Illuminate! Video: Vortex Rep's Kickstarter Appeal: $25k for a New Lighting System

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Austin's Vortex Repertory Theatre, Artistic Director Bonnie Cullum, Lighting Director Jason Amato and Stage Manager Tamara L. Farley appeal for $25,000 contributions via Kickstarter to fund a new lighting system by February 15 (5 min.) and share 15 minutes of "happy birthday" wishes, a selfie-video compendium of supporters from Austin, across the country and around the world.

Click Vortex sign or Kickstarter logo to go to the Kickstarter page for info and to contribute (deadline: February 15, or it all goes away).

Open Auditions at the Vortex Repertory, Austin, December 8, 2013

Announced via the weekly e-mail blast:

VORTEX Open Auditions
Sunday, December 8, 1 pm
Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd. - click for map

We want you – to audition! We are looking for males and females of all ages and ethnicities to fill several roles in our upcoming season. Please contact vortex@vortexrep.org for a time slot.

Stars and Barmen by Reina Hardy, Vortex Repertory, October 26 - November 16, 2013

(www.vortexrep.org)

by Michael Meigs

I was in the mood for a a feel-good experience on Halloween, something without fangs or fishnets or pumpkins, and the Vortex's blurb 'a romantic comedy about getting lucky in space time' enticed me to their staging of Reina Hardy's script. She is semi-local, after all, as a Michener Fellow at the University of Texas, and the Shrewds staged her piece Glassheart not too long ago.

The Vortex, bless Bonnie's heart, has succeeded in transforming itself from a make-do neighborhood theatre to a social center. The Butterfly Bar appears to keep the place hopping most nights of the week, and there were plenty of folks there for the BYOP pumpkin-carving contest later on. Only twelve of us elected to go to the play that Thursday evening.

Trey Deason (photo: Kimberley Mead)

In the enigmatically titled Stars and Barmen Trey Deason plays Rupert, a grad student in astronomy so hapless and clumsy that his only intimate companion is the computer program scanning the skies for anomalies -- not the big, blow-out anomalies, but others more modest, perhaps closer to his level of ability. The playwright's not particularly kind to him, setting him up in the opening scene as a lonely party crasher who fails miserably three times in a row to initiate conversations with unseen women. Deason, himself a capable playwright, singer and thespian, swallows the bait and director Rudy Ramirez's instruction, and he turns Rupert into such a mass of inferiority complexes and tics that he's ridiculous and almost painful to watch.


Rupert encounters Bridget Farr as the dreamily disappointed Claire, a self-pronounced poet who's trying to avoid someone at the party. He thinks he's getting through to her in his ungainly way, but that computer program Mandy interrupts via telephone, yanking his chain and obliging him to leave to attend to his late night duties in the lab. He forgets to ask for Claire's number or to get some way to contact her again.

Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

One Night Only: Jade Esteban Estrada in Mike Daisy's The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, Vortex Repertory, October 16, 2013

The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs

Jade Esteban Estrada (photo: Sherry Wehner)

by Mike Daisey
Performed by Jade Esteban Estrada
Wednesday, October 16, 2013 ONLY, 8 p.m.
at The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722 - click for map
Free Parking. Bus Route.
The Butterfly Bar@The VORTEX--open nightly at 5pm
Tickets: $30-$10; $30 Priority Seating; $20 General Admission; $10 Artists/Students/Seniors
Available at www.vortexrep.org or 512-478-5282; Advance Purchase Recommended.
Jade Esteban Estrada of San Antonio delivers Mike Daisey's razor-sharp wit on America's most mysterious technology icon in this hilarious and harrowing tale of pride, beauty, lust, and industrial design. He illuminates how the former CEO of Apple and his obsessions shape our lives, while following the trail all the way to China to investigate the factories where millions toil to make iPhones and iPods. Daisey's journey shines a light on our love affair with our devices and the human cost of creating them.
San Antonio Reviews:

“A masterful performance...Jade Esteban Estrada knows how to draw in an audience and hold them in the palm of his hand.” - Deborah Martin, San Antonio Express-News
“Jade Esteban Estrada knows how to fill a stage all by himself.” - Scott Andrews, San Antonio Current
“Estrada's performance is one of the best I've ever seen.” - Mike Bostic, Rackspace Open Cloud Academy
“Spectacular!” - Chris Duel, Talk Now SA

Click to go to AustinLiveTheatre.com for information about San Antonio's Jade Esteban Estrada

Theatre Bars in Austin -- an essay by Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle

Robert Faires looks at selling alcohol at the Vortex Repertory, the Zach Theatre and Fusebox Festival







Drama & Tonic

Why Austin theatres are adding mixed drinks to the mix, offstage and on


By Robert Faires, Fri., July 5, 2013

"What'll you have?"


Used to be a simple enough question to answer at a local playhouse – I mean, if you had a thirst for an adult beverage, what were your options besides a can of Lone Star or whatever jug wine was cheapest at H-E-B that week? Now, though, you look behind the bar – not a concessions counter but a bona fide bar – and you face a range of lagers, ales, and varietals, and what's that lining the shelves with them? Liquor? Sure enough, enough vodkas and gins and bourbons and tequilas to drown the cast of Cats. Maybe you'd write this off as just another sign of the ritzification of Austin – the ousting of the cheap and casual (Pearl, Liberty Lunch) for the pricey and hipsterish (craft cocktails, SoCo) – but you're at one of the established indie theatres on the Eastside.

In March, the Vortex – yes, the home to all those ritual-theatre spectacles and homegrown musicals about fairy-tale heroines, goddesses, and elementals – obtained a liquor license for its in-house lounge, the Butterfly Bar, and now you can sip a mojito or martini with your next cyberopera. Theatre founder and Producing Artistic Director Bonnie Cullum has been working toward this for several years, steadily upgrading what was originally a bare-bones lobby area into a cozy venue for enjoying libations. The idea was to create a place where patrons might arrive early enough to have a few drinks before the show or stick around afterward instead of going somewhere else. If they liked it well enough, they might even show up on nights when there wasn't a play, just to wet their whistle. "Through the years, the challenge when people finish the show is always 'Where are we gonna go now?'" says Cullum. "If they could stay here, and the actors and audience could intersect and be able to talk about the show, and some of the people come in from Salvage Vanguard and some of the restaurants on Manor Road when they close, plus the neighbors, then it starts to be this great cross-section of people."

The plan appears to be working. Cullum reports a steady increase in business over the past year, such that the Butterfly now sees action all week long. "We're looking at this year's budget being double what it was two years ago, and that's primarily because of the bar," she says. "Now we have a barback every night, because it's that busy."


And with the bar part of the theatre, when the bar does well, so does the Vortex. "It's not like we're making a ton of money [from the bar]," Cullum allows, "but if it's enough to help support the infrastructure and pay the bills, then the overhead on the building doesn't have to come out of the box-office revenue."

Read more at the Austin Chronicle. . . .

Ethos/Vortex Rep Auditions of Male Singers for Retrospective, July 7, 2013

2703 Manor Rd.

*AUDITION NOTICE*

ethos seeks male performers of any ethnicity or age to sing several featured roles in CyberFest. Must be a singer. CyberFest is a retrospective of ethos work from 1995-present, directed by Bonnie Cullum. 

By appointment on Sunday, July 7thTo sign up for an audition slot, please contact: Bonnie Cullum at vortex@vortexrep.org or 512-478-5282.

Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd. - click for map

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

īnspīrō Fest, B Tru Arts at the Vortex Repertory, June 1, 2013

Free admission -- donations gratefully accepted!

Īnspīrō Fest, a communal artistic festival on June 1 will be created to bring together and promote local multicultural artists in an exciting and enlightening collection of live music, dance, theatre, and an eclectic variety of other artistic performances. B*TRU ARTS is proudly working in conjunction with several local businesses to showcase their unique products while providing great food and a host of interactive activities in a spirited and electrifying atmosphere supporting Austin’s undiscovered ethnic talent.
Events will include musical performances by Meagan Jacobsen and Hillie Lyman, 5 original short plays written and performed by local artists, a variety of exhilarating dance performances, stand-up comedy, beat-boxing, and a special performance by the groundbreaking, genre-defying artist ExStus. The festival will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2013 at The Vortex 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722 from 1pm-7pm and will be emceed by local beatbox talent Michael “The Maestro” Matson. Tickets are currently available through http://www.btruarts.com/ for a discounted price of $10.

a communal artistic festival

Festival Schedule ​
1:00 pm-7:00 pm​
​Intro - Emcee Maestro
​
 1​:00 pm
"UkuleleMagic"
performed by Hillie Lyman
​​
2:00 pm
EL VENDEDOR​, a ten minute play​
written & directed by​ Sean Whelton

