Rover Dramawerks About Us

Rover Dramawerks

Searching for treasures, new and rediscovered, for theatre "off the beaten path."

So what, you should ask, is so special about Rover?
Actually, that is easy.

Every show, every script, every actor, every director that works with Rover is a discovery. Our discovery made yours. Many high minded artistic mission statements tout the need to elicit questions from an audience.

Questions about Existence.
Questions about Art.
Questions about Life.

We only want you to ask yourself one:

Why doesn't everyone?

...Do this script ?
...Use this space ?
...Hire this director ?
...Cast this actor / actress ?
...Offer childcare ?

Our history is a litany of questions like this.

Why doesn't anyone use the
Trinity River Arts Center for independent productions?
Mrs. California. Oct 2001
Now it is home to some of the finest production companies in town.

Why don't people produce in the
Rehearsal Hall at Addison Art Centre?
Spider's Web, War of the Worlds, Private Lives,
Goodnight Desdemona, Little Footsteps proved it could work.
WaterTower Theater now produces in it year round.

Why don't local theaters give new people a chance?
Our One Day Only 24-hour short play festivals (we're on number 11!) are the most democratic art event in the region and have given hundreds of people new to the area, acting, directing, writing, and production a running start at a new interest, avocation and even a few careers.

Why don't theaters provide childcare for patrons?
We have regularly offered childcare for patrons by
partnering with Little Gym, Kindercare and Room4Fun.
This is the future of the performing arts.

Why don't theaters try new venues?
Again, Rover christens a new space with our Agatha Christie's Love From a Stranger setting up our new residency in the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano.
(Ok, we really like it there so we'll probably
stick around a while, but again, we were first!)

Why doesn't everyone?
Do the Edward Albee that put him on the map?
Produce the play that launched Oscar Wilde into the West End?
Surprise us with plays by famous screenwriters, authors,
actors and directors that nobody knows as playwrights?
Find and develop new local talent?

Why doesn't everyone ?

Because it's hard.
Because it's scary.

.. but oh, Wow! it is SO worth it!

You can see it here first, or
wait a while and see it everywhere.

Everybody eventually does ...whatever we are up to ... right now!

Off the beaten path.
We mean it.

The calmer more casual spiel:

Rover Dramawerks

Searching for treasures, new and rediscovered, for theatre "off the beaten path."

Rover Dramawerks produces lost or forgotten works of well-known authors,
revives excellent scripts that have suffered from lack of exposure,
and discovers unknown gems of the stage.

As a resident theater company in Plano's Cox Building Playhouse, we support a diverse group of artists and production talent in presenting theatre that engages the imagination. Founded by women, Rover Dramawerks is a response to the cultural needs of the community and is dedicated to its enrichment.

We are a Plano-based theatre company, and our goal is to draw on the community for our audience base, artistic talent, and production staff. We are working to develop a strong performing arts community in North Dallas by nurturing the large number of unfocused artists, performers, and unserved patrons of the arts in the area.

Despite significant achievements in the public high schools and other educational institutions, there exist few local opportunities for students of theatre and performing arts. We are changing that through outreach and cooperative development and by recruiting local students when possible. We strive to offer study guides to local schools for appropriate productions.

Our children's program includes classes in acting and improvisation, tools for the stage and confidence for life. Our children's productions are usually cast using a mix of children and adults and are often students' first foray into the complexities of interdependent teamwork, personal discipline, growth and acknowledgment, and a unified singular goal larger than one's self.

Our adult classes provide local artists an opportunity to work with and learn from some of the best talent in the area and network with their peers.

To build adult audiences, we are developing options of childcare for young families that would be excluded from the arts. Our pioneering efforts to collaborate with area businesses are beneficial both to our patrons and our partners, addressing the single most neglected issue of a modern theater audience.

Rover Dramawerks provides a professional experience for our patrons, actors, directors, designers, and technicians, relying upon area resources whenever possible, preferring to cultivate local talent over transient "guest artists."

Rover Dramawerks
...theatre off the beaten path.

Join us for the adventure.

Past Productions

Everything in the Garden by Edward Albee
(July 2001) at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre

Mrs. California by Doris Baizley
(October 2001) at the Trinity River Arts Center

The one-act play The Whole Shebang by Rich Orloff
(March 2002) as a part of WaterTower Theatre's Out of the Loop Festival
(also performed in the classroom theatre at the Bath House Cultural Center)

The short plays festival One (More) Day Only!
(August 2002) as a co-production with Audacity Productions
at the ArtCentre Theatre of Plano

The Ride Down Mt. Morgan by Arthur Miller
(September 2002) at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre

Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde
(January 2003) at the ArtCentre Theatre of Plano

The short plays festival One Day Only 3!
(February 2003) as a co-production
with Audacity Productions at the Mesquite Arts Center

The one act plays Bags by Anne V. McGravie,
The Dancer by Carol M. Rice, and
Invisible Ticket by Lief Woods
(May 2003) as a part of Flower Mound Performing Arts Theatre's
New Plays Festival
(Bags was also presented at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano
as a part of the Texas Nonprofit Theatres AACT Fest)

Romanoff and Juliet by Peter Ustinov
(August/September 2003) at the ArtCentre Theatre of Plano

Morphic Resonance (regional premiere) by Katherine Burger
(October 2003) at the Stone Cottage at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre

War of the Worlds by Howard Koch
(October/November 2003) at the ArtCentre Theatre of Plano

A staged reading of Fraudart by Lloyd Birdwell
(November 2003) at Ozona Restaurant

Right Around Here, three one-act plays by local playwrights
Greasy Spork by Marc Rouse,
Every Now and Then at Fourth and Main by Jason Rice, and
The Pitch by Matthew J. Edwards
(March 2004) as a part of WaterTower Theatre's Out of the Loop Festival.

The short plays festival One Day Only 4!
(March 2004) as a co-production
with Audacity Productions at the Plaza Theatre in Garland

Claptrap by Ken Friedman
(April/May 2004) at the Mesquite Arts Center

Spider's Web by Agatha Christie
(July/August 2004) at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre

The short plays festival One Day Only 5!
(September 2004) at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre

War of the Worlds by Howard Koch
(October 2004) at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre

Private Lives by Noel Coward
(January/February 2005) at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre

Staged readings of Love and Understanding by Joe Penhall and
Woman in Mind by Alan Ayckbourn
(April 2005) at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre

Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald
(April 2005) at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre,
with a two-week extension at Frisco Community Theatre (May 2005)

The Best of One Day Only!
(June 2005), featuring highlights of the past five
One Day Only! play festivals at Frisco Community Theatre

Little Footsteps by Ted Tally
(July/August 2005) at the Addison Conference and Theatre Centre

The short plays festival One Day Only 6!
(August 2005) at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano

Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus by Andrew J. Fenady
(December 2005) as a co-production with Frisco Community Theatre

Agatha Christie's Love From a Stranger adapted by Frank Vosper
(February/March 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

The Near-Sighted Knight and the Far-Sighted Dragon by Eleanor and Ray Harder
(March/April 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

The short plays festival One Day Only 7
(April 2006) at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano

Our Voices, a staged reading sharing the stories
of our fellow North Texans who are living or dealing in some form with HIV/AIDS
(June 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

The Baltimore Waltz, by Paula Vogel
(June/July 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

Sideways Stories From Wayside School,
a play by John Olive adapted from Louis Sachar's Wayside School novels
(July 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

The short plays festival One Day Only 8
(August 2006) at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano

A workshop production of Hecate Hill by Bill Fountain
(September 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano
in cooperation with Write Around Here

Woman in Mind by Alan Ayckbourn
(September/October 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

A staged reading of First Kiss by Rick A. Elina
(October 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano
in cooperation with Write Around Here

A staged reading of A Medal for Murder by Ken Freehill and Darryl Allara
(October 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano
in cooperation with Write Around Here

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Tom McCabe
(November 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

“Conversation with the Artist” – Steven Dietz
(January 2007) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano
in association with the Dallas Theatre League

Private Eyes by Steven Dietz
(January/February 2007) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

The short plays festival One Day Only 9
(February 2007) at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano

A one-act version of Two Rooms by Lee Blessing
(February 2007) at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano
as a part of the Texas Nonprofit Theatres AACT Fest

A staged reading of Kierkegaard’s Gambit by Lon Rogers
(October 2006) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano
in cooperation with Write Around Here

Frame 312 by Keith Reddin
(March 2007) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

A staged reading of Evening Star Rising by Lon Rogers
(May 2007) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano
in cooperation with Write Around Here

Surviving Grace by Trish Vradenburg
(May/June 2007) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

The short plays festival One Day Only X
(June 2007) at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano

The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 by John Bishop
(August/September 2007) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

A staged reading of Murder at the Orient Burlesque by Carol M. Rice
(September 2007) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano
in cooperation with Write Around Here

Two Rooms by Lee Blessing
(November 2007) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

An Infinite Ache by David Schulner
(January/February 2008) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

The short plays festival One Day Only 11
(March 2008) at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano

Upcoming Productions

The Runner Stumbles by Milan Stitt
(April 2008) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

Gilligan's Island: The Musical
Book by Sherwood Schwartz and Lloyd J. Schwartz
Music and Lyrics by Hope Juber and Laurence Juber
(June 2008) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

Mary's Wedding by Stephen Massicotte
(July/August 2008) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano

The short plays festival One Day Only 12
(August 2008) at the Courtyard Theatre of Plano

Shakespeare in Hollywood by Ken Ludwig
(September/October 2008) at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano