THE MAKING OF A GREAT MOMENT

This past season’s shows got some nice nominations in the 2025-26 B. Iden Payne Awards:

I Love HPT: The Return

• Outstanding Solo Performance: Ken Webster

• Outstanding Dramaturgy: Ken Webster

Witch

• Outstanding Lead Performer of a Comedy: Chase Brewer as Scratch

• Outstanding Fight Performance: Steve Guntli as Cuddy and Jon Edward Cook as Frank

Dear Dickies

• Outstanding Solo Performance: Robin Chotzinoff

The awards will be announced Monday, November 2.

October 29 - 30, 2026

A two-night celebration of the release of Suzanne La Follette's new book of poetry, Body, Burn Slowly. 

La Follette served Austin as a firefighter for two decades, performed as a finalist on the National Poetry Slam stage, and earned her MFA in poetry and non-fiction at Antioch University. Her new book -- presented by Write Bloody Publishing -- confronts the physical and emotional residue of emergency work, the inequities faced by women in traditionally male institutions, and the strange recalibration of a life suddenly measured against time.

This event brings La Follette and her talented friends together for two nights of poetry and comedy. Comedic touring poet and founder of Write Bloody Publishing Derrick Brown will read poems at both shows. Nikki Da Vaughn, an Austin-born host tested on everything from podcasts to burlesque, will emcee both nights.

Each performance will also feature special guest poets. On Thursday night, Austin Poetry Slam founder and Hyde Park Theatre company member Mike Henry will perform his own poems along with Bree Bailey, Texan Latine badass mom and Write Bloody author of Wailing on Whisper Street. Friday night's lineup welcomes our favorite Assistant Principal and former Austin Slammaster, Tova Charles, along with critically-acclaimed author and international touring interdisciplinary artivist Ebony Stewart, and a Chief in the Austin Fire Department and author of two poetry books (including the recent Easy Listening), Tim Krcmarik. 

Copies of Body, Burn Slowly will be on sale at both shows and available for signing by the author. Box office opens at 7 pm each night for an 8 pm curtain time.   

by Sharyn Rothstein

November 5 - 28, 2026

Directed by Jenny Larson-Quinones

Shrewd Productions presents the regional premiere of this dark comedy about book-banning, censorship, and the undeniable power of stories.

It starts with a mother, a librarian, and a "controversial" book. What could possibly go wrong?

When a concerned mom demands answers about what her teenage son is reading, a trip to the local library quickly spirals into a battle over books, parenting, censorship, and who gets to control the information we consume. But once a story—or a social media post—is released into the world, can anyone really control what happens next?

Sharp, provocative, and wickedly funny, Bad Books is a timely exploration of our increasingly divided culture—and what can happen when fear, conviction, and good intentions collide.

Directed by Jenny Larson-Quinones, Bad Books features a star-studded cast including Heather Hanna, Gina Houston, Shannon Grounds, and Chelsea Manasseri. 

7:15pm Monday, November 9, 2026

Five Archetypes. Four Young Writers. One New Story.

A Community Reading & Conversation

Black Rose Theater ATX welcomes you to The Writer’s Room. Meet four amazing emerging writers—Katherine Sawyer, Marley Miller, Belle Schrup, and Alexandria Collins—who have been collaborating with Zell Miller, III to develop an original script for Black Rose Theater ATX's 2027 Season.

Inspired by the iconic film The Breakfast Club, these young artists have reimagined its five familiar archetypes through a modern lens, exploring identity, belonging, stereotypes, and the challenges facing today's youth.

NOW, WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Join us for an intimate sharing of selected scenes from this exciting new work, followed by an open conversation with the audience. Your voices, perspectives, and lived experiences will help shape the script as we work toward creating a story that feels honest, relevant, and authentic.

We especially welcome youth ages 15–21, educators, teaching artists, youth advocates, mentors, parents, and anyone who works with or cares about young people.

Because authentic stories begin with authentic conversations.

FREE & OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Come listen. Come share. Come help shape the story.

BLACK ROSE THEATER ATX: Creating Space. Centering Voices. Building Community.

by Paula Vogel

December 4–19, 2026

Directed by Marian Kansas

Produced by Marian Kansas. Five aging sex workers, New York City at the dawn of the Reagan administration, and a park bench come together to form this witty, poignant peek into the lives of the practitioners of the world’s Oldest Profession.

January 12– February 13, 2027

Hyde Park Theatre season show. That’s right: it will soon be time to heat up your winter nights again with the 32nd season of FronteraFest at Hyde Park Theatre. The Short Fringe, BYOV, and Mi Casa--as always and ever, FronteraFest is five weeks of alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre. Too bad there's no actual way to expect the unexpected, because that is your only hope.

PARTICIPANTS: All Short Fringe slots and the Short Fringe waitlist are now full. If you'd like to be notified should the waitlist reopen, please email Lisa at FFCoProd@hydeparktheatre.org.

FronteraFest is produced in collaboration with ScriptWorks, a group dedicated to supporting emerging playwrights and developing new dramatic works.

by Annie Baker

February 25 - March 27, 2027

Hyde Park Theatre season show. Annie Baker is the Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Genius Award-winning playwright of many past HPT favorites, including John, The Antipodes, The Flick, The Aliens, Circle Mirror Transformation, and Body Awareness,

In 2027, HPT is bringing you Baker’s latest: a very funny and occasionally harrowing play set at a California pain clinic. The New York Times called Infinite Life “very weird and great.” Vulture called it “nimble, funny, and devastating . . . Whatever the relative wellness or illness of our bodies, Infinite Life gathers us all in its wide embrace, turning its curious, accepting gaze on our brokenness.”

Directed by Ken Webster. More details soon.

April 8–17, 2027

Produced by Scriptworks. The always-anticipated Austin tradition: Every November during the “Weekend Fling,” Texas playwrights are given 48 hours to write a ten-minute play based on three rules. Eight are chosen for production the following spring, directed and performed by local artists. Always a blast.

by David Auburn

May 13–29, 2027

Produced by Jarrott Productions. Set against the backdrop of America's Bicentennial celebration, this bittersweet, comic memory play captures the experience of a friendship between two women that shouldn't work, but does. Directed by JP Founding Artistic Director David R. Jarrott.