WE'RE PLEASED TO INTRODUCE OUR EMERGING ARTISTS BOARD!

   Stage West announces the formation of an Emerging Artists youth board. Ranging in age from 15 to 25, they will usher and see shows, assist in volunteer activities and tech work, and work with staff as needed. They will also have the opportunity to use Stage West's space for their own projects, and to produce a show of their own. The current group members are:

Hilary Davis
Sarah Elizondo
Suzanne Fordering
Babs  Ipaye
Claire Parker
Roy Parker
Katreeva Phillips (Co-Founder)
Marshelle Phillips
Justin Rhoads
Emily C. White

November 24 - And we're open! It's amazing how much has been accomplished in just the last 6 days. The set was built in record time, and it looks great in the space. To see the first audience members arriving, enjoying a pre-show coffee and dessert, and filing into the theatre to take their seats for the preview of Season's Greetings was so great! And a sell-out crowd arrived for Saturday's opening night and the reception after the show. Everyone seems to love it as much as we do. If you haven't joined us yet, we hope you will soon! Come start the future with us!

November 10 - Well, we're pretty much there! The carpet is in--lobby, hall, green room, and theatre. Looks great! And the stage is built, and is wonderful to see. It's huge at the moment, but wings and backstage masking will bring that down to a perfect size. The dressing rooms have mirrors. The green room has trim and great furniture. The tables and chairs have been moved in from storage and cleaned up. We still have to tile the dressing room counters and a few odds and ends, but Phase 1 is pretty much done, and we lack only our final inspection and Certificate of Occupancy! Can I say again that we would NEVER have done so well without the tireless and uncomplaining assistance of our volunteer help, most of whom are our Board? What troupers they have all been! We are so anxious to move in and show you our new home!

October 28 - Well, the risers are complete and painted, and all the seats have been installed. And the stage construction is well under way. It's going to be a wonderful space--sight lines from the farthest seat over are just great! All the prep tables and other fixtures are installed in the kitchen, and the bar sinks are in too. The dressing rooms are almost done, lacking pretty much only the mirrors. There will be some stuff to finish out, but once the stage is complete and the carpet is in, we're pretty much there. We're picking up our stage lights this weekend. Things are crazy, but also exciting. It would NEVER have been possible without our tireless volunteers!

October 18 - We're having a couple of mid-week work calls to paint the risers and install the seats. Last night we painted, and tonight we put together and installed as many seats as we could. Due to a glitch, the risers aren't completely skinned yet--the sides are still just framework. But we painted what we could last night. And tonight we had a big crew working a sort of assembly line to put sets of seats together and attach them to the platforms. It was pretty productive!
Also--all the walls are painted, and what a difference! Check out the photos to get an idea how it looks. Sure isn't the black space that it was before! The new seats look great against the rich theatre walls.
And the hallway lights are in--a sort of porthole sconce, and nice. The stalls and toilets, sinks and mirrors are also in--and working! Last night the guys moved the big bar pieces up to the front and into rough position. The bar sinks, kitchen sinks, and ice maker are also in place. The kitchen areas were painted last Sunday, and all looks much better.
There's still a lot to do, but it's moving quickly. I guess the last really big thing will be the carpeting, and it's on order. What an exciting thing this is to witness! And what a great volunteer crew we've had!

October 12 - Not only is the taping and bedding done now, but the walls are primed! I'm told that painting will begin tonight. Even just having the primer on makes it look better. All the overhead lighting is in now. Also, one of our patrons offered to stain the three kitchen areas which will not be tiled, and it's done. It's a wonderful deep rusty color, and is such an improvement to those areas.

October 5 - Okay, the drywall is up in the lobby/dining area, and that really makes it look like a room, and not a warehouse! They're working on the ceiling in the hall by the restrooms, which are also now drywalled (except for the handicap-access one). And the wall tiles are complete. Taping and bedding will start next Monday. The tile area which will run under the bar area has also been installed, and is curing. Looks great. Our office is loaded with paint chips and carpet samples, and that will be the next big thing. It won't be long now!

