The Vortex

L-r: Whitney Eads, Bonnie Cullum, and Edna Parra

For six years, one of the key people keeping that pioneering Eastside theatre the Vortex spinning has been Edna Parra, who has "done everything from publicity to sweeping up leaves to grant writing to costume construction to bookkeeping to event planning to staff management," according to Artistic Director Bonnie Cullum. Parra was a freshman at the University of Texas when Cullum hired her as an administrative assistant, and she was Cullum's good right arm through four years of college, after which she joined the board of directors. Last year Parra was named Vortex's managing director. Cullum describes her as "a tough businesswoman, a reliable friend, and a bright, good-natured spirit with a sense of humor" who "has seen me through some of the most challenging times at the Vortex. It has been her willingness to do whatever it takes, to take on whatever job I needed her to do, and to take the pressure off me that has made her an immeasurable treasure to the Vortex." Parra is leaving the theatre to move to New Zealand for a while, but Cullum is counting on her eventual return; she's keeping Parra on the Vortex board in an advisory capacity.

Succeeding Parra as managing director will be Whitney Thomas Eads, a graduate of Hope College in Michigan and recent arrival to Austin who heard about the Vortex from her husband, lighting designer Clay Eads. She approached Cullum about possible employment and was invited to help run the show. For more information, visit www.vortexrep.org.