The summertime Festival of Independent Theatres is always a highlight of the Dallas theater year. Now the deadline, 6 p.m., Saturday, March 5, is approaching for submissions from new indie companies for the 12th FIT, running July 16 to August 7.

(To be considered an independent theatre company, you must not have ownership or management control of a theatrical performance space, including educational institutions.)

Organizations must be based or perform the majority of the theatrical company's performances in the City of Dallas or Dallas County. And submitted scripts must be 50 minutes or shorter in length during performance. (The festival may require scripts be cut in order to reach the desired performance time. Like UIL competitions, the festival will bounce any company that goes beyond the 50-minute running time.)

Submitted scripts that have been produced within the past five years will not be considered. Produced staged readings will be considered, as long as they have not been performed as part of another festival.

At least one rep of each accepted company must attend a festival orientation meeting from 7 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, June 2.

Late submissions will not be considered. Submissions may be mailed or hand-delivered (during regular business hours) to: Bath House Cultural Center, Attn: Festival of Independent Theatres, 521 E. Lawther Drive, Dallas, TX 75218. (The Bath House is located on the banks of White Rock Lake, off Northcliffe Drive.)

Electronic submissions (via email or fax) will not be considered.

More info is available for downloading at the Bath House Cultural Center web site.

TheaterJones has beaucoup tickets to give away for upcoming arts events, so join our fan page on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, to learn more about the contests.

Here are the giveaways, updated with winners as they happen:

• Three pairs of tickets for Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, presented by TITAS, at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House, at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7. Tickets were given away Sept. 2. The winners: Pam Spofford, Darren Climer and Kim Whipple. Congrats!
• Ten pairs of tickets for "The Blues" in the Jazz Roots Series, featuring Shemekia Copeland and the James Cotton Superharp Blues Band, at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House, for 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 8. Ticket giveaway: Friday, Sept. 3.
• Five pairs of tickets for MOMIX, presented by TITAS, at AT&T Performing Arts Center, Winspear Opera House, for 8 p.m., Friday, Sept. 10.  Ticket giveaway: Tuesday, Sept. 7.
• Five pairs of tickets for genius record producer T-Bone Burnett, in the Brinker International Forum, at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House, for 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 12. Ticket giveaway: Wednesday, Sept. 8.
• Three pairs of tickets for Blue Man Group, in the Broadway Lexus Series, at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House, for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 14 or Wednesday, Sept. 15. Ticket giveaway: Thursday, Sept. 9.
• Two pairs of tickets to The Sound of Music at Casa Mañana Theatre in Fort Worth, for the 7:30 p.m. performance on Wednesday, Sept. 15. Ticket giveaway: Friday, Sept. 10.

The email address you'll want to have handy is tickets@theaterjones.com. We'll post the winners after each giveaway.

The 2011 season for Level Ground Arts has been announced. The group's third season, and its first full season in its new home at the K.D. Studio Theatre, follows in the tradition of the groundwork that LGA has already laid. It's heavily influenced by film, although less heavy on the camp this time around.

The six-show lineup includes a silent film-inspired production of the classic movie Metropolis, and an intriguing take on the German expressionist vampire masterpiece Nosferatu. There's also a new musical version of the Victor Hugo novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and in a bit of a surprise, the Tony-nominated musical The Drowsy Chaperone, which was on Broadway in 2006. It is a spoof of old musicals, though, and spoof is very much in line with LGA's history. (Theatre Three has the area premiere of Drowsy, which opens there in December.)

There is one to-be-announced show for the summer, and given Level Ground's track record with musicals based on cult films, such as Evil Dead: The Musical and Poseidon: An Upside Down Musical, it's a good bet that the as-yet-unannounced June show will follow that path.

