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Red Dragon Players
The Red Dragon Players is the name of the Stephen F. Austin High School Theatre Department in Austin, Texas.

Theatre has a long and rich role in the history of Austin High School. Archive records show that performances were given as far back as 1908. That year, they produced two shows, As You Like It and Bachelor Hall. Since that time, over 400 shows have been produced here. Records show that The Senior High Dramatic Club was formed in 1913 and lasted, we believe, until 1921. At that time, The Junior Curtain Club was formed.

The Senior High Dramatic Club was formed in 1913 and lasted, we believe, until 1921. The Junior Curtain Club was formed in 1926. The Red Mask Dramatics Club was formed in 1926 and co-existed with the JCC. The Junior Curtain Club and the Red Mask Dramatics Club joined in February of 1929 to become the Austin High School Little Theatre. The Red Dragon Players began in the fall of 1929, under the direction of James R. Burton. The last show on the Rio Grande campus was The Dark at the Top of the Stairs in the spring of 1975, and the first show on the current campus was A Clearing in the Woods in the fall of 1975.

The Red Mask Dramatics Club was formed in 1926 and co-existed with the JCC. The JCC and the RMDC joined to become the Austin High School Little Theatre. Austin High did not have an official mascot, so in the fall of 1929, under the direction of James R. Burton, the theatre department named themselves The Red Dragon Players. This year, the Red Dragon Players are celebrating their 85th anniversary. The season usually includes four full-length productions (each show is performed five to eight times), plus a short play that is entered in the UIL One-Act Play Contest. Theatre Art students can take the following classes: Theatre Arts I-IV, Technical Theatre I-IV, Theatre Production I-IV, and Musical Theatre I-IV.

The last show on the Rio Grande campus was The Dark at the Top of the Stairs in the spring of 1975, and the first show on the current campus was A Clearing in the Woods in the fall of 1975.

Motto: Excellencia Consuetudo Est (Excellence is Habit)
==  Red Dragon Player Notable Alumni  == Zachery Scott - American actor,

Robert Schenkkan – award-winning playwright, screenwriter and actor

Valery Mahaffey - American character actress and producer

Shakey Graves -  (Alejandro Rose-Garcia) Americana musician

Julie Powell author of Julie & Julia

Richard "Cactus" Pryor - Texas Radio Ledgend

Production History (436 productions & counting)
2017 - 2018 Avenue Q, Arrivals & Departures,

2016 – 2017 (7) Peter and the Starcatcher; Ascension Day; The Lion King Kids; Xanadu; Dead Man’s Cell Phone; The Chopin Playoffs (UIL); Shrek 2015 – 2016 (6) The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby; Almost, Maine; Godspell; Living Together; An Inspector Calls (UIL); The Red Dragon Revue

2016 2014 – 2015 (5) Fuddy Meers; Talking With; Gypsy; Rabbit Hole (UIL); Red Dragon Revue

2015 2013 – 2014 (6) Bald Soprano; Ordinary People; I Kissed a Vampire; Lend Me a Tenor (UIL); Dearly Beloved; Red Dragon Revue

2012 – 2013 (7) Round and Round the Garden; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Uh-Oh, Here Comes Christmas; Legally Blonde; What I Did Last Summer (UIL); The Red Dragon Revue; The Laramie Project

2011 – 2012 (7) The Jungle Book; The Magic Fire; Spring Awakening: School Edition; The Cinderella Waltz; King o’ the Moon (UIL); Red Dragon Revue; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

2010 – 2011 (5) Mad Forest; Over the Tavern (UIL); The Dining Room; The Miss Firecracker Contest; Broadway Musical Revue

2009 – 2010 (7) Six Degrees of Separation; Season’s Greetings; Musical Theatre Showcase; Talking With; Reckless (UIL); All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten; Wonderland High 2008 – 2009 (5) Major Barbara; Holiday Hoopla; The Diary of Anne Frank; Into the Woods; Over the River and Through the Woods (UIL)

