Images by J. Elissa Marshall: The Difficulty of Crossing A Field, University of Texas, April 23 - May 2

Images by J. Elissa Marshall of The Difficulty of Crossing A Field, received via director Luke Leonard, MFA candidate at the University of Texas, along with the following e-note:

Dear Friends,

Please come see the culmination of my three years at UT-Austin as I direct Mac Wellman and David Lang's opera, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field. I have had the luxury of researching and collaborating with the most fabulous design and dramaturgy team for over 18 months, we have been rehearsing since February, and the support that the department has provided has been unprecedented. This is an amazing opportunity to experience a seldom produced work, one that challenges expectations and resists easy categorization. The Difficulty is a contemporary opera that pushes the boundaries of music-theatre. The amount of hard work and artistry that has gone into mounting this production has been extraordinary. Please join us for a performance if you can. Below are a few links for tickets, show times, and more information. For those of you still in NY...see you soon! Be back this summer.

http://www.texasperformingarts.org/event/difficulty

Link for tickets to The Difficulty of Crossing A Field

View more images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Difficulty of Crossing A Field, University of Texas, April 23 - May 1

UPDATE: Robert Faires' interview with composer David Lang, Austin Chronicle, April 29

UPDATE: Additional quote from Robert Faires' interview with composer David Lang, Austin Chronicle, April 29 -- "Mystery is where it's at."

UPDATE: Robert Faires' interview with composer David Lang, Austin Chronicle, April 29

UPDATE: Vimeo video of scene from The Difficulty of Crossing A Field, captured by John Clare for Texas Public Radio (click this link, then go to bottom of page at AustinLiveTheatre.com)

UPDATE: Review by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin on Statesman's Austin360 "Seeing Things" blog, April 25

UPDATE from UT Theatre & Dance: A Conversation with Mac Wellman and David Lang All theatre patrons are invited to attend this intimate pre-performance talk with the creators of The Difficulty of Crossing a Field. Refreshments will be served.April 23 at 6:45 p.m. at Winship 2.112 -- Space is limited

Found on-line:

UT at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents

The Difficulty of Crossing a Field

April 23-May 1, 2010

Libretto by Mac Wellman, Composed by David Lang
Directed by Luke Leonard, Music Directed by Lyn Koenning

April 23*, 24, 28, 29, 30 & May 1 at 8 p.m.
April 25 & May 1, 2 at 2 p.m.
B. Iden Payne Theatre

Tickets: $20 adults, $17 UT faculty & staff, $15 students available online at www.texasperformingarts.org or by phone at 477-6060.

*Join us April 23^rd for an Opening Night Reception immediately following the performance. Guests will be able to mingle with the cast, crew, and director of The Difficulty of Crossing a Field while enjoying an assortment of light snacks and desserts.

A slave-owning farmer in the pre-civil war American South walks across his field in Selma, Alabama and disappears in plain view of his neighbors, his family, and his slaves. Everyone has his or her view of what the disappearance means, but the more the witnesses try to recount the disappearance, the more elusive it becomes. Crossing the boundaries of musical theatre and opera in this inventive new play mixes spoken and sung text with a moving score and intense drama.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Art of Depicting Nature As It Is Seen By Toads with Luke Leonard and Ben Schave, UT Lab Theatre, January 29 - 30

Received indirectly:

The Art of Depicting Nature As It Is Seen By Toads

January 29, 7 p.m. & January 30, 4 p.m.,
Featuring Ben Schave
Directed and conceived by Luke Leonard

The Art of Depicting Nature As It Is Seen By Toads is a progressive art event featuring two men and two toads engaged in a two-hour endurance test. Part theater, part performance art, all exploration, The Art of Depicting ….challenges perceptions of human behavior and reality.

“How you live changes your brain--Thought changes our life and our behavior."
--Milton Glaser

The production produced by Monk Parrots will play Friday, January 29 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, January 30 at 4 p.m. at the University of Texas at Austin’s Lab Theatre. Admission is free. Reservations & directions: theartofdepicting@gmail.com.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .