The Flair of Sam Bass: The Tempest Project, May 20 - June 11

How much magic can you pack into the box?

The Sam Bass Community Theatre has seats for 52 in that modest structure on Lee Street in Round Rock, north of Austin. The building once served as the Union Pacific depot in town, and one assumes that there wasn't need to serve a lot of passengers. So this theatre can entertain a maximum of just a few more than 200 persons during each week, or about 800 during the course of the usual run. That will be the equivalent of two nights' capacity at the Zach's new Topfer Theatre, or just about 2½ nights at Travis High School performing arts center, where The Mikado has been playing.

Writing recently about the current remarkable season of Shakespeare in Austin, I called the Sam Bass "the little theatre that could," echoing the children's book about the little engine that huffed and puffed and made it to the very tip top of the mountain.Frank Benge's steam punk adaptation of The Tempest ran from May 20 to June 11. It was a triumph of concept and design, bringing into focus the astonishing talent on display at this modest but long-running theatre.

[image: Susan Poe Dickson as Prospera, by Kevin Scholtes]

Click to read more and view additional images at AustinLiveTheatre.com

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 a Steampunk Tempest, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, April 4 & 5

Found on-line:

Casting Call for

The Tempest Project






Sam Bass Theatre is casting for The Tempest Project, a steampunk fantasy based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest, adapted and directed by Frank Benge.

Auditions are April 4th and 5th, from 8-10 PM, at Sam Bass Theatre, 600 N. Lee Street, in Memorial Park, in Round Rock. Lee Street runs behind the Shell station at the intersection of IH-35 and 620.

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script.
Female roles are available for ages 16-60.
Male roles are available for ages 19-60.
Female roles will be handling Shakespearean language. Male roles have been translated into contemporary English.
Female roles include: Prospera, Calibra, Ariel, Miranda and the 3 goddesses/spirits: Iris, Ceres and Juno.
Male roles include: Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzolo, Adrian, Francisco, Trinculo, Stephano, Boatswain, Ship Master.

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction. Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy.

Performances will be at Sam Bass Theatre May 20 - June 11, 2011.