Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Auditions for Little Mother, FronteraFest, November 3


Auditions on Saturday, November 3 for "Little Mother" for Frontera Long Fringe. 

(image from Katie Green)
 “Little Mother” is a harrowing fairytale of maternal love—a silent passion play, using shadow puppetry, physical acting, and live musical performance. In order to escape oppression, Little Mother creates a softer, shadow puppet world featuring an elephant and rooster who dream of a better life.

This is an original play debuting for the Frontera Long Fringe Festival. There will be four performances sometime between, mid-January and early February (dates have not been assigned yet). There will be at least five days surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas off. Rehearsal schedule will be very light in November and December, and heavy in January. There is a strong possibility for these to be paid roles if ticket revenue exceeds production expenditures.

"Little Mother"
is an entirely non-verbal, physical acting performance piece with an original score performed by a live, chamber music ensemble. If you enjoy a collaborative, exploratory rehearsals where process, not product, is emphasized, and you do not mind being micromanaged or bringing ideas to the table, then this is probably an experience you would enjoy.
Character Breakdown: (1 woman, 3 men) **All actors must be at least 18 years old**

Little Mother: a prostitute, wife, and mother. She is impossibly small. Somehow she has retained a child-like innocence. ** Only very petite actors will be considered **actress should be under 30 ** actress must be comfortable with multiple implicit rape scenes


Husband/Client 3: Little Mother’s paralyzed, bed-ridden, and adoring husband **must be comfortable with implicit rape scene, as Husband will be double-cast as Client 3


Clients 1 and 2: The men who patronize Little Mother ** must be comfortable with implicit rape scenes

A note on sexuality: If you have reservations, I understand. The subject of rape will be treated with utmost gravity. Technically, the sexual acts are consensual (though abusive), and more clearly resemble rape. There will be no nudity, and all sexuality will be implicit, rather than explicit (think wrestling with clothes on). It will be stylized, though not subtle.

For auditions: Actors should be prepared to perform a 2-3 minute non-verbal story (you’ll need to prepare this)

Auditions will take place Saturday Nov 3rd from 2-4 pm in 10-minute slots. Please send an email to katiegreen444@gmail to request your time slot. If Saturday does not work, I am willing to find an alternative time.

Broadsword combat classes with Toby Minor, November 18 - December 9

Toby Minor Fight Choreographer

This is a four week workshop about learning how to wield a single-handed broadsword, the most commonly used weapon on stage in Shakespeare and classical pieces. It's designed for hacking and slicing. (Lord of the Rings movies, King Arthur, etc)

Each class will begin with a brief physical warm up. We will quickly move into sword strikes and parries, foot positioning and body form. No previous sword experience necessary, as this a basic level training course. The last class will culminate in a showcase performance of fight scenes for friends and family.

Dates: Sunday evenings from Nov 18, 25, Dec 2 and 9. Time: 5-7pm. Limit 10 students. By request we found a space way further south!! This space is 7031 E. Hwy 290. It's just east of I35 at Berkman, a blue building with a nice big secure parking lot.

Cost is $100. I take credit cards, checks and cash. Please sign up ahead of time by contacting Toby at:
tobywon55@gmail.com or calling (512) 909-0254. 


 Click to go to AustinLiveTheatre.com for additional information about Toby Minor.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Upcoming: Talk to Your Dog, Silver Spur Theatre, Salado, November 10 - 17



Silver Spur Salado
Talk to Your Dog Silver Spur Salado


Talk to Your Dog
at Silver Spur Theate
Nov. 10, 16, 17;
Original, Romantic Comedy Benefits Local Theatres

Two local playwright-actors and director produce and perform show

“Talk to Your Dog,” an original, two-act comedy written by and starring both Marjie Rynearson and Gary Gosney, continues its “World Premiere Benefit Tour” at the Salado Silver Spur Theater, (108 Royal Street, just off IH-35), with 7:30 pm performances on Nov. 10th, 16th and 17th.

This traveling show, enthusiastically enjoyed by full houses at its initial performances at the Temple Civic Theatre and the Cultural Activity Center in September, benefits local live theatres. It features a light and lively plot with clever laugh lines.

The play involves two sweethearts, Lillian and Nathan of a “certain age” – portrayed by local playwrights Marjie Rynearson and Gary Gosney – who were in love during high school. The pair, in unhappy and colorless marriages, meets again many years later at their high school reunion.
Their relationship re-ignites, but there are complications – her husband, his wife, their children, and of course, the dogs.

