Stars and Barmen by Reina Hardy, Vortex Repertory, October 26 - November 16, 2013

(www.vortexrep.org)

by Michael Meigs

I was in the mood for a a feel-good experience on Halloween, something without fangs or fishnets or pumpkins, and the Vortex's blurb 'a romantic comedy about getting lucky in space time' enticed me to their staging of Reina Hardy's script. She is semi-local, after all, as a Michener Fellow at the University of Texas, and the Shrewds staged her piece Glassheart not too long ago.

The Vortex, bless Bonnie's heart, has succeeded in transforming itself from a make-do neighborhood theatre to a social center. The Butterfly Bar appears to keep the place hopping most nights of the week, and there were plenty of folks there for the BYOP pumpkin-carving contest later on. Only twelve of us elected to go to the play that Thursday evening.

Trey Deason (photo: Kimberley Mead)

In the enigmatically titled Stars and Barmen Trey Deason plays Rupert, a grad student in astronomy so hapless and clumsy that his only intimate companion is the computer program scanning the skies for anomalies -- not the big, blow-out anomalies, but others more modest, perhaps closer to his level of ability. The playwright's not particularly kind to him, setting him up in the opening scene as a lonely party crasher who fails miserably three times in a row to initiate conversations with unseen women. Deason, himself a capable playwright, singer and thespian, swallows the bait and director Rudy Ramirez's instruction, and he turns Rupert into such a mass of inferiority complexes and tics that he's ridiculous and almost painful to watch.


Rupert encounters Bridget Farr as the dreamily disappointed Claire, a self-pronounced poet who's trying to avoid someone at the party. He thinks he's getting through to her in his ungainly way, but that computer program Mandy interrupts via telephone, yanking his chain and obliging him to leave to attend to his late night duties in the lab. He forgets to ask for Claire's number or to get some way to contact her again.

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

A STREETCAR STRAIGHT TO HELL, The Exchange Artists at the Blackheart, October 31, 2013

by Dr. David Glen Robinson

For this Halloween edition of The Exchange Artists’ Hot Nights series, they changed the name to Hot Bloody Nights. Other key elements remained the same, including the typically high performing skills exhibited on-stage, teaming up with a musical group, location in an upscale watering hole, a one-night-only run, and creativity unbounded. The Exchange Artists haven’t missed a beat with this series since they started it more than a year ago.

The show was based loosely, repeat loosely, on A Streetcar Named Desire. The opening scenes introduced characters familiar to some, and this is where the good acting and clever stage-play were found. But this was all set up and prologue to the finale of charnal horror worthy of the best horror movies of the 40s and 50s--and of a good Austin Halloween night downtown.

Aaron Alexander choreographed the fight scenes and enacted most of them with athletic skill and superb timing. Rachel Wiese played the disturbed visiting relative who lit the fuse to the conflagration. All the actors showed great skill in operating the set, the props, their costumes, and themselves. When actors make the difficult look easy, then the outcomes of their actions are surprising rather than predictable.

Rachel Wiese (photo: The Exchange Artists)

Some of the credit for this particular success goes to the directors Lindsey Sikes and Rachel Wiese. The producers, who put it all in motion, were Bridget Farr and Rachel Wiese, who each add another winning feather to a producer cap.

Even reviewers acknowledge the essential uselessness of reviews written after a performance run has finished, but in the case of Exchange Artists’ Hot Nights series, a posted review serves as a memory marker in time and space. The marker says that we found them; they were here in such-and-such a place, and they made the core transaction of theatre art with an audience.

This is the deep artistic satisfaction a theatre enthusiast seeks and deserves. The audience at the Exchange Artists’ Halloween show did their work in finding this brief, satisfying show. The call now is for the like-minded community to remain alert for the next Hot Nights show. And then please seek it out, wherever it may play (Hint: the Blackheart Bar is a favored venue). The rewards are great.

LADIES' MAN by Georges Feydeau by the Exchange Artists at the Blackheart, April 25, 2013

present

The Exchange Artists are thrilled to present the third date in their Hot Nights series matching a bit of theatre with a hot local band. Georges Feydeau’s 20 minute one-act LADIES’ MAN, which will begin at 8pm, reveals one evening in the life of two cousins who have unknowingly fallen for the same cad. The play will be underscored by the infectious pop concoction that is ADRIAN AND THE SICKNESS. Adrian’s bombastic rock and roll will come back after the play for a full set starting at 9pm. Velvet Dust, a new online Austin fashion magazine, will host a pre-show, Marie Antoinette-rocker beauty bar with glitter and dust and oooh-la-la for all! Show stylist Laurel Kinney of Trophy Boutique will also style models to walk the space and set the mood for the evening. The Blackheart Bar will provide specialty themed cocktails. This one-time-only event will be Thursday, April 25th, 2013 at The Blackheart, 86 Rainey Street, Austin, TX, 78701. The doors will open at 7:00 pm. The cover is $5 cash at the door.

