| The Acting Studio (L-47) 5811 Burnet, 458-5437. Unexpectedly smack next door to The Frisco, the fabled Night Hawk diner, this intimate black-box stage reflects the low-key, good-natured accessibility that can be seen in so much of the neighborhood on Burnet. While providing a stage for intinerant companies and resident theatre group Different Stages, The Acting Studio is primarily the home of kidsActing, led by accomplished director and longtime arts educator Dede Clark. Auditorium on Waller Creek (L-41) 4100 Red River, 467-7756. Not just on Waller Creek, but within the bucolic campus of the Sri Atmananda School — at intermission, take a stroll through these beautiful grounds and imagine you are wandering the gardens of some foreign estate. The Auditorium, with its high curving roof, has a small high school theatre stage to one side, but the openness of the rest of the comfortable room has been marvelously exploited by music and theatre groups who have created all manner of configurations for their presentations. Austin Children's Museum at Dell Discovery Center (L-6) 201 Colorado, 472-2494. Ignite those synapses with this new paean to invention and exploration. With model cities, weather galleries, and a wealth of activities for the kiddies (including some extremely inventive and irreverent stage adaptations of fairy tales and classic works), this downtown "playground" is a perfect alternative to another afternoon of television. Austin Community College Gallery Theatre (L-29) 1212 Rio Grande, 223-3245. The former balcony of the community college's main stage, this black-box theatre on the Rio Grande campus building's third floor is now a small working stage for ACC's studying thespians, who strut their stuff so close to you, you can touch 'em. In a city with more than its share of petit and compact performance spaces, this 70-seater may be one of the petit-est and compact-est. Austin Community College Main Theatre (L-29) 1212 Rio Grande, 223-3245. Its thick, draping crimson curtains, proscenium arch, and wooden fold-out chairs may smack of dreary high school assemblies, but the 266-seat Main Theatre has been utilized to far more engaging ends by the city's theatre troupes — the State Theater Company and Teatro Humanidad, among them — as well as by the community college's own drama department. B. Iden Payne Theatre (L-19) Winship Drama Bldg., 24th & San Jacinto, 471-5793. One of the two spots where UT Theatre & Dance Department students strut and fret their hour upon the stage. The aptly dramatic B. Iden Payne Theatre, named for an esteemed Shakespearean director and scholar who spent his latter years in Austin, seats 500 in a space that's big and open and showy. Used primarily for theatre productions, but it's also the home base for UT's Dance Repertory Theatre and the community dance company Sharir + Bustamante Danceworks. See also Theatre Room. Bass Concert Hall (L-16) UT Campus, 23rd & E. Campus Dr., 471-1444. Carnegie on the Colorado. A palatial 3,000-seat UT performance facility that hosts those shows that play the best concert halls in the world, from world-class classical artists such as Itzhak Perlman to world-class world music acts like Tito Puente, with the grandest of the Broadway touring shows, including Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime, and Rent. Also the current home to such local cultural luminaries as Austin Lyric Opera, Ballet Austin, and the Austin Symphony. Batts Hall (L-20) 23rd & E. Campus Drive, 471-4441. Lecture hall that occasionally does double duty as a theatre for student-generated productions by such groups as The Broccoli Project and Rare Creations and the annual German-language production by the Department of Germanic Languages. Beverly S. Sheffield Hillside Theatre (L-25) 2201 Barton Springs Rd., 397-1463. Sitting at the base of a grassy slope in spectacular Zilker Park, just a stone's throw from local treasure Barton Springs Pool, this outdoor stage has become a cherished spot for thousands of Austinites to get in touch with their cultural side. Home to the annual Zilker summer musical, the Downtown Alliance's annual free Summer Concert series, and annual performances by numerous theatre troupes, dance companies, and classical music groups, the Sheffield Hillside Theatre is a stage fit for everything from Beethoven to bluegrass to, of course, a little Shakespeare in the park. Sitting on a picnic blanket, under the sun-dappled trees, see if this outdoor setting doesn't lull you into a midsummer night's dream. Club DeVille (L-9) 900 Red River, 457-0900. On the site of dear, departed Chances, Club DeVille lays claim to one of the best patios downtown, with its raffish stock of weatherbeaten furniture, blankets for cold nights, and the opportunity for fossil hunting in the exposed limestone ledge. Most nights, the club plays host to musicians attracted by the outdoor ambience, but the theatre crowd is just as drawn by the limestone backdrop, and on occasion you'll find plays performed here. Making the most use of the stage these days is the guerrilla theatre company Shirk Workers Onion, which has staged several of its twisted variety