STOP HITTING YOURSELF, Rude Mechanicals at the Off Center, April 4 - 21, 2013

Rude Mechs will present the first work-in-progress showing of

 



Stop Hitting Yourself
The show runs April 4 - April 21, 2013, Thursday - Sunday at 8:00 pm., at The Off Center, 2211 A Hidalgo, Austin, TX. 

Tickets: Thursday and Sunday - Pay What You Can; Friday and Saturday - $12 - 25 Sliding Scale. 

Tickets go on sale March 4th at www.rudemechs.com. 

The final weekend tickets will also be available through Fusebox Festival. 

Purchase with credit card in advance. Cash only at the door.


"At tonight's party you were observed and those observations are currently being compiled into a list of the things you need to be taught. We have one month to perfect you. In one month, we're going to have another party. The difference is at this next party, the Queen will be in attendance. Improvement. Succor. Fate. Queso. Wardrobe. Charity. Belief."

Once a year at the Charity Ball a single worthy cause is selected to benefit from the Queen's annual good deed. Families of note compete to find the citizens most in need and deserving of assistance. This year, a socialite has discovered a wildman in the forest and brings him home to improve him. The wildman's desire to save the natural world and to bring about an era of love and harmony is a sure-winner. Now she must teach him how to eat and dance, how to bow and flatter, how to behave in society so that his cause can be victorious.

Rude Mechs is currently embracing the fundamental beliefs underlying late-stage capitalism and indulging in some 1930's Hollywood glamour. Part Pygmalion, Busby Berkley, part self-help lexicon -- all while tap-dancing around a queso fountain. STOP HITTING YOURSELF borrows from the plots of 1930's musicals to dig into the contemporary conservative dilemma: how to honor the steely individualism of Ayn Rand without disavowing the ministry of Jesus Christ. Tap dancing, fine dining, and the missionary position will all be employed in order to help all Americans stop hitting yourself.

Some of the Many People Involved: Hope Bennett, Thomas Graves, Heather Hanna, Matt Hislope, Hannah Kenah, Lisa Laratta, Lana Lesley, Jason Liebrecht, Kirk Lynn, Graham Reynolds, Brian Scott, Shawn Sides, Paul Soileau, Dallas Tate, plus awesome technicians, crew, and Rude Mechs company members keeping it awesome.


STOP HITTING YOURSELF is a commission of LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater. LCT3 produces shows by new playwrights, directors and designers - new ideas in a new space. Additional creation support comes from National Endowment for the Arts and MAP Fund. Rude Mechs is supported by the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division.

Rude Mechs is an ensemble-based theatre company that has created a genre-defying cocktail of over 25 original plays that we produce in Austin, TX, and tour nationally and internationally. Our most recent productions include "The Method Gun", "Get Your War On" and "I've Never Been So Happy" which have all toured to such far-flung destinations as New York City, Los Angeles, New Haven, Columbus, Boston, Portland, Philadelphia, Helsinki (Finland), Edinburgh (Scotland), and Brisbane (Australia). Since our inception in 1995, we've received over 180 awards and nominations for artistic excellence and, most recently, the company's production "The Method Gun" was recognized by both Time Out New York and New York Magazine as one of the Top 10 theatrical events of 2011.

For more information about this production and all things rude, visit www.rudemechs.com.


