Kirk R. Tuck Celebrates Jill Blackwood and the Silliness of Zach's Xanadu

Kirk R. Tuck comments in his blog The Visual Science Lab (July 18) on Xanadu, the over-the-top musical, and provides a fine spread of photos of lead Jill Blackwood singing her heart out. Her are a couple; see Kirk's blog for more.

A celebration of silliness.
Jill Blackwood stars in Zach Scott's Presentation of Xanadu

by Kirk R. Tuck, July 18 


Zachary Scott Theatre never does anything halfway. When they do a campy musical they pull out all the stops and rev up the camp. This week the Theatre opens their version of Xanadu. This isn't your 1980's movie version either. This is a magnificent spoof-musical that made me laugh so much the image stabilization in my cameras was working overtime.



Last night my trusty video producer, Ben Tuck, and I headed over to Zachary Scott Theatre to do some work. Ben was there scouting locations for a video project. He was also shooting some general "B" roll during the dress rehearsal. I was there to shoot images for the local newspaper and for Zach Scott's marketing department. I ended up with about 1855 images but many of those are similar shots with different gestures and expressions. 



That's why shooting people, portraits and events is so frame intensive...you might like one sort of expression and the art director might prefer another. You shoot both. And while you're shooting you get the expression in front of you because it might be the best one, until the next one happens and you get that one because it's even better (and on and on).




While I covered all the actors in the show I decided I'd show only Jill Blackwood in this set of blog selections. Jill is wonderful on stage and her singing and incredible action made the show for me. In this role she is the team leader of the original Greek muses who ends up falling in love with a mortal artist. A big, Mount Olympus No-No. I love the way Zach's Xanadu is propped, lit and costumed.



Click to read more and see more and larger images Kirk R. Tuck's The Visual Science Lab

Upcoming: Conspire Theatre Fundraiser Happy Hour at Lustre Pearl, July 31

presents

Happy Hour at Lustre Pearl

Tuesday, July 31, 5 - 8 p.m.

at Lustre Pearl, 97 Rainey St. 78701 (click for map)

10% of sales will support Conspire's work with incarcerated women at the Travis County jail

Conspire Theatre, a sponsored project of the Austin Creative Alliance, offers incarcerated women and their allies a healing and empowering experience through theatre and creative writing. We've been working with women incarcerated in the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle for three years now. This program, Rehearsing Possibilities, uses theatre as a powerful tool to help women address trauma and addiction, build community and self-confidence, and teach communication and conflict resolution skills

We're kicking off our annual online IndieGogo fundraiser July 31st, and we want you to join us! Don't worry - there's NO cover charge. All you need to do is show up, have some wonderful drinks (alcoholic or non) at Lustre Pearl, and know that 10% of all sales for the night go to Conspire Theatre!

"Conspire reaches down inside us and pulls talent from us we never even imagined we had. It unlocks doors that have been locked for so many years and allows us to be who we really are." - Rehearsing Possibilities participant.

Upcoming: Looking in the Wrong Direction by Bianca Emery, BE Productions at the Dougherty Arts Center, August 11

BE Entertainment and Productions

(poster image from Bianca Emery)

presents

Looking in the Wrong Direction

by Bianca Emery

August 11 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.)

Dougherty Arts Centers, 1110 Barton Springs Rd (click for map)

Tickets via www.beentertainment.org or at 1-888-352-3113

Back By Popular Demand the Hit Inspirational Gospel Stage Play Looking in the Wrong Direction Is Set to Showcase One Night Only.

When a bright young lady suffers the tragic loss of her dear mother, she turns away from God and into the arms of a drug-dealer who becomes her boyfriend and number one source of comfort, protection, and belonging. Sadly, tragedy strikes her life again and thankfully she finds her way into the arms of friends and family who do their best to get her back on track and headed in the right direction once again....back into the arms of God."

$20 (Advanced) $25 (At the Door) $15 (Group Discount if 10 or More Tickets are purchased at one time; you must call 1-888-352-3113 to Make Arrangements for the Group Discount)

Click on the Link Below to Purchase Your Tickets!!!

http://beta.brownpapertickets.com/event/258483

 Get them before they're all gone!!!

Upcoming: Weird Hollywood Tales - the Silver Sixties, Lashonda Lester at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre, July 26

Weird! True Hollywood Tales

presents

(from Lashonda Lester via Facebook)

The Silver Sixties

Hosted by comedian Lashonda Lester

July 26 at 8 p.m.

Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Rd. (click for map)

Cost: $10.00 and each ticket comes with a show poster, download card for companion eBook and a beach ball

Tickets available via

FREE Pre-show mixer sponsored by Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum

A lot can be said about the 1960s; Hippies, civil rights, drugs, pop art, free love, music, Vietnam. You can also add disappearances, murder and mental illnesses to that list. In Episode IV, Weird! True Hollywood Tales covers the biographies of some of the most influential artists of the Silver Sixties era: pop art pioneer Andy Warhol and his group of troubled "Superstars" featuring It Girl Edie Sedgwick and America's favorite tragic band; The Beach Boys as well as their connection to one of the most shocking crimes of the decade.

