Ann Pittman's Austin Theatre Favorites in 2013

From her blog aNNpITTMAN, posted January 12:

Top Ten Twenty-Thirteen Theatre

Ann Pittman (via Blogspot)

Everyone has their favorites. And everyone's weighing in (Chronicle critics: AdamRoberts, Robert Faires ... a cat).

Of course, I have my own opinions :)

So here's my credential-free pick for Austin's Top Ten 2013 Theatre Experiences (p.s. I don't include national tours or shows I was in on this list... tours obvs. aren't Austin, and despite my first girl-on-girl kiss this year, its probably biased to nominate performances I was a part of). Of the over twenty shows I saw this year, here's some moments, people and experiences that I loved (in no particular order)...

1. Barbara Chisholm in Fixing King John. This was a fun, smart show by the Rude Mechs, and pulling her hair out in the middle of it was a brilliant Barbara Chisholm.

2. The amazing set of Nursery Crimes (the DAC has never been better utilized) and the supporting characters trio of Travis Bedard, Bobby DiPasquale, and Heath Thompson. Kudos to Last Act's Will Snider for some great choices.

3. Ryan Crowder's big fat crocodile tears (in addition to the rest of his performance) in Penfold Theatre's Red.

4. Martin Burke's final monologue in Harvey. Lovely.

5. Kristi Brawner in general. From Sally in Reefer Madness to Lucy in Charlie Brown, she is quickly becoming Austin's most versatile 20 Something (sorry guys, she's taken).

6. HPT's Ken Webster as Thom Pain. Again.

7. Mad Beat Hip & Gone. I cannot understand why this didn't get more critical attention. Whatev. You guys, it was great. And those lightbulbs...

8. The Drawbridge/Gangplank lowering and raising set piece thing in Austin Playhouse's Man of La Mancha. Awesome and daunting. Broke up the play and the mood perfectly appropriately.

9. Little Shop of Horrors' colorful costumes at Zilker Park.

10. ZACH's A Christmas Story set. You'll shoot your eye out.

AND what I really, really wanted to see (which might have influenced the above list), but, alas, life had other exciting adventures...

1. Mical Trejo in Teatro Vivo's Confessions of a Mexpatriate

2. And Then There Were None by Austin Playhouse

3. Tongues (in the swimming pool!) by Theatre at the J

4. Fat Pig by Theatre En Bloc

So there you have it! Of the Austin theatre events I saw, these were the most super-duper. Maybe next year I'll be brave enough to give you The Worst Of... who knows! In the meantime, here's looking forward to more great, funny, meaningful, important, silly theatre in the heart of Texas in 2014!

Fixing King John by Kirk Lynn, Rude Mechanicals at the Off-Shoot, November 7 - 24, 2013

Cast of Fixing King John (photo: Bret Brookshire)

by Michael Meigs

Kirk Lynn's script isn't Shakespeare. Fixing King John is a tight, fast story with dialogue full of fucking obscenities, one suited not for PBS but maybe to HBO.

E. Jason Liebrecht creates King John as an edgy, angry, powerful capo with the force of Jimmy Cagney and the morals of Tony Soprano.

Director Madge Darlington puts the Rude Mechs' staging into the confined space of their Off-Shoot rehearsal studio behind the Off-Center at 2211A Hidalgo Street in Austin. Audience members -- no, make that spectators, practically participants -- arrive to find the big room already milling with cast members in casual contemporary dress. 

The seating is equally casual around the central space, which has the feel of a gym or a space for a cage fight. Risers on two sides of it feature a couple of high-placed rows of chairs for conventional seating with wide platforms below them, and across the playing space are wooden towers with plywood platforms to accommodate watchers. It's a makeshift settle-where-you-wish assemblage directly reminiscent of the Mechs' re-staging of Dionysus in 69 here in 2009 and 2012.

Lynn's reworking of the little-read (and less-acted) Shakespeare hjistory play, written about 1590 but not mentioned in contemporary accounts or published until the 1623 Folio, is a drastic but coherent restructuring. He reduces a cast of 24 characters to one of 10, and he so reworks relations and plot elements that even if you'd actually read this neglected work you might not recognize it.

And the language! Though Lynn's first draft methodically rendered the original verse into pungent contemporary speech, his revisions and remakings fixed it so parallelisms all but disappeared. Take this example, from the opening scene:

King John by William Shakespeare

Fixing King John by Kirk Lynn

Act I, Scene I, lines 1-25 CHATILLON Philip of France, in right and true behalf Of thy deceased brother Geffrey’s son, Arthur Plantagenet, lays most lawful claim To this fair island and the territories, To Ireland, Poictiers, Anjou, Touraine, Maine, Desiring thee to lay aside the sword Which sways usurpingly these several titles, And put the same into young Arthur’s hand, Thy nephew and right royal sovereign. KING JOHN. What follows if we disallow of this? CHAT. The proud control of fierce and bloody war, To enforce these rights so forcibly withheld. K. JOHN. Here have we war for war and blood for blood, Controlment for controlment: so answer France. CHAT. Then take my King’s defiance from my mouth, The farthest limit of my embassy. K. JOHN. Bear mine to him, and so depart in peace. Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France; For ere thou canst report, I will be there; The thunder of my cannon shall be heard. So hence! Be thou the trumpet of our wrath, And sullen presage of your own decay. An honorable conduct let him have. Pembroke, look to’t. Farewell, Chatillion. Exeunt Chatillion and Pembroke.

Act I, Scene I Everything you see is KING JOHN'S castle. And lookit,KING JOHN is on his throne. He looks gooood. He's thehome team along with his mom, QUEEN ELINOR, and PEMBROKE, and anyone else you see. Anyone except that slick DAUPHIN, who's on a visit from France. [. . . skipping to pg 2, from line 5] DAUPHIN [. . .] my father sent me here to tell you this:Step aside! Stop pretending to be the great King of England, because really—truly it’s your nephew, Arfur, who has the most reason to pretend that game. Whoop! We're telling you to step aside and let Arfur be the next King - of England, Ireland, Poitiers, Anjou, Touraine, Maine and all that. All that. And now forget I was the King of France, pretending - and now pretend I’m every single one of the citizens who live in every single one of those shitholes in your kingdom I just listed, paying taxes, sleeping, making love on one another, dying and all that and listen as we say to you: Take off your hat. Take off your hat and put it on Arfur’s head. We’ll all be happier when you do. KING JOHN If Arfur wants my crown he’s gonna hafta come back from the grave and chop off my head to get it, ‘cause I’ll kill a motherfucker today just for scheduling a thought like that tomorrow. Fuck Arfur. Tell Philip that. Then what? DAUPHIN Total fucking all-out war. Whoop, whoop! And it’s not just gonna be people dressed in high fashion from France coming at you with army swords. No. Cuz we’re not trying to take the throne from England. We’re just trying to give it to the best English guy for the job. So you’re gonna have people attacking you that dress like you, and talk like you, and look like you, and cousins, and nephews, and sisters, and anybody who ever disagreed with a tax, or a law, or a decree they didn’t like coming after you. So you can see, that’s a hard fucking war to win. KING JOHN All right. You tell France I just said, ‘All right.’ What’s that in French? Just to say, ‘Great. Let’s do it. Fuck you. No big deal.’ I ain’t afraid to kill French people. I ain’t afraid to kill ANYBODY that comes after me. Say that to Philip. Like, no big deal. All right. What’s that in French? Like, ‘No biggie.’ You gotta a phrase for that? DAUPHIN Look in my mouth. You imagine you’re a great King? You got a good imagination. Look in my mouth and see my king’s response pouring out at you like a sewer. The nastiest shit you can imagine just pumping from my heart, up outta my mouth all over your stupid costume and your fake throne and filling up this fucking wayside inn you call a castle till you drown in our bile. Fuck you, too. KING JOHN I want you outta my country quick like lightning, and by the time you get home to your little fucking poodle farm you’re gonna hear the thunder of my cannons blowing up your home, your mom, your dad, your brothers and sisters, your dog. BOOM. You’re like the tip of the sword I’m gonna put in King Philip's mouth and keep pushing ‘til he feels the hilt of it on his chin. Pembroke? PEMBROKE Well said. KING JOHN Shut up, Pembroke. I'm gonna trust you with this snake.Make sure he gets aimed straight back to France, as quick as can be. And Dauphin? Remember what I said. 'Let’s do it. Fuck you. No big deal.' See you later, DAUPHIN. See you later, PEMBROKE.

