Austin Playhouse is a professional regional theatre that was founded in August of 2000 by Producing Artistic Director Don Toner, with the support of over fifty of Austin’s leading theatre artists, administrators, and volunteers. 

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Since its inception, Austin Playhouse has been affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, the national union of professional actors and stage managers. We’ve built an artistic company of the finest actors, designers, and stage managers in Austin. Our seasons are carefully curated to showcase incredible performances of entertaining new plays, thought-provoking dramas, side-splitting comedies, and moving musicals. Our intimate theatre space enhances the connection between actor and audience. 

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Austin Playhouse has performed in many locations and is currently in a capital campaign to build a permanent venue. Our inaugural season took place at Concordia University. In 2002, we transformed a warehouse in South Austin’s Penn Field into a two-venue performance space with a 135-seat main stage and a 75-seat second stage, the Larry L. King Theatre. In 2010, due to unsustainable rent increases, we moved to a temporary location in Austin’s Mueller development, where we presented our 2011-2012 season in a huge, climate-controlled tent.

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In 2012 we began a collaborative agreement with Austin Community College to renovate a storefront in ACC-owned Highland Mall, where we produced 45 shows over eight years. 

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In April 2019, thanks to a generous donation, we purchased land to build a permanent facility for Austin Playhouse and Austin’s arts community. The site was fully permitted in early 2020, just before the pandemic hit. Pandemic uncertainty and skyrocketing construction costs paused the project. We’re actively working to fill the funding gap needed to build the performance venue.

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Don Toner retired as Co-Producing Artistic Director of Austin Playhouse in 2022. Producing Artistic Director, Lara Toner Haddock, was joined in leadership by two Associate Artistic Directors from the Artistic Company, Ben Wolfe and Sarah Fleming Walker. 

 

In the summer of 2022, University Baptist Church invited us to renovate a performance space in their education building as an interim venue while the capital campaign continues. We’re grateful for the support of our community as we continue to work toward a permanent, sustainable home.