2007 – 2008 (7) Dearly Departed; Willy Wonka; Museum; Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me;. . . And the Rain Came to Mayfield (UIL); Annie, Jr.; Radio Eyes

2006 - 2007 (9) The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer; Disney's High School Musical; Home for the Holidays; In the West; The Triangle Factory Fire Project; Round and Round the Garden (UIL); 101 Dalmatians; Red Dragon Revue; Urinetown 2

2005 - 2006 (10) The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade; The Speed of Darkness; A Christmas Carol; Uh-Oh, Here Comes Christmas; Bye, Bye, Birdie; The History of Tom Jones (UIL); The Jungle Book; Love Letters; Crime and Punishment; Red Dragon Revue: Get Wired

2004 - 2005 (10) The Shadow Box; All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten; Antigone; Table Manners; Reckless; Talking With; Crimes of the Heart; Alice in Wonderland; Anna in the Tropics (UIL); Little Shop of Horrors

2003-2004 (5) Paganini; The Bald Soprano; The Exception (UIL); The Laramie Project; Night of January 16th 2002-2003 (6) Brighton Beach Memoirs; Five Women Wearing the Same Dress; Chamber Music; A Lie of the Mind; Noises Off (UIL); Noises Off (full-length)

2001-2002 (6) The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby; Sleuth; Don't Dress for Dinner; The Secret Rapture; After the Fall (UIL); The Foreigner (faculty)

2000-2001 (4) Mariner; Season's Greetings; Our Country's Good (UIL); Baby With the Bathwater 1999-2000 (5) The Crucible; The Desk Set; Rumors; Reckless (UIL); Sylvia

1998-1999 (6) The Rivers and Ravines; Measure for Measure; The Real Inspector Hound; Black Comedy; Machinal (UIL); Dearly Departed

1997-1998 (7) Tom Jones; An Inspector Calls; Schoolgirl Figure; Vanities; Noises Off (UIL); Noises Off (full-length); Bedroom Farce

1996-1997 (7) La Casa de Bernarda Alba; A Flea in Her Ear; The Miss Firecracker Contest; The American Dream; Equus; Ghetto (UIL); Play On

1995-1996 (6) Our Country's Good; The Children's Hour; The Attempted Murder of Peggy Sweetwater; The Boys Next Door; Juno and the Paycock (UIL); Alice in Wonderland

1994-1995 (4) Holy Ghosts; The Whole Darn Shooting Match; To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday (UIL); Dearly Departed 3 1

993-1994 (5) Brighton Beach Memoirs; Reckless; The Shadow Box; After the Fall (UIL); Rumors

1992-1993 (4) The House of Blue Leaves; Look Homeward, Angel; The Madwoman of Chaillot; Of Mice and Men (UIL)

1991-1992 (4) Variety; Macbeth; A Midsummer Night's Dream; The Rope Dancers (UIL) 1990-1991 (8) Romeo and Juliet; Working; Steel Magnolias; The Rimers of Eldritch; Vietnam War Stories; One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; All My Sons (UIL); The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 1989-1990 (4) The Foreigner; Cabaret; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; To Kill a Mockingbird (UIL)

1988-1989 (3) Auntie Mame; My Three Angels; Dark of the Moon (UIL)

1987-1988 (3) Tom Jones; Little Shop of Horrors; Macbeth (UIL)

1986-1987 (5) Grease; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Pygmalion; Threads (UIL); Broadway at West First 1985-1986 (5) The Crucible; Godspell; The Madwoman of Chaillot (UIL); Going to See the Elephant; The Philadelphia Story

1984-1985 (5) Scapin; The Fantastiks; Mother is a Freshman (UIL); To Kill a Mockingbird; Alice in Wonderland 1983-1984 (6) I Remember Mama; Gorey Stories; The Torchbearers (UIL); Asylum; Requiem; Spring Follies 1982-1983 (4) Dracula; Tevya and His Daughters (UIL); Charley's Aunt; Student Talent Cabaret

