For Tickets: 512.32.WORLD (512.329.6753)2/19/10 SHAWN COLVIN2/20/10 DAVE MASON2/26/10 STEPHEN BISHOP2/27/10 RICHIE HAVENS3/12/10 KEIKO MATSUI4/2/10 ROBBEN FORD4/9/10 SPYRO GYRA4/16/10 MICHAEL FRANKS4/18/10 TANGO INTIMO5/2/10THE STANLEY CLARKEBAND FEATURING HIROMI5/14/10R n R w/ RICK BRAUN &RICHARD ELLIOT5/21/10 LARRY CARLTON6/4/10 CRAIG CHAQUICO6/11/10 STRUNZ & FARAH6/25/10 ACOUSTIC ALCHEMY7/30/10 OTTMAR LIEBERT8/6/10 HIROSHIMA8/13/10 CHRISTOPHER CROSS8/20/10 PAULA POUNDSTONE8/27/10 JUDY COLLINS10/24/10 CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIOTHE GEORGETOWN PALACE THEATRE PRESENTS ...THE GEORGETOWN PALACE THEATRE PRESENTS …Nunsense II512.869.7469 - 512.869.5081WWW.THEGEORGETOWNPALACE.ORG<strong>The</strong> Second Com<strong>in</strong>g...by Dan Gogg<strong>in</strong>Directed by Ron WatsonHISTORIC GEORGETOWN810 S. AUSTIN AVE.LAUGH & LEARN!One Night Shtick: An Even<strong>in</strong>gof Jewlicious ComedySaturday, January 23 • 8 PMNationally renowned comediansCathy Ladman, Dan Naturmanand Lisa Geduldig will have youlaugh<strong>in</strong>g all night!Cathy Ladman Dan Naturman Lisa Geduldig<strong>The</strong> Eighth Annual Tapestry of Jewish Learn<strong>in</strong>gSunday, January 24 • 11 AMJo<strong>in</strong> us for a day of engag<strong>in</strong>g classes led by dynamicexperts, academics and area clergy, featur<strong>in</strong>gKeynote Speaker Charles London, author ofFar from Zion—In Search of a Global JewishCommunity.Dell Jewish Community Campus • 7300 Hart Lane (off Far West Blvd.)Register early and save!www.shalomaust<strong>in</strong>.org/tapestry(512) 735-8030Tapestry of Jewish Learn<strong>in</strong>g is a program of the JCAA’s Spotlight on Arts & Ideas series.26 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 15, 2010 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m
THEarts28 Keith Johnstone 30 After a Fashion 31 Books 56 Arts List<strong>in</strong>gsTHE HORTON FOOTE PRIZEHonor<strong>in</strong>g one writer by tak<strong>in</strong>g care of others<strong>The</strong> news last week that a majornew playwrit<strong>in</strong>g award had beenestablished <strong>in</strong> honor of the lateHorton Foote was hardly a surprise.His reputation as a master of thedramatist’s craft had grown steadilyover the past 25 years, and thisyear’s posthumous production ofhis n<strong>in</strong>e-play magnum opus, <strong>The</strong>Orphans’ Home Cycle, on Broadwaywill only burnish it further. A prize <strong>in</strong>his name seemed only fitt<strong>in</strong>g. No, thesurprise was where the award wasbe<strong>in</strong>g established: <strong>in</strong> Aust<strong>in</strong>, a city towhich the Texas writer had no strongties and <strong>in</strong> which productions of hisplays are scarcer than blue moons.(Different Stages’ March productionof <strong>The</strong> Carpetbagger’s Children will bejust the fourth Foote drama stagedlocally <strong>in</strong> 20 years.) So why hasthis tribute to Foote, which awards$30,000 biennially to “an Americanplaywright who has written an orig<strong>in</strong>alwork of exceptional quality,”come from here?<strong>The</strong> answer lies with local filmmakerand arts philanthropistMari Marchbanks, who’s been agreat admirer of Foote’s work s<strong>in</strong>ceshe first saw a version of his <strong>The</strong> Tripto Bountiful years ago. “I was staggeredby its humanity and grace,” shesays. “His words have a quiet powerthat strikes us at our core. We don’texpect it, we never see it com<strong>in</strong>g,then, bam. We are ord<strong>in</strong>ary, but <strong>in</strong>his hands, we become extraord<strong>in</strong>ary.”Marchbanks has been want<strong>in</strong>gto honor Foote for years andthought she had an opportunity adecade ago when the State <strong>The</strong>atreCompany, then led