Zach Topfer Theater - Austin, Texas - Live Stage Theaters on Waymarking.com

History
Founded in 1933 as Austin Civic Theatre, ZACH Theatre is the oldest continuously operating theatre in Texas and one of ten original resident theatre companies in America. The company was renamed Zachary Scott Theatre Center in 1968 in honor of Austin-raised, Academy Award-nominated film star, Zachary Scott, best known for his popular films Mildred Pierce (1945) and Cass Timberlane (1947). In 1972, the 230-seat Kleberg Theatre opened, and in the late 1980’s ZACH embarked on a successful capital campaign to build the Whisenhunt Theatre, a new 130-seat theatre-in-the-round, classroom, administrative offices and costume shop space. In the early 1990’s ZACH moved to professional status with Actor’s Equity Association and was selected for a National Endowment for the Arts Advancement Grant.

Services
Today, ZACH Theatre creates a year-round season of more than 600 performances, serving nearly 115,000 Central Texans annually, 57,000 of whom are the children, students, and families who participate in our education and outreach programs. ZACH productions span a dynamic range of programming that includes both professional Mainstage plays and musicals, and Theatre for Youth. ZACH incubates original work, cultivating, commissioning, developing and producing new plays and musicals by playwrights and composers from Central Texas as well as internationally-acclaimed artists. Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley is committed to selecting work that is both timely and relevant to Central Texas audiences, re-envisioning ZACH production s in a way that creates meaningful, inclusive dialogues in our community. ZACH’s commitment to artistic excellence and contributions to the theatre field have been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Shubert Foundation, The New York Times, as well as numerous theatrical awards.

Community Impact
Located in the heart of Austin on the banks of Lady Bird Lake, ZACH is widely considered “Austin’s Theatre.” The power of theatre to transform lives is evidenced all day long at ZACH as our theatre spaces transform from children’s theatre, to classroom, to premiere regional stage. Unlike our friends at The Long Center, Texas Performing Arts or the Paramount Theatre, who host touring productions and entertainment acts, ZACH is a producing theatre. We create each of our productions—from conception and design to performance—in theatres with close proximity of audience to actor, providing Central Texas audiences with an intimate experience of artistically excellent theatre. ZACH currently employs over 90 full-time and part-time staff and contracts over 300 artists, designers, teachers, and technicians, 93% of which reside in the greater Austin area and reflect the region’s rich diversity.