Brief Synopsis: With a play minutes away from its official premiere, cast members battle their nerves while gradually realizing there may be an ulterior motive for the production.​​

​CAST

SAM: Derrick Bryant MARTY: Aaron Walther

SALLY: Carley Marrissa DIRECTOR: Mick D'arcy

​ STAGE MANAGER: Tiffany Richardson​
​
​​"Opa Cabana: A Blended Vintage Belly Dance Revue"
performed by Emerald Mystiek​
​​​​
2:30 pm
​ALONE IN THE PARK, a ten minute play​
 ​by Aisha Melhem​ & directed by Mick D'arcy
​​CAST​

​YOUNG MAN/INNER VOICE:Derrick Bryant

LADY BUG/ACORN/TREE: Gareth White

BUM: Kirk Kelso

​
​​​​​​”A One Man Bit” (interactive stand-up)​
performed by Aaron Walther
​​
​3:00 pm
ONE MAN'S TRASH, a ten minute play​
by Will Johnson & directed by Aisha Melhem
​Brief Synopsis: One Man's Trash is a short play in which a man finds his voice amidst all of his objects. Phillip, the main character is filmed and interviewed for the t.v. series, One Man's Trash, as he brings the audience deep into the heart of his obsession of collecting. The interviewer is followed by the camera guy through a house full of past-remnant things kept alive by a man who claims he's ready to let go of it all.

​CAST​

​ INTERVIEWER: Chanise Littlefield PHIL: Justin LaVergne

​​​​​​CAMERA GUY: George Ray ​


​​​"S​ingularity"​
dance performed by Phillip KidFury Wainwright & Talaessa Bice
​​
​​3:30 pm
​LOVE IS A KNIFE FIGHT, a ten minute play
 ​by Daniel Hershberger & directed by Justin LaVergne
​CAST

 FRANKIE: Aaron Walther CREEPY GUY: TBD

LOU: Kirk Kelso NICE GUY: Dashiell Johnson

SATIN: Daria Jansen
​​
"Definition of My Heart":Excruciatingly vindictive against the persona of privileges pertaining to decorum...
dances performed by Erickque & company @@gotta see it to believe it@@

​4:00 PM 
 
THE GIRL WHO WAS TOO FAT​, a ten minute play
by Aisha Melhem​​ & directed by Rudy Ramirez
​CAST

GIRL: Natalie Rivera

CAT: Hayley Armstrong

 TIMMY: John Lopez

​
Spokenword
performed by Poet Selah Vie​ from EXSE SPOKENWORD on Channel Austin​
​
​dance performed by Precious Jewel (DGMM)

Boogie Bones' Popping Showcase
performed by Robbie Pryor

 "MEGANOKE"​
performed by Meagan Jacobsen
Meagan Jacobsen (Meganoke) is an accomplished Austin based artist, writer, songstress & speaker. With 2 books and 2 albums under her belt, she is no stranger to collaboration, creation & hard work. These days you can find Meagan dancing Argentine Tango, singing, speaking at events & creating fun new projects with other innovative artists across her home planet.​ Visit (www.Cloudsofsky.com) for more info.​
​​​
6 pm-7 pm 
 
Transglobal Electronic Music
performed by ExStus
Exstus is on a mission: To spread a message of dance, spirituality and unity through the creation of innovative transglobal electronic music. Lush sonic textures and phat beats coexist with elements of traditional Middle Eastern, Indian, & Latin music. He combines all of this with live virtuosic jazz & gypsy/spanish guitar in the context of uplifting, ultra-modern, all-original songs.


(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

SPEAK, Uprise! Productions at the Vortex Repertory, April 25 - 27, 2013

(









Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd.) presents

SPEAK
 

Apr.25–27, 2013 @ 8pm | Three Nights Only. Thursday-Saturday 

---

 

Back by popular demand, SPEAK is a multi-hued landscape of rhythmic American poetry, written and performed by Xenogia Spoken Word Collective: Zell Miller III (award-winning poet, playwright, and performer), DaShade Moonbeam (recently opened for “The God EMCEE” RAKIM), LaLove Robinson(creator and producer of SpitFest), Enrique Cabrera, and Ebony Stewart (nationally recognized slam poetry champion). Audiences packed the house for this powerful show in February, and it now returns to The VORTEX for three nights only!!
Fused with the energy of Hip-hop culture and Jazz aesthetic movement, some of Austin’s best spoken word and hip-hop theater artists unite their voices as they question what it’s like to be people of color in this America and how to hold on to our humanity. So please, open your hearts as Xenogia offers a kaleidoscope of “SPEAK” on homophobia, racism, sexism, and classism.
Tickets: $10 - $30
$30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
2-for-1 admission on Thursday only with donation of 2 canned goods for SafePlace.
Limited seating. Advanced Purchase Recommended.
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