Here's the season:

• Rod Sterling's drama Requiem for a Heavyweight, which was performed live on the television show Playhouse 90 in 1956, and then made into a 1962 movie, starring Anthony Quinn, Mickey Rooney and Jackie Gleason. The play  appeared on Broadway in 1985. LGA's production runs Feb. 25-March 19.
• Metropolis, a faithful adaptation of Fritz Lang's 1926 German film, performed silently and with an original score. World premiere. April 8-30.
• TBA, a "big surprise" that can't be announced yet. June 3-25.
• The Drowsy Chaperone, the hit Broadway show about a man who discusses his favorite Broadway musical as it comes to life around him. Aug. 5-25.
• A Samurai Nosferatu, a premiere adaptation of the vampire story, set in pre-industrial Japan. World premiere. Oct. 7-29.
• A new musical version of the classic story The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with music by local composer Scott Eckert and book by LGA artistic director Bill Fountain. Nov. 11-Dec. 3.
• A travelling production of Macbeth, presented at various dates and locations throughout 2011.

There are several season subscription packages. For $60, you can see each of the first six shows on the Thursday preview (Macbeth not included). A season pass that's good for any performance of all six shows is $90 per person. For $175, you can get a party pass, with 10 tickets valid for any five shows of the season, except Macbeth.

For more information, call 214-630-5491, or visit www.levelgroundarts.com.

To read Mark Lowry's Q&A with Bill Fountain, see the September issue of Arts+Culture, which is on stands now.

Local actor Gary Moody was found dead on Sunday in his home in Granbury. He was 63. He was found by Drenda Lewis, a local costume designer who also lives in Granbury. The cause of death has not been announced, but Moody had been having fainting spells recently, according to sources.

Moody performed at the Granbury Opera House for years, and also appeared at Lyric Stage, Circle Theatre, Dallas Theater Center and WaterTower Theatre, among others. His adaptation A Lone Star Christmas Carol premiered at Circle Theatre in 2009.

"He was the most professional actor I ever knew," said Marty Van Kleeck, former artistic director at the Granbury Opera House and, until recently, manager of the Bath House Cultural Center. "He never expected a role. He always came prepared to auditions having read the script and studied the role. He had no sense of entitlement, even having performed for years at the Opera House. I could depend on him in whatever role he was cast to do his best."

Actress and friend Pam Dougherty notes that he was the first area liaison for Actors' Equity Association in Dallas, and worked on the original committee for National Representation for actors outside the cities in which there is an AEA office.

"There was a day," she said, "when it was truly 'taxation without representation' for professional actors living outside the [AEA] office cities, and Gary was a big part of the changes. He also remained a lifelong member and activist for SAG and AFTRA."

A memorial service for Moody will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 21, at the Dupree Theater at the Irving Arts Center, 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving.

Send your memories of Gary Moody to marklowry@theaterjones.com, and we'll include them on this file.

►From Donald Jordan, Founding Artistic Director of Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre:

"Gary was my friend from the day we met at the Dallas Theater Center in 1982, where we were in a production of The Three Penny Opera together. Always jovial and warm, and always an artist and a craftsman, I admired him personally and professionally. Our volunteer work together  for Actor's Equity Association on behalf of our theatrical community was a big part of our friendship as well. His tireless efforts for the performing artists of North Texas leave behind a  unique and significant legacy in addition to his admirable artistic body of work. He will be missed."

►From T.J. Walsh, associate professor of theater at Texas Christian University and artistic director of Trinity Shakespeare Festival:

"I worked with Gary in The Retreat from Moscow at Circle Theatre. His performance in that very British drama opposite Elizabeth Rothan was subtle, brimming with an inner life and just simply brilliant. I think FW Weekly selected his performance in the play as best of the year.  While he is known for his larger than life musical and comedy performances, working with him on that play just filled me with admiration at his depth as a performer and a human being."

►From Mike Skipper, actor and producer:

"I first met Gary in the late seventies when Debbie Brown and I were touring in South Pacific. Gary had friends in the show and welcomed us with open arms when we returned. We've seen each other over the years and in my opinion, Dallas/ Fort Worth has lost one of its really great character actors."