Admission is $20 for all ages. For reservations, call the box office at 254-947-3456. For directions or more play info, visit www.saladosilverspurtheater.com. Expanded food choices are available in the lobby.

Upcoming: Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Concordia University, November 8 - 10



Concordia Univrsity Austin TX






presents
Doubt: A Parable

by John Patrick Shanley

 November 8 - 10, 2012

Doubt Concordia University
Just in time for the Presidential election, Concordia University Texas (CTX) Theatre department presents the 2005 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, Doubt; A Parable, by celebrated, American playwright and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley.

The play, set in St. Nicholas’s Catholic Church and School in the Bronx, 1964, is not about elections; however, its investigation into questions of moral and ethical certainty is timely. Doubt tells the story of school principal, Sister Aloysius, who takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the young Father Flynn of having an improper relationship with the school’s first African-American student. 

In the course of the play, the audience witnesses four opposing characters, all seemingly trying to do the right thing, and is left to decide whom to believe.


In his introduction to the play, Shanley writes, “We are living in a culture of extreme advocacy, of confrontation, and of verdict. Communication has become a contest of wills… Maybe… deep down under the chatter we have come to a place where we know that we don’t know… anything. But nobody’s willing to say that.”

The all-student cast features Terry Hillis, as Father Flynn, Elizabeth Oerther, as Sister Aloysius, KyLene Pederson, as Sister James, and Shina Bharadwaja, as Mrs. Muller. Visiting director Dr. Kelly Carolyn Gordon is staging the production.

Doubt; A Parable will be performed at 7:30 pm, November 8-10, in The Black Box Theater, on the Concordia University Texas campus. Single play tickets are $7.00 in advance and $10.00 at the door, for general admission. Cash or check only. To reserve tickets, please call 512-313-PLAY. 

Patrons are advised to buy tickets early, as the show is expected to sell out.

Doubt; A Parable is presented through special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service. All authorized performance materials are also supplied by DPS: 440 Park Avenue South, New York, New York, 10016. www.dramatists.com

About Concordia University Texas
Concordia University Texas is an award-winning institution of higher education, offering undergraduate, graduate and an Accelerated Degree Program for adult students. The main campus is located in Northwest Austin with four university centers in central Austin, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. A privately-held, accredited, liberal arts university, Concordia is under the auspices of TheLutheran Church—Missouri Synod. It is a member of the highly respectedConcordia University System in which more than 28,000 students are enrollednationwide.  For more information, please visit www.concordia.edu.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Auditions: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), Paradox Players, November 10


Paradox PlayersParadox Players will hold auditions for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) on Saturday, November 10 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room 13 of the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover Ave., Austin.

Looking for three men, age 20 to 40. A stipend will be paid.

Complete Works of William Shakespeare abridged Paradox PlayersThe show is a fast-paced comedy covering all of Shakespeare’s plays in one evening.

Performances are weekends from February 8 through February 24. There will be a few rehearsals in December, and then 3 – 4 nights a week starting early January.

For more information and to schedule an audition time, call Gary Payne at 512-799-5872, or email him at capcitymystery@swbell.net.

Upcoming: La Tempesta, Trinity University and Teatre del Drago, November 9 - 18




La Tempesta Teatro del Drago Trinity University San Antonio

The Italians have not left yet! Teatro del Drago will now team up with Roberto Prestigiacomo and  Trinity Theatre to present Shakespeare's The Tempest, complete with puppets and shadow theatre as presented in Teatro del Drago's production of Pinocchio. If you liked Pinocchio, you'll love La Tempesta, and if you didn't get to see Pinocchio, now is your chance to see the talents and unique style of Teatro del Drago's work, never before seen in San Antonio.

La Tempesta Dates
Friday, November 9th, 8 p.m.
Saturday, November 1oth, 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 11th, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 14th, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 15th, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 16th, 8 p.m.
Saturday, November 17th, 8 p.m.

La Tempesta, an original physical theatre adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, is a co-creation of Stieren Guest Artists Teatro del Drago and Roberto Prestigiacomo. Visually stunning and a novelty never seen on San Antonio stages, it re-tells this magical story through the use of puppets, marionettes, and shadow theatre.