THE CHIMPONAUTS AND THE MECHANICAL PHANTON by Melissa Vogt-Patterson, Electronic Planet Ensemble at the Vortex Repertory, May 3 - 18, 2013

 [performing at the Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd. -- click for map]

 presents the world premiere of





The Chimponauts and the Mechanical Phantom

May 3-18, 2013 8pm - 3 Weeks only!

at the VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722
Free Parking. Bus Route -- The Butterfly Bar @ The VORTEX open nightly at 5 pm

Tickets: $30-$10 - $30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists

Available at www.vortexrep.org or call 512-478-5282. Limited seating. Advanced Purchase Recommended.

2-for-1 admission on Thursdays and Sundays with donation of 2 canned goods for SafePlace.

Blast into the future with the Chimponauts as humanity’s only hope for survival takes one giant step into a crowded universe. Using giant live action puppetry, movement, video and their signature electronic sound, EPE takes us on another multimedia sci-fi adventure.

Electronic Planet Ensemble, known for its outrageous Sci-Fi, B-Movie Spoofs, takes their work to a whole new level with enormous Chimp puppets worn and manipulated by Justin LaVergne and Olivia Warner. Melissa Vogt-Patterson wrote and directed the story. Sergio R. Samayoa and Chad Salvata created original music. Samayoa also created the video component for the show. Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon. Lighting Design by Patrick Anthony. Chimponauts by Olivia Warner, Ann Marie Gordon, and Justin LaVergne.

This project is funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company and by the City of Austin through the Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office/Cultural Arts Division, believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin’s future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

EARTH, conceived by Bonnie Cullum, Vortex Repertory, March 22 - April 20, 2013

(Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd.)
presents

Earth

Conceived and Directed by Bonnie Cullum. Original Music by Chad Salvata and Chris Humprey

March 22 - April 20, 2013

Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd., Thursdays - Sundays, 8 p.m.

VORTEX Repertory Company presents the world premiere of EARTH, a new multi-disciplinary show performed in a mountain of dirt. The audience surrounds an actual mound of moist earth that engages the senses as performers sing, dance, play, and tell stories of the Earth from diverse global mythologies.

Conceived and directed by Bonnie Cullum, EARTH is the next in VORTEX’s The Elementals, a series of devised works with sacred intention. As we embrace the power and magic of the elemental forces of Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit, we intertwine ritual and environmental action with our theatrical art.

Tickets:

$30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists

2-for-1 admission on Thursdays and Sundays with donation of 2 canned goods for SafePlace.

ASL Interpreted April 5


EARTH features a stellar cast of VORTEX Repertory Company members-- Mick D’arcy, Anderson Dear, Gabriel Maldonado, Betsy McCann, Emerald Mystiek, Mindy Rast-Keenan, and Melissa Vogt-Patterson with the VORTEX debut of Aisha Melhem.

Conceived and Directed by Bonnie Cullum. 

Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon. Lighting Design by Jason Amato. Costume Design by Talena Martinez. Choreography by Toni Bravo. Original Music by Chad Salvata and Chris Humphrey. Stage Management by Tamara L. Farley. Production photography by Kimberley Mead.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Bonnie Cullum Tells Wayne Alan Brenner The Story of the Butterfly Bar at the Vortex Repertory, Austin Chronicle, January 11, 2013

The Bullet Hole in the Butterfly Bar
This East Austin joint's a good story you could be part of
by Wayne Alan Brenner, 11:00AM, Fri. Jan. 11

There's a bullet hole and there's a story that goes with the bullet hole, and Bonnie Cullum – artistic director of Vortex Repertory Company, owner of the multipurpose Vortex compound near where Chestnut Avenue intersects the restaurant-studded stretch of Manor Road – Bonnie Cullum is telling me that story.