by Don Toner,was plann<strong>in</strong>g to expand <strong>in</strong>to thebuild<strong>in</strong>g just north of the State<strong>The</strong>atre. She and husband GregMarchbanks had the nam<strong>in</strong>g opportunityfor the small black-box theatrethat would go <strong>in</strong>to the space,and she favored nam<strong>in</strong>g it forFoote, but then the build<strong>in</strong>g endedup be<strong>in</strong>g sold, and the space nevermaterialized. Still, the experiencegave her the opportunity to meetthe playwright at his home <strong>in</strong>Wharton, and what came out of it,she says, “was Horton’s desire tosee a playwright taken care of. Hetold me that whatever I chose todo, to do it for the playwright.”Foote’s wish was re<strong>in</strong>forced whenMarchbanks read a McKnightFoundation survey that asked writershow much money they thoughtan artist needed to live on. “I wassurprised,” she recalls. “<strong>The</strong>yseemed to ask for so little to getby <strong>in</strong> order to keep creat<strong>in</strong>g, yet theopportunities to make a liv<strong>in</strong>g withtheir art are so hard to come by. Inlate 2008, Greg and I went to NewYork to see the Broadway productionof Horton’s Divid<strong>in</strong>g the Estate.Later, <strong>in</strong> the warmth of our hotelbar, I started up once aga<strong>in</strong> onhonor<strong>in</strong>g Horton, giv<strong>in</strong>g to the playwright,the economy! At some po<strong>in</strong>t,Greg cut me off midsentence andsimply told me if I was go<strong>in</strong>g to doit, then do it. <strong>The</strong> only way to beg<strong>in</strong>is to beg<strong>in</strong>. So here we are.”<strong>The</strong> <strong>in</strong>augural Horton FootePrize will be awarded sometimethis fall at a ceremony <strong>in</strong> NewYork. <strong>The</strong> recipient will be chosenfrom submissions made by aselect group of resident theatresthat share a strong history of produc<strong>in</strong>gnew work. Each theatremay enter one full-length drama –no one-acts or monologues, andno musicals, translations, adaptations,or collaborations – and thework must be by a writer who’shad at least three full-length playsproduced by professional theatres.A selection committee willdeterm<strong>in</strong>e the f<strong>in</strong>alists, with thew<strong>in</strong>ner be<strong>in</strong>g chosen by four artisticdirectors who all worked withFoote: André Bishop, L<strong>in</strong>colnCenter <strong>The</strong>ater; James Houghton,Signature <strong>The</strong>atre Company;Andrew Leynse, Primary Stages;and Michael Wilson, HartfordStage Company.Marchbanks, who is serv<strong>in</strong>g asexecutive director for the prize,Horton Footesees it as an opportunity “to liftthe playwright’s f<strong>in</strong>ancial state whileat the same time rem<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g thoseand future playwrights of this importantwriter who came before them. Ith<strong>in</strong>k that time will bear Horton outto be one of America’s greatestdramatists. And <strong>in</strong> my book, he’ssecond to none.”For more <strong>in</strong>formation, visitwww.hortonfooteprize.org.– Robert FairesGenevieve K<strong>in</strong>ney of La Fenice<strong>The</strong>atre companies, like bands, break up all the time, butit’s not every day that you see one reassemble. That’s whatmakes a new production from the Aust<strong>in</strong> Commedia Society,open<strong>in</strong>g this week at Club de Ville, more than usually noteworthy.