Lynn describes his composition process in a thoughtful note in the program, and on their website the Mechs in their characteristic irreverent, ironic style state, "In some ways, we're offering you a more authentic experience of what a new Shakespeare play might be like than an actual Shakespeare play. In other ways, not so much." After all, Elizabethan playwrights borrowed liberally from one another and freely reworked earlier works; G.B. Harrison identifies Shakespeare's source as a two-part anonymous work printed in 1591 titled The Troublesome Raigne of John King of England and reprinted in 1611 with the addition of the words 'Written by W. Sh.' -- "a dishonest attempt to pass it off as Shakespeare's work." (Maybe much of it was Shakespeare's work, considering that Harrison writes at length about the uneven quality of the accepted text of King John.)

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

POEMS FOR PEACE, Subud International Cultural Association at Zach Theatre, September 21, 2013

POEMS FOR PEACE

for International Peace Day

Saturday, September 21, 2013, 12:30 p.m.

Zach Theatre Kleberg Stage
free admission

Austin-based Subud International Cultural Association (SICA) invites the entire Austin community — poetry groups, poetry teachers, poetry lovers, singers, dancers, artists, actors, pipers, players and friends to create and share POEMS FOR PEACE in honor of Peace Day, Saturday, September 21, 2013. 

SICA is part of a global coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with UK’s Peace One Day to organize activities celebrating peace and nonviolence around the world on Peace Day. Over 600 million people will be aware of Peace Day this year and there will be a 24 hour celebration for Peace Day 2013 at The Hague —headlined by Carlinhos Brown, Miguel Bosé, The Feeling and others from around the globe. SICA will be live-streaming the event. 

Austin’s own and former Executive Director of the Austin Creative Alliance, Latifah Taormina, spearheaded the Poems for Peace global initiative last year. Now, the celebration culminates in Austin with veteran Austin performers Robert Faires, Kathy Catmull, Steve Moore, and Barbara Chisholm among several others, sharing poems they love at a FREE event Saturday, September 21, 2013 at 12:30 pm at Zachary Scott Theatre’s Kleberg Stage (1401 West Riverside Drive, Austin, 78704). The event is free of charge to the public.

Peace One Day’s theme for this year’s Peace Day is “Who are you going to make peace with?” Taormina explains, “Maybe that begins with oneself, with forgiveness of ourselves and others, and from there we can begin to feel the peace inside we can share with others.”


Austinites are being called to action by participating in, or coordinating, a Poems for Peace event, which can be as simple as reciting poetry in one’s home. People can recite, write, sing and create poetry through flash mobs, poetry readings, parties, slams,performances, workshops, exhibits, classes, concerts, games and love-notes in honor of Peace Day. Poetry can be found even in a child’s scribbling their favorite rhyme on the sidewalk with chalk. Participants are encouraged to document and share their efforts on the Poems for Peace website (www.poems-for-peace.org) or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PoemsForPeaceOneDay. There are also past examples of creative events from around the world, on the website.


“This is about actively sharing one’s love of peace through poetry.” says Latifah Taormina, SICA’s Board President. “Poems live in our music, our holy books and in our hearts. Poems for Peace is an invitation to connect to that place inside us all and share your favorite poems — wherever you are — on Peace Day.”


SICA is proud to be part of this global initiative for peace which gives everyone an opportunity to share good things with friends and neighbors in a powerful and positive way.


www.facebook.com/poemsForPeaceOneDay -- http://twitter.com/Poems4peace -- http://www.poems-for-peace.org

About Peace One Day Peace One Day began in 1999 as a cease fire initiative in Afghanistan to allow health workers to safely get to children to treat them on that day. In 2001 Peace One Day’s efforts were rewarded when the United Nations unanimously adopted a new resolution to declare its International Day of Peace (“Peace Day”) as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence. http://peaceoneday.org

About Peace Day – September 21st The International Day of Peace, a.k.a. “Peace Day,” was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has enthusiastically endorsed Peace One Day’s initiative and its global coalition, and encourages all people everywhere to participate in Peace Day, September 21, 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeAOxW7O9oE

About The Subud International Cultural Association (SICA) The Subud International Cultural Association (SICA) is a nonprofit organization providing programs and services to individuals and organizations working in the fields of art, culture, and creativity for the development of human values across all fields of human endeavor. SICA believes the development of individual talent is critical to building love and respect among people everywhere. SICA was begun by members of the World Subud Association in 1983. http://www.subud-sica.org

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Mary Moody Northen Theatre, St. Edward's University, April 11 - 21, 2013

by Michael Meigs


The delightful wit and frivolity of Oscar Wilde's conceit for this play and the immense seriousness his characters apply to it make The Importance of Being Earnest an enduring favorite. This is the fourth staging of the work in the region since I began writing about theatre nearly five years ago, and it never grows stale. Wilde is not Shakespeare, but his work has a similar vitality and adaptability. His razor-sharp teasing of a distinct sector of English society seems bright and new each time I see it, and the actors deliver it with refreshingly personal modulations.