"It happened in the Seventies," she says. "This bar was at The Landing on San Antonio's Riverwalk. And the story goes, there was a cat burglar who kept coming and breaking the pane of glass, opening the door and coming in and taking all the money out of the cigarette machine. So they hired a private security dude, because they were going to be closed over Christmas, and they thought it would happen again. And the security dude looked remarkably like Santa: Big fat guy, white beard, white hair. And nothing's going down, so he takes a little nap on the bandstand. And here comes the cat burglar, he's breaking into the cigarette machine, and Santa stands up, says 'Hold it right there!' – and he's got a gun. The burglar starts to run and Santa fires the gun towards the ceiling. It's a cement ceiling, and the bullet ricochets off that and goes through the bar and slices off the beer tap. The cat burglar's fainted from hearing the loud bang, he's out cold on the floor, the beer is hitting the ceiling and splashing down, and the burglar wakes up and there's Santa Claus staring down at him, holding a gun, and the beer's pouring down all over him."


That's the story – the story of the bullet hole in the bar at the Butterfly Bar, the Eastside watering hole attached to the Vortex theatre. But the Butterfly Bar has its own story, too – a much more recent one, a story that's still evolving, and we'll get to that soon enough. Right now, let's look at the bar, the impressive artifact itself. The joint's had this gorgeous wooden bar for a while – it used to belong to Cullum's father, renowned San Antonio jazz man Jim Cullum.

Read more at the Austin Chronicle on-line . . . .

Upcoming: Elizabeth, Heart of A King by Lorella Loftus, Vortex Repertory, January 11 - 26

Elizabeth: Heart of a King

by Lorella Loftus

Presented by Vortex Repertory Company at The VORTEX
January 11 - January 26, 2013

Tickets: $30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
2-for-1 admission on Thursdays and Sundays with donation of 2 canned goods for SafePlace.
Limited seating. Advanced purchase recommended.

Info Phone: 512-478-LAVA(5282) Buy Tickets

Queen Elizabeth I was one of the most luminous, fascinating, and formidable women in history. Experience her as she has never been seen before in Elizabeth: Heart of a King. This new play by Lorella Loftus explores the formative times in her life as a young woman and the main events of her life as a queen and as an icon. Three different women play Elizabeth at different stages of her life-- a lone woman struggling to retain her political and personal power in a male-dominated world. A woman of contradictions, Elizabeth was brave and vulnerable, intelligent and ambivalent, flirtatious and icy, and very human. Other historical characters played by the ensemble include Henry VIII, Thomas Seymour, Robert Dudley, William Cecil, Mary I, and Mary Queen of Scots.
(Click to return to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

The Elementals: Water by Bonnie Cullum and Chad Salvata, choreography by Tony Bravo, Vortex Repertory, August 31 - September 30

(image: Kimberley Mead)

by Dr. David Glen Robinson

I bought my ticket and sat in the outside coffee bar, The Butterfly Bar, at the Vortex before seating was called. Late summer concerns seemed to run forcefully to West Nile virus in Texas, as every mode of mosquito repulsion was in full application on the deck as the Saturday night crowd assembled.

Inside, these cares buzzed away forever with the first glimpse of the set. Upstage center a waterfall fell like liquid plate glass, perhaps twelve feet high. It sparkled and splashed continuously throughout the show, flowing into a shallow oval pool, which took up the rest of the stage. The dancing took place in this water, of course -- how could we expect anything less? The set credit goes to Ann Marie Gordon, with Kenneth Gall as Water Master. Jason Amato’s lights played off the waterfall, danced in the pool and bubbled through agitated water globes fixed to the ceiling. The variety of his lighting sets through the show seemed without limit and formed a masterfully imaginative set of designs in light.

And imagination is a keyword for the entire show. It began with two figures suspended in nets before the sheet of water and above the pool. They were motionless, restrained figures in containers. The image from anywhere in the theatre was one of fetuses afloat in the oceanic water of the womb. This tableau was set before a sonic background of trance-hypno-type music, and after a few minutes I definitely felt that I was in a trance. The music credit was given to Chad Salvata. Salvata is an almost shamefully under-recognized leader in composing and arranging in Austin theatre. His choices are quite often unusual and unexpected, but they almost always serve the total production. His work in Water was surefooted and flawless.

