Auditions/Workshops in Austin for Circle The Wagons by the Exchange Artists, December 8 and 12, 2013

The Exchange Artists are building a new show called Circle the Wagons set to run February 14th through March 3rd, 2014.

The play will allow a voyeuristic and intimate look at car-culture (broadly defined) – from the anticipation of a first license, to road trips, confessionals, private escapes, DUIs, love nests, accidents, and finally the day a license is given up or lost to old age. A large part of the performance will be five minute plays inside personal vehicles which will be presented simultaneously in a parking lot in actual cars parked in an inward facing circle around a pep band.

Rachel Wiese will be directing this play and Katherine Craft will be in charge of the script. Rohan Joseph will be composing the "car orchestra". The five minute plays in cars will be selected from the new works of many contributing playwrights who were solicited to create pieces for this project.

If you're interested in joining the cast or simply in participating in the development process you are invited to attend a workshop! These workshops will help us select the five minute plays out of those submitted for the production, and will also serve as auditions.

The workshops are: December 8 from 1 - 3 pm and December 12 from 6-9 pm. Email exchangeartists@gmail.com to reserve your spot! Locations will be confirmed via email, so rsvp.

Call for 5-minute Scripts Set in Automobiles, Exchange Artists, Deadline of November 15, 2013

The Exchange Artists Call for Script Submissions for Circle the Wagons
 
Requirements: 5 minutes long, set inside of an automobile, 1 to 3 characters
Deadline: Friday, November 15th 2013
Questions: exchangeartists@gmail.com

(image: renefijten.blogspot.com)

The Exchange Artists seekfive-minute scripts set inside of automobiles for our upcoming production of Circle the Wagons. We welcome scripts from high school students and adults of all ages that capture car-culture (broadly defined) – from the anticipation of a first license, to road trips, confessionals, private escapes, DUIs, love nests, accidents, and finally the day a license is given up or lost to old age. Exactly what “car culture” means – isolation or independence, dream or delusion, etc. – will be entirely up to each writer to determine.

The half a dozen or so short plays will be presented simultaneously in a parking lot in actual cars parked in an inward facing circle around a pep band. The five-minute long plays should feature 1 to 3 actors performing for 1 to 3 audience members, and should be written for and inspired by the automobiles in which they take place. Audience members will experience the plays in random order, switching cars between performances in a sort of mad-dash ‘musical chairs’ game accompanied by the tunes of the centrally located pep band.

Interconnected stories, in which characters cross over from one short play to another, will be considered if writers choose to collaborate or submit multiple scripts. Radio plays or multimedia scripts that are played over the car’s speakers will also be considered.

Submissions are due by 5 pm on Friday, November 15th, 2013 to Rachel Wiese at exchangeartists@gmail.com. Please send as a Google doc or word doc with the pages numbered. Include the title of the play, playwright’s name, and a character list with descriptions. Selected scripts will be produced in the spring of 2014. Writers will receive credit and tickets to the production.

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. To learn about our past productions, visit www.exchangeartists.org

Auditions for Two Actresses for Feydeau's 'Ladies Man,' Exchange Artists, March 30, 2013

Auditions: Saturday, March 30, 4-7pm

The Exchange Artists are casting two female roles for their next HotNights production of George Feydeau’s short play “Ladies Man.” 

The show will be paired with local, female driven rock band. The performance will have a heavy fashion influence as the show is pairing with online Austin magazine Velvet Dust who will help create fashion installations and a rocker Marie Antoinette beauty bar. Show dates are either Thursday April 25 or May 2. Rehearsals will be on weekends, with flexible times. Actors will be compensated.

Roles:

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. While a bit snippy, she does care for her younger cousin, Valentin. French accent required. At auditions, an attempt is sufficient.

Valentin: Angelique’s younger cousin. Sweet and naïve, with a habit of not thinking before she speaks. Albeit silly sounding to people of our era, she is genuine and eager to have the lifestyle of her older cousin. French accent required. At auditions, an attempt is sufficient.

Email bridget@exchangeartists.org to set up an audition.

GOLDEN BOY by Clifford Odets, selected scenes by The Exchange Artists at The Blackheart, January 31, 2013

 


The Exchange Artists present scenes from
Golden Boy
by Clifford Odets
Produced by Bridget Farr and Rachel Wiese
Directed by Rachel Wiese
with Language Room for a one night only knock-out show at the Blackheart Bar.