Read more about Rude Mechs to Present Work-in-Progress Showing of STOP HITTING YOURSELF, 4/4-21 by austin.broadwayworld.com
Rude Mechs will present the first work-in-progress showing of "STOP HITTING YOURSELF."
"At tonight's party you were observed and those observations are currently being compiled into a list of the things you need to be taught. We have one month to perfect you. In one month, we're going to have another party. The difference is at this next party, the Queen will be in attendance. Improvement. Succor. Fate. Queso. Wardrobe. Charity. Belief."
Once a year at the Charity Ball a single worthy cause is selected to benefit from the Queen's annual good deed. Families of note compete to find the citizens most in need and deserving of assistance. This year, a socialite has discovered a wildman in the forest and brings him home to improve him. The wildman's desire to save the natural world and to bring about an era of love and harmony is a sure-winner. Now she must teach him how to eat and dance, how to bow and flatter, how to behave in society so that his cause can be victorious.
Rude Mechs is currently embracing the fundamental beliefs underlying late-stage capitalism and indulging in some 1930's Hollywood glamour. Part Pygmalion, Busby Berkley, part self-help lexicon -- all while tap-dancing around a queso fountain. STOP HITTING YOURSELF borrows from the plots of 1930's musicals to dig into the contemporary conservative dilemma: how to honor the steely individualism of Ayn Rand without disavowing the ministry of Jesus Christ. Tap dancing, fine dining, and the missionary position will all be employed in order to help all Americans stop hitting yourself.
Some of the Many People Involved: Hope Bennett, Thomas Graves, Heather Hanna, Matt Hislope, Hannah Kenah, Lisa Laratta, Lana Lesley, Jason Liebrecht, Kirk Lynn, Graham Reynolds, Brian Scott, Shawn Sides, Paul Soileau, Dallas Tate, plus awesome technicians, crew, and Rude Mechs company members keeping it awesome.
The show runs April 4 - April 21, 2013, Thursday - Sunday at 8:00 pm., at The Off Center, 2211 A Hidalgo, Austin, TX. Tickets: Thursday and Sunday - Pay What You Can; Friday and Saturday - $12 - 25 Sliding Scale. Tickets go on sale March 4th at www.rudemechs.com. The final weekend tickets will also be available through Fusebox Festival. Purchase with credit card in advance. Cash only at the door.
STOP HITTING YOURSELF is a commission of LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater. LCT3 produces shows by new playwrights, directors and designers - new ideas in a new space. Additional creation support comes from National Endowment for the Arts and MAP Fund. Rude Mechs is supported by the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division.
Rude Mechs is an ensemble-based theatre company that has created a genre-defying cocktail of over 25 original plays that we produce in Austin, TX, and tour nationally and internationally. Our most recent productions include "The Method Gun", "Get Your War On" and "I've Never Been So Happy" which have all toured to such far-flung destinations as New York City, Los Angeles, New Haven, Columbus, Boston, Portland, Philadelphia, Helsinki (Finland), Edinburgh (Scotland), and Brisbane (Australia). Since our inception in 1995, we've received over 180 awards and nominations for artistic excellence and, most recently, the company's production "The Method Gun" was recognized by both Time Out New York and New York Magazine as one of the Top 10 theatrical events of 2011.
For more information about this production and all things rude, visit www.rudemechs.com.

Read more about Rude Mechs to Present Work-in-Progress Showing of STOP HITTING YOURSELF, 4/4-21 by austin.broadwayworld.com

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Upcoming: Ordinary Peephole, the Songs of Dick Price, private residence, January 20 - 30, 2013

The Dick Price Fan Club proudly presents

ORDINARY PEEPHOLE: The Songs of Dick Price

January 20-30. Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
Lyova's House in Hyde Park. Address disclosed upon ticket reservation.
Very limited seating. Tickets: $15

dickprice.brownpapertickets.com or 1-800-838-3006

Featuring Adriene Mishler, Mark Stewart, Jay Byrd, Matt Hislope, and Lyova Rosanoff on the piano

Music and Lyrics: Dick Price
Direction: Matt Hislope
Musical Reconstruction: Lyova Rosanoff

"What happens when a funny person becomes a provocateur? You find yourself a little stunned at the things you're laughing at, then you look for other people to laugh with you." --Austin Chronicle

Take a look though an ordinary peephole and discover a full evening of songs by Austin's great novelty songwriter Dick Price. This marks the first time most of these songs have been performed by anyone except Dick himself. Spanning over three decades of songwriting, this living room cabaret includes such twisted ditties as "Knife and Fork," "Father Sambuco," "Happy Dinosaur," and "I Know Who You Are, I Saw What You Did." It's an intimate, irreverent, and long overdue tribute to one man's musical madness.

About Dick Price

Dick Price has written more than a thousand songs. He began composing music at the age of six, won 1st place in a state composition contest at age 12, and perfected his uniquely witty style in his late twenties. After attending the University of Texas and then living in New York City for a spell, Dick returned to Austin and launched the popular Dial-A-Tune service. Dick's songs have been heard worldwide on the Dr. Demento radio show and on many a mix tape passed between friends. With Rubber Repertory, he created the award-winning shows At Home with Dick and At Home with Dick 2.

About Lyova Rosanoff

Lyova Rosanoff was raised in New York City in a family of professional cellists. After graduating from Vassar she accepted a job with the San Antonio Symphony and has made her home in Texas ever since. She has taught at San Antonio College and the University of Texas at Austin, and was one of the founding members of Esther's Follies, where she served as Musical Director for 28 years. Elected to the Austin Arts Hall of Fame in 2003, she went on to co-write a humorous, Texas-tinged version of "Die Fleidermaus," which was premiered in 2008 by Austin Lyric Opera.

Profile: Matt Hislope and Josh Meyer of Rubber Repertory, by Dan Solomon for the Austin Chronicle

From today's edition:

Discomfort Zone

How far can Rubber Repertory push you?

by Dan Solomon, Fri., April 13, 2012

When Rubber Repertory started auditioning for its new show – the company's last before an "indeterminate hiatus" as half of its producing duo moves to Los Angeles – they didn't know much of anything about what they'd be putting on stage. "Our one thing was that we didn't want audience participation," co-Artistic Director Matt Hislope says.

"We wanted to put on a show," his creative partner, Josh Meyer – the moving-to-California half of the duo – adds. To help them create the performance that is Jubilee, running now at the Off Center, they looked to cast 10 people they'd never worked with before – but whom they trusted to follow them wherever they might be going.

"One of the reasons this group was selected was that they were literally up for anything," Meyer says. "We knew they'd be game for going on this journey with us. They seemed willing to go anywhere. They were all really committed." At this point in the company's career, Rubber Repertory is likely to attract the sort of performers who find being "up for anything" and "going on a journey" to be especially appealing: This is the company that built its reputation on performances including the "X-rated self-help odyssey" Mister Z Loves Company, the outright pornographic A Thought in Three Parts, and the audience-participatory performance pieces Biography of Physical Sensation – which involved an audience member wearing a vibrator throughout the duration of the show, among other experiences – and The Casket of Passing Fancy, in which audience members were offered opportunities like "Who wants to be made into a sandwich and eaten?" and "Who wants a one-on-one yoga session in the nude?"

Read more at the Austin Chronicle on-line . . . .

Upcoming: Jubilee, a group work by Rubber Repertory at the Off Center, April 5 - 21

presents

*JUBILEE*

directed by Josh Meyer and Matt Hislope

featuring Eva Claycomb, Arthur Simone, Jen Brown, Jay Byrd, Steven Fitzpatrick, Anna Marcella McConnell, Sophie Ricketts, Susan Peterson, Paul Szent-Miklosy, Jacob Trussell

April 5-21, Thursdays-Sundays at 8 p. m.
The Off Center, 2211 Hidalgo St. Austin, TX 78702 (click for map)
Tickets: $15. Thursdays are pay-what-you-wish (at the door).
Order online ($16.52 including fees) at

or call 1-800-838-3006.
Ages 16 and up

Lighting: Steven Shirey -- Costumes: Company


What shall we sing this tenth year? What movements shall we make? What skits shall we perform? This will be Rubber Repertory’s last show before an indeterminate hiatus, and we’re looking for more than just a good idea; we’re looking for atonement. We want to find the very proper time to sound the trumpet. We want to put on the clothes that will make us disappear. We want to arrange our bodies in a way that gives real comfort. Part dance and all devotion, JUBILEE is a nonstop, non-narrative, and non-denominational leap of faith. [NOTE: To carnal minds we may appear to act absurdly, but the path of duty is rarely the path of safety.]

“What's wonderful about Rubber Repertory is that they take the concepts, the tenets, the expectations of theatre, and blow them out of the water.” -Avimaan Syam, Austin Chronicle

ABOUT RUBBER REPERTORY Since 2002, Co-Directors Josh Meyer and Matt Hislope have created some of the most unique theatre in Texas. With shows such as Biography of Physical Sensation, The Casket of Passing Fancy (2007 Rockefeller MAP Fund grant), Surprise Annie, RED CANS, and the American premiere of Wallace Shawn's notoriously "unstageable" A Thought in Three Parts, Rubber Rep pushes boundaries and creates work that's high on invention and surprise. Their productions have garnered B. Iden Payne and Austin Critics Table Awards for "Outstanding Theatrical Innovation," "Outstanding Direction," "Unique Theatrical Experience," and "Outstanding Late-Night Adventure." For more information, visit www.rubberrep.org.

Upcoming: Surprise Annie, Annie La Ganga and Rubber Repertory, October 6 - 29

Received directly:

presents

SURPRISE ANNIE

starring Annie La Ganga
directed by Josh Meyer and Matt Hislope


October 6 - 29
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8.pm.,
with a special 7 p.m .performance on October 27

at 12 surprise venues. Ticketholders will be notified of the venue approximately 24 hours before each performance.

tickets: Sliding scale $15-$30, available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/196590.