1981-1982 (3) The Hobbit; Guys and Dolls; Tom Jones (UIL) 1980-1981 (2) Little Red; Ring Round the Moon (UIL) 1979-1980 (3) Another Part of the Forest; Mrs. McThing (UIL); The Music Man

1978-1979 (4) Ah, Wilderness; Peck's Bad Boy; Carnival; A Midsummer Night's Dream (UIL) 1977-1978 (2) Romeo and Juliet; Chamber Music (UIL) 4

1976-1977 (3) The Wizard of Oz; Twelfth Night; The Little Foxes (UIL)

1975-1976 (5) A Clearing in the Woods; Blithe Spirit; The Caucasian Chalk Circle; The Golden Grotto (UIL); Carousel

1974-1975 (3) The Dark at the Top of the Stairs; Gammar Gurton's Needle; The Birds (UIL)

1973-1974 (7) The Great Western Melodrama; The Birds; State Fair; Jane Seymour (UIL); He Done Her Wrong; The Ugly Duckling; The Marriage Proposal

1972-1973 (4) Dora the Beautiful Dishwasher; David and Lisa; The Mikado; The Bald Soprano (UIL)

1971-1972 (3) The Merchant of Venice; Our Town; Tartuffe (UIL)

1970-1971 (9) She Stoops to Conquer; Royal Gambit; The Miller and His Men; The Importance of Being Earnest; Bye, Bye, Birdie; Oedipus the King (UIL); The Diary of Adam and Eve; The Apple Tree; The Old Lady Shows Her Medals

1969-1970 (4) Take Her, She's Mine; This Property Is Condemned; Kiss Me Kate; The Crucible (UIL)

1968-1969 (6) The Mouse That Roared; The Old Lady Shows Her Medals; Dangerfield Newby Moves Uptown; Oklahoma!; You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Mary of Scotland (UIL)

1967-1968 (5) Spoon River Anthology (UIL); The Cave Dwellers; The Teahouse of the August Moon; The Romancers; Sparkin'

1966-1967 (4) A Thurber Carnival; The Wonderful Adventures of Don Quixote; Winterset; Othello (UIL) 1965-1966 (3) Thor With Angels (UIL); The Glass Menagerie; The Enchanted 1964-1965 (8) A Roomful of Roses; Stella for a Star; The Romancers; The Death of the Hired Man; The Farce of the Worthy Master Pierre Patelin; The Devil’s Cuspidor; Pygmalion; The Grass Harp (UIL)

1963-1964 (7) Inherit the Wind; Mr. Flannery's Ocean; The Boor; The Song of Bernadette; The Flowering Peach (UIL); Harvey; The Devil and Daniel Webster 1962-1963 (3) Star Wagon; Alice in Wonderland; The Miracle Worker (UIL) 5

1961-1962 (3) The Skin of Our Teeth; The Teahouse of the August Moon; Ondine (UIL) 1960-1961 (5) The Diary of Anne Frank; Mrs. McThing; The Old Lady Shows Her Medals; A Murder Has Been Arranged; Smilin' Through (UIL) 1959-1960 (4) I Remember Mama; The Importance of Being Earnest; Twelve Angry Men; The Red Shoes (UIL)

1958-1959 (3) A Roomful of Roses; Teach Me How to Cry; Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil (UIL) 1957-1958 (5) The Glass Menagerie; The Little Minister; Goodbye Mr. Fancy; Ring Around Elizabeth; The Summons of Sariel (UIL)

1956-1957 (4) Lady Windermere's Fan; Stage Door; Kind Lady; The Shining Hour (UIL) 1955-1956 (5) Ladies of the Jury; Medea; Ladies in Retirement; John Doe; Little Women (UIL)

1954-1955 (6) Seven Women; Smilin' Through; The Lottery; The Trumpet; The Slave With Two Faces; Jane Eyre (UIL) 1953-1954 (2) Our Hearts Were Young and Gay; Out of the Thunder (UIL)

1952-1953 (2) Green Grow the Lilacs; Blithe Spirit (UIL)

