Once again, Austin is losing a treasured son. In January, award-winning playwright and UT adjunct professor John Walch will be migrating to that mother of all artist magnets, New York City. Austin theatregoers and academia won’t be the only ones to feel his loss, either; for the past five years, Walch has served as artistic director of Austin Script Works, Austin’s playwright service organization. Walch spoke about the changes he’s seen in Austin theatre while preparing for his final Script Works event, a Dec. 15 benefit titled “The Changing of the Bard.” The party is part goodbye to Walch, part welcome to new Artistic Director Dan Dietz, and part fundraiser to support Script Works’ transition — a time that can often be perilous for a small organization.
Austin Chronicle: How would you characterize the changes you’ve observed in the Austin theatre scene since you’ve been part of it?
John Walch: When I came here, there were a lot of smaller theatre companies starting to take root. Those fringe companies just starting then are now the established fringe companies; they’ve matured and have a life beyond the original moment of energy that got them started. And they have become, for better or for worse, more institutionalized. This kind of change has also happened with the larger theatres. When I got here, Live Oak Theatre didn’t even have a home, and now it’s the State Theater Company and part of Austin Theatre Alliance.
Besides struggling for a sense of professionalism and permanence, a lot of Austin companies were also fighting for prominence on a national level. And I think that fight is almost over; Austin has arrived, certainly in the “new play” sector. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in another city, and I’ll say I’m from Austin, and [someone will] say, “Oh, Salvage Vanguard is there, I’ve heard about them,” or “Oh yeah, the Rude Mechanicals are there. They’re great.” Or Hyde Park Theatre or the Vortex — it happens all the time.
AC: Is there a special role you feel Austin Script Works has played in the development of Austin’s theatre scene?
JW: One of Austin’s greatest “products,” for lack of a better word, is its new plays, the original work that is being exported. This is different from other communities our size, whose claim to fame is importing people from meccas like New York. And Script Works’ main purpose is to support new work. It serves as a gathering place for writers that’s not about the pressures of production. It’s important to have that.
AC: What will you miss the most about the Austin theatre community?
JW: There’s a great, vibrant community here that’s very supportive, perhaps more so than some other places. Theatre here comes mostly out of community roots, this “Let’s put on a show” feeling. It’s being done for the love of the craft and the art; I mean, you can’t make a living at it. (Laughs) So that love and respect and delight is infused in each show.
Maybe what I love the most about Austin theatre is that the creation of theatrical meaning is so openly a reflection of the personalities creating it. Nobody’s afraid of showing their personalities here. And because it is a smaller community, there are so many different personalities you actually get to know. From Dave Steakley to Bonnie Cullum, they’re reflecting a certain personality. There’s an honesty to that that I really appreciate. 
This article appears in December 13 • 2002.