shows here, as well as its revival of Waiting for Godot. Doris Miller Auditorium (L-35) 2300 Rosewood, 476-4118. A local gymnasium that holds neighborhood dancing, plays, and performances. Check the billboard in front of the auditorium for upcoming events. Dougherty Arts Center (L-27) 1110 Barton Springs Rd., 397-1468. Once the Naval and Marine Reserve Center, this city-operated cultural facility now educates budding artists instead of sailors and hosts many cultural events. Located on the periphery of the pending arts complex development over and around Palmer Auditorium, the DAC features the Dougherty Arts Theatre, a 150-seat auditorium with a proscenium stage that is the site for many independent music, theatre, and dance productions, a large sculpture/pottery studio, and dozens of classrooms. City staff at the DAC also books the Sheffield Hillside Theatre in Zilker Park, across from the main entrance of the Barton Springs pool (see separate listing). Helm Fine Arts Center (L-53) St. Stephen's School, 2900 Bunny Run, 329-0964. As you make your way from your car to this multi-purpose cultural center on the campus of St. Stephen's School, you may be tempted not to enter, so spectacular is the vista from the West Austin hillside on which the Helm is perched. But the trip inside rewards the sacrifice; this is an inviting venue, its wood, glass, and limestone providing a natural warmth. The center doubles as the home for the Nancy Wilson Scanlan Gallery (see separate listing) and the Temple Family Theatre, whose proscenium stage has played host to productions from community organizations from the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin and Visions in Rhythm to touring artists such as the Jose Greco II Flamenco Dance Company. Hyde Park Theatre (L-44) 511 W. 43rd, 452-6688. Renovated storefront north of UT that, with its awkward L-shaped space, low ceiling, and cramped stage, just shouldn't work as a theatre. Yet it does, largely because of its intimacy -- you're never more than 20 feet from the action -- but also because home company Frontera will drastically transform the space to suit its productions. In Enfant Perdus, the whole inside of the theatre was cleared out. For Weldon Rising, actors sealed off the exits with plastic. When Frontera isn't producing, it's often a good place to catch other rebel theatre work (e.g., Rude Mechanicals' Lust Supper and curst & Shrewd root wy'mn's no mo' blues and dyke/warrior-prayers, Lisa D'Amour's Oscar Snowden and the Magic O). Also home to the annual performance jamboree FronteraFest, where more original work is performed in a month's time than most theatre cities see in a year. A chamber space featuring serious work by serious artists. John Henry Faulk Living Theatre (L-4) 204 E. Fourth, 707-2172. Hefty construction next door amid the changing face of the Convention Center area of downtown led to rumors that this oft-used theatre space, owned by the American Institute of Learning, was soon to be another mere memory in the increasingly embittered consciousness of theatregoers. But the truth is that while AIL is moving offices into the area, plans for the bare-bones stage are still open. It is possible the space may close, but that looks unlikely, at least through the spring of 2000, which means more small independent companies such as Flame Failure Productions and Austin Script Works will still have the Fourth Street stage as a possible production venue. Mary Moody Northen Theatre at St. Edward's University (L-23) 3001 S. Congress, 448-8484. The home stage for St. Edward's University, situated on a hill facing north that provides an unobstructed and breathtaking view of downtown Austin. The Mary Moody Northen — ah, don't slip a second 'r' in that last name, please — boasts one of the city's few stages in the round, which the St. Ed's theatre department has used to stage works as diverse as Black Elk Speaks and A Day in Hollywood/A Night at the Ukraine. Old Depot Stage (L-55) 600 N. Lee, Round Rock, 244-0440. The name's not lyin' — this quaint Round Rock theatre actually used to be a train station. These days, however, choo-choos have been replaced by cues and exits, as the theatre acts as the home for area community drama group, the Sam Bass Theatre Association. Palmer Auditorium (L-28) 400 S. First, 472-5111. For 40 years, one of Austin's signature arts spaces, as well as a gathering place for the community in its many forms. Perched on the south shore of Town Lake like a massive turtle sunning itself, the spacious Palmer has hosted cultural affairs from Austin Symphony concerts to the Big Stinkin' International Improv & Sketch Comedy Festival under its gentle dome. In recent years, however, it's seen more usage as a civic center, with events such as the Austin Record Convention, lowrider shows, debutante balls, and the Sami Arts & Crafts Show. But it will go full-throttle artistic in 2003, when meetings and shows move to a new civic center on Town Lake Park land, and the current auditorium becomes the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts, with world-class concert halls and state-of-the-art theatres inside. 