►From Rose Pearson, Executive Director, Circle Theatre:

"I don't remember when I first met Gary...maybe it was in our Joy Wyse Talent Agency Days, who knows? He always seemed like a permanent fixture in the Dallas-Fort Worth talent scene. Like T.J. [Walsh, above], I was especially pleased to see his depth as an actor so beautifully showcased in Circle's production of The Retreat from Moscow. I enjoyed watching him patiently mentor the young actors featured in the Circle/TCU co-production of Bus Stop. And, finally, it was Circle Theatre's honor to work with him and his long time friend, Gary Taylor, on their musical adaptation, A Lone Star Christmas Carol. It was during this production we began to see hints of Gary's failing health and I worried about him. The doctors all said he was in reasonably good health, but that glorious twinkle never quite reappeared in his eyes. I keep wondering if things might have been different if he made it to the doctor's today, as planned. It doesn't seem fair, but the good thing is that he was here in our theatre community for the time he was given on earth. Break-a-leg in the after life, Gary!"

►From Mark Oristano, actor, sportcaster and photographer:

"I had the great pleasure of doing two shows with Gary: Fiorello! for Lyric Stage and Parade for WaterTower. He was the pro's pro. Always on the money. Always a delight to be around. For somebody like me, who constantly shows off his rough edges, Gary gave me something to aim for. I'll miss him."

►From Ric Spiegel:

"Like everyone, I am deeply saddened by the news of Gary Moody's passing. Friends and colleagues for many years, we shared the same profession, the same agent and many of the same jobs. Gary was the true thespian, working in more plays and musicals than one can count. Although stage was his his first love, Gary had certainly done his share of radio, TV and film. His credits are impressive. Just last week I was listening to radio spots we did together, some dating back to the early '80s, and on through 2008.

Gary was also a true professional; honoring his word was as important to him as knowing his lines, and he was well-known for both. Sometimes the quiet curmudgeon, more often the boisterous raconteur and always a good actor, Gary Moody will be missed by many casts, crews and friends."

►From Gary Taylor:

"I first met Gary in 1979 at Country Dinner Playhouse. He was playing Doolittle in My Fair Lady and I was in the Heymakers, the pre-show group. I was working on a recording project and needed a narrator. I asked Gary to do the job. The result was incredible. Nobody, I mean, nobody, could have done a better job. The years passed and we fell out of touch. Then I decided to look him up and I found him in Granbury.  his time he had a project started and asked me to write music for it. The project was A Lone Star Christmas Carol. Working with Gary on that project was pure joy. This past Christmas we had the great fortune of seeing the show produced at Circle Theatre in Fort Worth, and Gary and I both performed in the show. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I am now so thankful that Gary got a chance to see “our baby” (as he sometimes referred to it) take its first step. As Rose said, we could see hints of his failing health during the run of the show, but each night he turned in a wonderful, moving performance. Thanks to everyone at Circle Theatre and to all of the beautiful people in our production. But mostly, thanks to Gary, himself, for letting me be a part of his dream. I’ll miss him."

►From Mary Collins, agent:

I have been proud to be Gary’s broadcast/film agent for over 26 years, and in fact, he was one of the very first clients who signed with me when I opened in March 1984. There never was a more professional, ethical actor—thespian, character actor, voice actor—Gary could do it all. His passing has left a hole in our collective hearts.

►From John Rainone, actor:

Very few people outside of the ones who were there know this, but Gary Moody was the officiating parson when my first wife and I were married. We had gotten officially married a month before, at City Hall with a justice of the peace. However, our families wanted the church wedding.

So my bride and I went to Norcostco and rented a wedding gown, bride's maid dresses, gray tux with tails for me and the groomsmen, and a country preacher's outfit for Gary Moody. We looked like a bus-and-truck production of Mame!

We booked the church at Old City Park and I watched old movies on TV to write the script for Gary. He did the ceremony, read the vows and pronounced us “man and wife” to a full house―most of whom never knew he was an actor!

His greatest role! And it went unsung until now!

God let you rest in peace my old friend. Think about our parts in Shrew, you as Baptista and me as Old Gremio, and how it was my main motivation in our scene to crack you up! And how when you started to lose it, I’d start to lose it! The Tim Conway/Harvey Korman school of acting! And what fun we had on the tour bus! Coming off stage and heading straight for the beer! And how we all damn-near got thrown in jail for cavorting around the parking lot of that cheap motel in Uvalde, Texas.

Ah....those were the days.

