The VORTEX announces
Auditions
for
Summer Youth Theatre 2026
Summer Underground
by Marissa Castañón-Hernández
directed by Blaise Ricin
Auditions/Interviews - May 16, 25, 26, 2026
The VORTEX seeks courageous, creative students ages 13-17 to participate in Summer Youth Theatre (SYT) 2026, an award-winning, intensive program that offers tuition-free training and experience for aspiring young theatre professionals. Students of any ethnicity, gender, ability/disability, economic background, and experience are invited to audition for the diverse youth ensemble, who will train together as they rehearse and perform the world premiere of Summer Underground by Marissa Castañón-Hernández, directed by Blaise Ricin.
Summer Underground is the world premiere production of a startling new play by Marissa Castañón-Hernández, an Austin-based, award-winning playwright and educator. This play is set in Austin in the not too distant future and styled with “graphic novel” flair. A favorite from readings at The VORTEX’s 2023 Green New Theatre Symposium, Summer Underground firmly takes on environmental and class issues that determine who receives water and shelter.
Summer Youth Theatre cultivates tools of theatre: teamwork, focus, discipline, precision, communication, and artistry. Now in its 34th year, SYT rehearses and performs evenings and weekends June 1-August 1, 2026. In addition to participating in a rigorous 5X a week rehearsal and workshop process, students create the full production (sets, props, costumes, lights, publicity) during hands-on workdays. Students also receive specialty workshops from professionals in various aspects of theatre.
IN-PERSON AUDITION / INTERVIEWS: By appointment May 16, 25, 26, 2026 at The VORTEX.
Please submit an application through the form at the bottom of this page
Prepare a memorized, one-minute monologue from contemporary play, poem, or song.
If you need support in preparing your audition, please let us know.
A parent/guardian is required to attend the initial interview.
To set up audition/interview time, please email vortex@vortexrep.org after filling out the form
We are also accepting applications/interviews for students interested in assistant design and technical theatre opportunities.
ABOUT THE VORTEX’S SUMMER YOUTH THEATRE: Since 1991, SYT has provided high-caliber theatrical productions created by Central Texas teens as a jewel of The VORTEX’s educational and community programming. The SYT program teaches students ages 13-17, spanning middle and high school. Summer Youth Theatre students receive instruction in theatre arts, equivalent to 3 credits under the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Fine Arts, Theatre Levels 117.64, 65, 66, 67. By TEKS standards, this program is equivalent to or higher than High School Theatre Arts II, Technical Theatre I, and Theatre Production II. The VORTEX has developed this curriculum over more than thirty years. The Austin Chronicle has named SYT “Best Theatre for Kids That Treats Kids Like Grownups.”
Every year, students work with adult artists who are among Austin’s most celebrated theatre professionals. Recent B. Iden Payne Awards include Outstanding Young Performer, Sharky Meehan in The Memo (2023), and Jessica Cohen’s Outstanding Original Song in Pandemdem Edition: Another Great Depression (2021). SYT has previously received Payne Awards for Youth Theatre Outstanding Productions of The Commedia of Errors and Machinal; Direction of Youth Theatre for The Commedia of Errors, The Physicists, Moby Dick, and The Frogs; Acting in Youth Theatre for The Physicists and Moby Dick; and Sound Design for Machinal. VORTEX Producing Artistic Director Bonnie Cullum founded SYT in 1991; she was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame in 2009.
MEDIA RELEASE CONSENT: As part of the fully produced Summer Youth Theatre 2026 production, The VORTEX will capture photos, videos, and audio recordings of rehearsals and performances for promotional and archival purposes. By participating in SYT, all students and their parents/guardians grant The VORTEX permission to use their likeness in media materials, including but not limited to social media, websites, press releases, and grant reports. Participation in the program requires signed consent for media release. If you have concerns or questions, please contact vortex@vortexrep.org.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: Marissa Castañón-Hernández is an educator and writer based in Austin, Texas. She holds an MFA in Theatre from The University of Texas at Austin and has spent more than two decades teaching and directing young theatre artists. Grounded in a deep commitment to equity in education, she has served as a TEACH PLUS State Policy Fellow and National Senior Writing Fellow, publishing opinion pieces in the Austin-American Statesman that advocate for educational justice, including “Children Deserve a Good Education, No Matter Where They Live” and “Denying Undocumented Children a Free Public Education is Unconscionable.” Her impact in education was recognized when Austin Woman magazine named her a 2025 Change Maker.
As a playwright, Marissa is devoted to amplifying the voices of historically marginalized communities through authentic, emotionally resonant storytelling. Her play On the Eastside won first place in the 2023 Miranda Voces Latinx National Playwriting Competition and received a staged reading at Repertorio Español in New York City. Her dystopian drama Summer Underground, set in a future where residents are forced into shelters to survive extreme summers, was presented in a staged reading at Austin’s Vortex Green New Theatre in September 2023. Marissa is also a 2024 Advance Gender Equity in the Arts Legacy Playwright Grant Finalist and Honorarium Recipient for The Same Stars Shine on Both Sides of El Río, a play that examines loss, forgiveness, and the fragile hope that emerges as characters reckon with the tragic consequences of a perilous journey to El Norte.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: Blaise Ricin is a director, performer, choreographer, educator, and theatremaker. Blaise directed the staged reading of Summer Underground, one of the highlights of the Green New Theatre Symposium in 2023. He is a VORTEX company member and recently received a B. Iden Payne Award for Dance Performance. He has Assistant Directed and choreographed for many VORTEX projects including Selfie! The Musical, The Wizard of dOgZ, and The Mutt-cracker (SWEET!).
ABOUT SYT FOUNDER: Bonnie Cullum, Producing Artistic Director, guides and supports the high artistic quality of Summer Youth Theatre, a program that she launched in 1991 to provide theatre opportunities for youth. She co-founded The VORTEX in 1988, creating and presenting hundreds of innovative, ensemble productions. She has an MFA in Directing (University of Texas at Austin) and a BA in Theatre (University of Kansas). Honored three times as Austin’s Best Director by the Austin Chronicle, Cullum received “The Future of Theatre Award” for Performance Park from the Austin Critics’ Table and four B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Direction. She was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame in 2009.