Upcoming: Hillcountry Underbelly Preview Party, Vortex Repertory Yard, July 27

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JOIN US NEXT WEDNESDAY JULY 27th FOR A PARTY BENEFITING PAPER CHAIRS' HILLCOUNTRY UNDERBELLY...

(we'll also be introducing the new Paper Chairs joining the company).

Wednesday, July 27, 8:00pm-11:00pm - The VORTEX

What Will They Do Next is donating free whiskey for our drinking pleasure.

The Butterfly Bar will offer Happy Hour prices on drinks for the duration of the party.

We'll have local musicians jamming out BLUEGRASS tunes on the patio as well as a SNEAK PREVIEW of a few of Mark Stewart's original music from HILLCOUNTRY UNDERBELLY.

We'll also have cards, games, dominoes, merriment, projection things....

IT'LL BE FUN. promise.

$5 suggested donation.

See you there.

Auditions for Jeff Daniels' play 'Guest Artist,' Paradox Players, August 15

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AUDITIONS for 'Guest Artist' by Jeff Daniels
directed by Karen Jambon for Paradox Players
Aug 15 at 7:00 p.m.

Howson Hall at First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover Ave. (click for map)

Auditioning for role of Harris, a 50-plus playwright who is convinced his best plays are behind him. He is cynical, articulate, and a dedicated drunk.

About 'Guest Artist': This comic drama examines the challenges encountered by all creative people getting started, becoming successful, staying hot. A cast of three men explores the tangled relationship of youthful dreams, the cynicism of age, and the imperative of artistic truth.

Scripts are available for checkout from the Paradox Players mailbox in the mailroom of the church, M-F, 9-4. Please contact us at info@paradoxplayers.org if you need to make other arrangements for borrowing a script.

Rehearsals start Sept 6. Performance Dates October 14-30. For more info, check out www.paradoxplayers.org

Auditions for Wait Until Dark, Hill Country Community Theatre, July 25

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HCCT Casting Call Monday, July 25, for Wait Until Dark

Final auditions are scheduled for Monday, July 25, for Wait Until Dark, Hill Country Community Theatre's first production of its 2011-2012 season.

The cast for the dramatic thriller, which was a smash hit both on Broadway and as a movie, includes six men, one woman and one girl. The audition session is set for 7 p.m. and will be held at the theatre, which is located at 2003 W. FM 2147 in Cottonwood Shores. (click for map)

Written by Frederick Knott, the play opened on Broadway in 1966 and was a produced as a movie starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 1967. A Hitchcock-style thriller, the play probes which frightens more--the evil you can see coming, or the one you can't.

Directed by veteran actor/director Darrell W. Spencer, Ph.D., who recently moved to the Austin area from Nevada, HCCT's production of Wait Until Dark will open September 22 and run through October 2 with 7:30 p.m. performances Thursday through Saturday and 2:15 p.m. matinees on Sunday afternoons.

Currently operating on an all-volunteer basis, Hill Country Community Theatre is one of the oldest continuously operating community theatres in Texas. During its 25-year history, its productions have drawn audiences totaling more than 100,000. Some 5,000 volunteers from surrounding communities have given their time and support to HCCT's operations, from management to acting to all aspects of backstage and onstage production.

Footloose, Zilker Productions at Sheffield Hillside Theatre, Zilker Park, July 8 - August 13

by Michael Meigs

I attended Zilker Theatre Production's Footloose ten days ago on opening weekend, and I'm only just now writing it up. They've got a nice long run -- six weeks, four night a week -- and an Austin tradition of celebrating the summer that stretches back 53 years. Judging from the full parking lot and the large, cheerful crowd lounging on the slope above the Hillside Theatre, Zilker Productions doesn't need much help in selling the production, either. Except for the modest $3 parking fee that probably serves to renovate the Zilker lawn after the summer, the price is zero, nada, free admission for summer theatre entertainment of good quality under the moon and stars.

After all, in classic economic theory, as the price of a good approaches zero, demand approaches infinity. If you were really determined to do so, you could attend this show for nothing at all -- bicycling or walking in and not budging at the intermission when the energetic young cast bounds out to seek donations (suggested: $10 per blanket).

Plus, they will get their reviews. For last year's production of The Music Man, both Elizabeth Cobbe of the Austin Chronicle and Clare Carnavan of the Statesman wrote up the production about halfway through the run.

Male lead Andrew Cannata with his confident tenor, sure dancing and leading boy presence has an admiring following in Austin and will become even better known with this show. He and the core cast of teens rock and clown it up with the showy choreography of Danny Herman and Rocker Verastique. The live band led by Susan Finnigan rocks it out through the muscular sound system, initially from backstage and then later at stage center.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Auditions for Gods and Idols, Punchkin Repertory, July 24

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Punchkin Repertory Theatre is immediately casting for a staged reading of Gods and Idols, a new play by Austin playwright Jason Rainey. Roles available:

Harris - Early 30s. A writer, studious and disheveled

Man on Bike - Late 20s-30s. Sikh; wears turban, but otherwise modernly dressed

Miller - 50s or older. A left-wing minister, she is thoughtful but vigilant

Trista - Mid-20s or older. Rock star

Auditions will take place on Sunday, July 24th, 2-5pm at Austin Creative Alliance, 701 Tillery St. (click for map) Please email headshot and resume to info@punchkinrep.org with role you are interested in and available time. Visit www.punchkinrep.org for more info.

*Performance will take place on Saturday, Sept. 3rd.

Upcoming: Down the Drain by John Boulanger, Hyde Park Theatre, August 11 - 28

Found on-line:

Imagine That

presents its latest production

Down the Drain

written and directed by A. John Boulanger

August 11 - 28, Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.
Hyde Park Theatre, 511 W. 43rd Street at Guadalupe (click for map)

Click to purchase tickets on-line ($15 and $20)

When an earthquake in China (coupled with a bottle of vodka) forces Teddy to his bathroom floor, he doesn’t think his life could sink any lower. And then it does.

After the successful premiere of House of Several Stories, Boulanger teams up again with Austin sweethearts Martin Burke and Meredith McCall for the development of a new play, Down the Drain. The cast also includes Breanna Stogner (seen in Boulanger’s A Writer’s Vision(s)) and Judd Farris. Costume design by Jillan Hanel; set design by Ia Enstera.

Upcoming: Macbeth the Musical Comedy and Shakespeare Unshackled, Sam Bass Youth Guild, Round Rock, July 22- August 13

Found on-line:

Sam Bass Community Theatre Youth Guild

presents

Macbeth the Musical Comedy

-- and --

Shakespeare Unshackled

July 22 - August 13

Thursday/Friday/Saturday shows at 8 pm; Sunday matinees at 2 pm

$10 Thursday shows; $13 student, senior and military and $15 adult for all other shows

Email

600 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)

Buy tickets on-line

The SBCT Youth Guild proudly presents MacBeth the Musical and Shakespeare Unshackled. You've read the famous story of greed and gore in Scotland---but do you know the catchy tunes? And do you want a fun and funny musical introduction to the background of Shakespeare's plays? Hey, who doesn't?