Leslie Swackhamer

The 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has been awarded to UK playwright Ava Pickett for her play 1536.  Awarded annually since 1978, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize is the largest and oldest international award recognizing women+ who have written works of outstanding quality for the English-speaking theatre. See photos from inside the ceremony here.

The 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has revealed the finalists for this prestigious international award honoring women+ playwrights.

In honor of the 45th Anniversary of the internationally prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, 4th Wall Theatre Company is hosting a special one-night only reading of this year's Prize Winner, IN THE AMAZON WAREHOUSE PARKING LOT by U.S. playwright Sarah Mantell.  Presented on Sunday, June 4 at 7pm, the reading will be followed by a reception and conversation with the playwright.

In a special presentation at Shakespeare's Globe in London, the Blackburn Prize judges presented Lombe with a cash prize of $25,000, and a signed limited-edition print by renowned artist Willem De Kooning, created especially for the Prize. 

This spring, Brendan Bourque-Sheil's story of a woman dealing with life's impossible changes is one of Houston's best plays. Set in the fictional town of Buxtop, Texas, the protagonist, Hallie (Susan Koozin), wakes up after an overdose and the resultant story is about how a person copes with almost impossible odds.

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize today announces 10 Finalists for its prestigious playwriting award, the oldest and largest prize awarded to women+ playwrights - now in its 44th year .

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is now offering single tickets to the 2021–22 season at HGO.org. After an all-virtual 2020–21 season through HGO Digital, the company will launch its triumphant return to live performance at The Wortham Theater Center on October 22, 2021.

Houston Grand Opera will present its 2021-22 season live and in person after a year of reimagining the artform in a virtual format through the 2020-21 HGO Digital season.

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for 2021 for its prestigious playwriting award, the oldest and largest prize awarded to women+ playwrights.

4th Wall Theatre Company, Houston's home for extraordinary performances up close, will launch of Beyond the 4th Wall a?' a series of interviews that invite audiences behind the scenes for candid, intimate, one-on-one conversations with professional theatre creatives.

4th Wall Theatre Company, Houston's home for extraordinary performances up close, will launch of Beyond the 4th Wall a?' a series of interviews that invite audiences behind the scenes for candid, intimate, one-on-one conversations with professional theatre creatives.

Houston Grand Opera has announced its 2020a?"21 season, featuring a repertoire of beloved classics, company premieres, and a much-anticipated world premiere. The 66th season opens with audience favorite Carmen. American mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard makes her HGO and role debut as Carmen in the revival of Rob Ashford's acclaimed 2014 production of Bizet's classic. She is joined by tenor Andrea Caré as Don José, bass-baritone Christian Pursell as Escamillo, and Anita Hartig as Micaela, all making their HGO debuts. The production will be conducted by HGO Principal Guest Conductor Eun Sun Kim.

The Alley Theatre's Alley All New Festival, January 16 - 26, 2020, features new plays from some of the most exciting voices in contemporary theatre. The Festival programming includes workshop performances, readings, and an Early Draft Preview.

The Alley Theatre's Alley All New Festival, January 16 a?" 26, 2020, features new plays from some of the most exciting voices in contemporary theatre. The Festival programming includes workshop performances, readings, and an Early Draft Preview.

Opera Omaha will open its 2019/2020 season with the return of Jun Kaneko's Madama Butterfly, his premiere opera production design, which debuted at Opera Omaha in 2006. Since it's opening, Kaneko's Madama Butterfly has painted the stages of San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, Atlanta Opera, Opera Philadelphia and many others, garnering national acclaim and adoration.

Photo Flash: THE ARMOR PLAYS dominate Theatre Three this summer! The world premiere of Selina Fillinger's THE ARMOR PLAYS: CINCHED & STRAPPED rounds out the 2018-2019 Theatre Three season with a new play that would likely be banned in Alabama based on today's headlines. From the madcap composure of the dining room to the dank wonder of the underground, women fight to escape futures laid out for them.

THE ARMOR PLAYS: CINCHED & STRAPPED by Selina Fillinger, rounds out the 2018-2019 Theatre Three season with a new play that would likely be banned in Alabama based on today's headlines. From the madcap composure of the dining room to the dank wonder of the underground, women fight to escape futures laid out for them. THE ARMOR PLAYS, directed by Leslie Swackhamer, is produced by Theatre Three and runs June 6 through June 30, 2019 (2800 Routh St., #168 Dallas, TX 75201).

Despite the labyrinthine theories at the heart of CONSTELLATIONS, Nick Payne has written an engaging play. It is not, as we say, 'challenging,' a word often used as a euphemism for 'hard to watch.' It's funny and sweet and sad and intense. You can't look away.

The Alley Theatre continues its Alley All New Reading Series with Sustainable Living by Jennifer Haley.

Heading into the 2019 portion of the 2018/2019 theatre season, Houston has a wealth of productions that deserve your attention. In this feature, I break down the nine shows of 2019 that I will definitely be getting tickets to see. From farcical comedies, to emotionally intense straight plays, to soul-awakening musicals--you've got a ton of styles and genres to choose from, so go out there and get your tickets before they're gone!