Read more and see additional images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: As The World Warms, Heather Woodbury, in 6 parts, October 19 - November 11

AS THE WORLD WARMS by Heather Woodbury, Vortex Repertory, October 19 - November 11

Click for Vortex Listing

The VORTEX presents the world premiere of Heather Woodbury’s

As the Globe Warms

a new American soap opera in six parts

Heather Woodbury (via Vortex Repertory)

Written and Performed by Heather Woodbury | Directed by Michael Yawney

Oct.19 -Nov.11, 2012 8pm (6 Parts)

Endangered frogs, whirling dervishes, desperate scientists, and Evangelicals gone wild--all the inhabitants of Vane Springs, Nevada-- live out the soap opera of everyday life through the extraordinary headlines of our times.

The VORTEX proudly presents the World Premiere of OBIE Award and Spalding Gray Award winner Heather Woodbury’s astonishing new one-woman, million-species, comic epic that explores what it is like to survive in America today, on a planet edging toward climate crisis.

This new epic solo performance is presented in six evenings of theatre that can be enjoyed separately, but together form a complex, funny, and moving continuing saga.

Part 1 (Episodes 1&2): Oct.19 (Fri), Oct.31 (Wed)
Part 2 (Episodes 3&4): Oct.20 (Sat), Nov.01 (Thu), Nov.02 (Fri)
Part 3 (Episodes 5&6): Oct.21 (Sun), Nov.03 (Sat), Nov.04 (Sun)
Part 4 (Episodes 7&8): Oct.24 (Wed), Oct.25 (Thu), Nov.07 (Wed)
Part 5 (Episodes 9&10): Oct.26 (Fri), Nov.08 (Thu), Nov.09 (Fri)
Part 6 (Episodes 11&12): Oct.27 (Sat), Oct.28 (Sun), Nov.10 (Sat), Nov.11 (Sun)

Tickets: $30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
Limited Seating. Advanced Purchase Recommended.

6 Night VIP Passes (Purchase by 10/15): $125 Gold Priority Pass or $75 Silver General Admission Pass. Available only through The VORTEX Box Office at 512-478-5282. For advanced purchase only by 10/15. Pass-holders must RESERVE tickets for all 6 nights.

As the Globe Warms follows Lorelei Ray, the home-schooled daughter of a Pentecostal preacher who finds herself mysteriously “speaking in the tongues” of endangered animals and sharing these possessions on-line with a growing following of Evangelical youth. When handsome herpetologist Reed Ferris arrives in her small town, determined to try to save the local “Butterscotch frog” from extinction, an unlikely friendship forms, creating far-reaching consequences for the people and creatures of Vane Springs, Nevada. In the mix are Tea Party zealots, closeted gay evangelicals, a working class family on the brink of extinction, and eyewitness reports from whales, polar bears, bees, bats and frogs.

Heather Woodbury is a theater artist known for her “highly addictive theatre” (Austin Chronicle) -- sprawling works that combine the seductions of cable TV serials with the high-wire immediacy of live, solo storytelling.

The VORTEX first presented her 8-act solo play What Ever: An American Odyssey nearly 15 years ago. Originally performed weekly in the back of a New York City bar, What Ever became a breakaway hit in Austin and went on to tour widely from Chicago’s Steppenwolf to London’s Royal Festival Hall. It was broadcast as a radio-play hosted by Ira Glass and received numerous awards including the Austin Critics’ Table Award for Outstanding Touring show. She has returned repeatedly to The VORTEX to perform for her one-woman feats for a growing “cult of hard-core devotees” (Austin Chronicle, 1997). 

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Water, Vortex Repertory, September 1 - 29

The Elementals: Water by Bonnie Cullum & Chad Salvata

September 1 - 29, Thursdays - Sundays at 8 p.m.

Click for additional information

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Call for Summer Volunteers at the Vortex Repertory

Received directly:

VOLUNTEER at The VORTEX!

The VORTEX needs volunteers immediately and for the rest of the summer to help with all aspects of the theatre. If you have time and want to help our home for arts thrive, please consider volunteering for a few days ---or even just a few hours. Flexible hours--mornings, afternoons, evenings, weekends, whenever you are free!! We need help with landscaping, scenic construction, front of house, graphic design, cleaning, organization, repairs, renovations, painting, and more. Please contact vortex@vortexrep.org if you would like to volunteer at The VORTEX. Sincerely, The VORTEX
2307 Manor Rd Austin, Texas 78722 (click for map) JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Upcoming: Water (the elementals series), Vortex Repertory, September 1 - 29

Vortex Repertory Company

presents the world premier of

  

WATER

Get Ready to Be Wet!