Thursday, January 31st at 9 p.m., doors at 8pm. $5 cash at the door.

The Blackheart, 86 Rainey St, Austin, Texas 78701 (View Map )


Odets’ Golden Boy is Joe Bonaparte, concert violinist who gives up his music for boxing and it’s promise of fame and fortune. He becomes a winner in the ring, but the prize he really wants is Lorna Moon, his manager’s mistress. In these scenes we see the story of Joe and Lorna’s relationship, from strangers to lovers through hurt, and finally desperation. The scenes are tied and carried by the musical and creative sounds of Language Room. There will be violence. After a 20 minute piece of theatre, we'll have a 15 minute break and then a full set by Language Room.


Language Room is Matt, Scott, Todd & Sean

Cast:
Aaron Alexander as Joe Bonaparte
Akasha Banks Villalobos as Lorna Moon

with…
Matt as Tom Moody
Scott as Tokio
John William Daley as The Chocolate Drop (Boxer)
(Click to return 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.

The Man Who Planted Trees, adapted by Katherine Craft from a story by Jean Giono, The Exchange Artists at Sparky Pocket Park, October 4 - 20

by Dr. David Glen Robinson


The story of how Sparky Pocket Park on Grooms St. in central Austin came to exist is a drama all by itself, involving City departments and neighborhood voters. But that story is for another time; I went there on this chilly October evening to see the site-specific work by the Exchange Artists, The Man Who Planted Trees, based on a story by the French writer Jean Giono. I certainly was not disappointed in my expectations.

The performers seemed to use every square inch of the park as well as the inside of the maintenance building in the park’s center. Riding on the impressive talents and skill of actor Rommel Sulit, the production turned the tiny half-block pocket park into an Alpine département of France, complete with forests, rocks, waters and wastelands.

Gene Menger (photo: Erica Nix)

The play is plain and simple. A traveler in the Alps encounters an old peasant who does nothing in life but plant trees, oaks specifically. Working through the setbacks and limitations of two world wars, the planter at the end of his life leaves a forest legacy comparable perhaps to the creative accomplishments of God, but far surpassing the achievement of almost every other human being.

The work is current in its theme and emblematic of the 21^st century’s Green movement, and it gains greater currency by depicting the threats and effects of war. In so doing, the play points to our time’s continual teetering on the brink of total war. We seem incapable of learning what last century’s peasants, innocent of education, knew instinctively.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono, Exchange Artists at Sparky Pocket Park, October 4 - 20

present

THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES
based on the story by Jean Giono

October 4 – 20, 2012

Thursdays through Sundays, evenings at 7 p.m. at Sparky Pocket Park, 3701 Grooms Street, Austin, TX, 78705 (click for map)

Tickets are a suggested $15 - $25 donation. Reservations can be made by emailing exchangeartists@gmail.com, over the phone at (979) 255-8292, or will be available online at www.brownpapertickets.com.

The Exchange Artists are pleased to present THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES, a site-specific theatrical adaptation of Jean Giono’s allegorical tale, running October 4 – 20, Thursday through Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. The performance will take place both indoors and outdoors at Sparky Pocket Park with actors guiding the traveling audience throughout the space to witness the story unfold. Sparky Park is located at 3701 Grooms Street, Austin, TX 78705 just south of 38 ½ Street, two blocks west of Duval Street in the North University Neighborhood. Tickets are a suggested $15-$25 donation and can be reserved by emailing exchangeartists@gmail.com, calling (979) 255-8292, or online at brownpapertickets.com.

THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES, an internationally beloved short story by French author Jean Giono, is a beautiful reminder of each individual’s responsibility and opportunity to be a steward of our natural resources. Set in Provence between 1913 and 1947, the story follows Elzeard Bouffier, a man who singlehandedly plants one hundred acorns every day for over thirty years. His perseverance and constancy in creation offer a meaningful contrast to the immense destruction that Jean, a young traveler to Provence, experiences during two world wars. Elzeard’s work is not only successful in restoring a desolate landscape through his labor, but in restoring hope to a people. The tale is a gentle reminder that our lives and our livelihoods are in direct connection with the earth.

