The World is a Stage {City Theatre}
City Theatre brings art and community to its new East Austin venue.
Words Jessi Devenyns | Photos Baptiste Despois
A dog barks from stage right. The sounds of a party bubble off stage left. Suddenly, the cast appears, and the room fills with a cacophony of voices. And the show begins.
At City Theatre, actors wield wit, dialogue, and dynamic range to transport audiences into the intimate and imaginative world to explore the philosophical musings of Jean-Paul Sartre, rollick with laughter at the modern-day commentary of Terrence McNally, and hum in harmony to the melodies of a musical.
City Theatre is local theater, according to the artistic director and manager Andy Berkovsky. And indeed, the productions in this setting are local in every sense, beginning when Andy arrived in Austin with only a dream and the freshly dried ink on his musical theater degree.
It was 2006 when Andy found a small space off Airport Boulevard, a perfect fit. The rest is history. While the pandemic presented a hiccup in City Theatre’s residency, the project has since reopened at Genesis Creative Collective, the worship hall of Genesis Presbyterian Church, nestled in Cherrywood neighborhood’s Patterson Park.
Since late last year, Andy, a handful of dedicated members, and a few professionals have transformed the symmetry of mid-century, ecclesiastical design into a 60-seat theater, complete with backstage dressing rooms and an astounding array of props.
Pulling back the curtain at City Theatre reveals the many moving parts it takes to put on a production. “It’s a small business,” Andy reminds. While he clarifies that being a small business means having a can-do attitude, it also hints that Andy is involved in every inch of daily operations, from building a set and helping direct productions to working with electricians to ensure optimal lighting. But his most laudable achievement at the theater is continuing to bring shows that transport audiences and elicit emotion from even the most stoic viewer.
Theater is the apotheosis of the arts. It is on a stage that storytelling, poetry, design, and acting converge to become a production. Just ask Andy. “Poetry, music, the spoken word—they culminate into the performing arts or into theater,” he explains. “The live theater experience—being touched by it and being challenged—you can’t match it.”
Creating a space that allows audiences to access the depths of their emotion is a labor of love. From costuming to accent perfection, each detail is an effort that Andy views as a reciprocation of the effort that theater goers expend to come and see a play. “Our goal is to try to create that live experience as best we can,” Andy says. “So when they do come, [there are] all those emotions, and something is reinforced about some sort of experience… love, families, or something they cherish.”
Contact:
1507 Wilshire Blvd.
citytheatreaustin.org
info@citytheatreaustin.org
Roll Call: Interested in acting rather than watching? City Theatre continuously runs auditions for its productions. ​​Interested parties can email audition requests or submissions to info@citytheatreaustin.org
Did You Know? City Theatre is a local theater that prides itself in making its shows accessible to anyone. Ticket prices range from $15-35, with free, on-site parking.