For TicketsCall: 210-999-8515
or


Ticket Prices
General Admission $10
Faculty/Staff/Alumni/Seniors $8
Students $6
Season Passes are available!
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)


Ragtime, Zach Theatre, October 17 - November 18


Ragtime Zach Theatre Austin TX



AustinLiveTheatre review

by Michael Meigs

The Zach's Ragtime is a huge -- I mean HUGE -- and lavish production, inaugurating its state-of-the-art 425-seat Topfer theatre. The flair, finish and finesse of this production are simply breath-taking.


Ragtime is a fable of a faraway America, one that existed at the very opening of the twentieth century. In his 1975 novel E.L. Doctorow imagined a tangled story involving a prosperous bourgeois family in New Rochelle, an unmarried African-American couple and their child, and an impoverished Jewish immigrant peddler and his young daughter in the New York slums.


The story is told in an amusing faux-historical narrative with cameos by real figures notable and notorious, ranging from escape artist Harry Houdini to Henry Ford to polar explorer Robert Peary to Evelyn Nesbit, infamous in the love triangle that led to the murder of architect Stanford White.


Ragtime Zach Theatre Austin TXMiloš Forman turned Ragtime into a 1981 film featuring Randy Newman's clever and gently nostalgic score. Although the story is set principally in a small town upstate and in New York City, somewhat ironically the 1996 musical was underwritten by Canadian empresario Garth Drabinsky and first produced in Toronto. The music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens sweep the audience away.


Ragtime is a dream epic, a late twentieth-century imagining of how it should have been possible to overcome the differences between races and ethnic groups. It's imbued with an optimism of America's possibilities, even as it depicts setbacks.


While the wealthy owner of a fireworks factory is away on a polar expedition, his wife discovers an abandoned black newborn child in the garden. She takes it in along with Sarah, its despondent mother; professional musician Coalhouse Walker, Jr., drives up from Harlem every week, trying to speak to Sarah, and the family accepts him. The courteous and well-dressed outsider even becomes a music tutor to Edgar, the son. In an unfortunate encounter, white thugs beat Coalhouse and trash his automobile. Police and courts deny him justice; police brutality causes a death; Coalhouse and his armed followers occupy the J.P. Morgan library in New York City. Conflicts are sharp; dilemmas are insoluble. The New Rochelle family becomes involved and members learn different, difficult lessons.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Vampire Lesbians of Sodom by Charles Busch, City Theatre, late nights October 26 - November 17

Vampire Lesbians of Sodom Charles Busch Oh Dragon Austin TX

AustinLiveTheatre review

by Steve Meigs

All politics is local, they say. Is all theater local, too? And can theater be politics? Find out. Go see Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. Even better, phone your right-wing conservative religious uncle and invite him to go with you to see it at the City Theater where it's now playing. Don't tell Uncle the name of the show, don't give the game away. Just say “Gee, Uncle, it's a comedy and the first scene is set in a famous Biblical city!” 


First scene, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom: A sweet, innocent 14-year-old flaxen-haired Vestal Virgin is chosen as a sacrifice for a blood sucking lesbian demon, the Succubus. The virgin played by Joe Hartman in a long blonde Rapunzel wig, red lipstick and mascara struggles to escape, gets grabbed by the palace guards, and with flailing arms and legs screams "Break my hymen! Break my hymen!" Too late, virgin babe. The Succubus, Kirk Kelso with an evil sneer and a hellish red page boy wig, bites her on the neck and she swoons.


Is she dead? Not exactly.


All theater is local politics. Your uncle may bolt out of the theater and your life forever.


Or maybe he'll rip his Romney button off and try to stab you with the pin?


Or surprise, surprise. He could giggle and change in ways your aunt will never understand.

Most people see Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and laugh their asses off. It's just so damn ridiculous. It's got action faster than a speeding improv. It's weirder than an op-ed page in a free weekly. It cold cocks you with its purse and then makes you beg for it again.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Miss Princess, Violet Crown Community Theatre, November 10 - December 2




Violet Crown Austin TX









The Violet Crown Community Theatre Company is proud to announce performance times for its upcoming show,

Miss Princess

an original play for the young and young at heart
Miss Princess Violet Crown Community Theatre Austin TXWhen a game show goes awry will the contestants figure out who’s behind the scenes? Intended for children and their families, Miss Princess will perform in various Austin locations, free of charge.


