Photo courtesy Kirk Tuck
Photo courtesy Kirk TuckNonprofit performance company brings locally developed plays specifically adapted for Austin
It is the art of theater and community engagement that takes center stage at the nonprofit ZACH Theatre.
"While there are theaters like [Bass Concert Hall] and [the Long Center for the Performing Arts] that present works that tour, everything here is homegrown to Austin," said Dave Steakley, producing artistic director with ZACH Theatre.
More than 300 local actors perform at ZACH each year, and the theater also employs many Austin-area residents to do behind-the-scenes work such as lighting, sound, costume design, and set design and construction. Performers also are tapped locally to fill the orchestra pit.
The Austin focus does not stop there. Steakley said the company looks to tailor the plays and performances to best fit the Austin audience.
"Our goal when we're making a play or a musical, even if it's a title we're familiar with, is that we are creating it in a way that makes sense for our community," Steakley said.
One example of this Austin focus was the theater's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" in which the production tackled immigration issues by having the Jesus Christ character be Mexican and setting the play along the border between Mexico and Texas.
"When we're telling our stories we're trying to be creative artists," Steakley said. "We don't like to copy the work of other people. We want to make sure it's about our creativity, and that's a very Austin quality."
Theater is "vibrant" in the city, Steakley said, and what makes Austin unique from other cities is how the theater community deviates from producing traditional works with storylines that progress in a linear fashion.
"In Austin it's just the opposite of that," Steakley said. "There are a number of companies who are working in experimental ways with the form of theater [such as] telling stories in a non-linear way; sometimes it doesn't involve words."
The theater, originally founded in 1933 as the Austin Civic Theatre, is now the oldest continuously operating theater in Texas. The organization was renamed in 1968 to the Zachary Scott Theatre to honor the film actor and Austin native.
The ZACH Theatre includes three different performance venues: the Whisenhunt Stage, the Kleberg Stage and the most recent addition, the Topfer Theatre. The venues vary in design to best fit the selected performance, Steakley said.
Behind the scenes: production
A play or musical is made up of more than just actors and the performance. Aspects including sets, costumes, props and lighting design are artistic feats in their own right that help create a memorable performance, ZACH Theatre Production Director Paul Flint said.
"The difference between ZACH being a producing company and a lot of the other companies in town that are presenting companies is that everything here starts with an idea," Flint said.
The production process starts with an initial concept meeting in which the vision for the show is laid out, Flint said. The scenery, costume and prop designers research and come back with ideas, and that is what starts to form what the stage will look like.
For "The Gospel at Colonus," the production process took about 22 weeks from the initial idea to being performance-ready. The stage design includes limestone formations, a revival tent and a water spring as well as costume design and creation done in-house, Flint said.
Like anything with ZACH Theatre, Flint said it is a team effort to come up with and finalize all the aspects that culminate in a performance.
"I have a team of 14 people, and we all get together and collaborate on the best solution," Flint said. "Sometimes the best scenic solution comes from our costume shop manager. We very much invite and expect that kind of conversation and collaboration."
"The Gospel at Colonus" runs April 2–27.
Theatre of the mind
Education is another aspect that takes center stage at ZACH Theatre.
"We are cultivating the next generation of theatergoers and [thespians]," ZACH Theatre Education Director Nat Miller said. "If we don't help them fall in love with this art form, especially as technology advances, we run the risk of theater dying."
The theater offers acting programs for various ages including creative drama, theater skills and a preprofessional company as well as instructional aid in schools to help teachers use drama strategies in the classroom.
"The arts are the first things to be cut in schools, and it's our responsibility as a major arts organization in Austin to help supplement arts education in schools through core curriculum because they're not going to give us an hour just to teach drama for drama's sake," Miller said.
ZACH Theatre also promotes theater by bringing students to shows. Miller said 38,000 students bused in to see a play at the theater during the school day that is also tied to curriculum.
ZACH Theatre, 202 S. Lamar Blvd., 512-476-0541, www.zachtheatre.org, Times vary by performance