<strong>The</strong> company was last seen <strong>in</strong> action around the timethat the U.S. <strong>in</strong>vaded Iraq – it has, <strong>in</strong> fact, been defunct longerthan it was orig<strong>in</strong>ally <strong>in</strong> existence.ACS formed <strong>in</strong> 1999 and over a four-year span stagedabout a dozen orig<strong>in</strong>al scenarios rooted <strong>in</strong> the style of – whatelse? – commedia dell’arte. Its crown<strong>in</strong>g achievement wasLA FENICE Out of the ashes, new zan<strong>in</strong>essthe Commedia dell’Aust<strong>in</strong> Festival 2001, which broughttogether five commedia troupes from across the country andseveral specialists from around the world for two weeks ofclasses and performances. Unfortunately, just three days <strong>in</strong>toit, 9/11 happened and sucked the energy right out of thefestival and, it turned out, the group as well.“People were just k<strong>in</strong>d of ready to move on,” remembersAaron Johnson, the group’s artistic director. “<strong>The</strong>re was nobitterness. We shook hands, gave each other great big hugs,but it was like, ‘We gotta go try someth<strong>in</strong>g different now.’”Society members dispersed to new pursuits – graduatedegrees, jobs, hav<strong>in</strong>g kids – and, <strong>in</strong> some cases, new cities.Johnson himself relocated to South Bend, Ind., where heworked for a while <strong>in</strong> an Irish pub run by the parents of ACSmember Kate Meehan. After that, he pushed on to Chicagoand wound up manag<strong>in</strong>g a theatre company, then headedwest to New Mexico for a brief st<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> his parents’ jewelrybus<strong>in</strong>ess. <strong>The</strong>n, last year, Meehan’s parents aga<strong>in</strong> offeredJohnson a job <strong>in</strong> a new Irish pub they were open<strong>in</strong>g … <strong>in</strong>Aust<strong>in</strong>. That brought him back to town and reconnected himwith Meehan, who then had the bright idea of see<strong>in</strong>g if theystill had any commedia chops left.A few phone calls found Paul Jo<strong>in</strong>er and Genevieve K<strong>in</strong>neyof the ACS old guard eager to play aga<strong>in</strong>, and voila! <strong>The</strong> bandwas back together. As they were ris<strong>in</strong>g from the ashes ofAust<strong>in</strong> Commedia Society, they adopted a new name, LaFenice – Italian for the phoenix. <strong>The</strong>y developed a new orig<strong>in</strong>alscenario, Suitors and Tutors, and even persuaded an<strong>in</strong>structor from the 2001 festival, Gian Giacomo Colli, tocome down and direct it.Go<strong>in</strong>g back to commedia after several years compares,Johnson says, to rid<strong>in</strong>g a bicycle. “You don’t forget, but ifyou don’t ride it for a little while, you have to knock the rustoff the cha<strong>in</strong> and have the brakes tightened and th<strong>in</strong>gs likethat. It was not a sluggish start, but it was like, ‘Okay, do westill know how to do this?’ In the last week, everyone hasreatta<strong>in</strong>ed that comfort level [of the ACS days]. We’re laugh<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> rehearsal, hav<strong>in</strong>g a great time, try<strong>in</strong>g out all k<strong>in</strong>ds ofnew stuff.”That bodes well for this week’s open<strong>in</strong>g at Club de Ville. Tohear him talk, Johnson’s only real concern is the weather. See,the company plans to perform on the outdoor stage, But henotes that the club’s outdoor heaters will be fired up, and he’llbe hand<strong>in</strong>g out a blanket with each admission. And if the crowdstill th<strong>in</strong>ks it’s too cold, they’ll move the fun <strong>in</strong>doors. – R.F.Suitors and Tutors runs Jan. 15-31, Fridays & Saturdays, 8pm, atClub de Ville, 900 Red River. For more <strong>in</strong>formation, call 539-0358 orvisit www.lafeniceaust<strong>in</strong>.org.a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m JANUARY 15, 2010 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E 27
Change language