Richard Robichaux casts this piece deftly and well, neatly pairing companion roles. As the devil-may-care Algernon and his slightly priggish friend Jack, Josean Rodriguez and Jon Richardson differ in aspect and attitude, but they're really alike as two peas in a pod (or perhaps as two babes in a bassinet, which is eventually more to the point). 

Josean Rodriguez

They've mastered both the vowels and the rhythms of that insufferable upper-class "U" talk and they radiate confidence and self-satisfaction, just as two promising young men-about-town should do. Faculty member Sheila Gordon is credited as dialect coach, and she's done a cracking good job with everyone on stage.

The eligible young ladies offer another finely modulated pair. Hannah Marie Fonder as Gwendolyn has the precisely controlled chill of the very best of society, and her ice-cream elegance plays well against Sophia Franzella as Cecily, the energetic young brunette on the estate who's bored with her German lessons and eminently ready to escape if only a suitor should come calling.

And though they're not paired in the play, Barbara Chisholm and Robert Faires are paired in real life, and they provide quite different comic portrayals that are informed, vivid and veresimilar. I've carried in memory for years the aged Dame Edith Evans' haughtily crushing portrayal of the no-nonsense Lady Bracknell in a filmed version, and I was intrigued to see how Chisholm would manage one of the most adamantly comic characters of the stage. The answer, in short, is that she carries it off superbly. This Lady Bracknell is no oldie and by no means is she sexless; Chisholm delivers the ferociousness, the conviction and the dame's completely unapologetic snobbishness. And she's attractive, to boot; the wonderfully towering chapeaux provided by costume designer T'Cie Mancuso are so much a part of the character that one imagines them completely inseparable from the personality.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST by Oscar Wilde, Mary Moody Northen Theatre, April 11 - 21, 2013

(St. Edward's University, 3001 South Congress Avenue)

presents

The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde

directed by Richard Robichaux

April 11 - 21, 2013, 7:30 p.m. (Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.)

Mary Moody Northen Theatre, St. Edward's University, 3001 S. Congress Avenue (click for map)

Tickets: $20 Adults Advance ($15 Students, Seniors, SEU Community), $20 at the door; STUDENT DISCOUNT NIGHT: Friday, April 12: Student tickets $8 with ID. 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.

Mary Moody Northen Theatre, the award-winning producing arm of the St. Edward’s University professional theatre training program, continues its 40^th anniversary season with The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, directed by Richard Robichaux, running April 11 - 21, 2013.

This glorious comedy of manners was the most popular play by the quintessential bad boy of his day. Join young suitors Algernon, Jack, Cecily and Gwendolyn as they negotiate mislaid babies, mistaken identities, secret engagements, baffled suitors, one overbearing mother and some of the wittiest wordplay ever tossed over afternoon tea. This delectable morsel of a play will delight your sprit and leave you laughing long after the curtain comes down. Featuring guest artists Barbara Chisholm as Lady Bracknell, Robert Faires as Dr. Chasuble and Irene White as Miss Prism, The Importance of Being Earnest promises to be smart, silly and wicked fun.

"The Importance of Being Earnest” is the rare work of art that achieves perfection on its own terms. – The New York Times

About Mary Moody Northen Theatre 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.


About St. Edward's University 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)

33 Variations by Moisés Kaufmann, Zach Theatre, January 23 - February 17, 2013

by Michael Meigs

In 1819 Viennese music publisher Anton Diabelli invited many of the leading musicians of the Habsburg empire to compose a variation upon a simple waltz of his own devising. Profits from the project were to be contributed to support orphans and widows of soldiers killed in the Napoleonic wars. Ludwig von Beethoven initially declined to contribute, then changed his mind. He eventually penned 33 variations, over several years, which Diabelli published as a separate volume sponsored by the 'Patriotic Alliance of Artists' (Vaterländischer Künstlerverein).

