Meet the force behind the Purple Box Theater

Cathy Holbrook's son Jarrod, who's now a TV news reporter in Boston, was about 7 when he discovered the joys of acting.

Since there wasn't a stage for children in Pearland, Holbrook decided to start a small theater group - and a new career for herself.

The Young Theater and Performing Stars of Texas was a performing arts school in the Friendswood-Pearland area that she founded in 1985. Through it, she produced and directed a number of Broadway musicals, as well as many performances at Houston-area special events, halftime shows and community programs. The kids also performed at amusement parks across the country.

Holbrook and her family moved to California in the 1990s. At about the same time, she said, drama groups there became popular in nondenominational churches. She was involved in those ministries before moving back to Texas.

Recently opened

This past July, Holbrook, 55, opened The Purple Box Theater at 1309 W. Parkwood, in front of the Friendswood Police Station.

When she was trying to decide what color to paint it, her favorites were purple, red and silver. Silver and blue were already the colors of Bay Area Theatre and Voice Academy in League City, and Upstage Arts in Webster had red.

When she was trying to decide what color to paint it, her favorites were purple, red and silver. Silver and blue were already the colors of Bay Area Theatre and Voice Academy in League City, and Upstage Arts in Webster had red.

"That left purple. I knew it was going to be a black box theater, like ones they have in L.A. – small and intimate – so I painted it purple and named it The Purple Box Theater," Holbrook said.

Started as a child

Her love of acting started when she was a child growing up in Houston and saw neighborhood teens putting on plays in garages.

It was clinched when her sixth-grade class took a field trip to see Hansel and Gretel.

"That's when I just fell in love with the stage," she said.

At St. Pius X High School in Houston, Holbrook competed in University Interscholastic League one-act play contests and acted in the senior play, a generation gap comedy called The Impossible Years.

At Sam Houston State University, she met her future husband, Bill, in a gathering of students in a parking lot between a dormitory and a fraternity house.

What's on tap

Among a slate of Purple Box plans are acting classes for children ages 5-7, a teen community theater, social skills programs for high-functioning special-needs students and birthday parties.

In addition, auditions for an adult community theater production of the comedy Dearly Beloved will be at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24, 4 p.m. Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. March 3 and 4 p.m. March 5. Dearly Beloved is scheduled for April 22 through May 1 in the 70-seat auditorium at The Purple Box.

Holbrook, who lives in Galveston, has no plans to act in any of the productions at The Purple Box.

"I like looking back and seeing the big picture," she said. "To me, it's not like work when it's your passion."

If you have a suggestion for a "Faces in the Crowd" profile, e-mail richard.zagrzecki@chron.com or send a fax to 713-362-7552.