November 10 at 1 PM – Twin Oaks Library
November 17 at noon - Central Market North
November 18 time TBA - Brentwood Elementary School
December 1 at 10 AM - Violet Crown Arts Festival at Triangle
December 2 at 10:30 AM - Cherrywood Coffee house
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Monday, October 29, 2012

Auditions at City Theatre for Othello, November 18 and 19


City Theatre Austin TXCity Theatre is Othello City Theatre Austincasting all roles at auditions for Othello by William Shakespeare. Auditions November 18 and 19 at the City Theatre. 3823 Airport Blvd. Suite D. Austin, TX 78722 (click for map). November 18, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m. November 19, 6 – 10 p.m. Bring headshot, resume and a one-minute prepared monologue. Scenes will also be performed. Ten-minute slots by appointment. If you are not able to make this audition time, please let us know.


One of Shakespeare’s most intense and epic tragedies of a great man destroyed by love, politics, suspicion and jealousy. Performances February 21 – March 17 with rehearsals beginning in December.
Call 512-524-2870 or info@citytheatreaustin.org to set up an appt.

Masterclass: Choreographer Greg Graham of 'Billy Elliot,' Tex-Arts, November 11



Tex-Arts Lakeway TX
Billy Elliot masterclass Greg Graham Tex-Arts


Sunday, November 11, 2012
2:30 - 4:30 p.m. Ages 10 - 13
4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Ages 14 - Adult
Where: TexARTS Erin Doherty Studios
2300 Lohmans Spur Suite # 160
Lakeway, TX 78734

TexARTS will welcome Broadway performer and choreographer Greg Graham and his “BILLY ELLIOT” masterclass, Sunday, Nov. 11 at 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Graham is currently the associate choreographer for both national touring productions of BILLY ELLIOT and served as the resident choreographer for the Tony Award-winning Broadway production.

Originally from Texas, Graham was cast in his first Broadway show, FOSSE, just four days after moving to New York City. He has appeared on Broadway in CHICAGO and NEVER GONNA DANCE, which was choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. At that time, Mr. Mitchell asked him to serve as the dance captain for the original Broadway production of HAIRSPRAY. Later, he became the associate choreographer of the 1st national tour and the South African production of HAIRSPRAY. He also worked with Mr. Mitchell as an associate choreographer for the Broadway production of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS.

Graham was seen in the Julie Taymor film ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, and more recently in the NBC television hit, SMASH.

Mr. Graham is now venturing into his own world of choreography. He has created works for the TV series UGLY BETTY and CELEBRITY FIT CLUB as well as the Russell Crowe film STATE OF PLAY.

In this masterclass, Austin area actors, singers and dancers will have the opportunity to work with this accomplished performer and learn the original Broadway choreography of selected numbers from BILLY ELLIOT. This is an excellent opportunity for area performers to work with an outstanding talent, sharpen their skills and have fun.

The cost is $45 and dancers of all levels are welcome. Classes will be held at TexARTS in the Erin Doherty Studios (2300 Lohmans Spur, Suite #160, Lakeway, TX). For more information or to enroll, please visit http://www.tex-arts.org/billyelliot.html or call 512-852-9079 x 104.

TexARTS is a nonprofit organization that offers year-round classes in acting, voice, ballet and dance as well as completely staged youth and professional productions. TexARTS is recognized throughout the region for its professional theatre and educational programs.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Upcoming: The Homage That Follows by Mark Medoff, Austin Community College, November 9 - 18



ACC Drama Department







The Homage That Follows 

by Mark Medoff

Location: ACC Mainstage Theater, 2nd floor, RGC

Directed by ACC Drama Faculty member Perry Crafton

November 9, 10, 11
November 16, 17, 18
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 2pm
Click to purchase tickets on-line at Austin Community College

A young man’s friendship with his widowed employer turns to obsession and murder when the woman’s celebrity daughter returns to the family farm. Told from five different characters’ perspectives, the play offers “a cubist portrait of grief".

Adult Language. Everyone (including children) must have a seat/ticket. All proceeds go to the Dance/Drama Scholarship fund.


(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Original Family Theatre in Austin -- Playground Superhero and Mariachi Girl

Austin Live Theatre Profile







by Michael Meigs

Playground Superhero Pollyanna Mariachi Girl Teatro Vivo Austin TX

Children's theatre -- sometimes passed off as 'family theatre' -- is not easy, despite the deceptive appearance of ease when it's well done. And there's not that much of it in Austin.


Visiting companies set up shop for a single day's performance at the One World Theatre out on Bee Caves Road or at the Paramount and State theatres downtown. And of course, studios such as KidsActing, Buzz Productions, Easy Theatre and Center Stage offer young persons their first experience of performance. There's even the Flying Theatre Machine that will initiate them in improv.