This adaptation by The Exchange Artists brings Giono’s simple tale to life with an immersive play that utilizes both French and English languages, dance, an original score by Rohan Joseph, projected media by Katie Rose Pipkin, and the natural beauty of Sparky Park.

THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES features Hildreth England, Alexander Hilary, Gene Menger, Vanessa Marie O’Brien, and Rommel Sulit. The story is adapted by Katherine Craft and directed by Rachel Wiese. Technical coordination is by Zac Crofford; costumes and production oversight are by Jamie Urban.

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.

THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES will run Thursday through Sunday evenings at 7 pm at Sparky Pocket Park, 3701 Grooms Street, Austin, TX, 78705. Tickets are a suggested $15 - $25 donation. Reservations can be made by emailing exchangeartists@gmail.com, over the phone at (979) 255-8292, or online at brownpapertickets.org.

For more information, visit www.exchangeartists.org.

(Click to return to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Upcoming: Skype and Performance, a discussion, Salvage Vanguard, July 7

Found on-line:

Skype in Performance

a discussion facilitated by Robert Matney and Kelli Bland

organized by the Exchange Artists

Thursday, July 7, 7 - 9 p.m.

Salvage Vanguard Theatre, 2803 Manor Rd. (click for map)

[Click image to view Facebook event page]

You are cordially invited to attend a sweet little affair highlighting the role of Skype in Performance. We will begin with introductions from two local groups engaged in international performance via Skype. Robert Matney, of The Hidden Room's production of "You Wouldn't Know her she lives in London", and
Kelli Bland, of the U.S. contribution to Imploding Fictions "You are Invited" will share their experiences in the creation and performance of theatrical productions utilizing Skype to connect to international audiences.

This free to the public event will include refreshments and an opportunity for questions and discussion about this new vehicle for performance.

Hope to see you there!

Auditions: The Story Seekers, Exchange Artists at the Elizabeth Ney Museum

Received directly from Rachel Martsolf of the Exchange Artists:

The Exchange Artists are seeking actors for The Story Seekers: A Site Specific Production on the Grounds of The Elisabet Ney Museum by Katherine Craft, directed by Rachel Wiese. The performance will transform the grounds of Hyde Park’s landmark castle into the setting of a fantastical, participatory drama, with actors leading the audience throughout the grounds as the story and the mysteries of the space unfold.

Synopsis A band of children live as prisoners in an alternate, unchanging world, trapped for as long as a domineering storyteller holds the endings to their tales in his book. Some of these characters are familiar: Lupe, who escapes La Llorona; Abini, the Yoruban miracle child; and Hans, who followed the Pied Piper out of Hamlin. But there are other children, from forgotten or untold stories, caught in the forest as well.

When a young girl, Bet, flees her comfortable castle-home after catching a glimpse of the future through a magic window, she finds herself ensnared in the storyteller’s world. And only then do the children find hope of escape – hope in the form of a gardener’s son, Bet’s best friend Gil.

Characters This production demands flexible, creative and collaborative actors who may also be able to sing, dance, fight, climb trees, play an instrument, and feel comfortable working on film. For auditions, please come warm and dressed to move. We will do cold reads from the script and some group work. Be prepared to stay for 30 minutes.

Dates Auditions are January 6 & 7 in the evening, and January 9 during the day. Rehearsals begin in February, Performances March 25 – April 10, 2011. An intense script development workshop is scheduled for January 22 and 23. Some filming will occur in January as well.

To schedule an audition email resume, headshot and desired audition day to exchangeartists@gmail.com. Auditions will take place in Austin, TX.

ALT: From the Audience on World Theatre Day

FROM THE AUDIENCE

comments prepared by Michael Meigs, AustinLiveTheatre.com
at World Theatre Day observance, March 27, 2010
organized by the Exchange Artists
at the Greater Austin Creative Alliance

Thanks to Susie Gidseg, and to Ken Webster and Robert Faires, who have just spoken.

For this program I represent the audience. My comments are a late addition to the program, which is just fine with me. I was surprised and gratified when the Creative Alliance offered me the chance to speak tonight. I couldn’t resist the opportunity.

The Audience. Normally mute and appreciative, happy to applaud. And now facing the old vaudeville dilemma –how can I follow acts like those?