Paramount Theatre
photograph by Kenny Braun | Paramount Theatre (L-10) 713 Congress Ave., 472-5470. Opened in 1915, just a few doors down from the looming Capitol Building, the 1,300-seat Paramount Theatre is the grand dame of Austin theatres — proud, elegant, and beautiful. One of those classic theatres that makes patrons forget what decade they're living in once they walk through those heavy brass 'n' glass doors, the Paramount's talent list through the decades tells the rest of the story: Mae West, the Marx Brothers, Cab Calloway, Harry Houdini, Orson Welles, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Natalie Cole, and Joan Baez. The roster of stars continues to grow through concerts, touring productions of theatre and dance, homegrown spectaculars from Austin Musical Theatre, and an increasing number of Hollywood world premieres with cinematic celebs in attendance. And when the stars aren't shining in person, they're flickering on the silver screen, via the Paramount's classy revivals of classic (and not-so-classic) films. Ralph & Ruth McCullough Theatre (L-17) UT Campus, 23rd & E. Campus Dr., 471-1444. Good things in small packages. This most petite of PAC theatres (400 seats) is the most charming — a spacious, stylish proscenium with compact and cozy seating before it. Home to most UT Opera Theatre productions and host to fine local and visiting dance companies. Santa Cruz Center for Culture (L-32) 1805 E. Seventh, 478-9717. Performance venue which serves as the cultural arts anchor of the new "Olé Mexico!" revitalization district (East Sixth and Seventh streets). The cinderblock walls and school auditorium proscenium may at first promise a cool, sterile artistic experience, but just let it fill up with people; the community for whom this space is a bona fide center warms it up mighty fast and makes a catching a show here as lively as anywhere in town. Home base for the celebrated Aztlan Folk Dance Troupe and frequently the site of productions by Teatro Humanidad and Pro Arts Collective. Schroeder Performance Hall (L-39) Concordia University, 3400 N. I-35, 452-7662. Performing arts fans have more than one central city university at which they can get their fix. On the campus of UT Austin's smaller and more intimate northern neighbor sits the Louise T. Peter Center, a multi-purpose venue one part of which is a concert hall/stage, Schroeder Performance Hall. On a scale apropos to the university it serves, Schroeder's 200-seater makes it an appealing spot to catch a theatrical production by Concordia students or a recital by the Austin Children's Choir. Scottish Rite Theatre (L-14) 207 W. 18th, 472-7247. This venerable theatre dates back to 1871 as a German opera house, and has been available for public rental since the early 1990s. The recently restored antique pine stage floor lends itself to classic stage productions; the theatre seats approximately 300 people and accommodates in-the-round, continental, and row seating. Scottish Rite has been greatly underutilized in favor of places like Saengerrunde Hall, but last year the Temple produced the melodrama Run to the Roundhouse, Nelly, He Can't Corner You There and this year plans for The Drunkard in August. State Theater (L-11) 719 Congress, 472-7134. The vertical marquee with its candy-colored neon recalls the earlier life of this Congress Avenue facility as a showplace for movies, but inside the building it's clear that the State of the 21st century is a home for live performance. The State Theater Company — formerly Live Oak Theatre — laid claim to the long-empty space in the mid-Nineties and ever since has been working to transform it into a modern performing arts center. As of spring 1999, they've done it, with architect Sinclair Black having capitalized