Very often purveyors of children's theatre or theatre by children are offering authorized adaptations of familiar stories, successful children's books, and movies. Lots of these studios and various schools are doing Disney scripts -- for example, the MacTheatre at McCallum Fine Arts Academy performed Disney's Beauty and the Beast this past September and the Buzz Productions did Disney's Alice in Wonderland, Jr. this past May.


There's some piracy, too -- not the Long John Silver type but copyright infringement. To date those occasional offerings by community groups and others have remained below the radar (luckily for them, because Uncle Walt's administrators and their ilk are little inclined to tolerance or mercy).


Last week I attended two productions of original scripts for family theatre, done by uniquely Austin theatre companies in partnership with well-established Austin arts institutions. Judy Matetzschk-Campbell's Pollyanna Theatre Company has been performing since 2002; Teatro Vivo of Rupert and JoAnn Reyes, established at about the same time to serve, entertain and reflect Austin's Tejano community, has now moved into family theatre with a script submitted by Roxanne Schroeder-Arce to their first Latino New Play Festival in 2011.

Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Upcoming in Austin and (*) San Antonio, October 29 - November 3



Austin Live Theatre
Opening This Week
in the Austin - (*) San Antonio region
October 29 - November 3, 2012
Click images for additional information

Opening in Austin . . .
Gruesome Playground Injuries Texas State University
Coriolanus Shakeespeare Trinity Street Players
Trinity Street Players, November 1 - 17
Off The Reef Puppet Improv Austin TX
at the Dougherty Arts Center
Toil and Trouble Macbeth Touble Puppet Austin TX
Trouble Puppet Company does Macbeth, October 31 - November 17

======================================================================
IN SAN ANTONIO
======================================================================

Buddy Holly Story Cameo San Antonio
Cameo Theatre, San Antonio


End Days Proxy Theatre San Antonio
November 1 - 17 at Overtime Theatre Center, San Antonio

Upcoming: The Attic Space by Nigel O'Hearn, Palindrome Theatre at the Salvage Vanguard, December 14 - 22



Palindrome Theatre Austin TX







Palindrome’s Final Production: 7 performances only of
the Premiere of  

The Attic Space

Starring Babs George and Ev Lunning Jr. 


December 14 - December 22 at 8 p.m., Sunday at 6 p.m.,
Donate-what-you-can show Wed 19th
Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Rd. 78722 (click for map)

Ticket Price: $10 subsidized ticket price*
Length: 80 min.

Reservation Website: www.palindrometheatre.com ; Reservation Line: 512-736-5191

Three years ago, when opening their inaugural season with Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, Palindrome Theatre promised it would expire in December 2012. Seven productions, one international festival, and a heap of critical praise (mostly) later, Palindrome is set to do just that after their premiere production of The Attic Space, by Resident Playwright, Artistic Director, and native Austinite Nigel O’Hearn.

Known for their intimate, often provocative, traditionally-influenced aesthetic, Palindrome is building on the classical foundation and intricate theatricality of their past work to present a new play that is at once in keeping with the literary influence of Beckett and Miller while striving for bold, experimental presentation (including meta-puppetry realized by Caroline Reck, Artistic Director of Glass Half Full Theatre, and designed by Tara Cooper).

Directed by O’Hearn, starring Babs George and Ev Lunning Jr. (both courtesy of Actors Equity), and featuring early Palindrome collaborator Helyn Rain Messenger, The Attic Space is an exploration of the capriciousness of memory, the complexity of companionship and the fear of uncertainty that accompanies the recurring life-long search for definite self-evidence; set in the place in our home which we visit the least, yet store all the things we can’t bear to go on without.

*In effort to help educate the Austin public on the cost and cultural impact of professional theatre, and though it costs much more than $10 a ticket to produce a professional play, Palindrome operates under the principle that while the theatre is not free, it should be experienced as a freedom- we do everything in our power to bring our productions to the Austin public at no cost or small cost without devaluing the theatrical event.
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)


McCallum Fine Arts Theatre Program Profiled in BroadwayWorld.com, October 25

Jeff Davis's feature on the Mac Theatre program:


Young Artists Thrive at McCallum Fine Arts Academy in Austin TX
Beauty and the Beast McCallum Fine Arts AUstin TX 
by Jeff Davis, October 25, 2012

There’s no doubt about it. Educational arts programs are almost always in crisis mode. No matter what city or state you’re in, arts courses always seem to be under-funded and in dire need of support, and sadly the lack of funding usually has a disastrous effect on the student population. Some get far less exposure to the arts than they want or need. Others get no exposure at all as their school’s arts programs vanish.