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: World Theatre Day in Austin - Spect[Actor], March 27

Received directly:

Theatre artists will take to the streets, buses, shops, parks and fountains of Austin to engage unsuspecting audiences as participants in

SPECT[ACTOR] - -
Austin's World Theatre Day celebration.

The schedule of diverse performances has been released for the theatrical acts to be performed in everyday settings on Saturday, March 27, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. in various locations around Austin.

Hosted by The Exchange Artists, Austin's SPECT[ACTOR] acts will be created and performed by local companies and individuals at locations throughout Central Texas.

Austinites will have the opportunity to encounter more than 50 actors in public places on March 27, including two theatrical acts taking place on public transit, with permission from Capitol Metro. Click on 'Read more" below to view the detailed schedule.

The evening will conclude with a party hosted by The Exchange Artists at 7 p.m. at the Creative Alliance Studios, located at 701 Tillery Street.

The event begins with a reading of the International World Theatre Day message written by Judy Dench, read by Hyde Park Theatre’s Ken Webster. Austin Chronicle arts editor Robert Faires will also deliver the first ever "State of the Arts in Austin Address". Michael Meigs of AustinLiveTheatre.com will speak "From the Audience." Refreshments, video clips from the day, live streaming footage from other cities celebrating World Theatre Day will also be included. The free event is open to the public.

Click for further information and schedule at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: World Theatre Day in Austin, March 27

Received directly:

The Exchange Artists with
The Greater Austin Creative Alliance
present

SPECT-ACTOR
An Austin Celebration of World Theatre Day
Saturday, March 27 All Day, All Over Town
Austin On Stage Magazine, presenting media sponsor

On March 27, theatre artists will take to the streets, busses, shops, parks and fountains of Austin to engage unsuspecting audiences as participants in Spect-Actor, Austin's World Theatre Day celebration. These diverse performances - theatrical acts for random audiences in everyday settings - will take place between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. in various locations around Austin, followed by a 7 p.m. party at the ACoT Studio, 701 Tillery Street.

The evening's highlights will include Judy Dench's International World Theatre Day message, read by Ken Webster (Artistic Director, Hyde Park Theatre), a delivery of the first-ever State of the Arts in Austin Address and a screening of videos of the day's acts of theatre. Cambiare Productions will stream the event live online, linking Austin to World Theatre Day Celebrations around the globe.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Call to Artists: World Theatre Day in Austin, coordinated by Greater Austin Creative Alliance, March 27, 2010

GACA, formerly the ACOT, the Austin Circle of Theatres, has picked up the torch for World Theatre Day. This just received directly:

Call for Proposals: SPECT[ACTOR] World Theatre Day Event March 27, 2010, all over Austin

Proposals due by January 11, 2010 by email to exchangeartists@gmail.com

March 27, 2010 is World Theatre Day - designated by The International Theatre Institute (ITI) and observed as a day for the celebration and empowerment of theatre artists and audiences around the globe. This year The Exchange Artists are teaming up with the Greater Austin Creative Alliance to organize a World Theatre Day event titled SPECT[ACTOR] in Austin, TX.

Austin’s celebration of World Theatre Day, SPECT[ACTOR], will include a full day of theatrical happenings in non-traditional settings around town, turning the unsuspecting public into participants and witnesses of random acts of theatre. A team of inconspicuous videographers will capture all of the random acts of theatre that they can on camera and an evening screening of the evidence of the day will bring everyone together to enjoy discussion and a reading of the World Theatre Day International Message through which at the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. The first World Theatre Day International Message was written by Jean Cocteau in 1962. Last year Augusto Boal wrote the message. This year’s author is yet to be confirmed. The evening will be streamed live online, directly connecting Austin, TX to other theatre communities all over the world. A potluck and party will close the day’s celebration.

All theatre artists are encouraged to submit proposals for random acts of theatre that they would like to stage around town as a part of the World Theatre Day SPECT[ACTOR] event. Why not dance on the blurry line between reality and performance and give the gift of theatre to someone who doesn’t expect it? The Exchange Artists and The Greater Austin Creative Alliance are not obtaining legal rights or protection for performances in public places, so thoughtful and respectful planning is required. Proposals are due by email to exchangeartists@gmail.com by January 11th, 2010 and an informational meeting for confirmed participants will be held on January 13th -17, 2010.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .