The VORTEX

THE VORTEX MISSION We conjure and navigate the storm of imagination with urgent, unashamed art that dares to dream the world in which we want to live. This magic emanates from our cultural harbor, embraces diverse communities, breaks down barriers, and opens channels for vital exchange. WHAT WE DO The VORTEX creates and presents new, innovative performances—world premiere plays, operas, musicals, ritual theatre, and devised collaborations. The VORTEX transgresses conventional theatrical forms with multidisciplinary performances from diverse traditions. Music, film, dance, opera, aerial arts, puppetry, and performance art contribute to our vibrant theatre. We are an artist-owned and operated theater and have produced over 350 productions. We are proud to have always engaged in non-traditional casting. The VORTEX has presented work by dozens of famous cutting-edge artists and is internationally renowned as a haven for alternative performance. Our work has received more than 100 major awards and hundreds of nominations for artistic excellence in production, design, acting, performance, directing, playwriting, choreography, and musical composition. The VORTEX fosters educational programming, including our award-winning Summer Youth Theatre. For 25 years, The VORTEX’s Summer Youth has teamed teenagers with adult professionals in a fully produced play from a diverse cannon of exceptional dramatic literature. This free program has impacted the lives of students and artistic mentors for more than a generation. Internships and work-study jobs integrate university students into The VORTEX, providing them with valuable theatre experience outside of academia. The VORTEX contributes to the vitality of Austin’s economy, creating dozens of full-time jobs and paying artists. We are a leader in the Austin New Works Community and the Austin theatre community and have been recognized as a Platinum Level Green Business leader—we have always recycled are now composting.