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Lily Gonzales, this Region’s Young Ambassador, is wrapping up her first year of college. I asked her to share her most critical theatrical observations of her new theater community. Now I realize that she is impressive not just as an emerging playwright. She’s also an intelligent activist. Here’s Lily…

When heading for college, I chose Austin, only 60 miles away from San Antonio, my hometown. I wasn’t sure I’d ever succeed as a playwright, going to school in Texas. However, it’s been wonderful realizing that Austin is, in fact, a playwright’s city having numerous organizations that’ve gained their identities from cultivating both playwrights and company-driven creation. I should be optimistic about this. Unfortunately at this time, Austin’s huge economic growth brings with it many new residents looking for housing which is scarce all over the city. But this newer population wants to live downtown and/or in hip parts of town…exactly where the theaters have blazed their trails and settled.

Real estate costs make sustainable life for theater groups at their existing spaces impossible. Yes, iconic theaters like Salvage Vanguard and The Off Center (The Rude Mechs’ home) will be gone soon: bull-dozed to give way to apartments. And large commercial venues like The Long Center and The ZACH bring in touring shows to satisfy the city’s new affluent residents’ taste for live theatre.* These realities plus the city’s unkept promises to “sustain Austin as a magnet for arts, culture, and creativity” provide more than a challenge to Austin’s creatives who have believed they were revered for the cultural attraction they gave their city. Obviously, this scenario threatens my future as well as the future of theater artists in my generation.

The Create Austin Cultural Master Plan (google it) was supposed to be the silver bullet for the city’s venue crisis. This 2009 plan has been seven years of retrogress yet is touted as the city’s outstanding resolution for cultural rejuvenation. So, when I heard that a group (Create Space) was forming to hold Create Austin’s feet to the fire, I rolled up my sleeves and signed on.

Create Space, like a phoenix rising from dissatisfaction, met with SRO on April 2 at Hyde Park Theater. Attendees from theaters all over the city had a town hall with two representatives from the city of Austin. Janet Seibert, Project Manager for Create Austin, testified that everyone is working around the clock to make headway on the venue crisis. Michelle Polgar, Arts Commissioner, emphasized how much progress the city is making in supporting the arts. Their ambiguous reports did not sit well with the creative community who articulated that the city must take charge in changing the state of affairs. The city must decide what truly will be good for economic development, incentivize the creative sector, and regard the health of the creative body in Austin as an important issue. And these meetings must continue. Christi Moore, Head of ScriptWorks, did offer a conciliatory note that the onus for raising awareness does, in part, lie on the creative community. And so, most of us are now committed to do whatever needs to be done to turn the tide so local creatives don’t just survive, but again thrive…perhaps in a new and better way we’ve not yet come upon. But the clearer the vision and focus we bring to the task, the sooner we’ll arrive at meaningful, long-range solutions.

My generation, a new generation of theater artists, is ready to find and pave a new path for American Theater. Previous generations overcame the turmoil of their times. Mine will overcome this age of insensible gentrification that is so nationally widespread. This is our hour; our opportunity to redefine the creative experience of Austin, and other cities that face the same issue. It is a cultural revitalization and I am confident in the power of the theater community, where I now claim membership. – Best, Lily Gonzales

* CORRECTION: ZACH Theatre, currently in its 84th season, is the oldest producing non-profit theatre in Texas. It operates under a LORT LOA contract and all the work presented on ZACH stages is produced by the organization. The company does not present tours or productions from other theatres.

srinear@dramatistsguild.com

Lily Gonzales