Story & photos by Romaree Herbert
My stories for August had been assigned, and I was in the process of researching for them. Out of nowhere, I received a brief text from my editor asking me to write an article about a local man who wanted to help with the possible renovation of an El Paso playhouse on Montana. The text included the name, Tony Lewis and a contact number. That was all the information that I got.
This text sparked my memory because growing up in El Paso presented me with the opportunity to act in plays around the city. I carried this hobby with me when I moved out to Los Angeles for my career. However, as I got busier, I put acting aside. Now, as my own children have gotten older and more independent, I have been considering getting back into acting as a hobby. I’ve spoken about it but had not yet done anything to make it happen.
Then, this out-of-the-blue text I received from my editor was the motivation I needed to put me in the right direction, leading me on a whirlwind of discovery about a small playhouse on Montana that I remembered my mom and her friends being a part of when I was a little girl. In the process I remembered my mom and her friends being a part of the performances at this playhouse when I was a little girl.
What I did not remember was the name of the theater, and was excited to find out if this was the same place from so many years ago. Immediately intrigued, I called the phone number I had been texted by my editor. When nobody answered, I googled “El Paso Playhouse” to see where this led me, and it turned out that there was indeed an “El Paso Playhouse” on Montana. The lady who answered the phone was helpful and explained that it had originally been known as the “Festival Theater.“
Hearing the name “Festival Theater,” brought me back to my childhood when I had spent time there with my mom and her friends. My memory was still fuzzy, so I immediately called my Mom in Los Angeles, and she confirmed that this was the same Festival Theater that she has been involved with while living in El Paso many years before.
As it turns out, The El Paso Playhouse is the longest-running community theater company in El Paso. The theater company was created in 1963, and was originally called the Festival Theater. The original financing for attaining the property and building, located at 2501 Montana, was accomplished through the generosity of local businessman William Kastrin. He and his two daughters, Veronica Kastrin and Linda Sue Abraham, along with Actor/Director Mr. Ken Letner of San Francisco, first conceived the idea of the Festival Theatre. After learning these details, things came full circle for me, and I knew that I was meant to be the person writing this story.
The theater has put on masterful live theatrical productions for the community, including Spanish-language plays, Shakespearean plays, modern comedies, thrillers and mysteries. Workshops and youth theater training camps provide opportunities for local talent to learn and grow. With every production new audiences are reached, some that have never experienced live theater before. Everyone involved with the Playhouse is a volunteer and works hard for this labor of love. They take this work seriously and are committed to bringing quality live theater to our community.
The Playhouse is run by a small volunteer board and puts on six shows per season starting at the end of August through May. Auditions are open to everyone and are posted on various social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. During the summer they have low-cost workshops for children, teaching them what goes into creating a show. The kids learn about writing, directing, costumes, set production and then have the opportunity to act in the show.
Board President Minden Dickson, who has been involved with the Playhouse off and on since 1992, serves many roles, such as director, actor, and helps run the box office. She explained that to keep costs low, everyone volunteers their time, and that the playhouse makes their money by ticket sales and by accepting small donations from patrons.
“The neatest thing to me is how long this theater has managed to hang in there,” explained Dickson. “I work the box office and expose people to live theater who haven’t experienced it before. We’ve even had reports by various staff members through the years that our theater is haunted. For instance, our technical director, Christine Ambriz, was working on a set late at night by herself. She was up on a ladder and dropped something and heard someone, or something, laughing. At that point, she decided it was time to go!”
“A lot of times someone will be closing up by themselves, turn off all the lights backstage, and close the dressing room doors. But if they walk back there, the lights will be on and the doors will be open,” added Dickson.
Revisiting the playhouse all these years later and hearing these interesting stories from Dickson has inspired me to return to acting and becoming a part of making this extraordinary little theater more exceptional. It takes committed people with a vision to see that this will happen! This is where the name Tony Lewis comes into the story. It is citizens like him who want to help preserve the treasure we have here in El Paso and keep its light shining bright.
Mr. Lewis, a veteran and local businessman and President of the El Paso, Texas Flags of America, was aware of the Playhouse for many years but had not ever been there. He recently had the opportunity to see a play called “Roosters” at the theater. He was so impressed with the operation of this little theater that he decided to volunteer his time and expertise in helping refurbish the building and help bring it up to date. “I saw ‘Roosters,’ a really nice play they put on explaining how and why some Mexican families have the roosters fight. I thought, this is great, this is awesome, and I pat them on the back for bringing people of all ages together.”
