Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Ongoing: Same Time, Next Year, Cameo Theatre, San Antonio, January 28 - February 26
Found on-line:
presents
Same Time, Next Year
by Bernard Slade
directed by Vivienne Elborne
featuring Catherine Babbitt and Phil Kazen
Cameo Theatre
Jan Feb Fri 3 10 17 24 Sat 28 4 11 18 25 Sun 29 5 12 19 26
1123 East Commerce St., San Antonio , Texas, 78205
Fri, Sat @8, Sun @3:30 (Note new matinee time)
Tickets: Adult $29,Senior $25, Stu/Mil $20, Child $12 - Tickets sales 212-5454
For Reservations: for Group Sales cal Jim @ 210 325 8702
One of the most popular romantic comedies of the century, Same Time, Next Year ran four years on Broadway, winning a Tony Award for lead actress Ellen Burstyn, who later recreated her role in the successful motion picture. It remains one of the world's most widely produced plays. The plot follows a love affair between two people, Doris and George, married to others, who rendezvous once a year. Twenty-five years of manners and morals are hilariously and touchingly played out by the lovers.
"Delicious wit, compassion, a sense of humor and a feel for nostalgia."-The New York Times
"Genuinely funny and genuinely romantic."-The New York Post
Somewhere in Utopia (A Travesty), Out of Context Productions for FronteraFest at Salvage Vanguard Theatre, January 25 - February 4
by Michael Meigs
Face it: there's no use getting annoyed with the theatre of the absurd, no matter how confusing it may seen. Or even with the neo-theatre of the absurd such as this piece by Jared J. Stein, produced a good 50 years after the audacious thumbing-its-nose-at-the-bourgeois art style hit the European stages.
In Somewhere in Utopia Stein portrays a dystopia: two principal characters are fixed unthinkingly before a television screen as the audience files into the black box of the Salvage Vanguard Theatre. One slim, nervous androgynous white-skinned creature is wearing a black Harlequin-style mask; the other, a stolid, angry African-American glaring at the television, is wearing a white mask. There's a lengthy, subtle silent play between them as we wait for the action to begin. With almost no movement other than Bobby's apprehensive trembling and occasional changing of the channel and the sustained glare of Marcus, they are establishing a full story even before the house lights go down. I was fixed in my seat by the vibrating tension between them, made even more painful by the callow undergraduate talk in the seats behind me, a couple of rambling conversations about weekend activity and plans to study abroad. Couldn't those spectators see that there was a full-blown silent catastrophe occurring right in front of us?
Director Becca Plunkett leaves no character unturned. There are four in the piece and actors' sexes are transformed. Bobby and Marcus are certainly women but seem to be representing men locked in some sort of mutually destructive relationship; the narrator when s/he appears is a self-confident prancing and sneering actress carefully painted to have five o'clock shadow. The fourth, emerging from a heavy, mattress-sized vinyl bodybag, is Cassady, a fast-talking pseudo-American-Indian girl portrayed by a man with the lean figure of a runner,wearing a skirt and an impossible headdress.
Reviews from Elsewhere: Jack & Coconuts by Corey Kwoka
Published today in
FRONTERA FEST
Jack & Coconuts, a tasty concoction served up just right
By Dawn Youngs 31.1.12
One of the offerings in the Frontera Festival’s Long Fringe this season is Corey Kwoka’s new play Jack & Coconuts, directed by Charlie Diblasi. This madcap romp around paradise is a pleasing contemporary farce, which is always a recipe for an enjoyable evening at the theater.
The show is running in Salvage Vanguard Theater’s open black box space. Set Designer Jeremy White established the world, a destination wedding facility in the tropics, using modular set pieces; the room transforms from hotel lobby to beachside bar to a cheesy wedding gazebo with ease. The work was performed in choreographed vignettes that keeps the pace of the play moving rapidly as the audience sits in rapt disbelief.
As the show begins, we discover that, this weekend at the island oasis, a second marriage ceremony is scheduled. Children, grandchildren, friends and relatives all arrive for the event. The construction of the guests’ arrivals is deftly done — think of the opening sequences of that star-studded classic film Clue, by director Jonathan Lynn.
Each hotel guest arrives, tumbles of suitcases and personal baggage in tow, to reveal a tidbit of secret sure to add to the tasty stew of insanity the playwright is cooking up.