Information also at https://www.facebook.com/events/252030878243570/

Images by David Ponton for ongoing: The Sound of Music, Zilker Productions, July 6 - August 11

Images by David Ponton, used in e-mail publicity by Zilker Productions:

UPDATE: Feature by Michelle Villalpando for the Austin Statesman, June 30

presents

(image: David Ponton)

The Sound of Music

July 6 - August 11, Thursdays - Sundays 

(approx. 8:30pm; at dusk) Admission: FREE! [parking: $3/car]

Beverly S. Sheffield Zilker Hillside Theater,

Located in Zilker Park across from Barton Springs Pool

[click for theater info and map]

(poster: www.zilker.org)

Click to view additional images at AustinLiveTheatre.com

Study: Arts and Economic Prosperity in Austin, Americans by the Arts, 2012

(cover: Americans for the Arts)

This fourth updated edition of the study bolsters the justification for the City of Austin to continue providing grants to cultural arts organizations from the revenue generated by the tax on hotel occupancy. Most of those funds from the tax go to the Austin Convention and Visitors Center and to undertakings associated with the hotel industry. Certain of their representatives have argued that Texas law mandates that all the revenue for promotion of tourism should go to those non-arts entities.

Excerpts from the authors' conclusions after analyzing data from 95 arts and cultural organizations in Austinfor City of Austin fiscal year 2010 :

The Economic Impact of the Nonprofit Arts and Culture Industry in the City of Austin, TX

Arts & Economic Prosperity IV provides compelling new evidence that the nonprofit arts and culture are a significant industry in the City of Austin—one that generates $236.1 million in total economic activity. This spending—$137.2 million bynonprofit arts and culture organizations and an additional $99 million in event-relatedspending by their audiences—supports 7,315 full-time equivalent jobs, generates $164.9 million in household income to local residents, and delivers $23.0 million in local and state government revenue. This economic impact study sends a strong signal that when we support the arts, we not only enhance our quality of life, but we also invest in the City of Austin’s economic well-being.

Economic Impact of Spending by Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations in the City of Austin

Nonprofit arts and culture organizations are active contributors to their business community. They are employers, producers, and consumers. They are members of the Chamber of Commerce as well as key partners in the marketing and promotion of their cities, regions, and states. Spending by nonprofit arts and culture organizations totaled $137.2 million in the City of Austin during fiscal year 2010. This spending is far-reaching: organizations pay employees, purchase supplies, contract for services, and acquire assets within their community. These actions, in turn, support jobs, create household income, and generate revenue to the local and state governments.

The City of Austin’s nonprofit arts and culture organizations provide rewarding employment for more than just administrators, artists, curators, choreographers, and musicians. They also employ financial staff, facility managers, and salespeople. In addition, the spending by these organizations directly supports a wide array of other occupations spanning many industries (e.g., printing, event planning, legal, construction, and accounting).

Data were collected from 95 eligible nonprofit arts and culture organizations in the City of Austin. Each provided detailed budget information about more than 40 expenditure categories for fiscal year 2010 (e.g., labor, payments to local and nonlocal artists, operations, administration, programming, facilities, and capital expenditures/asset acquisition).

Read or download from AustinLiveTheatre.com the full 32-page study in .pdf format

Southwestern University Announces 2012-2013 Theatre Season

Announced by Southwestern University, Georgetown:

GET 5 SHOWS FOR THE PRICE OF 4! Subscribe Here Packages Starting At $45! Selections from 365 Days/365 Plays September 27-30, 2012 Playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks wrote a play each day for a year. The subject matter ranges from presidents to deities to soldiers. “...one of the American theater’s most wily and innovative writers, and her stark but poetic language and fiercely idiosyncratic images transform her work into something haunting and marvelous” – TIME

A Year with Frog and Toad November 16-18, 2012 This whimsical story features two great friends, the cheerful and popular Frog and the rather grumpy Toad, through four fun-filled seasons. They learn life lessons as they go, including friendship and rejoicing in the attributes that make each of us different and special. Nominated for six Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre and a Tony Award for Best Musical. This is Our Youth January 31- February 3, 2013 Set in 1982, This is Our Youth follows three lost young souls in New York City. Warren, who steals $15,000 from his father; Dennis, a charismatic domineering drug dealer whose father is a famous painter and mother a social activist; and Jessica, the anxiously insightful woman Warren yearns for. A wildly funny, bittersweet, and moving story about trying to escape a dysfunctional family and finding your place in the world. "very funny…comedies of such brio and darkly satiric edge are rare.”–The New York Times Little Shop of Horrors February 21-24, 2013 A down-and-out floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood who demands to be fed.Soon “Audrey II” grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination! One of the longest-running Off-Broadway shows of all time! Charming, tuneful, and hilarious Little Shop of Horrors never fails to entertain! Heartbreak House April 25-28, 2013 A soap opera of the 1900's, where no one is who they seem and everyone gets their heart broken. During a weekend party at the eccentric Captain Shotover's estate, Ellie causes a commotion with her decision to marry for money. As the Captain's daughter Hesione protests, a lively debate about money, morality, idealism, and realism ensues among Hesione's playboy husband, snobbish sister, and Ellie's fiance, a wealthy industrialist. “brilliant comedy”–The New York Times Southwestern University, Sarofim School of Fine Arts 1001 E. University Avenue, Georgetown, TX 78626 | (512) 863-1504