You're familiar with Annie La Ganga, right?
No?

She's a writer, a stand-up comic, a spoken word artist, an improvisational monologist, and one of our all-time favorite Austin performers. And not just ours:

"Funny and moving and very real, insanely candid." -Dave Eggers, McSweeney's

I laughed, often uproariously, once or twice uncontrollably, for close to an hour." -Barry Pineo, Austin Chronicle

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Biography of Physical Sensation, Rubber Repertory at Fusebox Festival, April 21 - 30

Received directly:

Rubber Repertory, in association with Fusebox Festival

proudly presents

BIOGRAPHY OF PHYSICAL SENSATION

directed by Josh Meyer and Matt Hislope
based on the life of Jamie Damon
set design by Lisa Laratta
featuring Katie Van Winkle, Rebecca Beegle, Taylor Flanagan, Matt Hislope, and Josh Meyer

7 encore performances! April 21-23, April 27-30.

Wed. and Thurs. performances are at 8pm. Fri. and Sat. are at 7pm.

The Off Shoot, 2211 Hidalgo St.,Austin, TX 78702

TICKETS: $15. Available at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/163864.

VIDEO TRAILER: http://vimeo.com/21604712

"What's wonderful about Rubber Repertory is that they take the concepts, the tenets, the expectations of theatre, and blow them out of the water." -- Austin Chronicle

The biography is BACK. Rubber Repertory's hit show invites an audience of 35 to experience a human life through actual tastes, touches, smells, and sounds. This reinvention of the traditional biography forgoes narrative in favor of pure physical experience, placing audience members in the center of over a hundred pivotal moments of perception.

Each person who attends is invited to choose from seats of three different sizes. The size of your seat dictates the intensity of sensations you're willing to receive. Those in the smallest seats will receive low-intensity sensations--the smell of lavender and stale cigarettes, for instance--while those in the larger seats expose themselves to far livelier thrills. Once the show begins, it's a fast and feely ride through puberty and pork chops, gunshots and tetherball, party whistles and old pianos, rehabilitation and lemon cake. In other words: life itself.

BIOGRAPHY OF PHYSICAL SENSATION is based on the life of Jamie Damon, one of over 50 people who interviewed at Fusebox 2010 to be the subject of the show.

View images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Heddatron, Salvage Vanguard Theatre, February 10 - March 5

Found on-line:

Salvage Vanguard Theatre presents

Heddatron

by Elizabeth Meriwether
directed by Dustin Wills
Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 E Manor Rd
February 10 - March 5, Thursday- Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 6 p.m.
(Thursdays Pay-What-You-Can at the door)
Tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/145755

www.salvagevanguard.org

Like any well-made play, this one starts with a booming voice from the sky - though this booming voice arrives in the form of a hardcover copy of Hedda Gabler torpedoing into the lap of a terribly bored Michigan housewife. Suddenly, Jane Gordon finds herself captured by robots and whisked off to the Ecuadorian rainforest to perform the titular role in a robo-version of Henrik Ibsen’s famous drama. Jane’s ten-year-old daughter, Nugget, with the aid of her milquetoast father, an eager documentary filmmaker and her small arms dealing uncle must rescue her mother from the mechanical grip of her robot captors - whether she wants to be saved or not. Heddatron takes us on a hi(tech)storical journey through our trigger happy-TV-4G-machine-obsessed world to ask that great question, “What does it mean to be human?” Salvage Vanguard Theatre, with the help of the University of Texas’ tech-savvy IEEE Robotics & Automation Society, is ecstatic to offer a look at what happens when “real” robots and ever realer humans battle it out on the stage in the Austin premiere of Elizabeth Meriwether’s genre-defying head-trip Heddatron.

Feauturing: Amy Downing, Robert Pierson, Cyndi Williams, Jennymarie Jemison, Jude Hickey, Scott Daigle, Jarrett King, Matt Hislope, Kyle Lagunas, and Ava Johns
Design by: Lisa Laratta, Natalie George, Jessica Gilzow, Buzz Moran, and Lee Webster

Upcoming: The Biography of Physical Sensation, Rubber Repertory at Salvage Vanguard Theatre, October 14 - 30

UPDATE: Feature by Cate Blouke for the Austin Statesman, October 13

UPDATE: "The Care of Feeding of Audiences," Travis Bedard's anticipation of the participatory experience, CambiareProductions.com, October 14

UPDATE: Review by Cate Blouke for the Statesman's Austin360 "Seeing Things" blog, October 19

UPDATE: Reflections by Sarah Coleman at the UT blog Performing Arts Management, October 19

UPDATE: Review by Avimaan Syam for the Austin Chronicle, October 21

UPDATE: Bastion Carboni and Georgia Young discuss their experiences at the same performance for austinist.com, October 21

Received directly:

The Rubber Repertory in association withg the Salvage Vanguard Theatre

proudly presents

Biography of Physical Sensation

Based on the life of Jamie Damon

Directed by Josh Meyer and Matt Hislope

October 14-30, Thursdays-Sundays at 8 p.m.

