“Master Harold” … and the Boys at KMFA Draylen Mason Music Studio

Austin Shakespeare will bring together three magnetic actors for South African playwright Athol Fugard’s humorous and stirring “Master Harold” … and the Boys at KMFA’s intimate Draylen Mason Studio in a weekend of powerful staged readings January 13-15, 2023. Tickets are $25 and are available at www.AustinShakespeare.org.

Set in 1950 apartheid era South Africa, the play explores the challenges between a young white teenager and two older Black servers in his mother's cafe who, in fact, have been raising him. “Fugard is one of our greatest living playwrights, and this script is funny and touching as well as powerfully dramatic,” Director Ann Ciccolella said.

Known for their imaginative staged readings, Austin Shakespeare brings newcomer Justin Duggan together with two masterful actors: Marc Pouhé and Corey Allen, both members of the Actors’ Equity Association.

Marc Pouhé has played leading roles at Austin Shakespeare including Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and Noel Coward’s Present Laughter as well as title roles in Macbeth, Othello and Cyrano De Bergerac. He has also performed with Austin Playhouse: The Mountaintop's Martin Luther King, Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing, and Death of a Salesman. At ZACH Theatre he has been “Scrooge” in A Christmas Carol since 2019. Marc is a winner of multiple Austin Critics’ Table Awards and is a recipient of the John Bustin Award for Conspicuous Versatility. He has been recognized by The Austin Chronicle as the Best of Austin “Best Classic Leading Man.” He has a bachelors degree in Electronic Media and Theatre from Texas State University. His television credits include Friday Night Lights and Prison Break. Film credits include: Mnemosyne Rising, The Overbrook Brothers, Horton Foote: The Road to Home, You are Not Alone, Labor + Justice, Terminator: Bad Judgment Day, and What They Found.

Corey Allen is an actor/writer/storyteller originally from San Diego, California. He is currently an assistant professor of acting at the University of Texas at Austin. Corey has appeared on regional stages from the Shakespeare Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Pioneer Theatre Company, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and others. Film credits includes Halston, Lost & Found and Proximity, and he’s been seen on television's Blacklist, Mindhunter, Power and more. Corey holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Justin Duggan is making his Austin Shakespeare debut as the title character, a teen whose name is Hally. Justin recently performed in the Me, Myself, and Shirley with Cindy Williams World Premiere in Boca Raton, FL, The Lion in Winter (John, The Wimberley Playhouse), The Diary of Anne Frank (Peter, Emily Ann Theatre). He is currently a Junior at the Chicago College of Performing Arts pursuing a BFA in Acting.

Preferred, reserved seating is provided for event sponsors. Contact Alex Alford at info@austinshakespeare.org for more information about becoming a sponsor.

$14 student-priced tickets are available for purchase each night in-person only. A valid, current student ID must be presented. Free covered parking is available at KMFA.

ABOUT AUSTIN SHAKESPEARE: “The Bard is only the beginning.” Audiences travel many roads with this professional company for surprising and entertaining theater productions featuring heightened language at The Long Center’s Rollins Studio Theatre in the fall and spring, as well as Young Shakespeare at the Curtain Theater Elizabethan replica. Founded in 1984 and now the only professional classical theater company in Central Texas, Austin Shakespeare stages performances that are fresh, bold, imaginative, thought-provoking and eminently accessible — connecting the truths of the past with the challenges and possibilities of today. Austin Shakespeare is dedicated to diverse casting, staffing and audience development. The company’s ongoing “Shakespeare Aloud” reading group and “Artist’s Way” sessions invite new participates weekly, and the company’s education program Shakespeare 20/20 sends professional actors into schools to encourage love of language. #ATXTheatre

Austin Shakespeare is a proud member of the Austin Creative Alliance.