Articulations

In these frequently arts-hostile times, it's easy to imagine that the only people left who still like the theatre are the people who make it. Not so, says a recent poll of Central Texans. When asked if they had ever "attended a live theatre performance in Central Texas," 65% of the respondents said yes, and of those 96% indicated a willingness to go again. The figures come from Central Texas Directions, an independent market research firm which asked 600 residents of Travis, Williamson, Bastrop, Hays, and Caldwell Counties about their stage experiences in June of this year. Their survey uncovered the following additional data:

• Only about four in 10 area residents who moved to Central Texas in the last three years have been to the theatre here. The ones who have been, however, have liked what they've seen; 93% indicated a willingness to go again.

• Age is a factor in attending theatre; among respondents 35-54 years of age, 70% had been to theatre locally, but for respondents under the age of 35, that figure dips to 58%.

• Local productions are just as popular as touring shows. The percentage of respondents who had been to the theatre and seen only locally mounted productions was identical to the percentage who had gone to see touring productions exclusively (26%). And 47% had seen both local and touring shows.

For more info on Central Texas Directions surveys, go to http://www.centextdirections.com.

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Script Works Scribblers

Austin Script Works continues to grow. This support group for dramatic writers, still not two years old, has added five writers to its core membership. C. Francis Blackchild(Medea: Twilight Ending), Ron Berry(Water), Deborah Hamilton-Lynne(Nana's Closet, Afterlives), P. Paullette MacDougal(Waiting for MacArthur, Two Husbands in Heaven), and Ellsworth Schave(Down Along the Brazos, Calvin's Garden) join nine other local dramatists in an ongoing two-year program of script development driven by the writer, with the possibility of production by ASW. Bringing the five newcomers into the fold are core members Emily Ball Cicchini (also the ASW Executive Director), Patricia Fiske, George Franklin, David Gunderson, Christina J. Moore (also ASW Producing Director), Clay Nichols (current co-artistic director), Hank Schwemmer, John Walch (current co-artistic director), and Cyndi Williams. Never let it be said that Austin suffers from a dearth of writers — or that they're unwilling to do the work to get their work out there. For more info on ASW, call 454-3264.

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Getting Seen

There's a familiar face on the Fox Family Channel as of this week. Derek Reid, who made his comedic mark in town as a member of Esther's Follies, debuts as host of a new weekday series called The Basement Pick, a showcase of animation old and new, with some sketch comedy thrown in. Reid was tapped by Saban Entertainment at the Big Stinkin' International Improv Festival in April... And speaking of local funny folk, how's about those ComedySportz Players, huh? At the recent Comedy League of America competition in Milwaukee, these local improv masters copped third place out of 22 teams from across the country. Of course, you can see them live every Thursday through Saturday night at the ComedySportz Playhouse in Northcross Mall. Call COMEDY-7 for info.

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