McCallum High School in Austin is a rare exception. Its unique Fine Arts Academy thrives despite the current economic pinch.
The Fine Arts Academy program at McCallum provides high school students with both a traditional high school education and a fine arts focus. Students are broken up into majors, including Band, Choir, Dance, Classical Guitar, Orchestra, Theatre, and Visual Arts. While they may specialize in arts courses, the students are required to take the standard core classes with the general school population. By doing so they add an element of creative thinking which benefits the entire McCallum student body, whether they be artistically inclined or not.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

(*) Upcoming: End Days by Deborah Zoe Laufer, Proxy Theatre, November 1 - 17



Proxy Theatre San Antonio





End Days
by contemporary playwright Deborah Zoe LauferEnd Days Deborah Zoe Laufer Proxy Theatre San Antonio
directed by Proxy’s Artistic Director Aaron Aguilar

Opens November 1st and closes November 17th; shows are Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm.

Special byProxy events are: The Designer Reveal—October 29th 8pm; Thought/Talk—November 10th 9:30pm; and the Final Curtain Party—November 17th, 10pm.

All events take place at the Overtime Theater at 1203 Camden St, SATX 78215 (click for map). Free parking can be found on site.

Tickets are $10-15 for general admission; cash/check/credit/debit accepted at the door; reservations and tickets available online. Please visit proxytheatre.org or call 210-807-8646 for reservations or questions.

End Days is about the end; of the world, that is. “I think Deborah Zoe Laufer has found a great paradox about living in the new millennium; the advance of technology and science makes this world extremely wondrous and terrifying at the same time. It’s funny because after 150 years, we’re still wondering: is this the best of times or the worst? Either way, this time, it’s a little funnier. Sorry Mr. Dickens.” said Director Aaron Aguilar. The play is the opening production of Proxy’s second season, and is sure to be popular with an audience as it is “…both poignantly redemptive and often hilariously funny,” according to the Huffington Post. With Proxy’s production, End Days, which won the 2008American Theatre Critics Association Steinberg Citation, will finally have a San Antonio premiere.
End Days by Deborah Zoe Laufer premiered in 2008, seven years after the attacks of 9/11—the event that breaks the Stein family. The father, Arthur, doesn’t do much of anything anymore, while Lisa, the mom, has developed a close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. With her parents effectively abandoning her, it’s no wonder that Rachel Stein rebels by wearing all black, painting her face white and railing against her parents. Add the new kid across the street proclaiming his love for her, and it’s easy to see why Rachel is miserable. The only thing that could make things worse is if Jesus told her mom that the world is going to end on Wednesday.

Auditions for Dancers for UT New Work: 'Once Again He Did Like This,' November 5


Roni Chelben Once Again He Did Like This University of TexasAudition for dancers!!! ONCE AGAIN HE DID LIKE THIS is a devised multi-media dance and video piece for the 2013 New Works Festival

Auditions will be held on Monday, November 5, 5-8 pm, at the Winship drama building, room 2.120. at the University of Texas at Austin, 300 East 23rd Street.

The audition, in the form of a workshop, will give you the chance to improvise individually and with others. To sign up to the audition please email: hedidlikethis@gmail.com Please add your resume to the email.

Hands Roni Chelben Once Again He Did Like This University of TexasThe work will be in production from mid-January and will run April 25-30 during the New Works Festival. There will be three rehearsals a week. We are looking for creative dancers interested in a process of exploration and mutual creation through improvisation

Once Again He Did Like This explores restricted body movement as a way to examine oppression and resistance. Choreographer Roni Chelben is an Israeli video-performance artist based in Austin, and a graduate student in the Studio-Art program at UT. A short video that presents some of the movement vocabulary inspiring the work can be viewed here.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, Last Act Theatre Company, October 12 - 28

AustinLiveTheatre reviewDoctor Faustus Marlowe Last Act Theatre Company

by Michael Meigs

Faustus, why do you torment me so? This production of the work of the mercurial Christopher Marlowe, an exact contemporary of Shakespeare, stabbed to death in a tavern at the age of 29, held me at an uneasy distance despite its robust verse and stark dilemma.