►From Lisa Fairchild, actress:

I've known Gary my whole adult life. He was one of the first actors I met when I moved to Dallas after college and he was welcoming and encouraging to a very naive and wide-eyed 22-year-old actor. The following year we went on tour with the Texas Shakespeare Theatre and he played my dad (Baptista) to my Bianca in Taming of the Shrew. Tours are a unique acting experience and togetherness can breed some grouchy folks, but Gary was never one of them. He greeted each day with a smile and that wonderful deep chuckle and told me, "Lisa, every day you can say you are a working actor is a great day." When Gary said it, it didn't sound like a cliché. He taught me how to play poker on that tour. He taught me really well. But, he never forgave me in 30 years for the royal flush hand I beat him with during my third poker game. “#%**#?in' beginner's luck, Miss Fairchild!" was how he greeted me every time, with a bear hug, all these years. I am sad and I will miss him. He was truly one of the good guys.

►From Doug Jackson, actor:

May I add my memories of the Shrew tour to John Rainone's. Sadly, that cast is being re-assembled on another plane. Lynn Mathis preceded Gary there. In the Dallas paper, the show was referred to as "cultural Philistine-ism" and Gary, Matt Posey and others reveled in the description, getting T-shirts made for the cast to wear from town to town. We were the Cultural Philistines, and we loved it.

I got to know Gary on that tour and my career as an actor owes him more than I can say. Working alongside him in Shrew, and as he played Doolittle at Casa Mañana (among many other times I had the honor) taught me much more about comedic acting than any class I ever took: undergrad, grad, workshop—you name it (meaning no slight to those teachers; as long as there have been players, players have learned from the playing of the more experienced onstage).

And that is only the beginning. His wisdom and calmness made serving on the Equity Liaison Committee a joy. His was among the recommendations of me to Mary Collins that got me professional representation. His knowledge and ability to cope with the "irregularities" of film work during our time on Mississippi Burning helped me immensely as I got my start in that business. Working with him onstage was a constant reminder of how to do it right—I wish I could have followed his example more closely. Finian's Rainbow and Fiorello! at Lyric Stage were my last two shows with him, and I wish there could have been a hundred more. My Doolittle at T3 was to me a pale shadow of the performance he gave in the role.

And I will never forget the day he won the contest to see who could insert a selected word into iambic pentameter, on that fated tour of Shrew for Texas Shakespeare: "We shall want no bev-naps at the feast!!" His like will not be seen again. I miss you, old pal.
►From actress Janis Roeton:

I had been out of the theater for several years when in 1999 I happily found myself cast in a lovely musical production of It's a Wonderful Life at the Granbury Opera House. I was absolutely amazed at the talented and professional actor in Granbury, Texas, playing Old Man Potter; of course, it was Gary Moody, acting, singing and dancing in a wheelchair across the tiny Granbury stage. Whenever Gary walked (or rolled) upon any stage, it came alive with his energy, his dedication and his consistently good work. He became my inspiration, my musical theater husband, and my dear friend; an amazingly talented genius and a dear, kind and generous individual. He was my Tevye, my Noah, my Mr. Scrooge, my Alonzo Smith, and so many fabulous characters for so many audiences upon so many stages through out the metroplex and USA. I miss him. I love him. He is gone far too soon.

Teco Theatrical Productions, which has a terrific theater space in Oak Cliff, at the Bishop Arts Theater Center, has announced its 2010-'11 season. The lineup includes what could become a holiday staple for the troupe, Langston Hughes' Black Nativity, as well as its popular new playwriting contest, in which local writers can win fab prices (first place is a grand and airline tickets) for new, short plays.

Here's the full season:

• There's No Business IN Show Business, by Teresa Coleman Wash, a world premiere thriller. Oct. 21-31.
• Black Nativity by Langston Hughes, directed by Cynthia Navarette and featuring New Arts Six. Dec. 9-19.
• 9th Annual New Play Competition. Submission guidelines: Length: 15-20 minutes. Author must be a resident of metro Dallas. The production should require a cast of no more than four actors, with no scene changes and mobile set. Material must be unoptioned, unproduced, and unpublished. Send script, SASE, e-mail submissions not accepted. Must be postmarked by Dec. 1, 2010. Productions run Feb. 10-27, 2011.
• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, featuring TeCo's T-An-T (Teenagers and Theater) apprenticeship students. April 15-17