EmilyAnn Theatre & Gardens
Come visit the EmilyAnn Theatre & Gardens, an outdoor venue located in Wimberley in the heart of the beautiful Texas Hill Country! See a show under the stars on our Main Stage or in ourindoor Studio Theatre. Stroll through our gardens. Play on our life-sized chess/checker board or explore our Musical Garden. Have a picnic and visit the hilltop Veterans Memorial Plaza & Children’s Memorial. We offer productions and events year round, and our park-like grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk.
History and Mission
The EmilyAnn Theatre was founded on August 1, 1998 to celebrate the life of Emily Ann Rolling, a vivacious 16-year-old who lost her life in a car accident in 1996. The theatre provides a permanent home for Shakespeare Under the Stars, a unique educational program for high school students in which Emily excelled as both an actress and a costume designer. Since our founding, we have expanded the scope of our work to include a variety of community and cultural events. Our mission is to reinvest in the dignity of the human spirit through the performing arts, the beauty of nature, and community fellowship.
Each year the EmilyAnn
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Provides middle and high school students an opportunity to study and produce one of Shakespeare’s plays in the six-week summer program Shakespeare Under the Stars;
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produces at least one family-friendly outdoor musical production;
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produces two indoor studio theatre productions;
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offers a four-production Children’s Theatre Series;
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offers after-school drama classes for youth in fall & spring and a summer Shakespearience day camp for students ages 5-11;
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runs the PLAYwrights Program, which teaches playwriting to students in grades 2-5;
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hosts the Annual Butterfly Festival and Trail of Lights;
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provides classrooms and meeting spaces for community organizations and school groups; and
v opens our gardens to the public daily.
Our 12-acre site includes a main stage with seating for 400, three smaller stages, an educational compound including an 80-seat studio theatre, a picnic area, and a walking path through gardens featuring native plants. The EmilyAnn also serves as a memorial for many. Pavers set in the pathway and throughout the gardens remember loved ones and celebrate special occasions, and the hilltop Veterans Memorial Plaza and Children’s Memorial boasts beautiful views of the Texas Hill Country.