The VORTEX
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Fearless Theatre Exchange, est. 1988 Box Office Hours - 4:30pm - 8pm on performance days. Integrity lives at our core.
Get tix online at VortexRep.org, or leave a message during off hours at 512-478-5282 and the Box Office Manager will return your call. Producing Artistic Director - Bonnie Cullum
Managing Director - Melissa McKnight
Director of Finance - Krystle Cline
Associate Artistic Directors - Rudy Ramirez, Chris Fontanes
Box Office Manager - Alex Cogburn
Bar Manager - Emma Robertson
The VORTEX MISSION:
We conjure urgent, unashamed art to create action in a shifting age. We embrace diverse communities, break down barriers, and elevate inclusive discourse from our cultural harbor in Austin, Texas. We enliven humanity with magical green new theatre at our Butterfly Bar and Sanctuary. The VORTEX CORE: Our core values are encompassed by the Pentacle of Integrity: Transformation, Magic, Community, Diversity, and Earth. We engage in radical transformation through edge-walking artistic creations and innovations. Magic emanates from our cultural harbor, engaging Spirit. Our space and our culture support expanding circles of inclusive community. Our art reflects diversity of people and voices from the global majority. Sustainability and environmentalism center Earth at our foundation. About The VORTEX: Since 1988, The VORTEX’s highly collaborative ensemble of visionaries has conjured and navigated the storm of imagination with urgent, unashamed art. We dare to dream and actively manifest the world in which we want to live through the medium of new theatrical and performative creations. As a leader in Austin’s alternative theatre scene, The VORTEX has received hundreds of awards for artistic excellence. Guided by Bonnie Cullum’s vision, our ensemble has evolved an artistic methodology that has produced more than 30 seasons of aesthetically diverse world premiere productions ranging from new plays, operas, and musicals to ritual theatre, experimental collaborations, and devised projects. The VORTEX venue is artist-owned and operated and was the first theatre to make a home for the arts in Austin’s historically underserved Eastside, now a blossoming independent arts district. With a nationally-certified Butterfly Sanctuary, an outdoor stage, and handcrafted cocktails, our Butterfly Bar, has become a community destination in East Austin. A leader in the growth of the arts and economic stability in Austin, The VORTEX thrives as a mature arts organization. The VORTEX is a Green Business Leader with successful Zero Waste initiatives that include recycling and composting. The VORTEX has offered its free, award-winning Summer Youth Theatre since 1991, mentoring several generations of young artists. Internationally renowned as a haven for alternative performance, The VORTEX has presented work by dozens of famous cutting-edge artists. Internships and Work-Study jobs involve university students. Other notable initiatives include ASL-interpreted performances, Radical Rush free tickets, and ongoing food drives for SAFE. Our diverse audience includes people of all ages and backgrounds: a large Latinix population, engaged African American neighbors, 50,000 University of Texas students, plus faculty and students from dozens of other colleges, LGBTQ patrons, persons with disabilities, and at-risk youth. Austin’s unique environment favors independent thinking, activism, feminism, history, and art.
09/26/2026
📣 TOMORROW - Resistance: Turn Pain Into Power - TWO SHOWS at 5:30PM and 8:00PM
👉 A conceptual burlesque and pole show exploring the many ways we resist a patriarchal society. Through intimate and provocative performances inspired by personal experiences, we’ll explore pain, joy, vulnerability, self-discovery, and authenticity.
🎟 https://vortexrep.org/39-resistance-burlesque
🌙 Calling all Creatures of the Night…
We know you are lurking out there and invite you to sink your teeth into the hottest Halloween party in Austin
🩸The Bloody Ball: Creatures of the Night - October 24, 8:00PM - Come thirsty. Come cursed. Come play. 🩸
TICKETS 🎟 available through the link in our bio!
09/26/2026
TONIGHT IS CLOSING NIGHT - fire work - 8:00PM
👉 The thrills and twists of this fierce, anti-capitalist fable challenge us to step into a fantastical world complete with fireworks and “Eat the Rich” games. It explores survival, love, and the explosive cost of complacency in a system designed to consume us
TICKETS 🎟 https://vortexrep.org/39-fire-work
📸 Photography by Errich Petersen Photography
🩸Don’t let these Early Bird Discount Tickets fly away…
🌙 Calling all Creatures of the Night… We know you are lurking out there and invite you to sink your teeth into the hottest Halloween party in Austin🩸The Bloody Ball: Creatures of the Night - October 24, 8:00PM
Come thirsty. Come cursed. Come play. 🩸
TICKETS 🎟 available through the link in our bio!
09/25/2026
🙌 Thank you so much to the fabulous crew at for providing the delicious spread for our VORTEX Members Event earlier this month!
We hold quarterly mixers for our VORTEX Members with performances, music, games, snacks, drinks and more!
Learn more about becoming a member - https://vortexrep.org/support-the-vortex/membership
09/25/2026
There are only two more chances to see fire work! Don't miss this new dystopian comedy blazing with revolution! - Final shows Friday and Saturday at 8:00PM
👉 The thrills and twists of this fierce, anti-capitalist fable challenge us to step into a fantastical world complete with fireworks and “Eat the Rich” games. It explores survival, love, and the explosive cost of complacency in a system designed to consume us
TICKETS 🎟 https://vortexrep.org/39-fire-work
📸 Photography by Errich Petersen Photography
09/24/2026
📣 The VORTEX Lighthouse Free Reading Series - Haunt Me - Saturday, September 26, 2:00PM
The VORTEX presents its Lighthouse, roaring back with the free reading of a new play every month. Come and be a part of the season selection process at The VORTEX by participating in hearing and discussing the plays 📖
Our first free Lighthouse presentation begins with a reading of HAUNT ME on Saturday, September 26 at 2pm on the Eloise Brooks Cullum Stage at The VORTEX, followed by a discussion of the play.
ABOUT THE PLAY - Best-selling horror writer Ellery du Trent is the Queen of Darkness, famous for her desire to scare readers to death. Now it's her turn to be scared. As Ellery finds her reality blurring with the novel she's trying to write, she is faced with the question: What if the scariest story of all turns out to be your own life?
RSVP https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vortex-lighthouse-reading-series-haunt-me-tickets-2002090727260
09/24/2026
THREE MORE SHOWS - fire work - Thursday / Friday / Saturday 8:00PM
👉 The thrills and twists of this fierce, anti-capitalist fable challenge us to step into a fantastical world complete with fireworks and “Eat the Rich” games. It explores survival, love, and the explosive cost of complacency in a system designed to consume us
TICKETS 🎟 https://vortexrep.org/39-fire-work
📸 Photography by Errich Petersen Photography
09/23/2026
📣 THIS SUNDAY - Resistance: Turn Pain Into Power - TWO SHOWS at 5:30PM and 8:00PM
👉 A conceptual burlesque and pole show exploring the many ways we resist a patriarchal society. Through intimate and provocative performances inspired by personal experiences, we’ll explore pain, joy, vulnerability, self-discovery, and authenticity.
🎟 TICKETS https://vortexrep.org/39-resistance-burlesque
09/22/2026
Only ONE MORE WEEKEND to experience "fire work," a new dystopian comedy blazing with revolution! - Final shows run Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00PM
👉 The thrills and twists of this fierce, anti-capitalist fable challenge us to step into a fantastical world complete with fireworks and “Eat the Rich” games. It explores survival, love, and the explosive cost of complacency in a system designed to consume us
TICKETS 🎟 https://vortexrep.org/39-fire-work
📸 Photography by Errich Petersen Photography
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2307 Manor Road
Austin, TX
78722