September 29 - Well, things are moving along better and better! The concrete in the kitchen and restrooms has been poured and is curing. The firewall and back wall are done, defining the theatre space. The overhead lights are in, theatre and lobby. And--construction of the seating risers has begun! The structure is steel, so it will be very strong. It's only 6 rows deep, so every seat in the house looks to be excellent! Many of our larger donors came by for a tour, donuts, coffee, and juice this morning, and were pleased to see how things are looking. We're getting more and more excited, and anxious to move in!

September 23 - Another work day, and a chance to see what's been done. A couple of things needed inspection, so there are things which haven't gone forward yet, but there's a lot done. The ceiling has been painted--kind of a charcoal brown--and it looks industrial-cool. Wall tiles have gone up in the men's room, and they look great (2-inch, kind of sage green, very spa-like). The fire-rated wall is up between the theatre and the hall, and the doorways are framed out. The wall extends all the way up to become the lower wall of the tech booth. Three of the house light fixtures are up, and the rest will be soon. The same lights will be in the lobby. The wall is also nearly complete between the theatre and the old shop space at the far rear of the building. And the volunteer crew today cleaned the front windows, painted the dressing room floors, and mopped and painted the dressing room hall. Dana installed some shelving with a costume rail earlier in the week. We think a lot more will be completed by this week's end!

September 12 - Now the ceiling insulation has been sprayed on, in the lobby and the theatre! Kinda funky at the moment, but it's not been painted yet--though it will be shortly. The new plumbing is in (kitchen and restrooms), so now the holes in the floor can be filled. The handicap-access restroom has been framed also, and has its plumbing. And now the fire-rated drywall is going up in the theatre area. Our next volunteer workday is 9/23, and we'll be finishing some paintwork in the hallway, among other things.

Stage West is pleased to announce its 2nd annual Texas Playwriting Competition! Last year's was very successful, and we're looking forward to more great submissions this year. Click here for more info, and an entry form you can print and submit.

The basics are the same: the winning playwright receives a $250 prize, and the play will be workshopped and presented in a staged reading. Entries must be postmarked no later than April 15, 2008. Writers will be notified by June 15.

Applicants should have lived in Texas for at least 2 years, though current residency is not required. Non-current residents should include a statement indicating his/her ties to Texas.

The play must have not had prior professional productions. University and workshop productions, and staged readings, are acceptable.

Each writer or team may only send one entry.

No restrictions on subject matter, format, cast size (though less than 8 is preferable), or style.

September 6 - Still more progress. The stud wall for the upstairs overlooking the lobby is now complete. The same is true for the pony wall on the balcony which overlooks the theatre, where the new tech booth will be. Some of the new plumbing is also in. Ductwork is moving along in the theatre space also, and the peeling texture/paint on the wall which will be behind the stage has been mostly scraped down. The stud wall is also complete dividing the theatre space from the shop space.

September 3 - Another productive workday--and not as hot! The green room is now painted, and yes, it's green. The dressing rooms and the dressing room hall have also been painted, and look positively sparkly. A second floor was primed, and all that's left to prime there is the hallway. We had a large and efficient crew working, and so it got done in record time. See our happy group here:

Back row L to R: Guy Manning, Dennis Cooper, Yvonne Johnson, Gene Merrell, Gary Payne, Justin Flowers, Jim Kelly
Front row: Suzi McLaughlin, Barbara Burrill, Barbara Wyatt, Maggie Knapp, Dana Schultes

And the contractors have been busy too. The A/C ductwork for the lobby is now in, as are the junction boxes for the new overhead lights. The kitchen and bathrooms require additional plumbing, so BIG chunks of the concrete have been ripped out, and concrete dust is everywhere! The new entry to the restrooms has been framed out, as has part of the new upstairs stud wall. There are new pix below, with more to come shortly...