What does it mean to take the reins of the oldest theater company in Texas? For Jamie Herlich, becoming the managing director of Zach Theater meant delivering on Zach’s mission to produce homegrown theater right in the heart of Austin, but it also meant opening doors to a new generation of theatergoers and teaching our Central Texas community why the arts matter more than ever.
In this episode of the Changing Austin podcast by Amplify Credit Union, Chief Experience Officer Stacy Armijo sits down with Herlich to discuss a decade of rapid transformation for Zach Theater. From a simple change to the spelling – theatre to theater – to expanding the company’s programing and educational offerings, Herlich explains why institutions like Zack have a critical role to play in the long-term growth of Central Texas.
Arts Are Good Business: Why the arts play an important part in building communities that can attract and retain talent
What is Zach Theater?
Since its creation in 1921 as the Austin Community Players, the Zach Theater has served as a beacon of creativity for Austin and the broader Texas theater community. Each year, Zach produces a robust lineup of plays and musicals, each selected to be timely and relevant for Texas theatergoers and their families. Zach creates opportunities for more than 250 actors, musicians, and designers each year, and its programs and community initiatives reach more than 125,000 Texans annually.
“Everyone will tell me that Austin was best the year that they moved here.”
“If you look at cities where they have more trouble attracting business, it’s places that don’t have enough to do to make it fun to live there.”
“Making sure we have a vibrant and healthy arts community is really important for business.”
“People often look at it as a nice-to-have or a hobby, but at the end of the day, artists need to make a living. There is a value proposition to the work that they’re doing.”
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