Alfred Brendel called this late work of Beethoven "the greatest of all piano works"; Arnold Shoenberg wrote that "in respect of its harmony, [the Diabelli Variations] deserves to be called the most adventurous work by Beethoven." Moisés Kaufmann of the Tectonic Theatre Project -- yes, the Kaufmann who assembled the memorable two-part Laramie Project -- took the story and legends of Beethoven's writing of the variations and made a play of it.

Zach Theatre artistic director Dave Steakley tells us that UT-based concert pianist Anton Nel approached him with the offer to join in a production of Kaufmann's 33 Variations. Nel is a world-class artist who has appeared with many of the world's great symphonies. We'd heard him with Peter Bay and the talent at the Austin Symphony, so how could we not look forward to this production?

I came away deeply disappointed by 33 Variations, and it's taken me a while to figure out why. I'm not a musician -- I can clumsily interpret simple sheet music on a keyboard but when all is said and done, my head just doesn't work that way. But classical music captivates me, and none more so than that of Beethoven. I listen with awe to a piano virtuoso like Nel, understanding only that this is an art that surpasses my own capabilities entirely.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote, Zach Theatre, May 29 - July 2

by Dr. David Glen Robinson

The Zach Theatre is a great showcase for local and regional art and talent, claiming as it does all the advantages of location, etc. It seems to hold court over Lady Bird Lake, with hill country scenery upstream and the shining, multi-colored towers of Austin across the lake. I visited Zach to see Dividing the Estate, Horton Foote’s 1989 play about a Texas family falling apart over estate inheritance.

To cut to the chase, the family had already fallen apart, and so had the estate of the title, which was really only a metaphor for that family. The former glory of the estate was represented by the gorgeous set by Cliff Simon. If you think this is a spoiler and with that the play was over save for upscale furniture-gnawing, think again,for this was indeed only the beginning. Dividing the Estate is a brilliant exposition of time and place and how the fortunes of families and individuals depend on those elemental things. The Zach Scott production of the play does it proud.

The time of the play is the mid-Eighties oil bust, the one centered in Houston. The place is fictional Harrison, Texas. The real-life place is Wharton, Texas, without a doubt. The characters discuss the features and problems of life in Wharton, Texas in great, accurate detail. These include the vast acreages of grazing land tumbling in value, proximity to Houston (in every sense), sulfur domes, oil wells, ranching mansions, a main street lined with empty store fronts and a plastics plant run by Asian investors (still in operation today).

Click to read more and view images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Auditions at Zach Theatre for Horton Foote's Dividing The Estate, December 13

Found on-line:

ZACH Theatre announces auditions for Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 in the ZACH Nowlin Rehearal Studio located at 15426 Toomey Road. Callbacks are slated for Saturday, December 17, 2011.

Steven Dietz will be directing this Tony award nominated comedy. Rehearsals begin on Monday, May 7, 2012. The first preview performance is on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 and opening night is Saturday, June 2. Performances will be Tuesdays through Sundays weekly with the final performance on Sunday, July 1.

Please be prepared to read sides from the play for the character for which you are interested in auditioning. Sides will be posted to the ZACH Theatre website when available.

Actors will be seen by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please send an email with your name, phone number, email address, and the character(s) auditioning for to auditions@zachtheatre.org. All actors should bring a headshot and resume to the audition.

We are seeking both AEA and non-AEA actors. [ALT note: Twelve roles are open - four men and eight women -- click to view capsule descriptions at AustinLiveTheatre.com.]

SHOW SYNOPSIS The Gordons of Harrison, Texas, have always been a greedy, gossipy clan. Now the malcontents from the Houston branch of the family come to the homestead and make pettiness an art form as they tangle over their inheritances. This play echoes the domestic drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with rich humor reflecting Foote’s generous spirit and Texas roots.

Email: auditions@zachtheatre.org Website: http://www.zachtheatre.org

Arts Reporting: Austin Chronicle Readers ' Theatre Picks

The Austin Chronicle's annual 'Best of' issue, arriving today and tomorrow features only three names related to Austin live narrative theatre. Appearing under 'Arts & Entertainment' in the readers' poll are actress Barbara Chisholm, Zach Theatre artistic director Dave Steakley and musician/composer Graham Reynolds. The Chronicle critics' poll for arts & entertainment includes none at all, although it gives three nods to improv and sketch individuals and events.

Upcoming: Red Hot Patriot (redux), the Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, Zach Theatre, August 4 - November 13

Found on-line:

Brought back

August 4 - November 13

Thursdays - Sundays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

Zach Theatre Kleberg Stage

Written by MARGARET ENGEL and ALLISON ENGEL

Directed by DAVID ESBJORNSON

Starring BARBARA CHISHOLM


"Ordinary Americans are going to save us."
Molly Ivins

The unsinkable Molly Ivins, Austin's no-holds-barred newspaper columnist and best-selling author, is back to tell it like it is in a side-splittingly funny play. A true Texas original, Ivins was a sharp-tongued wit who skewered the "Lege" and the good ol' boys who ran it with her unforgettable humor and wisdom.

Written by twin journalist sisters, Margaret and Allison Engel, and starring The Austin Chronicle's Readers' Poll Favorite Actress Barbara Chisholm and directed by award-winning Broadway director David Esbjornson, Red Hot Patriot celebrates Molly's courage and tenacity – even when a complacent America wasn't listening — in a play that is nothing short of kick ass.

Features and Reviews from the run of January - March, 2011

Feature by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin in the Statesman, January 21

Feature by Neha Aziz for the Daily Texan, January 28

Review by Claire Carnavan for the Statesman's Austin360 "Seeing Things" blog, January 30

Review by webmaster, TheatreAustin, Yahoo groups, February 4

Images by Kirk R. Tuck: Barbara Chisholm in Red Hot Patriot, Zach Theatre,

Images by Kirk R. Tuck posted by Zach Theatre for

January 25, 2011 - March 13, 2011
Zach Theatre Kleberg Stage

Written by Margaret Engel and Allison Engel

Directed by David Esbjornson

Starring Barbara Chisholm

Click 'to view additional images by Kirk R. Tuckat AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Red Hot Patriot, the Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, Zach Theatre,

Found on-line:

January 25, 2011 - March 13, 2011
Zach Theatre Kleberg Stage

Written by MARGARET ENGEL and ALLISON ENGEL

Directed by DAVID ESBJORNSON

Starring BARBARA CHISHOLM
$20 Sneak Peek Preview, Tuesday January 25
Champagne Opening, Saturday, January 29
Ladies Night Out Pre-Show Party, Tuesday, February 8
The GLBT Wilde Party is Thursday, February 10
Make it Dinner and a Show: Click here for Dining Discounts.


"Ordinary Americans are going to save us."
Molly Ivins

The unsinkable Molly Ivins, Austin's no-holds-barred newspaper columnist and best-selling author, is back to tell it like it is in a side-splittingly funny play. A true Texas original, Ivins was a sharp-tongued wit who skewered the "Lege" and the good ol' boys who ran it with her unforgettable humor and wisdom.

Written by twin journalist sisters, Margaret and Allison Engel, and starring The Austin Chronicle's Readers' Poll Favorite Actress Barbara Chisholm and directed by award-winning Broadway director David Esbjornson, Red Hot Patriot celebrates Molly's courage and tenacity – even when a complacent America wasn't listening — in a play that is nothing short of kick ass.

Upcoming: Our Town, Zach Theatre, April 15 - May 23

UPDATE: Review by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin at Statesman's Austin360 "Seeing Things" blog, April 19

Received directly:

presents

OUR TOWN

by Thornton Wilder

April 15 - May 23, Wednesdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. , Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

Kleberg Stage , 1421 W. Riverside Dr. (corner of Riverside and South Lamar.)
Tickets range from $20 to $50, with $15 tickets available to students starting 1 hour prior to curtain time. Charge tickets by phone at 476-0541, ext. 1 or visit the Zach website to purchase on-line

Zach Theatre Re-Envisions “Our Town” in Our Town with all-star, all-Austin cast starring “Greater Tuna’s” Jaston Williams as the Stage Manager

Austin’s finest actors join together to tell the intimate, heartfelt story of America’s best loved play. Zach’s contemporary interpretation transports the audience to a chapel of love that will linger in your memory. Our Town audiences will watch the story unfold in several settings, including the wedding scene, which will be fully realized in its setting, costumes, environment with music by Austin area choral choirs. Directed by Dave Steakley, ZACH’s production is more than a play: it’s an experience as unique as Austin!