Reviews from Elsewhere: Drawing A Paycheck by Annie La Ganga
Found on-line at
ORGANIC THEATER
Drawing a Paycheck might not pay the artist's bills but does ask questions common to Austin's creative scene
By Katherine Craft
01.30.12
Dr. Scott Walters, an associate drama professor at the University of North Carolina, recently put forth the idea of an “organic theater.” In his words, this theater would be “a small community of people who sometimes perform, sometimes listen — a sort of ensemble who share their talents with each other in informal spaces... [it] wouldn't create a 'product' to be sold, but rather members would come together to share gifts, alternately giving an receiving.”
Solo performer Annie La Ganga's latest improvised show, Drawing a Paycheck, felt very close to Walters' vision. Two kitchen chairs, which we soon learned were from her kitchen, rested on stage with some drawing tools and a large pad of paper. The lights were basic and the stage was empty, even in comparison to other Frontera shows. There was no fanfare, music or dimming of the stage lights to welcome Annie; she just popped her head around the corner and said, “Hello!”
“Hi!” audience members enthusiastically called back. When La Ganga asked how people were doing, she genuinely meant it, peering past the stage lights to name friends and smile at those she hadn't yet met. The crowd was small but enthusiastic. Many knew each other and La Ganga. From the start, the experience felt more like an informal gathering than Theater with a capital T.
Read more at www.austin.culturemap.com . . . .
Monday, January 30, 2012
Auditions at the Vortex for Elizabeth - Heart of a King, February 2
Announced by
Auditions for Elizabeth: Heart of a King
A new play by Lorella Loftus
Saturday, February 4, 2012 1:15-3:30 Open Call
Vortex Repertory, 2703 Manor Rd. (click for map)
Elizabeth I was one of the most luminous, fascinating, and formidable women in history. Experience her as she has never been seen before in Elizabeth: Heart of a King, a new play by Lorella Loftus. This VORTEX workshop production explores the formative times in her life as a young woman and the main events of her life as a queen and as an icon. A woman of contradictions, Elizabeth was brave and vulnerable, intelligent and ambivalent, flirtatious and icy, and fundamentally, very human. Three different women play Elizabeth at different stages of her life-- a lone woman struggling to retain her political and personal power in a male-dominated world. Henry VIII, Thomas Seymour, Robert Dudley, and William Cecil are just some of the men who had a major influence on her life who are featured in the play.
Elizabeth: Heart of a King will be performed March 16-24, 2012 in modern attire, combining contemporary and historical in a thought-provoking experimental piece of theatre. Seeking 5-6 women and 8-9 men. English/European accents preferred.
Auditions will take place on February 4 at The VORTEX. Auditions are open - 1:15pm-3:30pm. Please prepare a 1-minute classical monologue and resume. Headshot optional. Callbacks will take place on Sunday, February 5. For further information contact Lorella Loftus at 512-771-3447 or lorellaloftus@gmail.com.
Auditions for DayBoyNightGirl company members, DA! Theatre Collective
Auditioners will be asked to work with movement & text. Please wear shoes & clothes that allow a full range of motion. E-mail kirk@datheatrecollective.org to sign up for an audition slot.
DA!'s original full-team collaborative adaptation DAYBOYNIGHTGIRL is based on "The Romance of Photogen and Nycteris," a magical tale written by Scottish fantasy maestro George MacDonald in 1882. You can read the original text here.
Development rehearsals are ongoing. New cast members are asked to join the rehearsal process by late April. Specifics available upon request & at the audition. Performances will be June 6th - 10th at the Rollins Theatre, Long Center.
[illustration by Elizabeth Unseelie. Click to see her gallery at www.deviantart.com]
Opportunity: Zach's $18 promotional price for under-30s, Next to Normal on Thursday, February 2
From an e-mailed announcement from
Happy Hour Theatre
NEXT TO NORMAL is on stage and receiving rave reviews, so now it's our turn to fill the seats for this groundbreaking new musical.
On Thursday, February 2nd, we're offering discounted $18 tickets to the show for all patrons under 30! The show starts at 8 pm, but get there at 6:45pm to take advantage of some free grub, hobnobbing and of course $2 beers and 50% off house wines! We'll be hitting The Highball for a post-show party, some karaoke, and whatever other fun comes up — perhaps a visit from the cast? It's definitely a night you won't want to miss!
We'll be checking IDs for the discounted ticket price, and, of course, you have to be 21 to drink.
This show will sell out, so reserve your seat now by calling ZACH's Box Office at 512-476-0541 x1 or stopping by during normal Box Office hours — Monday through Saturday, 12 noon - 7pm. This special ticket price is available by phone only.
[image: Johnny Newcomb, Kelli Schultz; image by Kirk R. Tuck]
Upcoming: Blood Brothers by Willy Russell, Trinity Street Players, June 1 - 24
Found on-line:
present
Blood Brothers
by Willy Russell
Jun 1-3, 8-10, 15-17, 22-24
Directed by Bob Beare
We proudly present in the Summer of 2012 the Austin premiere of the London blockbuster musical Blood Brothers. For more than 25 years, this tale of two brothers separated at birth has brought audiences to tears, to laughter, and to their feet cheering for more. Don’t miss this meaningful and powerful theatrical experience.
Opportunity: Georgetown Palace Seeks Volunteers for Training in Audio Description of Theatre Performances
Received from
THE PALACE THEATRE IS IN SEARCH OF people who are glib, quick, witty, articulate, like theatre, are interested in serving the blind and visually impaired community, and would like to receive free training as AUDIO DESCRIBERS.
The Palace Theatre is interested in expanding our program to include Audio Description for individuals with sight limitations. Audience members with limited vision use a special wireless headset (which the Palace would provide) tuned to a frequency specific to the headset. The headset covers one ear, which means the audience member can hear the show in one ear and the audio description in the other. At the beginning of the show, a trained Audio Describer - who can only be heard by those with the headsets - gives a general description of the stage, key set pieces, colors, and overall layout. During the show, key movements by the actors are described so that individuals with the headsets get a sense of the action.
To provide this service, we need volunteer describers, and we need to invest in the transmitters and receivers for the sound transition. We anticipate offering the service one weekend per production for two performances. Ideally, we would have two volunteers work a show. Therefore, we are looking at a minimum of 4 volunteers to provide this service, but preferably 6 or 8 to accommodate personal schedules.
Upcoming: Wood Work by Hank Schwemmer, Paper Chairs at Delta Lumber, February 17 - March
Announced via Twitter and Facebook, January 29:
enthusiastically announces its fourth production
Woodwork: A Collection of Hank Schwemmer Plays
February 17 - [March 3?], times and dates TBA
Delta Lumber and Millworks, 4701 E. 5th, near Springdale (click for map)
Long time favorite of Frontera Fest and Austin Script Works, local playwright Hank Schwemmer has devoted over fifteen years to crafting singular theatrical experiences that supersede most fringe theater’s penchant for experimentation.
While Schwemmer may be a veritable master of self-producing, Paper Chairs unanimously agreed a fully realized production of his work was long overdue. Over several months, the company selected a handful of Schwemmer’s unique offerings that together create a surprising world filled with peculiar characters in far-out circumstances, but consistently hit staggeringly close to home.
Paper Chairs is excited to break ground in a new performance space: Delta Millworks, on East Fifth across the street from Justine’s Brasserie. Since he's a carpenter by trade, Schemmer’s work will feel right at home in the evocatively vast and shadowy woodshop.
Paper Chairs has assembled a top-notch team to bring Woodwork to life. Collaborating directors Kelli Bland, Keri Boyd, Elizabeth Doss and Lisa Laratta (also delivering scenic design) will integrate the evening piece by piece. The sharp cast features Sonnet Blanton (Baal), Zac Crofford (Riddley Walker), Chase Crossno (Machinal), Mark Stewart (Hillcountry Underbelly), Emily Tindall (Hillcountry Underbelly), Hugo Vargas- Zesati (69 Love Scenes), and Noel Gaulin (I’ve Never Been So Happy.)
Paper Chairs promises yet again another unforgettable evening of locally crafted theatre. Don’t miss Woodwork!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
The Crapstall Street Boys, Trouble Puppet Theatre Company at SVT, 1/24-2/05
by Michael Meigs
Perhaps it's inherent to the art form, but I did have a moment of wondering whether we ought to be concerned about our Connor.
The Crapstall Street Boys is captivating puppetry and story telling, as is always the case with the Trouble Puppet Theatre Company, a crew of talented and devoted colleagues and acolytes who've gathered around Connor Hopkins. This time the approach is announced as "Czech puppetry" -- small articulated figures at the end of a long rigid wand. The characters are anything but stiff, for with the deft and delicate handling of that single attachment, TP members achieve convincing body English and even give those glassy little eyes a hint of emotion. Or, often, a suggestion of wonder, sometimes one of bewilderment.
The presentation of this fable imagined by our Connor takes place on a lengthy table provided with folding cut-out scenery constructed on the scale of the tiny boys. Hopkins puts a narrator into the piece to assist the puppeteers. Steve Moore sits at stage right in a comfortable chair with a large book before him, setting the scene and explaining some of the action as it occurs. Connor, Caroline Reck, Rob Jacques and Lucie Cunningham move a number of tiny folk through the story -- the protagonist, addressed only as "You, lad!" and his dull-witted and venial parents, a factory owner who buys young boys for a mysterious assembly line, a dog and a chicken, a couple of ravening monsters that sail in as hand puppets to gobble the unwary, and the boys of the factory at Crapstall Street.
The table action is quick and menacing, presenting a grim dog-eat-dog story -- almost literally -- as YouLad is cast into subhuman circumstances similar to the pitiless meat processing lines depicted so vividly by the company in their adaptaion of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. In the miserably exploited work team YouLad makes a friend, the equally lost young fellow named Little Pig who counsels him how to survive. One by one, while struggling frantically for food, young workers disappear and the monsters are afoot.
Erin Meyer is assigned a puppetcam. She follows the action at times and grainy black-and-white images appear on a screen high behind the puppeteers. The duality between puppet action and video action is disconcerting, perhaps deliberately so. The video presentation was intermittent and somewhat erratic; whether that was deliberate or due to equipment malfunction was unclear.
Crapstall Street is a grim place, friends, and the message is one of ceaseless, animal exploitation of man by man, children by parents, humankind by lurking evil. The medium is accomplished but the message is harrowing.
Has our Connor experienced unhappinesses that must be worked out through fable? Puppeteers are necessarily manipulators of their story-telling instruments, and perhaps that shapes a world view -- elsewhere, more commonly, a Howdy Doody happy freneticism, but here the a sophisticated, emphatic conviction that the characters embodied by these puppets are either powerless or brutal.
Perhaps we should sit Connor and friends down with their opening act, Darren Petersen the juggler, patter man, dog trainer and unicyclist of Circus Chickendog, who's as breezily upbeat as the TP piece is gloomy. That would make for some very entertaining group therapy. And for this FronteraFest Long Fringe production made of roughly equal parts of Chickendog and Crapstall, it would achieve an average mood of just about, "It's all right, mate!"
by Hannah Bisewski
As part of Austin’s 2012 Fronterafest Trouble Puppet Theatre Company stages performs a haunting nd unapologetically macabre piece at their home venue the Salvage Vanguard Theatre. The Crapstall Street Boys by TP leader Connor Hopkins tells the story of a factory employing boys, located in the heart of a town overrun by monsters. YouLad’s parents sell him to the factory in exchange for the money that will buy them a “monster masher” to protect themselves, and he starts to notice something strange happening around him. Some boys in the factory disappear;, others grow bigger and bigger.
The puppets in the show are dark, nearly grotesque, but appropriately so. In keeping with that style is the technique of using a small camera inserted shakily into scenes, projecting images in eerie night-vision blur onto the projection screen above the puppet set. A brisk, deep violin piece accompanies the more frenetic action of the puppets, and when it returns at the close of the show it hints at the eerie events that will continue to haunt the small village.
Narrated by Steve Moore as a sort of demented bedtime story, The Crapstall Street Boys inevitably reminds you of the more macabre fairy tales that colored your childhood. The sheer morbidity of The Crapstall Street Boys may remind you of how dark these stories really were. Maybe this particular fairytale isn’t much of a parody after all.
All in all, the show, directed and designed by Connor Hopkins, is a fine piece of puppet theatre and an excellent showing on Trouble Puppet’s part.
Review by Cate Blouke for the Stateman's Austin360.com Seeing Things blog, January 25
Comments by Elizabeth Cobbe for the Austin Chronicle, January 26 (215 words)
EXTRA
A message from Connor Hpopkins in the program leaflet:
Director's Note: If you've ever seen a Trouble Puppet show before, it will be quite clear to you what a departure from our usual form this one represents. A different sort of puppet, a different sort of story (although our traditional themes get in there: capitalism, cannibalism, corruption ... ), and a new technological tool in the live-feed camera traveling around onstage with the puppets: these all make this show a big experiment for us. So our hope is that what the show lacks in mastery and technique it makes up for in innovation, and, well, the puppets are real cute. Plus we've got Steve Moore. So how far wrong can you go, in that situation? I know, I shouldn't ask.
Anyway, thanks for coming out, and we hope you enjoy our stab at this style. Also, we're taking a poll: I originally conceived Crapstall as a kids' show. Having seen it, do you or do you not think this show could be a kids' show? I say yes; others say that would be a prosecutable act. Tell us what you think. And if it goes well, look for a more developed version sometime in the future. If it doesn't go well, let us never speak of this again
Click to view the program leaflet for The Crapstall Street Boys:
Friday, January 27, 2012
VIdeo: KLRU Profiles Trouble Puppet's staging of Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, adapted by Connor Hopkins
Thanks to Trouble Puppet Theatre Company for the link to this video posted by KLRU at its website and on its Vimeo web page; the 28-minute program about the puppet adaptation of Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker by Connor Hopkins was first broadcast in mid-January. Additional airings on KLRU television scheduled for January 29 at 2:00 pm, February 16 at 7:30 pm, February 19 at 2:00 pm.
Trouble Puppet Theater takes Arts In Context on a journey into the art of puppetry as the company produces one of their unique plays led by creative director and master puppeteer Connor Hopkins. Trouble Puppet Theater, a small arts organization in East Austin, has been able to achieve critical success and growth, while taking their cutting edge puppetry to levels never seen before in Texas. Their unique artistry literally transcends the fourth wall and connects audience and performer. Arts In Context follows them as they put on the play Riddley Walker, based on the novel by Russell Hoban and featuring music by Austin composer Justin Sherburn.
Trouble Puppet - Full Show from KLRU-TV on Vimeo.
Wicked, the touring company musical at Bass Hall, Unversity of Texas, January 25 - February 12
by Thaïs Hinton
Everyone knows how Dorothy Gale came to Oz and killed the Wicked Witch of the West. Judy Garland and pals in the 1939 film by MGM dwell deep in American cultural consciousness, none of them more than Margaret Hamilton as the vengeful Wicked Witch of the West.
In the Oz depictied by the touring company of Wicked currently at UT's Bass Concert Hall we get hear another side of the story, adapted from the novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. The script, lyrics, and score by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzmanare clever. I have read the novel, and I liked the show. Their extreme care with their source material shows through.
Wicked runs through February 12 and was playing to well populated house on the first Thursday evening. A beautiful map of Oz covers the stage and the stage action begins as the Munchkins are celebrating the death of the Witch.
The show begins with Glinda entering via bubble, mechanically suspended from the flies. The bubble floats all the way down and Glinda steps off as she takes the audience back in time to earlier years.The Good Witch Glinda explains that she knew Elphaba, the bright green witch, from their college days.
I thought that actress Tiffany Haas was safely strapped in to that bubble, so I was shocked when she stepped off, apparently unsecured. Even though I was ardently suspending my disbelief, I was genuinely afraid for Haas, who of course made it look just like magic. The special effects were expertly done by Chic Silber.
Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Alien Baby Play by by Nicholas Walker Herbert, Tutto Theatre for Frontera Fest, January 20 - February 5
Bethany appeared first to the Austin public and to friends of Tutto Theatre in the warm and supporting setting of a private home in Westlake, last weekend. About twenty persons gathered in a living room comfortably furnished with artwork, masks and handicraft from across the world. Bethany was pleased to see all these friends at her "mom's house," hurried about, offered us cookies, disappeared momentarily and then came back, rubbing the arc of her belly from time to time and taking a moment to decorate it with a Post-It™ note: "Alien on board."
There was no fourth wall in this staging and in fact there were no walls at all, unless you count those enclosing the house. Kathleen Fletcher as the massively pregnant Bethany was hyped, self-hypnotized, eager to talk and to please. She told us that she was fifteen months pregnant with her alien baby, ready to deliver at any moment and confidently expecting the arrival of her lover at any moment. She invited questions, and one or another of us in the gathering hazarded a carefully neutral inquiry. Eventually someone asked how she knew, exactly, that the being in her womb was an alien, and Bethany eagerly shared her impressions of that late night alone when she found herself in the presence of the unknown, telepathically and corporally uniting with a being emanating an incomprehensible but perfectly understandable speech.
Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .
Upcoming: Dark to Light, Chaddick Dance Theatre, March 1 - 4
Received directly:
presents
Dark to Light
March 1 - 4, 8 p.m.
Austin Ventures Studio Theatre
Ballet Austin, 501 West 3rd Street (click for map)
This March, local dance company Chaddick Dance Theater will produce “Dark to Light,” a multi-dimensional performance exploring the issues of the Holocaust, genocide and spirituality through the lens of Cheryl Chaddick’s choreography and kinetic style. The Chaddick Dance Theater’s fourth annual performance is part of Ballet Austin’s three month-long Light / The Holocaust and Humanity Project.
Ballet Austin’s Light / The Holocaust and Humanity Project is a full-length contemporary ballet and Holocaust education partnership that promotes the protection of human rights through arts, education and public dialogue. Light / The Holocaust and Humanity Projectreturns to Austin in 2012 from Martin Luther King day (January 15) through Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day (April 19), with events and initiatives led by more than 30 community partners.
Click to view image and read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .Austin Auditions for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Doctuh Mistuh Productions, February 12
Posted at the Facebook page (though not so specified there, venue for auditions appears to be in Austin):
Auditioners will need to have a 16-32 bar cut of a rock song or a song from a rock musical. You will also need a one-minute "political rant" to act as a monologue. An accompanist will be provided. Please have sheet music in the proper key with your cuts marked accordingly.
To make an appointment, please send your request to doctuhmistuh@gmail.com. You will be notified of your time and the location via email.
Rehearsals will run from May 18-June 6 with the show running June 7-July 1 at the Blue Theatre.
If you are unable to make this call, you may still submit a video post of your audition. For information on submitting your video post, please email doctuhmistuh@gmail.com
Arts Reporting: Penfold Theatre's Summer Youth Program Goes to Edinburgh in 2013
Feature by Dawn Youngs for www.austin.culturemap.com with interview of program director Patty McMullen, January 26:
ATX TO THE WORLD
Local performance group The Penfold Theater Company set to hit the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
By Dawn Youngs
The Penfold Theater Company, a young and ambitious theater serving North Austin and Round Rock, has been making waves in the Austin community since its formation in 2008. [. . .] Now the theater is launching a new education program, Penfold Players, and it is already going global. Penfold Players has been selected by the American High School Theater Festival (AHSTF) to present a student production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in August 2013. The invitation is an exciting kick-off to Penfold's “Carpe Aestatem” (Seize the Summer) program, which aims to give high school students a theater travel experience every other summer.
Click to go to Penfold's page on its summer programs for teens
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Cinderella Waltz by Don Nigro, Red Dragon Players, Austin High School, January 19 - 21
The mischievous Don Nigro puts the Cinderella fairy tale into a humorous trailer-park context and sends it spinning around so unpredictably that you're never quite sure whether the sweet, mistreated Rosie Snow is going to turn up roses or not.
Shannon Tipton directed a one-act version of the story last week as her inaugural outing with the Austin High School Red Dragons with their 401st stage production. It was a "novice" production with a cast of faces mostly new to me, for I missed their Jungle Book earlier this year.
The core story is there, of course, with the sweetly downcast Louise Root as the titular character, afflicted by her garish, dim and horrible stepmother (Samantha Melomo) and stepsisters wearing names from Shakespeare's King Lear -- booted, grumpy Goth-style Goneril (Layla Gilliland) and Barbie-esque Reagan (Abby Lewis). Dull-witted Dad (Oliver Davis), sort of like Jed Clampett, spends most of his time in the trailer behind the playing area, hollering for help in finding his pants.
Add McCoy Johnston as the village idiot, touseled, dirty and moaning in inarticulate frustration, prototype of the "barefoot boy with cheek of tan" and prime material for a potential makeover -- he is at turns silly and touching. Riley Ryan-Wood as Mother Maggie pops out of the wishing well when needed, an ironic fairy godmother who'd be entirely at ease in an afterhours lush life bar.
Click to read more and view additional images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .
Upcoming: A Korean-Texan Tempest at UT's Lab Theatre, January 26
Found on-line and hear around town:
Frontera Fest 2012, The Department of Theatre and Dance
at the University of Texas at Austin,
and The Department of Theatre at Chung Ang University (Seoul, Korea)
present
Lost/잃어버리다
A collaborative theatre project in Korean and English based loosely on Shakespeare’s The Tempest
Thursday, January 26, 7 p.m. UT Lab Theatre Free admission - Limited seating
Auditions at St. Ed's for 'Welcome to America, There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This Crap, January 28
Found at the classified ads of NowPlayingAustin.com:
A
Saturday, January 28, 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. St. Edward's University -- Woodward Office Building, Rm. 146, 3001 South Congress Ave., Austin, TX (click for campus map)
Welcome to America: There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This Crap is an original multimedia production about social justice and equality in the American economy. It will explore the effects that capitalism and corporate greed have on the United States from an impoverished and homeless perspective, and promote a more socialist approach as an alternative.
CALL FOR Performers 18 years of age or older. Some experience is necessary. *Dancers of all races, shapes and sizes. Do a 1-2 min. piece/routine that shows off your best dance style -- Modern, Jazz, Hip-Hop and African dance. *Singers should choose a 1-2 min. song that demonstrates their best vocal range in a Soul or R&B style. Bring your own CD or MP3 accompaniment, or musical instrument, and try to stay away from singing Acappella unless it's a popular well-known song. *Actors should do a 1-2 min. memorized monologue or personal story relating to economic hardship. *Poets should read 1-2 min. of their own original work. Looking for poets who are passionate about social issues that involve unemployment, low wages, hunger, poverty, etc. in the U.S. Additional singing, acting and dancing skills are a plus. Please, bring a resume and a headshot if you have one available.
For more information, please email Ms. D.L. Ford, or you can contact me on LinkedIn.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Theres-Gotta-Be-Something-Better-Than-This-Crap/107149672738723
Upcoming: Standardized Testing, the musical, Austin Conservatory of Theatre at the Baker Center, January 26 - 29
Found on-line:
Austin Conservatory of Theater
presents 
the world premiere production of
Standardized Testing – The Musical!!!!
by Sam Willmot
directed by Adam Roberts
Performance Dates:
- Thursday, January 26th at 7:30 pm (Industry Night)
- Friday, January 27th at 7:30 pm
- Saturday, January 28th at 2:30 and 7:30 pm
- Sunday, January 29th at 2:30 (Industry Matinee) and 7:30 pm
Testing will take place at the Baker Center in Hyde Park, 3908 Avenue B (click for map)
Tickets:
- $10 in advance
- $15 at the door
- $5 Industry Night and Matinee Special Prices!
This ain’t yo mama’s SAT. Standardized Testing – The Musical!!!! is the hilarious and touching story of eight eccentric teenagers who set out to prove their self-worth on the single biggest day of their entire academic lives. In the process, they create and destroy friendships, learn to express their individuality, and sing and dance their hearts out. The award-winning score encompasses a wide range of musical idioms, from funky rock to roof-raising gospel, from sparkling show tunes to sultry rumba. Eat your balanced breakfast and get ready for a No. 2-pencil-tapping good time!
This January the advanced students of the Austin Conservatory of Theater face their fears, foes and futures in the first-ever fully staged production in Austin of Standardized Testing – The Musical!!!! New York writer Sam Willmott is the brainiac behind this hilarious and touching story of eight compulsive teenagers who, in the course of a standardized test, create and destroy friendships, learn to express their individuality, and sing and dance like maniacs.
Says Willmott, “I couldn’t be more thrilled for ACT to present the premiere production of my show. Adam’s galvanizing directorial insights and the unbridled enthusiasm of the cast are going to make this a truly not-to-be-missed production!”
(BTW, this test is totes rated PG-13 :).
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Auditions: Male Actor for a month at the Edinburgh Fringe in August in Four Square by Manuel Zarate
This is a very physical three-person show. FronteraFest description: "What is love? It's everything and nothing. It's funny and awful. It's the "till death do us part" and the one night stand. For three strangers in Austin, Texas, one night will change their lives forever. Each will face the myth of their past and the reality of their present. Love is not what we thought it was."
To audition: please attend a performance of Four Square playing at Austin’s Frontera Fest and thenspeak with Manuel, Andy, Doug, or Ann after the performance. You may also email your resume & headshot to Manuel at mzarate@hbmginc.com. Four Square will be performed Jan 27th at 7pm, Jan 29th at 4:15pm, Feb. 1st at 7pm and Feb. 4th at 9:15pm at the Blue Theater. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at the door or on-line. After the company gauges interest, formal auditions will start in February with rehearsals in July for the Edinburgh performances in August.
Upcoming: Rent, the live musical, Woodlawn Theatre, San Antonio, January 27 - February 26
Found on-line:
presents
Rent
the live musical
book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson
January 27 - February 26, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m.
Special Valentine's Day performance on Tuesday, February 14 at 8 p.m.
Woodlawn Theatre, 1920 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, 78201 (click for map)
Tickets $20 - $23 available on-line at www.woodlawntheatre.com
Set in the East Village of New York City, RENT is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award® for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, RENT has become a pop cultural phenomenon with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.
Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, RENT follows a year in the life of a group of friends struggling to make it in the big city. They include Mark, a filmmaker and the narrator of the story; his former girlfriend, Maureen, a performance artist; Maureen’s lover, Joanne, a public interest lawyer; Mark’s roommate Roger, a musician; Mimi, an exotic dancer, with whom Roger falls in love; Tom Collins, a computer genius; Collins’ lover, Angel, a street musician and drag queen; and Benny, a former member of the group who, after marrying into a wealthy family, has become their landlord. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves, and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.Set in the East Village of New York City, RENT is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award® for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, RENT has become a pop cultural phenomenon with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.
Cast: MIMI MARQUEZ-Kerissa Arrington ROGER DAVIS-Lucas Ruiz MARK COHEN-Corey Weaver MAUREEN JOHNSON-Katie Oliveira ANGEL DUMOTT SCHUNARD-Myke McAnderson TOM COLLINS-Frank Grisby JOANNE JEFERSON-Cyndi Lucas BENJAMIN COFFIN III-Dwight Robinson COVER-MIMI MARQUEZ/COMPANY-Tiffani Willis ALEXI DARLING/COMPANY-Ellen Reynolds MRS JEFFERSON,HOMELESS LADY,COAT VENDOR,SEASONS OF LOVE SOLOIST, COMPANY-Michelle Burnett MRS. COHEN, COMPANY-Natalia Skovorodiva PAUL,HOMELESS SQUEEGEE MAN,COMPANY-E.J. Crowell WAITER/COMPANY-Kevin Harris MR GREY/THE MAN-Sean Salazar COMPANY-Rachel Pena COMPANY-Katie Thompson COMPANY-Thad Payne COMPANY-Timothy Bowman
Upcoming: Playwright Will Kern Lectures at Trinity University, San Antonio, January 30
Via
Trinity University Dept of Human Communication and Theatre
presents
a lecture by playwright Will Kern
Monday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Cafe Theatre located in the Ruth Taylor Theatre Building (#3 and #31 -- click for map)
Trinity University Campus, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, Texas, 78212
Internationally known and produced playwright Will Kern will present a lecture at Trinity University on The Art of Playwriting. Mr. Kern's most famous work is the play Hellcab (1992). First produced as a late-night show by Famous Door Theatre in Chicago, the play, which was originally scheduled for twelve performances, ran for over nine years and is one of the longest running shows in Chicago theatre history. Hellcab has been performed all over the U.S. and abroad, including Scotland, Israel, Singapore, and Ireland. The play was adapted for the screen by Mr. Kern in 1998 and the film starred Gillian Anderson, John Cusak, Jullianne Morre, Laurie Metcalf, Harry Lennix and John C. Reilly.
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