on the building's roominess with great expanses of air and light that recalling the big sky of the Lone Star State itself, and using the space's narrowness to preserve its intimacy. It's now a charming place to watch the State's professional actors work their magic on some 20th-century classic or the latest in Texas drama. Theatre Room (L-19) Winship Drama Bldg, 24th & San Jacinto, 471-5793. One of the two spots where UT Theatre & Dance Department students strut and fret their hour upon the stage. The rather bluntly named Theatre Room is a modest but flexible space which used to be reconfigured regularly into radically different stage and seating arrangements. These days, however, the department keeps it set thrust-style, with the 225 seats spread around the floor-level stage on three sides. See also B. Iden Payne Theatre. Utopia Theatre (L-15) 1925 San Jacinto, no phone. By day a lecture hall in the School of Social Work, by night a shoestring theatre for campus-based companies who want to put on a show. Limited amenities, but the groups — The Broccoli Project, Theatre Collective, Rare Creations, et al. — can make it worth a trip. 
Victory Grill & Kovac Theater
photograph by Kenny Braun | Victory Grill & Kovac Theater (L-30) 1104 E. 11th, 474-4494. Built in 1945, the Victory Grill has been a deep-rooted East Austin landmark despite E. 11th's ups and downs. Its stage has been graced from Bobby Bland to Ike & Tina and still offers some of the best jazz music and theatre in town. BYOB. The Vortex (L-38) 2307 Manor, 478-5282. Funky, renovated barn where VORTEX Repertory Company artistic director Bonnie Cullum features new works from the far side of tomorrow. Since its debut in 1994, the Vortex (formerly Planet Theatre) has been a space where intrepid spectators can see drama in its nascence, from VORTEX's cyber-operas and edgy experimental work to nontraditional solo plays to intriguing hybrids such as Rembert Block's Beauty Vultures and the Plague of Sleep. Austin playwrights and producers choose the Vortex to mount original work of all sorts, and out-of-town artists such as Annie Sprinkle and Tim Miller regularly visit it to try out new goods. Zachary Scott Theatre Center — Kleberg Stage (L-26) 1421 W. Riverside, 476-0594. The Zachary Scott Theatre first opened its doors in 1933 as the Austin Civic Theatre but was renamed after famed Austinite Zachary Scott in 1972 when the community group built this Riverside Drive facility. Now a professional resident theatre, Zach manages two theatres, with the Kleberg Stage, a 200-seater in a thrust configuration, the site of its mainstage productions such as Angels in America and the company's signature musical success Beehive. Zach artistic director Dave Steakley continues to find innovative ways to make this space a room for unexpected dramatic delights. Zachary Scott Theatre Center — Whisenhunt Arena Stage (L-26) 1510 Toomey, 476-0594. The Zachary Scott Theatre first opened its doors in 1933 as the Austin Civic Theatre but was renamed after famed Austinite Zachary Scott in 1972 when the mainstage facility was built. The Whisenhunt Arena Stage dates from 1991, built with bond monies that also allowed ZSTC to construct new administrative offices and a rehearsal hall. The Arena is a petite 120-seat space as cozy and comfy as your living room, ideal for cabaret but also used to good effect by Zach for full-scale stage plays from August Wilson's The Piano Lesson to Garson Kanin's Born Yesterday to the mystery comedy Shear Madness, which ran for a record 400 perfs in this space. Dance productions by Deborah Hay and Johnson/Long may also be seen here. Zach artistic director Dave Steakley continues to find innovative ways to make this space a room for unexpected dramatic delights. | 