Jaston Williams, star of ZACH’s The Laramie Project and Austin‘s Greater Tuna will star as the iconic Stage Manager in Grover’s Corners. ZACH’s production also stars well-known, Austin favorites Michael Amendola, Michael Bryce, Janelle Bucahanan, Barbara Chisholm, Lana Dieterich, Christian Guerra, Harvey Guion, Billy Harden, Jordan McRae, Michael Mendoza, Crystal Odom, Don Own, Marco Perella, Scotty Robertson, Donelvan Thigpen, and Evan Underbrink,

ZACH Theatre is sponsored in part by Applied Materials, Austin American-Statesman, Time Warner Cable, Austin News TV 36, The Dell Foundation, Vollmer Public Relations, SOL Marketing Concepts, IKEA, The Shubert Foundation, The City of Austinunder the auspices of the Austin Arts Commission, The Texas Commission on the Arts, and The National Endowment for the Arts.

[Click for information on $5 discount offer]

Arts Reporting: Five Women in Austin Theatre, Austin Women Magazine, December 2009

Austin Women magazine, a free publication available around town and on line offers in its December 2009 edition the profiles of five women in Austin who are admired for their work in theatre.

An extensive feature on Barbara Chisholm of the Zach Theatre is the opener and the cover feature.

Titles and credits for the spread:

Barbara Chisholm, A Shining Star in Austin's Constellation
by Terry Schexnayder, photos by Eric Doggett Studios

Leading Ladies of Austin's Theatre Scene
edited by Julie Tereschuk
photography by LRConceptPhotography.com

A Conversation with Lisa Byrd, Executive Director, Pro Arts Collective
by Marilyn McCray

Our Classic Profile: Paullette MacDougal
by Christine Cox

The Essential Buffy Manners, Costume Designer
by Jorjanna Price

What I Believe: Joann Carrion-Reyes, Teatro Vivo, con corazón y alma, todo es possible
by Jennifer Simonson

Click to go to Austin Women magazine on-line (registration of name and e-mail required to access material)

Henry V, performed by Robert Faires at the Off Center, July 2- 25

We arrived on that hot Saturday July 4 afternoon at the Off Center to be greeted by Barbara Chisholm and a cup of champagne.

Stepping from the heat and dazzle into the cool dimness of the theatre, we found ourselves face-to-face with Robert Faires himself. He greeted us, welcomed us, and accompanied us to our choice of seats. In that small assembly we saw faces familiar to us from Austin's stages.

A woman of handsome, striking appearance stood chatting with persons in the front row as the house continued to fill. "My, this is like attending a wedding reception, isn't it?"

This is how things might have been in Henry's own court, had he had secured his kingship over both England and France. Robert Faires' Henry V that afternoon was a special entertainment before a band of acquaintances. The performer was at ease and familiar with his audience. His wife and daughter had their own roles in marshaling the spectacle. We all knew that something special was about to happen.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Shooting Star by Steven Dietz, Zach Scott Theatre, February 12 - April 5

Steven Dietz's latest world premiere is a wistful two-character piece aimed directly at the soft heart of the baby boomer generation.

These two were lovers in their early twenties in Madison, Wisconsin, sometime in the 1970s but they've long been out of touch, getting on with their lives. By chance they find themselves -- and one another -- in a snowed-in airport somewhere in the Midwest (think, maybe, Midway in Chicago).

It's a situation ripe for dramatic exploitation. A wave of the playwright's magic wand and lo! we have characters with a deep knowledge of one another and a sense of their ideals and mutual potential -- thirty years out of date. They have decades of change and adventure to explore, as well as the delicate business of defining just who they are for each other right now, in ignorance of their subsequent histories.

Shooting Star trades on a fascination similar to that mined by www.classmates.com. What ever happened to. . . .? Do you really, really want to know? Do you want that person to know what has happened to you and how you have changed?

Dietz is upfront about it. His note in the program, also posted in the lobby, reads, in part,

Someone has your secret. Someone from your past. They have your secret because they once had your heart. . . .

We wed the past to humor with good reason. Oh, how we used to dress! -- and our hair! the music we listened to! -- man, what were we thinking? and with any luck, we can usually bundle up our great regrets in this same nostalgic laughter.

Until we see that face from our past. That person who has the goods on us: who knows exactly how close we came to making our life match our plans.

Master craftsman that he is, Dietz sets up the slightly painful comic contrasts. He gives us business traveler Reed McAllister (Jamie Goodwin), something of a wage slave in a suit, a reader of the Wall Street Journal, grown into someone far different from his idealistic twenty-something self, and pairs him with earth momma Elena Carson (Barbara Chisholm), Austinite, veteran groupie and lonely free spirit.