He went on to say that he noticed that the building was in desperate need of updating, painting, new roofing, air conditioning, and other repairs. He decided to contact some of his friends who own local businesses who could help refurbish the Playhouse. He said he is committed to increasing awareness of this small non-profit theater by helping recruit people to volunteer for painting and getting the word out in the community that the El Paso Playhouse is a hidden treasure that needs to be preserved. He added, “I plan to help them with this next project by doing repairs and by raising funds for them. The El Paso Playhouse needs change in a positive direction, and I pray that G-D gives me the ability to help.”
The El Paso Playhouse is committed to producing theater by and for our community. They strive to be an inviting, welcoming place, and will keep ticket prices as low as possible in order to make their productions accessible. They are determined to be inclusive, ensuring that our productions involve performers and technicians of all genders, races, and experience levels.
For more information on how to get involved and/or donate your time or services, please call the El Paso Playhouse at 915-532-1317.
59th Season Schedule:
Becky’s New Car
By Steven Dietz
Directed by Minden Dickson
Auditions – July 18-19, 2022
Performances – August 26- September 11, 2022
Have you ever been tempted to flee your own life? Becky Foster is caught in middle age, middle management and in a middling marriage—with no prospects for change on the horizon. Then one night a socially inept and grief-struck millionaire stumbles into the car dealership where Becky works. Becky is offered nothing short of a new life…and the audience is offered a chance to ride shotgun in a way that most plays wouldn’t dare. It’s a thoroughly original comedy with serious overtones, a devious and delightful romp down the road not taken.
Dracula
By Steven Dietz
Directed by Rebecca Condra
Auditions – August 15-16, 2022
Performances – October 14-30, 2022
“I want your fear. For your fear, like a current, rushes through your body. Your fear makes your heart pound, it renders your veins rich and full. Your fear hemorrhages deliciously within you.” This new adaptation restores the suspense and
seduction of Bram Stoker’s classic novel to the stage. As Count Dracula begins to exert his will upon the residents of London, they try to piece together the clues of his appearances in a valiant attempt to save themselves from a hideous fate. Rich with both humor and horror, this play paints a wickedly theatrical picture of Stoker’s famous vampire.
My Three Angels
By Samuel Spewack and Bella Spewack
Directed by Tracy Levin
Auditions – October 17-18, 2022
Performances – Dec 2-18, 2022
A different kind of Christmas story with some very unlikely angels! The scene is French Guiana, a region where on Christmas day the temperature has graciously dropped to 104 degrees. Three convicts are employed as roofers by a family, whose roof is in desperate need of maintenance. On the way from France is an evil-minded cousin, to oust the father of the family from his business, and his cold-blooded nephew, who is jilting the father’s daughter for an heiress. The three convicts take the visitors on. All three have warm hearts and are passionate believers in true justice. Possessing every criminal art and penal grace, they set matters right and in doing so redeem themselves as real life angels to the grateful family.
Alice in Wonderland
By Lewis Carroll, Florida Friebus, Eva Le Gallienne
Directed by Christine Ambriz
Auditions – November 7-8, 2022
Performances – February 3-19, 2023
A whimsical tale of Alice’s adventures as she follows the White Rabbit down a rabbit hole and meets the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts. Alice must struggle through a mad world full of riddles and arbitrary rules, as we all must. This wonderful adaptation of the classic is faithful to the book by Lewis Carroll, one of the most successful children’s books of all time.
The Glass Menagerie
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Frieda Voeks
Auditions – February 6-7, 2023
Performances – March 17 – April 2, 2023
Amanda Wingfield is a faded remnant of Southern gentility who now lives in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura, who has a physical handicap and debilitating shyness. The father has left home; Tom supports his mother and sister with a shoe-factory job he finds unbearable. When Amanda convinces Tom to bring home from his workplace a “gentleman caller” for Laura, the illusions that Tom, Amanda, and Laura have each created in order to make life bearable collapse about them.
Bus Stop
By William Inge
Directed by Jean Ames
Auditions – March 27-28, 2023
Performances – May 5-21, 2023
In the middle of a howling snowstorm, a bus out of Kansas City pulls up at a cheerful roadside diner. All roads are blocked, and the weary travelers are going to have to hole up until morning. Cherie, a nightclub singer, is the passenger with most to worry about. She’s been pursued by a twenty-one-year-old cowboy with a ranch of his own and the romantic
methods of an unusually headstrong bull. He’s ready to sling her over his shoulder and carry her, alive and kicking, all the way to Montana. As a counterpoint to the main romance, the proprietor of the cafe and the bus driver at last find time to develop a friendship of their own; a middle-age scholar comes to terms with himself; and a young girl who works in the cafe also gets her first taste of romance.