Founding myth
The Name Game
Originally called the 'Dramatic Club' and 'Junior Curtain Club,' the troupe officially became The Red Dragon Players in 1929 — decades before Austin High adopted a school mascot.
Alumni & History
The Red Dragon Players are one of the oldest continuously-running student theater companies in Texas. These are the alumni — and the memories — behind the curtain.
Through the years
More than 115 years of student theater, laid out in four acts. Scroll sideways to travel through the decades — the spacing is proportional, so the busiest seasons take up the most room.
How to navigate: Swipe left and right to move through the timeline.Swipe or scroll left and right to move through the timeline — drag the bar below, or use your trackpad and arrow keys.
Act I
The Foundation
Act II
The Classic Era
Act III
A New Stage
Act IV
Championship & Modern Era
Great Depression
Community theater becomes free escape.
WWII years
Students fill every role on stage.
Austin music boom
A city of performers takes shape.
Austin arts surge
Live performance culture expands citywide.
Rio Grande campus
Austin High settles downtown.
Enrollment boom
Postwar Austin doubles the student body.
Move to Town Lake
The campus crosses the river.
Facility upgrades
PAC theater modernized.
1911 — Dramatic Club forms
1922 — Junior Curtain Club
1929 — The Red Dragon Players named
1946 — Post-war stage revival
1975 — New campus theater opens
2004 — Musical Theatre program begins
2009 — First UIL 5A State title
2026 — Gypsy!
9 Heller Awards Nominations (including Best Production)
UIL One-Act era
Competition becomes a tradition.
State run begins
First of six straight state trips.
State Champions
State Champions
State Champions
A state-record sixth consecutive appearance.
Golden-age dramas
Classic repertoire downtown.
Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Final curtain on Rio Grande.
A Clearing in the Woods
Opening the new stage.
Nicholas Nickleby
An epic two-part staging.
Mamma Mia!
Large-scale musical theater.
Did you know?
Founding myth
Originally called the 'Dramatic Club' and 'Junior Curtain Club,' the troupe officially became The Red Dragon Players in 1929 — decades before Austin High adopted a school mascot.
Theater relocation
In 1975, RDP closed the curtain on their downtown campus with The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and opened the current campus facility with A Clearing in the Woods the same year.
State legacy
Between 2007 and 2012, RDP set a state record by qualifying for six consecutive UIL 5A State Championships — winning the top prize in 2009, 2011, and 2012.
Modern changes
Long focused on standard dramas, the dedicated Musical Theatre program was officially established in 2004, broadening the players' repertoire to large-scale musicals.
Historical anchor
During WWII (1941–1945), performance photos reflect a shortage of young male actors — showcasing the adaptability of the students who kept the stage alive.
Alumni spotlight

Professional Actress, Class of 2015
Haley graduated from Drake University in 2019 with a BFA in Musical Theatre and concentrations in Directing & Choreography.
She was awarded an internship at the regional theatre Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, Tennessee, and is now a professional company member. At Playhouse she has performed in Memphis, Kinky Boots, Head Over Heels, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Songs From a New World, Schoolhouse Rock, Peter Pan, Days of Rage, and The Taming — and took on the lead role of Patsy Cline in Just a Closer Walk with Patsy Cline.
Other professional credits include Urinetown and La Cage aux Folles at Theatre Memphis.
@haley.breann.wilson

AEA Stage Manager & Performer, Class of 2013
Caroline has been working in the theatre — on stage and behind the scenes — since she was 10 years old. A 2017 graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, she received her BFA in Musical Theatre while pursuing stage management as an independent study.
An Austin, Texas native, Caroline enjoys hiking in the Hill Country, walking around the lake, and surplus amounts of queso and coffee. She has a fierce love and strong loyalty to her friends and family and will always fight for what she believes is right.
Caroline lives in Brooklyn, where she is pursuing a career as a freelance stage manager.
@CarolineRagland

Web Video Editor at Comedy Central, Class of 2009
Jack is a 2013 graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he was a Dean's Scholar and film major. He works as a web video editor at Comedy Central for The Daily Show, and was previously an associate producer and assistant editor for Emmy-winning filmmaker Nancy Buirski.
"Harvey's Last Night on the Avenue" was an Official Selection of the 2020 Raleigh Film and Art Festival and the 2020 Black Cat Picture Show. "Four Play" won the Audience Award at the Iron Mule Comedy Film Festival in 2018, and "Jack and Lucas Go To A Wedding" was an official selection of the 2017 NewFilmmakers New York Summer Series. His senior thesis film, "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory," won Best Student Film at the 2015 Black Cat Picture Show and screened at festivals from Santa Monica to Athens.
He interned for a year and a half at Martin Scorsese's Sikelia Productions and served on the Tisch New Theatre Executive Board. At Austin High School, Jack performed in twenty-three plays and won fourteen Best Actor or All-Star Cast awards at all levels of UIL competition, advancing to national competition in Monologue, Duet Musical, and Shakespeare performance.
@jackmkyser

Musician, Class of 2004
Austin's own Shakey Graves (Alejandro Rose-Garcia) got his start on the Red Dragon stage before becoming one of the city's most recognizable touring musicians.

Film & Television Actor, Class of 2003
An Austin native, Marshall Allman discovered his passion for performing while at Austin High School. Shortly after graduation, he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue acting full-time, rapidly earning roles in major television series and feature films.
He gained widespread recognition for his starring roles as L.J. Burrows in the hit series Prison Break and Tommy Mickens in HBO's True Blood, alongside film appearances in projects such as Hostage.

Pulitzer Prize & Tony Award Winner, Class of 1963
Playwright and screenwriter Robert Schenkkan won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Kentucky Cycle and the Tony Award for Best Play for All the Way.
Memories
Footage, photos, and programs from decades of Red Dragon productions.
The Red Dragon Players — 2001 production of Nicholas Nickleby.
More archival photography lives on our Flickr archive.
In memoriam

The Red Dragon Players remember the students, alumni, and friends who shaped this program and are no longer with us.
Read Daniel's obituaryALUMNI CHECK IN
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