Upcoming: Getting Betta by Don Fried, Paradox Players at FronteraFest and Howson Hall, January 24 - February 4

Received directly:

present the regional premiere of the futuristic comedy

– Getting Betta –

by Don Fried

directed by the playwright

at the Blue Theatre, 916 Springdale Rd. (click for map)

for the 2012 FronteraFest Long Fringe

Tuesday, January 24 – 7:00 pm; Tuesday, January 31 – 9:15 pm; Thursday, Februrary 2 – 7:00 pm; and Saturday, February 4 – 1:15 pm

Tickets for the Fringe are $15 and are available at www.fronterafest.org or by phoning 512-479-7529.

3 additional performances will be at Howson Hall Theater, UU Church, 4700 Grover Avenue, Austin, TX 78756 (click for map)

Friday, March 2 – 8:00 pm; Saturday, March 3 – 8:00 pm; and Sunday, March 4 – 3:00 pm

Tickets for the Howson performances are $15 and are available at the door.

Paradox Players presents the regional premiere of Don Fried’s futuristic comedy Getting Betta at the 2012 FronteraFest Long Fringe, January 24 – February 5, at Austin’s Blue Theater. Playing the title role of Betta is award-winning Austin-based film and stage actress Lana Dieterich, who starred in the 2011 Long Fringe production of Fried’s Senior Moments. Also featured are long-time Austin actor Craig Kanne and recent Texas State theatre graduate Brittany Flurry.

In the play, Michael is a technologically-challenged senior citizen living in a retirement home. Betta, a virtual computerized assistant, is assigned to him against his wishes by the administration of the facility. After a brief period of conflict, Michael and Betta reach a truce and settle down to live together. However, as Betta acquires technology upgrades to make her more human, she becomes paranoid and schizophrenic, and things spiral out of control.

The San Juan Capistrano (California) Patch review of Getting Betta had this to say: “What is love? What is family? Does technology serve us, or do we serve technology? Do you have to be a human to be human? You’ll laugh at, as much as ponder over, some of the answers suggested in Getting Betta.”

Getting Betta premiered simultaneously in Colorado and California in March, 2011. Fried, who also directs the production, has had his work performed throughout the U.S., in Canada, and England. In March, he travels to London to work on the world premiere production of his play Phoenix, which was inspired by the life of British singer/songwriter Nick Drake.