September 1-29, 2012 Thursdasy-Sundays 8 pm
The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722 (click for map)

Tickets: $30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
Available at www.vortexrep.org or call 512-478-5282

Limited seating. Advanced Purchase Recommended.

Free Parking. Bus Route. The Butterfly Bar @ The VORTEX (open nightly at 5pm)

[image posted on Facebook by Vortex Repertory]

Splash Zone!

WATER is next in The Elementals series that Bonnie Cullum has been crafting with VORTEX Repertory Company for several years (AIR and FIRE). In September, VORTEX artists flood the stage with actual water and shimmering effects. The actors dance through water-- swimming the depths, relishing life force, honoring Water in many forms, and engaging the audience in a visceral journey of cleansing, healing, and heart. Devised in collaboration with the ensemble and designers and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, WATER teams Cullum with long-time collaborator Toni Bravo to create a show unlike anything ever seen at The VORTEX.

WATER features a stellar cast of ShapeShifters including VORTEX veterans Andy Agne, Anderson Dear, Krysta Gonzales, Gabriel Maldonado, Chelsea Manasseri, Betsy McCann, Emerald Mystiek, Minerva Villa, and Joanna Wright with the VORTEX debuts of Rebecca Goldstein, Monza Lui, and Caleb Perkins.

Conceived and Directed by Bonnie Cullum. Choreography by Toni Bravo. Original Music by Chad Salvata. Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon. Lighting Design by Jason Amato. Costume Design by Talena Martinez. Stage Management by Tamara L. Farley. Photography by Kimberley Mead.

WATER is funded and supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin's future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

Vortex Repertory Company announces

the world premier of

WATER

Get Ready to Be Wet!

When: September 1-29, 2012 Thursday-Sunday 8pm

Where: The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722

Free Parking. Bus Route.

The Butterfly Bar @ The VORTEX (open nightly at 5pm)

Tickets: $30-$10

$30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists

Available at www.vortexrep.org or call 512-478-5282

Limited seating. Advanced Purchase Recommended.

Splash Zone!

WATER is next in The Elementals series that Bonnie Cullum has been crafting with VORTEX Repertory Company for several years (AIR and FIRE). In September, VORTEX artists flood the stage with actual water and shimmering effects. The actors dance through water-- swimming the depths, relishing life force, honoring Water in many forms, and engaging the audience in a visceral journey of cleansing, healing, and heart. Devised in collaboration with the ensemble and designers and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, WATER teams Cullum with long-time collaborator Toni Bravo to create a show unlike anything ever seen at The VORTEX.

WATER features a stellar cast of ShapeShifters including VORTEX veterans Andy Agne, Anderson Dear, Krysta Gonzales, Gabriel Maldonado, Chelsea Manasseri, Betsy McCann, Emerald Mystiek, Minerva Villa, and Joanna Wright with the VORTEX debuts of Rebecca Goldstein, Monza Lui, and Caleb Perkins.

Conceived and Directed by Bonnie Cullum. Choreography by Toni Bravo. Original Music by Chad Salvata. Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon. Lighting Design by Jason Amato. Costume Design by Talena Martinez. Stage Management by Tamara L. Farley. Photography by Kimberley Mead.

WATER is funded and supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin's future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

Upcoming: SIng, Muse, Vortex Repertory, August 3 - 11

VORTEX Repertory Company

presents

Sing Muse

A devised ensemble work by VORTEX Repertory Company

Conceived and directed by Rudy Ramirez

August 3-11, 2012 Two Weeks Only!
There will be a talkback session after every performance for the audience to have a conversation with the artists who created the piece.

at The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722 (click for map) Free Parking. Bus Route.
The Butterfly Bar@The VORTEX--open nightly at 5pm

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE!
Tickets: $30-$10
Sliding Scale: $30-$25 Priority Seating,
$15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
Available at www.vortexrep.org or call 512-478-5282.
Limited seating.

Sing Muse draws on the classical art forms of poetry, theatre, music, dance, history, and astronomy to bring a long-forgotten myth to the VORTEX stage for two weeks only.

Few remember Thamyris, the once-legendary poet of Ancient Greece who was the first man to fall in love with another man. But the Muses remember. Thamyris claimed he could make art superior to the Muses’ and failed. After defeating him, they sentenced him to an eternity in Hell. However, eternity is a long time, and now The Muses will give Thamyris one last chance to redeem himself. Together they tell a story about searching for the one thing more elusive than love: inspiration.