So what are Hot Nights? That’s easy! Short Play. Long Set. Big Party.

LADIES’ MAN features Vanessa Marie as Angelique — a young widow who married her elderly husband for money and is now seeking a younger, more dashing suitor; extravagant and now independent, Angelique is used to having her way — and Briana Miller McKeague as Valentine — Angelique’s younger cousin, sweet and naïve with a habit of not thinking before she speaks, Valentine is a bit silly though genuine and eager to have the lifestyle of her older cousin. The Exchange Artists’ Bridget Farr directs with support from Rachel Wiese.

ADRIAN AND THE SICKNESS has been wowing live audiences with sweet melody and sheer sonic power since their debut in February 2004. Guitarist Adrian Conner also plays lead in Hell’s Belles, an AC/DC tribute band so fearsome that Angus Young is a devoted fan. She’s a deft soloist and a sure hand with a stinging riff. She’s also a formidable pop-rock songwriter, penning honest, forthright songs spiked with catchy, irresistible hooks. Her original music has been called “exciting, rambunctious and kinda scary” in Guitar Player Magazine (2007). In 2008, Adrian’s endearing melodies as well as her scalding six-string caught the attention of fellow Austin resident, songwriter and bassist for the Go-Go’s, Kathy Valentine, who produced the band’s fourth CD, B.F.D. (2009). Adrian and the Sickness released B.F.D. under their own label, Fantom Records, which charted on CMJ stations across the US and Canada, in early 2010. Today, Adrian and the Sickness continue their rock-n-roll pursuit, touring the US and Europe, and constantly writing and recording new music. In July 2011 they launched their fifth independent release "Criminal/Dog Days" and their first on 7-inch vinyl. Adrian and the Sickness is an action-packed world-class rock experience and it's coming straight at you.

Velvet Dust is an online, contributors-based quarterly magazine dedicated to the arts and the community. We operate as a platform for emerging designers to showcase their work. Our team and our contributors explore fashion and culture through styled editorials, photography, journalism, interviews, video art, and other forms of digital media.

About The Exchange Artists: As Exchange Artists we create theatre inspired by cultural exchange at home in Austin, TX and abroad. Through international collaboration and community engagement we empower our artists and audiences with fresh perspectives, new experiences and a strengthened sense of connection.

LADIES’ MAN with ADRIAN AND THE SICKNESS will be Thursday, April 25th at 8:00 pm at The Blackheart, 86 Rainey Street, Austin, TX 78701. The doors open at 7:00 pm for pre-show Hotness and the cover is $5.00, cash only.

For more information visit www.exchangeartists.org.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Can Can, A 1940's Style Floor Show, The Exchange Artists at Palm Door, November 13 and 15

by Dr. David Glen Robinson

I picked my way through the new development and blocked streets of downtown Austin to find this new bar I’d never heard of, the Palm Door. After hiking blocks, I saw it—it was the building formerly occupied by City Grille, once the best seafood restaurant in Austin. The address is 401 Sabine Street, immediately across the street east of the convention center. I want everyone to find it more easily than I did because the Exchange Artists’ performance there is well worth it.

The show is Can Can: A 1940s Floor Show. It's a composite of 1940s musical theatre and movie song and dance routines, finished with Romulus Linney’s exquisite one-act play Can Can. The play is a history of two relationships right after VE day.
The evening of performance is the second in a series of plays in bars mounted by Exchange Artists, one of the most creative groups in the Austin theatre community. They recently staged The Man Who Planted Trees in Sparky Park in central Austin. Surely one of their most notable traits is their seemingly unflagging ability to produce laudable productions in non-traditional performance spaces. And they do it in very short turnaround time—in this case within two months.

The lead producer this time was Bridget Farr, and Katie Richter directed the show. There I was, sitting in a room that looked like an old 1940s barracks with its open ceiling, expecting light entertainment, and suddenly I received a knock-down, lights-out stage dance performance by triple-threat performers Michelle Keffer, Bridget Farr, Cassie Stewart and Will Brittain. They were led by the terrific Jonathan Itchon, a recent B. Iden Payne nominee. Sing (like the Andrews Sisters), dance, act—this group can do it all.

And guiding us through it all was Emcee Noel Gaulin, with his two-day turnaround from Paper Chairs’ Boom for Real (likewise Michelle Keffer). Gaulin’s surprise was a stand-up routine that was a knock-off of 70s comic Andy Kaufman. Gaulin gave us a very close approach to Kaufman, and it gave the audience that queasy, I-don’t-know-if-I-like-this feeling and several icky question marks in the mind about the performer’s mental health. Pay special attention to the punch line “I got vaccinated.”

