FronteraFest, one of the high points of Austin's dynamic theatre season, is almost over, but you still have time to catch a few more shows, including a few from the minds of our busy kidsActing alumni-staff. Austin ScriptWorks and Hyde Park Theatre have sponsored this festival for nearly 20 years, propeling it to become THE fringe theatre event of the Southwest, with five weeks of 100 exciting performances (from every possible genre) happening in multiple venues across the city.

As part of the final week of the "Short Fringe" at Hyde Park Theatre, you can see the "Best of the Fest," which, among many other performances, will showcase an original semi-autobiographical (and semi-audience participatory) comedy by kidsActing teacher/director Kirk German (and co-written with another kidsActing alum, Joe Hartman!). Commissioned last fall by ScriptWorks, International House of Perception strives to settle a five-year-old argument between two good friends; there are two performances left: Wednesday, February 9th and Saturday, February 12th, both at 8:00pm. (NOTE: four other short performances will also be taking place on these evenings' bills; content for those other shows is unknown, so it's probably best to make this a grown-ups only event and to leave the kids with a sitter.)

www.hydeparktheatre.org 

Following its tremendous success as part of the "Long Fringe," the Shakespeare-meets-Super-Heroes comedy Spirits to Enforce by Mickle Maher has added three performances to its smashing run at the Blue Theatre. Infusing elements of Shakespeare's language, comic book lore, and choral arrangement, plus directed by kidsActing's own Gary Jaffe, Spirits to Enforce is formally innovative, wryly humorous, deeply compassionate - and holds firmly to the belief that the theater can create anything out of nothing at all. February 10th - 12th, 8:00pm. (NOTE: it's rated about PG-13, so you can bring the older kids with you.)

www.captialt.org 

Spring Break Camp! 

Totally fun!

Fun-filled camps! Act, sing, dance, play comedy and improv games, do theatre arts & crafts! 

Northcross Mall
Ages 7-12
Center Stage Texas
Ages 5-9
March 14-18
8:30-4pm

Early drop-off (up to 1 hr) and Late pick-up (up to 1.5 hrs) available. $5 per 30-minutes. Must arrange one week prior to start date.

 

Slick your hair and wear your buckled shoes - because, for only the second time in its history (and for the first time ever at Center Stage Texas), kidsActing is producing the hit musical Chicago! Although set in the 1920s and originally produced on Broadway in 1975, the message of Chicago is both timeless and timely; the dark themes of the story seem to be uniquely American yet at the same time universal... As the MC says at the top of the show, it's a tale of "murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery, and treachery - all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts."

Truth be told, the material in Chicago has been fascinating people for decades. Not only did the 2002 film adaptation of the musical win the Oscar for Best Motion Picture, but the stage revival which inspired that film, and which opened in New York in 1996, is still running at the Ambassador Theatre after over 5,400 performances, making it the sixth longest run in Broadway history. But even earlier than the Academy-Award winning film, the current revival, OR the original 1975 production (which was directed, choreographed, and co-written by the legendary Bob Fosse), the actual events on which the story is based have long been a compelling source of entertainment for audiences...In 1926, the first critically-acclaimed play about Roxie Hart, also titled Chicago, was written by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a Chicago Tribune reporter whose sensational column detailing the crimes of dancer Beulah Annan and cabaret singer

Belva Gaertner, inspired her to fictionalize the ladies as the now-infamous Roxie and Velma. A silent film version by Cecil B. DeMille followed shortly in 1927; and in 1942, a successful "talkie" was made starring Ginger Rogers as the title character Roxie Hart. Somehow, though, the Fosse version of the show (with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb) remains our culture's most indelible take on the material. Perhaps because Chicago manages to embrace classic nostalgia and bold, cutting-edge satire all at the same time.

Luckily, the talented students of the Advanced Musical Production are

more than up to this challenge. One such student is Chase McBride, who is one of three young actresses taking on the role of sophisticated double murderess Velma Kelly. After spending several years behind the scenes as a kidsActing "techie," Chase began her on-stage career five years ago when she played the Hungarian prisoner (and the show's most innocent character) Hunyak in the first kidsActing production of Chicago in 2005. In the intervening years, Chase recognizes the journey that's taken her from Hunyak to Velma has been an "incredible" one, saying that she's grown more than she "ever imagined possible under Dede's guidance, as a person, an actress, a singer," and even (to her surprise)-as a dancer. "In that first

Chicago, I used to just worry about my Hungarian and forget about the choreography," she says with a laugh. Well, you definitely wouldn't know it to watch her dancing now! Chase sees the way that kidsActing itself has grown over the years, too - "The sets, the costumes, Nina's choreography - there's so much more detail to all of it now, and it's just amazing." And there's a sweet poetry to Chicago being the bookends to Chase's experience as a kidsActing performer - it was her first show and now it's her last show (but not to worry, she'll still be around as a backstage guru and a teacher extraordinaire!). Along with the hard work and phenomenal talents of her thirty co-stars, this is definitely one show not to miss.

Full-Scale Musical Production 

Beauty and the Beast

47th and Burnet

Round Rock

Set during the roaring 20s, Chicago is a dark comedy that explores crime, celebrity culture, and the fickle nature of fame. Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb are at the top of their game with an unstoppable string of show-stopping Vaudeville-style numbers highlighting an array of fascinating, memorable, and (mostly) despicable characters.

Chicago runs for three weekends at Center Stage and features some of kidsActing's

biggest talents, Fosse choreography... and All That Jazz--!

Moulin Rouge 

Adult Movie Night 

 

Friday, March 25

5:30pm Happy Hour

7pm Movie

Center Stage Texas 

  

A Young Professionals event that features an opportunity to mingle with friends over French themed food and wine and then sing along to the classic Moulin Rouge. For those of you that love this film, this will be an evening not to be missed! All guests will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card to House Wine.

*21 and older only event

 

 All proceeds from this event will benefit Center Stage Texas' programming.

                          

 Karate Kid 

Kids Movie Night 

 

Monday, March 26 at 6pm

Center Stage Texas

 

Join us for the original Karate Kid, egg rolls and fortune cookies! Dress up as your favorite character and enter a competition for the martial arts master with the best karate moves.

  

 All proceeds from this event will benefit Center Stage Texas' programming.