https://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/1995-10-27/529951/
Articulations
Obligatory Intro
October 27, 1995, Arts
Welcome. New column. News. Increased arts coverage. Welcome input... Aw, geez,
you've heard all this before. As much as I wish I had a new take on it, I
don't, so let me just try to zip through it as swiftly as I can. This column is
about the arts, which for us includes the performing, visual, and literary
arts. Anything therein is ripe for coverage: an Edgar Award for a local mystery
writer, a Ford grant for an area sculptor, a theatre opening, a gallery
closing, a TV deal signed by a local comic. It'll cover entrances and exits,
career moves good and bad, and honors, plus commentary: utterances to give
definition to, to elucidate, movements in our cultural scene. Yes, I desire
your input, your flow of info. Flood me with releases, drown me in calls. Share
achievements, outrages, leads, gossip. Just don't give me grief about the name.
Man, if I never have to title a column again....
Austin's half-price outlet for performing arts tickets has a new home, one
which may give a big boost to this service and local arts. On October 16,
AusTix opened a booth in-side BookPeople at Sixth & Lamar. This is AusTix's
third location (after the Dougherty Arts Center and Austin Visitors Center) but
its first in a high-traffic commercial spot. That means a new audience for the
service, some impulse shoppers, more sales for AusTix, and bigger audiences for
local arts groups. Betty Siegel, AusTix commander-in-chief, feels the move is
meaningful. "We should clear between $200,000 and $400,000 for the producers
this year. That's a big change. This year, we cleared about $150,000. The year
before, we cleared $50,000. Producers are really excited about the potential to
tap a new audience. They see the people who walk through the doors of
BookPeople as people who should be walking through the doors of theatres."
The closing of Chicago House has been marked elsewhere, but we would be remiss
if we failed to note this venue's importance in Austin's theatre scene in the
past decade. The House enabled many smaller companies and solo artists to try
out original and riskier material. Among the many notable shows: 70 Scenes
of Halloween (an early effort by director Vicky Boone), Dennis Paddie's
The Interview, Suzanne Chesshire's Greylines and Bushounds, Marco
Perella's Tarot for a New Age, C.K. McFarland's Earth Angels, Jo
Carol Pierce's Bad Girls Upset by the Truth, Jean Fogel Zee and Heloise
Gold's More Divine Lunacy, Cafe Manhattan, The Cow Pattys, and more.
AusTix Is Bookin'
Austin's half-price outlet for performing arts tickets has a new home, one
which may give a big boost to this service and local arts. On October 16,
AusTix opened a booth in-side BookPeople at Sixth & Lamar. This is AusTix's
third location (after the Dougherty Arts Center and Austin Visitors Center) but
its first in a high-traffic commercial spot. That means a new audience for the
service, some impulse shoppers, more sales for AusTix, and bigger audiences for
local arts groups. Betty Siegel, AusTix commander-in-chief, feels the move is
meaningful. "We should clear between $200,000 and $400,000 for the producers
this year. That's a big change. This year, we cleared about $150,000. The year
before, we cleared $50,000. Producers are really excited about the potential to
tap a new audience. They see the people who walk through the doors of
BookPeople as people who should be walking through the doors of theatres."Making the move possible: the Austin Circle of Theatres, which helped AusTix secure a $10,000 loan. "ACoT has stuck its neck out to make this happen," notes Siegel, "and BookPeople has been very generous." Check it out 11:30am-6:30pm, Mon-Sat.
Ciao, Chicago
The closing of Chicago House has been marked elsewhere, but we would be remiss
if we failed to note this venue's importance in Austin's theatre scene in the
past decade. The House enabled many smaller companies and solo artists to try
out original and riskier material. Among the many notable shows: 70 Scenes
of Halloween (an early effort by director Vicky Boone), Dennis Paddie's
The Interview, Suzanne Chesshire's Greylines and Bushounds, Marco
Perella's Tarot for a New Age, C.K. McFarland's Earth Angels, Jo
Carol Pierce's Bad Girls Upset by the Truth, Jean Fogel Zee and Heloise
Gold's More Divine Lunacy, Cafe Manhattan, The Cow Pattys, and more.Peg Miller and Glynda Cox vow to carry on and have established a Chicago House Phoenix Fund through the Austin Circle of Theatres. Send contributions to: 1501 W. Fifth, 78703. Thanks, CH. n
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