1951-1952 (3) You Can't Take It With You; Kind Lady; Elizabeth the Queen, Act III (UIL)

1950-1951 (3) The Curse of an Aching Heart; Our Town; The Silver Cord (UIL)

1949-1950 (4) On Borrowed Time; Pride and Prejudice; Sorry, Wrong Number; The Heritage of Wimpole Street (UIL) 1948-1949 (3) The Whole Town's Talking; The Barretts of Wimpole Street; The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Act I (UIL)

1947-1948 (3) Ever Since Eve; Ring Around Elizabeth; Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers (UIL)

1946-1947 (4) Sky Fodder; Our Hearts Were Young and Gay; Ring Around Elizabeth; Indian Giver (UIL) 6

1945-1946 (3) Every Family Has One; Double Door; Dust of the Road (UIL)

1944-1945 (3) Junior Miss; On Borrowed Time; The Southern Cross (UIL) 1943-1944 (3) Best Foot Forward; Lost Horizons; Road Into the Sun (UIL)

1942-1943 (3) Seven Sisters; The Late Christopher Bean; Senor Freedom (UIL)

1941-1942 (4) Charley's Aunt; Family Portrait; A Slight Case of Murder; 'Lijah (UIL)

1940-1941 (5) Through the Night; Pride and Prejudice; Sham (UIL); Saved; Command Performance

1939 - 1940 (1) The Sponge (UIL)

1938 - 1939 (5) Seen But Not Heard; Big-Hearted Herbert; Brother Rat; Eighth Annual Revue; The Man Who Wouldn't Go to Heaven (UIL)

1937 - 1938 (5) Kind Lady; Flammule; Night Must Fall; A Bird in the Hand (UIL); Seventh Annual Revue

1936 - 1937 (4) Arms and the Man; Growing Pains; Sixth Annual Revue; The Princess Who Married the Page (UIL)

1935 - 1936 (5) Double Door; The Bad Man; Smilin' Through; The Cajun (UIL); The Revue of

1936 1934 - 1935 (6) Second Childhood; Helena's Husband; The Elopement; Death Takes a Holiday; The Boor; Three-Cornered Moon

1933 - 1934 (5) Tons of Money; El Cazador; The Devil Comes to Alcaraz; The Bride the Sun Shines On; The Giant's Stair (UIL)

1932 - 1933 (1) Master Wayfarer (UIL)

1931 - 1932 (6) The New Poor; The Birthday of the Infanta; The Mouse; Our Lady Smiles; The Black Flamingo; The No 'Count Boy (UIL)

1930 - 1931 (6) It Won't Be Long Now; Gloria Mundi; Casualties (UIL); The Old Lady Shows Her Medals; The Call of the Banshee; Aren't We All?

1929 - 1930 (3) The Whole Town's Talking; The Swan; El Cristo (UIL) 7 1928 - 1929 (5) The Country Cousin; three one-act plays (titles unknown); The Monkey's Paw (UIL)

1927 - 1928 (2) Never-the-less; The Trysting Place (UIL)

1921 (1) The Two Rivals

1920 (1) Twelfth Night 1919 (1) Romeo and Juliet 1918 (1) The School for Scandal

1917 (1) The Taming of the Shrew

1915 (1) The Old Curiosity Shop

1914 (1) The Old Curiosity Shop

1909 (2) The Worsted Man; The Servant of the House

1908 (2) As You Like It; Bachelor Hall

Early (pre-1926) theatre directors

 * Florence Brooke,
 * Raymond Gerhardt,
 * Eva Mae Moore (?)

