Articulations
News of the death of longtime Austin actress Judi Sklar Becker and the birth of a new era at Hyde Park Theatre, with Ken Webster as Producing Artistic Director, Subterranean Theatre Company as producing company in residence, and Austin Script Works as a producing partner for FronteraFest.
By Robert Faires, Fri., June 22, 2001
In Memoriam
Our sympathies to the family and friends of Judith Sklar Becker, a longtime friend of Austin theatre who died on Thursday, June 14, while visiting South Carolina. Becker and her husband were both killed when their sports utility vehicle crossed the median of Interstate 26 and struck a pickup truck. Local theatregoers may remember Becker from the early Eighties as Judi Sklar, a 5'1" bundle of energy who appeared at Capitol City Playhouse in that theatre's productions of Oliver! and Wings and at Hyde Park Showplace in Ken Johnson's production of his original comedy Duet in B Flat when she wasn't busy doing voiceovers and commercial and film work. Sklar left Austin for Charleston, S.C., in the late Eighties but returned in 1995 with a husband, Ross Becker, in tow. Together, the couple produced Good Dog!, a bimonthly magazine for canine enthusiasts and pet owners, and her job as editor of that publication kept her away from the stage the last few years, though she did find time to work with her old pal Ken Johnson as assistant director and stage manager for the 1996 premiere of his Jesse's Closet. Becker is survived by two sons, Josh Sklar of New York and Craig Sklar of Portland, Ore.
New Day for Hyde Park
This week kicks off the big transition at Hyde Park Theatre. On Thursday, June 21, when Ken Webster takes the stage in the Daniel MacIvor play House, he'll not only be reprising his acclaimed performance in a Frontera show, he'll be launching the first creative project in his new capacity as Producing Artistic Director of Hyde Park Theatre. Take careful note of that name now: Hyde Park Theatre. Not Frontera@ Hyde Park or Frontera Productions -- just plain Hyde Park Theatre. See, in determining the direction of Frontera in the wake of founder-artistic director Vicky Boone's resignation, the Frontera folks wanted to honor Boone's unique place in the history -- not to mention the soul -- of the company and also give Webster a way to be seen as an artistic director in his own right and not a successor to Boone. After much discussion by the board -- which, by the way, still includes Boone and now includes both Webster and his theatrical/marital partner Katherine Catmull, an artist whose ties to Frontera, like Webster's, extend back to the company's earliest shows -- the directors chose to align Webster artistically with the venue as opposed to the company, thus Producing Artistic Director of Hyde Park Theatre. It's a simple, elegant solution, fitting nicely with Webster's Subterranean Theatre Company being the new producing company in residence at Hyde Park Theatre, and, appropriately, the suggestion came from the new producing artistic director himself. The revival of House, as noted earlier in this space, is a co-production of the Frontera and Subterranean companies.
Board member Paul Alvarado-Dykstra released more good news this week regarding Frontera's future. The company's signature annual performance party FronteraFest will live on, with Austin Script Works joining the fun. The playwright service organization will enter into a partnership with Frontera to produce the six-week celebration of new works, and Script Works Producing Director Christina J. Moore will take charge of the event. It's another fine match by the Frontera board. For years, Script Works member playwrights have been taking advantage of FronteraFest to test out their new short plays; they have an intimate connection to the festival and a keen sense of its value. And Moore has directed several shows for Frontera, most notably Steven Tomlinson's Millennium Bug and Curb Appeal. Here's to the new Ffest!
