and the captivating notion that a person’s entire life-course can hinge on one hasty decision.

This production will be the second time Going with Jenny has been produced anywhere. Playwrights Thomas and Sherry Jo Ward of Baylor University are collaborating with the rest of the artistic team to re-imagine parts of the story. Penfold is honored to support this dynamic writing couple on an exciting new work!

Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Family rating: PG-13

"An ingeniously structured comedy."
-The Sunday Paper (Atlanta)

"Going with Jenny is a sweet play that draws honesty and truth from real life. The Wards are writers to watch."
-Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tickets go on sale this winter. For more information, call (512) 850-4849 info@penfoldtheatre.org.

Patrick Kniseley Profiles New Arts Venues in Round Rock

Found on-line: Patrick Kniseley's feature at Austinist.com about Penfold Theatre and improv locale The Lair, both opening soon to complement Round Rock's long running venture the Sam Bass Community Theatre:

What's Up With Round Rock Arts?

{. . . ][T]hings may be changing in Austin's neighbor to the north, Round Rock.

In 2000, according to the census, there were slightly more than 60,000 people in Round Rock. Today the city estimates just under 100,000 residents. With this kind of population growth one can expect to see industries and communities of all kinds flourish, and that includes the arts. Round Rock has been home to the Sam Bass Community Theater since the early 1980s, but outside of that venue, there hasn't been much in the way of live theater in Round Rock.

That starts changing today, however. The Lair, founded by improv enthusiast Alex Gray, opens its doors tonight at I-35 and Gattis School Road. And what's more, Penfold Theatre Company is getting ready to launch a second Round Rock-based theater within the year. Austinist caught up with some of our neighbors to the north to find out—what's going on up in Round Rock?

So why are the people at The Lair and Penfold Theatre Company interested in doing theater in Round Rock instead of Austin? According to Penfold's Ryan Crowder, "There's a window here. There's a hole."

Read full text at Austinist.com . . . .