Penny first worked at The Country Playhouse with Bob Maddox on Ibsen's A Doll's House in 1995; in 1998 she took over the design and typesetting of the production flyers with Sondheim & Furth's Getting Away with Murder, directed by Edith Pross and also that year the board (under president John Stiff) voted to move the box office and accounting functions from volunteer roles to paid consultants; she took over the accounting function at the end of 1998. In March, 1999, she directed Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias, and followed this with other productions such as Henry David Huang's M. Butterfly, Goodbye Charlie by George Axelrod, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and Ladies of the Camellias by Lillian Garrett-Groag. In the meantime, she'd also taken over the design and typesetting of the programs; re-designed the theatre logo and letterhead; assumed maintenance of the theatre mailing list (and production of the mailing labels); and set up agreements for all paid consultants and for organizations leasing the premises.

Early in 2000 she was offered the opportunity of a lifetime: To take over management of the Black Box and turn it into a viable, self-supporting and profitable feature of the theatre. "Black Box Productions" was born.

Her goals were:

• To provide an alternative venue and ultimately attract an audience from a demographic whose members would more readily accept edgier and more avant-garde fare than that traditionally presented on the Cerwinske Stage
• To recruit directors motivated by passion and conviction who could turn out a tight show with high production values

This last was paramount in selecting balanced and interesting seasons. The guidelines were:

• That the shows be presented with a minimum of fuss (props, set, etc.) to enable maximum flexibility with other occupants of the space
• That producions feature a small cast (to facilitate traffic control within the space and theatre facilities)
• That directors would have the casting flexibility of either pre-casting or holding auditions

The venture kicked off with Kennedy's Children by Robert Patrick, directed by Scott Kilgore, on August 24, 2000 and was followed by Shepard's Fool for Love (Penny directed) and Jackson Square, an original production by playwright-in-residence, Diana Howie, and directed by the late Jerry Baber.

The 2001-2002 season comprised three presentations: Agatha Christie Does Dallas (an original play by Eddie Cope and Carl Williams), Love Letters by A.R. Gurney (Penny directed) and A One-Sided Conversation with Casey Stengel, an original, one-man show by Paul Higbee starring Kurt Bauer. (Love Letters, with Barbara Lasater and Stuart Purdy, produced by Penny, has gone on through subsequent seasons to become an audience favorite.)

The 2002-2003 season began with another Eddie Cope and Carl Williams blockbuster, The Not So Grand Hotel, and was followed by Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross (with Joe Viser directing this initial collaboration with Outlaw Actors), A.R. Gurney's Love Letters and another original, An Evening of One Acts, by Houston playwright Nan McCants and directed by Jennifer Hawk.

Judy's Friend & Marilyn's Boy, another original by Diana Howie, launched the 2003-2004 season (the first to offer a full, six-show line up as presented on the Cerwinske Stage). This was followed by the Mamet masterpiece, American Buffalo (John Mitsakis directing another collaboration with Outlaw Actors); Extremities by William Mastrosimone (O'Dell Hutchison directing); A.R. Gurney's Love Letters; the original musical, The Jury (book by Diana Howie, music by Anna Fay Williams); and John Patrick Shanley's, Danny & The Deep Blue Sea, directed by Meghan Hakes.

For the 2004-2005 season, Penny directed the opening show, Psycho Beach Party by Charles Busch, which was followed by a two-performance benefit for the theatre entitled Celebrating the Modern Musical, conceived and directed by Erin Simpson. The season continued with Moises Kaufman's Laramie Project (directed by O'Dell Hutchison); Riff Raff by Laurence Fishburne (with Outlaw Actors, directed by Alex A.C. Gardner); Penny also directed Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; and the season closed with Four Dogs and a Bone by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Ananka Kohnitz.

It was planned to open the 2005-2006 season with a repeat of the sold out Psycho Beach Party of the previous season, but Mother Nature had other plans: the show was cancelled as the Black Box was flooded. The season continued though with: Home Front by James Duff, with Outlaw Actors and directed by Alex A.C. Gardner); All in the Timing, by David Ives, directed by John Mitsakis; A.R. Gurney's Love Letters; Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues (with Penny directing); and Patrick Marber's Closer, directed by O'Dell Hutchison.

In the 2006-2007 season, Sheryl Stanley directed Mass Appeal by Bill C. Davis; Julie Thornley directed The Dying Gaul, by Craig Lucas; Anne Quackenbush directed Hurlyburly (with Outlaw Actors); O'Dell Hutchison directed Five Women Wearing the Same Dress by Alan Ball; and Joe Viser directed Jason Miller's That Championship Season.

And we reached another milestone with the 2007-2008 season with a seven-show line up comprising: The Widow's Blind Date (by Israel Horowitz, in conjunction with Outlaw Actors and directed by Donald Hampton); A.R. Gurney's Love Letters; Frank Gilroy's The Subject Was Roses directed by Barbara Lasater; The Woman in Black by Stephen Malatratt directed by Sheryl Stanley; Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard and directed by Julie Thornley; Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead by Bert V. Royal and directed by O'Dell Hutchison; and the original Susanna and Will by Diana Howie and directed by Bonnie Hewett.

Penny and O'Dell Hutchison worked on the current, 2008-2009 season together, with yet another first: The regional premiere of bare: a pop opera by John Hartmere, Jr. (book and lyrics) and Damon Intrabartolo (book and music). This was a personal triumph for O'Dell, who had been talking with the authors for several years on the subject of staging the show in Houston. It was actually presented on the Cerwinske Stage and critically acclaimed by reviewers and audience members alike. The season continues with Baby with the Bathwater by Christopher Durang; Times Square Angel, by Charles Busch; How I Learned to Drive, by Paula Vogel; A.R. Gurney's Love Letters; In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel by Tennessee Williams; and Orphans, by Lyle Kessler.

By the end of 2006 Penny had given up working on everything but development of Black Box Productions, its posters and programs (which she continues to design). From the very beginning each season has been produced at a profit, which has grown with the passage of time - as has enthusiasm for the shows presented and audience interest and volume.

Early in 2008 she withdrew from BBP to concentrate more on her own business interests and O'Dell Hutchison became the new Artistic Director.

Penny Corden - August 2008