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Excerpted from Sara Pressley's article of February 26 about the UT Lab Theatre presentations of plays by MFA playwriting candidates:Event lifts curtains on student-driven playwright project
By Sarah Pressley
[photo: Sydney Andrews rehearses lines, by Jeff Heimsath, Daily Texan] [. . . .]
Blue Point
Kyle John Schmidt decided to switch from acting to playwriting when, during a train ride to Connecticut, he realized the change meant choosing writing over memorizing monologues.
Once he saw how time-consuming writing full-length plays can be, Schmidt decided to take advantage of the opportunities graduate school has to offer.
“I had time and space to make mistakes and do things,” Schmidt said about his graduate school experience. “I had time to write. It’s been nice.”
Schmidt’s play, Blue Point, was featured last weekend as a part of the UTNT production. Schmidt began writing Blue Point for a UT workshop, but it took encouragement for him to realize the potential of the play. [. . .]
The Tides of Aberdeen
This weekend, UTNT will feature The Tides of Aberdeen by Erin Phillips, who is happy to have spent the past three years exploring her craft.
“An M.F.A. in playwriting is sort of like a gift because you get three years to just write and not have to do anything else,” Phillips said. “The people you work with and your collaborators are probably going to be your collaborators forever, so it’s a good place to network.”
During her first week of graduate school, Phillips began the first version of The Tides of Aberdeen, though she did not realize it would develop into a play at that point. [. . .]
Read full article at Daily Texan online. . . .
Found on-line:
The Tides of Aberdeen
by Erin Phillips
directed by Courtney Sale
February 26, 27 at 8 p.m., February 27, 28 at 2 p.m.
University of Texas Lab Theatre
Admission: $10, limited seating. Tickets available at the Winship Box Office 1.5 hours prior to each performance. Map of the area.
In the dreary Northwest town of Aberdeen, two kids endeavor to break the world record for holding their breath under water. When a drifter resurfaces in town, the kids' plans and lives transform. Tides… is a mysterious story dealing with the rise and fall of small town perceptions and dreams.
Assistant Director Kassie Crawford
Scene and Costume Designer Rowan Doyle
Lighting Designer Victoria Hendrix
Sound Designer Paul Bolinger
Stage Manager Denise Saenz
Playwright Erin Phillips is originally from the bay area and holds a B.F.A. in acting from Cornish College of the Arts. She was the 2006 joint recipient of the Corwin Award for best One Act Play, and the 2007 recipient of the Corwin award for best full-length play. She received a meritorious achievement award from the Kennedy Center for The Well. Erin holds a Masters degree in Dramatic Arts from The University of California at Santa Barbara. She is currently working on her M.F.A. in Playwriting at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also her Mom's favorite Playwright.
Director Courtney Sale joins the UT community by way of New York City, where she spent five years as Co-Artistic Director of The Management. Directing credits with The Management include Bruecklen, The Chalk Boy (Co-Production in Los Angeles), Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, and The Well written by UT M.F.A. Playwright Erin Phillips. Her production of Kristen Kosmas's The Scandal! was nominated for a New York Innovative Theater Award and featured in American Theatre Magazine. Seattle directing credits include Bright Room Called Day (Strike Anywhere Productions), Henry VI Part 1 (Babes with the Bard), and Singer Stories (Seattle Children's Museum). She assistant'directed Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith's Seattle premiere of Monster at A Contemporary Theater. She was also selected as one of fourteen emerging directors to participate in Peter Brook's workshop in conjunction with his tour of Hamlet. As an actor Courtney has worked with San Francisco's Crowded Fire, The Jewish Theater of New York and Seattle's ArtsWest. She holds a B.F.A. from Cornish College of the Arts.
Cast:
* Stevi Baston as Abigal
* Tim Stafford as Jake
* Mark Scheibmeir as Truck
* Sydney Andrews as Ginger
[photo credit: Murdo McLeod, Guardian newspaper, UK]
