The Austin Arts Hall of Fame: Boyd Vance

Actor, singer, dancer, director, founder of ProArts Collective

He's an actor whose career has included performances in shows ranging from "Cabaret" to "Ain't Misbehavin' " and nearly 500 performances as the flamboyant hairdresser in "Shear Madness." His directing career began in 1984 with "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" at Huston-Tillotson College, and since then he has gone on to direct more than 50 productions.

Says Vance: "Early on, when I was just acting, I noticed that there was an absence of African Americans in the local theater scene, especially in positions of power: producers, directors -- people who can make things happen. So it became my goal to make the system more representative of people who look like me."

In 1993, he helped form Pro Arts Collective, an organization from which he seeks to fulfill his "Comprehensive Arts Plan for African Americans in Central Texas." In pursuit of that plan, Pro Arts has produced plays, art exhibits and dance festivals by African American artists. In 2000, Vance helped set up the African-American Technical Resource Center to provide assistance both to individual artists and organizations involving people of color.

In addition to his work in the arts world, Vance has been involved with organizations and activities in support of world peace, HIV/AIDS awareness and education programs for young people. "There still are pockets of need, artistic and otherwise," he says, "but I think that on several levels, things are at least moving forward."
-- Randy Harriman

Ernest & Sarah Butler		Barbara Carson	Felicity Coltman	Chris Cowden	Karen Kuykendall	Jim Swift	Boyd Vance