Principles & Services
Principles
CTX Live Theatre is a proprietary, non-commercial and non-profit service.
It's an avocation — or maybe no more than a hobby, bordering on a quiet obsession. Like philately. Many people collect, classify and scrupulously preserve postage stamps; I collect and document theatre performances. I've written more than 600 reviews and published another 130 reviews by associates and contributors. I've documented thousands of stagings of live theatre. CTX Live Theatre does this at no charge to local artists and non-commercial productions.
CTX Live Theatre follows live narrative theatre produced in Central Texas.
'Narrative' means the presentation of a story via the interpretation of a set text. So, no improv, even though that art form can be thrilling, comic and suspenseful. Very little dance. Almost no stand-up solo gigs. And only very rarely any coverage of those touring productions that stop through the Bass Concert Hall and Long Center in Austin or the Tobin Center in San Antonio.
CTX Live Theatre aims to cover all sorts of live narrative theatre all over Central Texas.
Theatrical art is community engaged in shared imagination, factors present in virtually any gathering where the audience has agreed to watch the performance of a work. Performances at commercial venues such as the Zach Theatre are almost always worthy of critical consideration and applause — as, equally, are those of 'community' theatres such as the HCCT in Cottonwood Shores, the Sam Bass Theatre in Round Rock, Playhouse Smithville, and VLA Theatre in Killeen. Theatre departments at universities, colleges and schools inspire young persons and those who watch them. Even more exciting are those very many groups of friends and acquaintances who come together to engage us with the art. Some are well-established and autonomous such as the Rude Mechs and the Hyde Park Theatre in Austin or the Attic Rep and the Classic Theatre in San Antonio; others are sporadic, tentative or devoted to a particular genre, artistic credo or set of beliefs.
Services
Publicity for performances.
I collect information, images and videos, and I create a page on this site for each production that comes to my attention.
A comprehensive theatre calendar for Central Texas.
CTX Live Theatre gives a full listing of live narrative theatre announced to the public. Listings provide titles, authors, producing organizations, venues and times. Full seasons are listed, so the calendar usually features events scheduled for the upcoming twelve months.
Reviews
- Our own: We review productions and advise followers via Twitter (@CTXLiveTheatre). CTX Live Theatre welcomes submissions from anyone who'd like to participate in reviewing Central Texas live theatre.
- Reviews from elsewhere: I post links to all reviews of Central Texas live theatre that come to my attention.
Audition postings.
CTX Live Theatre carries a posting of every stage-related audition notice that comes to my attention. Also posted are job openings and various other arts-related opportunities. CTX Live Theatre announces these via Twitter (@CTXLiveTheatre) and on the CTX Live Theatre Facebook page. As of April 2016, 1375 audition announcements have been communicated via CTX Live Theatre.
Art news items and theatre videos
The CTX Live Theatre 'News' section carries announcements of theatre-related opportunities for participation and employment. It serves as a platform for videos promoting CTX stage productions, which I usually pick up from emails, YouTube and Vimeo (Facebook's proprietary video software isn't structured for appropriate embedding). The 'News' section also provides links to articles and publications of interest to theatre artists and their followers.
Direct submissions.
CTX Live Theatre invites individuals and organizations from throughout Central Texas to submit audition notices, production information, art news items and draft reviews of CTX narrative theatre via e-mail to ctxlivetheatre@gmail.com.
Theatre links.
CTX Live Theatre maintains a listing of links to Central Texas theatre groups, displayed with their logos.