Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Crowder.
Hi Ryan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a youngster, I was an academic type. Theatre did not find me until high school. Besides being a creative outlet for a fairly shy adolescent, acting was a craft that didn’t lend itself to cut-and-dried mastery. It required technical skills but also constant exploration and increasing empathy and vulnerability. By my sophomore year of college, I was so enthralled, I decided to pursue theatre as a career – even though I had no idea what a career in the performing arts actually looked like.
While pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in acting, I was approached by an organization in Colorado asking if I would head a theatre they were opening as part of a community leadership training program. Ultimately, the theatre was struck from the plans when the project was downsized, but not before I’d undertaken to teach myself the basics of nonprofit arts administration by reading and interviewing current theatre leaders who were kind enough to share their time and expertise.
Shortly before graduation, I received a call from two friends I had met in my undergraduate training. Nathan Jerkins and Sean Martin were starting a theatre company in Austin, Texas and wondered if I might be interested in helping. In light of my recent self-education, it seemed like providence.
All three of us were young actor-directors with a particular passion for intimate stories meant to further a long-term dialogue with a local audience. We believed in the regional theatre philosophy and saw great opportunity in Central Texas, where the population was growing so fast, there were parts of the metro area that were without easy access to professional performances.
The company we founded was Penfold Theatre. It’s now in its 14th season, and I couldn’t be prouder of the artists we’ve been able to give a platform and the work they’ve created.
Penfold has taken time during the pandemic to cast a new vision for the future that revolves around reimagining classic stories. With help from Bloomberg Philanthropies, these dreams have been shaped into a five-year action plan with several new, large initiatives, including a new apprentice program with Texas State University, a multi-year series of new play commissions and a “Great Plays in Great Places” series that will host performances in historic and iconic locations across the region. All this will be in addition to our usual line-up of plays and musicals, which will resume in the 2021-22 Season.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A career in the nonprofit arts is never smooth. The natural forces of a capitalist economy work against you. Therefore, we depend on support from artists, audiences, volunteers, donors, business sponsors and government partners to make it possible. That kind of reliance on a community can be nerve-wracking at times, but it’s also humbling and deeply gratifying.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Aside from my role as Penfold’s Producing Artistic Director, I continue to perform with Penfold and other theatres around town. I’ve been honored to work with Austin Playhouse, Austin Shakespeare, the Hidden Room Theatre and others, and to have been recognized by the B. Iden Payne and Austin Critics Table Awards.
Pricing:
- You can explore our 14th Season at https://www.penfoldtheatre.org/on-stage/2021-22-season/
- Tickets range from $0 to $41
- Or access savings and insider perks with a season membership
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.penfoldtheatre.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/penfoldtheatre/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/penfoldtheatre/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/penfoldtheatre
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PenfoldtheatreOrg
Image Credits
Photo 1: By Henry Huey, Of Ryan Crowder Photo 2: By Dave Hawks, Of Joseph Garlock, Amelia Turner, Taylor Flanagan, Adam Miller-Batteau, Natalie Blackman, Zac Carr Photo 3: By Kimberley Mead, Of Chelsea Manasseri