This production of Sing Muse is the initial phase of its artistic development. VORTEX welcomes audience response in order to assist in the future revision and production of this piece for VORTEX’s upcoming 25th season. There will be a talkback session after every performance for the audience to have a conversation with the artists who created the piece.


VORTEX Repertory Company members Jennifer Coy, Krysta Gonzales, Jonathan Itchon, Chelsea Manasseri, Betsy McCann, and Melissa Vogt-Patterson join with guest artists Hayley Armstrong, Nickclette Izuegbu, Laura Ray, and Karen Rodriguez to create a new theatre piece under the direction of Rudy Ramirez. These artists collaborated on original material all year to develop and devise Sing Muse.

Directed by Rudy Ramirez, Scenic design by Ann Marie Gordon, Lighting design by Patrick Anthony, Costume design by Haydee Antunano.

The Cast:
Hayley Armstrong: Urania, Muse of Astronomy
Jennifer Coy: Polyhymnia, Muse of Hymns and Religious Poetry
Krysta Gonzales: Terpsichore, Muse of Dance
Nickclette Izuegbu: Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry
Chelsea Manasseri: Euterpe, Muse of Music
Betsy McCann: Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy
Laura Ray: Clio, Muse of History
Karen Rodriguez: Thalia, Muse of Comedy
Melissa Vogt-Patterson: Erato, Muse of Love Poetry
Jonathan Itchon: Thamyris, a poet


Tickets and more information www.vortexrep.org

Upcoming: Commedia of Errors!, Vortex Summer Youth Troupe, July 22 - 28

VORTEX Repertory Company

presents

Summer Youth Theatre 2012

Commedia of Errors!

adapted from Shakespeare by Melissa Vogt-Patterson

directed by Matthew Patterson

Jul.20-22 (Friday-Sunday), 26-28 (Thursday-Saturday), 2012 @ 8pm
at the VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722 (click for map)

Tickets: Sliding Scale: $30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
Available at www.vortexrep.org or call 512-478-5282. Limited seating.

High comedy meets classical text, providing a fresh new approach to Shakespeare. This summer, Summer Youth Theatre presents Commedia of Errors, a 2010 adaptation of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors. This clever mash-up of Commedia dell'Arte, contemporary comedy, and Shakespeare was previously performed in New York City. Commedia is a classical theatre form from 16th-century Italy and characterized by masked types who perform with a highly physical style.

Free Parking. Bus Route. The Butterfly Bar @ The VORTEX (beer, wine, savory snacks, and desserts)

CANCELLED: Drawing A Paycheck, by and with Annie La Ganga, Vortex Repertory, May 25 - June 2

The Vortex Repertory

presents

Drawing A Paycheck

by and with Annie La Ganga 
CANCELLED per Vortex announcement of May 16

Vortex Theatre, 2307 Manor Rd. (click for map)

Tickets $10 - $30 at the door

After her critically-lauded run at FronteraFest 2012, Annie La Ganga revisits her one-woman show of Drawing a Paycheck for four nights at The VORTEX Theatre. The production runs Friday and Saturday nights from May 25th through June 2nd.

The improvised show explores all the ways that writer, comedian and monologist La Ganga has tried to make money with arts and crafts.  The one-woman show is also about drawing, working - and not working - finding out what works and doesn't, making and not making work, and whatever else comes up when La Ganga starts talking and drawing portraits of volunteers selected from the audience.

According to the Austin Chronicle, "Drawing a Paycheck is La Ganga's ode to the creative, multi-talented Austinites who have hit middle age and still don't know how they're going to earn a living when they grow up…by fusing her idiosyncratic improvisational storytelling with visual art, La Ganga hopes to transform her turbulent relationship with making money."

La Ganga is the author of Stoners and Self-Appointed Saints, A Memoir (Red Hen Press 2009) and the creator of the one-woman shows Let's Make Love Tonight, A Self-Help Stand-Up Comedy Interactive Performance Art Monologue. He also recently starred in Surprise Annie!, a collaboration with Rubber Repertory.  La Ganga is a committed arts activist and has been teaching life drawing to inmates at Travis County Correctional Complex Del Valle since 2002.

Performances will be Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m.  Tickets are $25 to $30 for priority seating, $15 to $20 for general admission and $10 for starving artists.  The VORTEX Theatre is located at 2307 Manor Road.  For more information and reservations, call (512) 478-LAVA (5282) or visit www.VortexRep.org.