Red Dragon Players 1927 to present
Years directed director's name # of shows

1929 - 1940 - James R. Burton, 47

1940 - 1942 - Juanita Simpson, 9

1942 - 1946 - Robbie Wells Smith, 12

1946 - 1954 - Naomi (Davis) Norton, 24

1954 - 1958 - Margaret Breedlove, 20

1958 - 1961 - Gloria (Cole) Wyndham, 12

1961 - 1968 - Terri (Flynn) Bown, 33

1968 - 1977 - Warner T. Dahlberg, 44

1977 - 1978 - Candy Buckley, 2

1978 - 1981 - Jana Schrum, 9

1981 - Jan. 1982 - Diane Arp, 2

Jan. 1982 - 1993 - Larry D. Preas, 52

1993 – 1999 - Billy Dragoo, 35

1999 – 2000 - Billy Dragoo & Suewannee Eubank, 5

2000 – 2004 - Billy Dragoo, 21

2004 - 2008 - Billy Dragoo & Annie Dragoo, 36

2008 – 2011 - Billy Dragoo & Tommy Grubbs, 17

2011 – 2012 - Billy Dragoo, Annie Dragoo, Shannon Tipton, 7

2012 – present - Billy Dragoo & Annie Dragoo, 31

91 years of competition
D - District, A - Area, R - Region, S - State
 * 4 State Championships
 * 13 2nd Place State Finishes
 * 28 Region Championships
 * 14 Area Championships
 * 50 District Championships

1930 El Cristo D, R

1931 Casualties D, R, S – 1st

1933 Master Wayfarer D, R, S - 2nd

1934 The Giant's Stair D, R, S - 2nd

1936 The Cajun D, R, S - 2nd

1938 A Bird in the Hand D, R

1939 The Man Who Wouldn't Go To Heaven D, R

1942 'Lijah D, R, S - 2nd

1944 Road Into the Sun D, R, S - 2nd

1947 Indian Giver D, R 1948 Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers D, R, S - 2nd

1949 The Barretts of Wimpole Street D, R, S - 2nd

1950 The Heritage of Wimpole Street D, R, S - 2nd

1952 Elizabeth the Queen, Act III D, R

1953 Blithe Spirit D, R 1955 Jane Eyre D, R

1957 The Shining Hour D, R, S - 2nd

1958 The Summons of Sariel D, R, S - 2nd

1963 The Miracle Worker D, R, S - 2nd

1982 Tom Jones Z, D, A, R, S – 2nd

1989 Dark of the Moon Z, D, A, R

2007 Round and Round the Garden Z, D, A, R

2008 And the Rain Came to Mayfield Z, D, A, R

2009 Over the River and Through the Woods Z, D, A, R, S – 1st

2010 Reckless Z, D, A, R

2011 Over the Tavern D, A, R, S – 1st

2012 King o’ the Moon D, A, R, S – 1st

2017 The Chopin Playoffs D, BD, A, R S - 2nd

Affiliation with Educational Theatre Association
The AHS Theatre Department became an early member of the International Thespian Society in the late 1920's; however, it is believed that when Larry D. Preas became the theatre director, he allowed the membership in the Student Honor Society lapse. When Annie Dragoo became to Austin High, she reinstated it and the troupe has been active since then as Troupe 1747.

Main Stage Performances
2006 - The Speed of Darkness by Stephen Tesich

2012 - Spring Awakening - music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater.

Main Stage Performances at the Texas Thespian Festival
2005 - The Speed of Darkness by Stephen Tesich

2006 - Disney's High School Musical il based on the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, with music and lyrics by Matthew Gerrard, Robbie Nevil, Ray and Greg Cham, Drew Seeley, Randy Petersen, Kevin Quinn, Andy Dodd, Adam Watts, Bryan Louiselle, David N. Lawrence, Faye Greenberg and Jamie Houston, and a book by David Simpatico

2011 - Spring Awakening - music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater.

2012 - Round and Round Garden by Alan Ayckbourn

Awards and Honors
Billy Dragoo - Educator of the Year 2013

Annie Dragoo - Alama Slawinski Leadership Award 2014

Billy Dragoo - Texas Thespians Hall of Fame 2016

Guest Artists
James Merrilat - Lyricist & Composer

Jesse Johnson - Writer & Lyricist

Lara Hollaway - Choreographer & Musical Theatre Artist

Matt Edwardsen - Equity Opera & Musical Theatre

Mark Pickell - Capital T Theatre Founder & Director