Austin's Last Act Theatre Company, just over a year old, demonstrates its art and vaunting ambition in daring to take on this text. Their productions for love of the art have been low-budget stagings in a succession of found locales around town. Doctor Faustus is presented, appropriately enough, behind a tavern -- the Pour House on Burnett Road -- in an edifice in stone that must have been used as a garage, judging from the stout girders, chains and decommissioned hoist overhead. Lengths of black curtain mask the corners. The audience is seated in the depth of the room and the principal entrances are through the same wide doorway that gave spectators access to the space. Props are few and simple; director Kevin Gates relies on his cast of 13 to create this work in the style that it would have been done in a tavern courtyard or a church portico.

Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe Last Act Theatre Austin
Karen Alvarado, Ben McLemore (image: Jim McKay)

In theme and presentation Doctor Faustus is directly in the tradition of the medieval mystery plays. Few texts of them are extant. Those works may have been largely improvised, but both the French and English manuscripts that remain confirm the traditions of staging Bible pageants to communicate to the people the stories mostly sealed up in the impenetrable Latin of Jerome's Vulgate. The struggle to translate the Bible into vernacular languages didn't really begin until the mid-1500's. 


Marlowe wrote this text, his second drama, in about 1588 (before Shakespeare had produced anything he could put his name to). It was probably based upon a German text of about that date, registered in English translation only in 1592. To complicate matters further, Marlowe's work exists in two variants, the first printed in 1604 and the second printed in 1616. Theatre entrepreneur Philip Henslowe recorded in his account book for 1602 that he had paid two dramatists for additional scenes to be added to Doctor Faustus. The drama continued to be produced up until 1642, shortly before Cromwell and the Puritans closed the theatres.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .
 

Video Promo: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, University Theatre Guild, Austin, October 26 - 28


Shelby Patton's video for The Importance of Being Earnest, to be staged by the University Theatre Guild October 26 - 28 (it helps to know the plot!):



a modern take on The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde,
presented by The University of Texas's University Theatre Guild
October 26, 27, and 28th at 7 p.m.
Students - $5, General - $7
Jester Auditorium 121A, University of Texas

[Music: Change of Seasons - Sweet Thing]

Funding Appeal: Vodka, F***ing and Television by Maxsym Kurochkin, Breaking String Theatre



Breaking String's artistic director Graham Schmidt and director Liz Fisher appeal via Kickstarter for $4200, about a third of the budget for Vodka, F***ing and Television by Maxsym Korochkin, to be staged at the Hyde Park Theatre in Austin November 29 - December 15. Click the Kickstarter logo to go to the donations page for more information and to donate.
kickstarter
A writer struggles with his vices, in a twisted comedy by one of Russia's finest living playwrights, Maksym Kurochkin.
  • Launched: Oct 24, 2012 Goal: $4200
  • Funding ends: Nov 21, 2012
NEW RUSSIAN DRAMA!
Vodka, F***ing and Television by Maksym Kurochkin, directed by Liz Fisher, translated by John J. Hanlon is a hit play by one of Russia's greatest living playwrights, and it's being staged by Breaking String Theatre Co. in Austin, Texas. Facing a nervous breakdown, our hero - a struggling writer - resolves to quit the vices that are holding him back.

The twist?
In a move worthy of Tim Burton, Kurochkin propels actors and audience into a strange fantasy, and transforms the three vices - vodka, f***ing and television - into full-fledged characters. Each vice gets a chance to justify its presence in the hero's life, or get the boot. With a sexy script, mind-blowing design and performances from one hell of a creative team, this show promises to make a splash.


Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: (*) The Women of Lockerbie, Warrior Productions, Cornerstone Christian High School, San Antonio, November 8 - 10




Warrior Productions is proud to present

The Women of Lockerbie
by Deborah BrevoortWomen of Lockerbie Deborah Brevoort Warrior Productions San Antonio

Warrior Productions, 
Cornerstone Christian High School,4802 Vance Jackson,
San Antonio, Texas 78230 (click for map)



November 8-10 7:00PM
November 10 2:00PM

"A mother from New Jersey roams the hills of Lockerbie Scotland, looking for her son's remains that were lost in the crash of Pan Am 103. She meets the women of Lockerbie, who are fighting the U.S. government to obtain the clothing of the victims found in the plane's wreckage. The women, determined to convert an act of hatred into an act of love, want to wash the clothes of the dead and return them to the victim's families.


THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE is loosely inspired by a true story, although the characters and situations in the play are purely fictional. Written in the structure of a Greek tragedy, it is a poetic drama about the triumph of love over hate. Winner of the silver medal in the Onassis International Playwriting Competition and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays award." -from Dramatists.com

$5.00 Students/Seniors
$7.00 Adults
$10.00 VIP Seating - Reserve the best seat in the house!