They see one another from afar and apostrophize to the audience their surprise; after some time avoiding an encounter, they meet. Reed is headed from his home in Boston to Austin for a sales pitch he knows will be unsuccessful; Elena is going to Boston to see a friend. Heavy snow delays flights; the airlines cancel departures. We sit in on their careful process of mutual discovery, with the remembered emotional closeness bringing to the surface regrets, memories shared and unshared, and an unexpected wading into the current complexities of their lives.

The minimalist setting in the Whisenhut theatre is a clever recreation of the waiting area at an airport gate, at which spectators become just that many more stranded travelers. Of course, the airport speaks to us and to the characters (in the lovely neutral precision of Lauren Lane's voice). Dietz gets several appreciative chuckles with business reminding us of the new realities of air travel and the newly familiar rules for travelers. In addition, Barbara's banter about Austin and its special character tickles us.

Separate monologues to the audience set up later revelations. Reed confesses to us that he was deeply jealous and hurt by Elena's promiscuity. With the last flight canceled, they retire to the airport bar. Recollection, new revelation, the intrusion of telephone calls from home, desire, laughter, spontaneous counsel and unexpected gifts -- to quote Dietz's note, Reunions are typically built on laughter, banter, remembrance and alcohol. This one is no different.

Neither Reed nor Elena found anyone better. There is no knowing whether, back then, different mutual rules or more truth in the relationship might have kept them together for a completely different experience in life. Plot pieces click neatly into place, we feel the warmth, and Dietz brings them home to the feeling that despite memories and beyond this tiny bubble of time, the most important issue is this generation's love and care for the next.

Jamie Goodwin and Barbara Chisholm are comfortable and convincing in these characters, and Dietz as playwright and director keeps the action continually interesting and surprising. The Wednesday night audience was smack dab in the target demographic. They gave the piece a standing ovation.

Review by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin on the Statesman's Austin360 blog, February 16

Interview of Steven Dietz, Barbara Chisholm and Jamie Goodwin by John Aielli on KUT's "Aielli Unleashed," published March 6 (20 minutes)

Review by Barry Pineo in the Austin Chronicle, March 19

Upcoming: Shooting Star by Stehen Dietz, Zach Theatre, February 12 - April 5

UPDATE: Austin Live Theatre review of Shooting Star


from the Zach website:

Shooting Star



World Premiere!

Written and Directed by Steven Dietz
Starring Barbara Chisholm & Jamie Goodwin Photo by Kirk R. Tuck



February 12 - April 5, 2009
Whisenhunt Stage
Wed, Thur, Fri & Sat at 8:00pm, Sun at 2:30pm

“Seen a shooting star tonight slip away, Tomorrow will be another day, Guess it's too late to say the things to you that you needed to hear me say…” – Bob Dylan

In the world premiere of Steven Dietz’s new romantic-comedy, two ex-lovers – one from Austin and one from Boston – unexpectedly reunite after 20 years while snowed in at a Midwestern airport. In time for Valentine’s Day, this delicious, bittersweet comedy has great heart with an appeal to the romantic in all of us.

"Dietz’s writing supplies what’s missing from most modern comedy: character, setting, worship of language, respect for the audience, and distinctive authorial intelligence!" – Seattle Weekly

"We're fortunate that a major American playwright who is changing the theatre with his own work -- and through training the next generation of playwrights at UT -- calls Austin home. When I read Steven Dietz's newest play while he was directing Doubt at ZACH, I knew we had to produce the premiere of his "Austin play". -- Dave Steakley, ZACH's Artistic Director, on Shooting Star

ARTICLE: The Austin Chronicle takes an in-depth look at Steven Dietz.

About Steven Dietz
Steven Dietz is the recipient of the PEN U.S.A. Award for Lonely Planet, perhaps his most widely-performed work; the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award for Fiction and Still Life With Iris; and the 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery for Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. Recent work includes the Pulitzer-nominated Last of the Boys, the widely-produced baseball adaptation, Honus and Me and several commissions for the McCarter Theatre (Princeton), Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago) and the Denver Center Theatre Company. Mr. Dietz and his family divide their time between Seattle and Austin, where he is a professor of playwriting and screenwriting at UT.