If all this wasn’t enough, the Tapestry, Too dance troupe performed classic period tap dance numbers. They are the adult student company of Tapestry Dance. They gave us the virtuoso performance of continuing to perform well when the soundtrack music unexpectedly quit. They did well, but paid in performance stress for the inevitable quirks and kinks presented by a non-traditional venue.

Exchange Artists remains true to its huge creative energies, and everything it produces offers beautiful gifts to its audiences. Performers Bridget Farr, Michelle Keffer, Noel Gaulin and Jonathan Itchon seem to hone their talents continually, and they certainly deserve greater attention and higher paychecks. I’ve singled out these few, but all the performers lit up from within when they hit the stage. It is satisfying to see people following their bliss.

Promoting and building the performance communities in Austin is one of my commitments, as it is for AustinLiveTheatre.com. And Exchange Artists is one of about a half-dozen small companies I follow that are exceptionally deserving of growth and greater attention within the community. Much of their work is of short duration and in venues somewhat harder to find than the average theatre. But their ticket prices, for their greater effort in production and your greater effort in finding them, are no higher than anybody else’s. A percentage of their ticket revenue always goes to charity. For slightly more than the price of a movie ticket you can receive much more in art and entertainment. Exchange Artists—remember the name, seek them out; the rewards are huge.

Upcoming: Can Can, a 1940's floor show at Palm Door, The Exchange Artists, November 15 and 17

The Exchange Artists

present



CAN CAN

A 1940s style floor show

Tuesday, November 13 and Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 8 p.m. at Palm Door, 401 Sabine Street, Austin, TX.
Tickets are $15.00 or $25.00, each ticket containing a buil-tin donation to local charities, Equality Texas and H.A.N.D., Helping the Aging, Needy, and Disabled.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com. Visit exchangeartists.org for more information.

Brush off your three-piece suit or your sequined gown and step into a late 1940s floor show. Presented by The EXCHANGE ARTISTS and hosted by the inimitable Noel Gaulin, CAN CAN features song & dance numbers, tap dancing from Tapestry, Too and Romulus Linney’s short play of the same title, not to mention vintage music, costumes for all, themed drinks at the bar and the hottest dance floor in town. Performances are Tuesday and Thursday, November 13 and 15, 2012 at 8:00pm at Palm Door (or, as we like to call it, the “Palm D’Or”), 401 Sabine Street, Austin, TX. There will be a cash bar, and tickets are $15.00 or $25.00. A portion of all ticket sales will go to local charities Equality Texas and H.A.N.D. (Helping the Aging, Needy, and Disabled). Tickets can be purchased in advance at
www.brownpapertickets.com.

CAN CAN revisits both the entertainment and emotions of the post World War II years in the United States. Bars in the late forties and fifties amplified their patrons’ nights on the town with live performances at intervals throughout the night, allowing guests the opportunity to mingle and dance in between sets of entertainment. Our modern floor-show contains a showcase of Billboard charting songs from 1945-1950 and dazzling boogie woogie tap numbers from Tapestry, Too dancers. In a slight change to the traditional floor show, our night will include the short play Can Can, a remembrance of two love stories: one is between a young G.I. and a French student he meets in the French Riviera, and the other of two Southern women who meet one summer at a cafe. Both reflect the juxtaposition of joy and loss that characterized the emotion of Americans in the post-World War II era.

Romulus Linney’s short play Can Can is directed by Katie Richter and features Will Brittain, Bridget Farr, Jonathan Itchon, Michelle Keffer, and Cassie Stewart. Custom Millinery and Costume Design is by Laura Del Villaggio, hair styling is by Katie Scott, and makeup is by XXX.

About The Exchange Artists: As Exchange Artists we create theatre inspired by cultural exchange at home in Austin, TX and abroad. Through international collaboration and community engagement we empower our artists and audiences with fresh perspectives, new perspectives and a strengthened sense of
connection.

About Tapestry, Too: Tapestry, TOO is Tapestry's Adult Student Company. Tapestry, Too operates under the umbrella of Tapestry Dance Company's Co-Founders, Executive and Artistic Director, Acia Gray, and Tapestry Educational Director, Deirdre Strand and is directed by former TDC principal dancer,
Brenna Kuhn.

About the Charities: Equality Texas is the only nonpartisan statewide political advocacy organization lobbying the Texas Legislature for the elimination of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/ expression. We envision a state where all Texans are treated equally, with dignity and respect.
H.A.N.D. (Helping the Aging, Needy and Disabled, Inc.) has been providing attendant services to the elderly and people with disabilities since 1972. We incorporated as a nonprofit agency in 1976 and are licensed by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services to provide Personal Assistant services. The mission of H.A.N.D. is to enhance dignity and independence for the elderly and people with disabilities by providing compassionate, quality care.