TICKETS ON SALE 10/27!
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Entrepreneurs Convert Goodwill Warehouse on Springdale while Blue Theatre Slips Away

Well, that's not exactly the title of Jeanne Claire van Ryzin's article on the Statesman's Austin360.com Seeing Things blog, but deep down in the account of conversion of that space is confirmation that Jenny and friends are relinquishing their lease. (And by the way, the Blue's website has already gone dormant.)

New Canopy complex aims to bring East Austin artists together
by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, October 20

It’s the kind of site artists dream about.

There’s some 40,000 square feet within three large inter-connected warehouses. There’s an equally spacious lot with plenty of off-street parking.
Canopy project (image via Austin Statesman)
And best of all, there’s an address in East Austin, the area that in the past few years has become synonymous with the arts community.

Right now, the buildings on 916 Springdale Road look like any other construction site.

But come January, the place will open as Canopy, a complex of studios, offices, galleries and a café all stitched together by courtyards and breezeways — and yes, 158 parking spaces.

Plans call for Canopy to have 45 individual studios, eight multi-use spaces that could be used for galleries or offices for creative industry professional and one space being built-out to suit a café or restaurant.

Although the facility is owned and being developed by a consortium of private business people, the artist-founded non-profit group Big Medium — the folks who started the East Austin Studio Tour — is Canopy’s anchor tenant. And once Canopy is open, Big Medium will open its new gallery there, act as the site’s coordinator and use its space to continue to organize EAST. (This year’s EAST runs Nov. 10-11 and Nov. 17-18.)

Last week, a couple of dozen artists donned hardhats and put up with a drizzling rain to tour the Canopy site during an open house event aimed at potential tenants. (Rents for individual studios start at $500 per month. See www.canopyaustin.com for information.)

Click to read more at www.Austin360.com . . . .

Upcoming: Bus Stop by William Inge, Mary Moody Northn Theatre, St. Edward's University, November 8 - 18



Mary Moody Northen Theatre






Bus Stop

By William IngeBus Stop Mary Moody Northen Theatre Austin TX
Directed by Christina J. Moore

November 8 - 18, 2012
Thursday – Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.
Added performance on Wednesday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Mary Moody Northen Theatre
St Edward’s University
3001 South Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78704

Tickets: $20 Adults Advance ($15 Students, Seniors, SEU Community)
$20 at the door
Available through the MMNT Box Office, 512.448.8484
Available online at http://www.stedwards.edu/theatre
Box Office Hours are M-F 1-5 p.m.
STUDENT DISCOUNT NIGHT: Friday, November 9, 2012: Student tickets $8 with ID.

Mary Moody Northen Theatre operates on a professional model and stands at the center of the St. Edward’s University Theatre Training Program. Through the Mary Moody Northen Theatre, students work alongside professional actors, directors and designers, explore all facets of theatrical production and earn points towards membership in Actor’s Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. MMNT operates under an AEA U/RTA contract and is a member of Theatre Communications Group. For more information, contact the theatre program at 512-448-8487 or visit us online at www.stedwards.edu/theatre.

St. Edward’s is a private, liberal arts Catholic university in the Holy Cross Tradition with more than 5,300 students. Located in Austin, Texas, with a network of partner universities around the world, St. Edward’s is a diverse community that offers undergraduate and graduate programs designed to inspire students with a global perspective. St. Edward's University has been recognized for ten consecutive years as one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, and ranks in the top 20 of Best Regional Universities in the Western Region. St. Edward’s has also been recognized by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Upcoming: Of Mice and Music, A Jazz Nutcracker, Tapestry Dance Company at Boyd Vance Theatre, December 9 - 17



Of Mice and Music Tapestry Dance Austin TX

 

 

Of Mice and Music - A Jazz Nutcracker

December 7th - 16th
Thursday, Friday and Saturday @ 7pm / Saturday and Sunday @ 2pm
Boyd Vance Theatre / The Carver Center
Tapestry's annual and criicaly acclaimed holiday celebration! A jazz, tap dance take on Tchaikovsky's classic with live music by Blue J and the best of Tapestry's professionals with a window into our academy best!
"Much as Clara receives the gift of rhythm in “Of Mice and Music,” Tapestry’s production is a gift for the weary-eyed Nutcracker-goer." - Austin American Statesman
ONE ACT PERFORMANCE!
(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)