Salvage Vanguard Theater 2803 Manor Rd.

Featuring Jenny Larson, Katie Van Winkle, Matt Hislope, Josh Meyer, and Marcella Garcia.

Lighting Design by Megan Reilly

Tickets: Order online here, or call 1-800-838-3006

YOU PICK YOUR PRICE $15-$25

Very limited seating – 40 seats per performance. Advance purchase recommended.

In their first new show since The Casket of Passing Fancy, Rubber Repertory pushes the limits of audience participation to even more fateful extremes. Each night, an audience of 40 will be given the chance to experience a human life through actual tastes, touches, smells, and sounds. This reinvention of the traditional biography forgoes narrative in favor of pure physical experience, placing audience members in the center of over a hundred pivotal moments of perception.


Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Dionysus in 69, Rude Mechanicals at the Off Center, December 3 -

UPDATE: Click for ALT review, December 5

UPDATE: Dan Solomon interviews director Shawn Sides for austinist.com, December 4

UPDATE: Extensive backgrounder by Robert Faires, published in the Austin Chronicle, November 26

Found on-line:

Rudes rebirth

Dionysus in 69

December 3 -20, Thursdays - Sundays at 8 p.m.
at The Off Center
Tickets on sale now at Brown Paper Tickets

[Photos by Bret Brookshire]

Rude Mechs is proud to produce the first-ever revival of The Performance Group’s Dionysus in 69, a groundbreaking interpretation of Euripides’s The Bacchae. Offering Austin theatre-goers an extraordinary opportunity to relive history, the Rudes are painstakingly recreating the original production, using Brian de Palma’s filmed version of the play and the 1970 book, Dionysus in 69 as source materials, as well as inviting the original production's director, Richard Schechner, to guide several rehearsals.

Rude Mechs celebrates 40 years of experimental theatre by experiencing and learning about Dionysus in 69 in the deepest way - through its performance.

Ensemble: Heather Barfield, Elizabeth Doss, Thomas Graves, Jude Hickey, Matt Hislope, Jodi Jinks, Hannah Kenah, Josh Meyer, Aron Taylor, Katie Van Winkle
Co-Directed by: Madge Darlington and Shawn Sides

NOTE: In addition to Richard Schechner leading several rehearsals in advance of the production he will return to Austin for opening night December 4, when he'll briefly introduce the piece immediately before the show and will attend the opening night party following.

WARNING: NUDITY AND ADULT THEMES.
NO ONE UNDER 18 WILL BE ADMITTED WITHOUT PARENT OR GUARDIAN.

Read more and view images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Odyssey, A Rock Version by Freddy Carnes, City Theatre, July 9 - 19

On Monday, July 6, on KOOP's weekly radio show on Austin area musical theatre Lisa Sheps featured Freddy Carnes and his wife Olga Kams Carnes, who are presenting his original rock musical The Odyssey: A Rock Musical as part of City Theatre's Summer Acts! festival. Click on the show's logo, below, for a link to the audio file (streaming audio, about one hour).

From the website for News 8 Austin: Freddy Carnes Productions presents "The Odyssey: A Rock Musical". Freddy Carnes has adapted the classic poem by Homer with 11 new songs including "Poseidon, God of Wind and Sea", "You Have Your Father's Spirit", "Ithaka" and "Bend the Bow'.

The story is about Odysseus (who is a prisoner on Calypso's Island) trying to get home to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. Once he is released from the Island with Athena's help he must face 100 blood-thirsty suitors (including the evil Antinoos) hell-bent on killing Telemachus and marrying the sweet Penelope.

This production features a cast of 14 with Matt Hislope as Telemachus, Summer Hamende as Penelope, KD Sperling as Athena, Evan J. Kelley as Antinoos and Freddy Carnes as Odysseus.

Upcoming: Mr Z Loves Company, Rubber Repertory at the Vortex

UPDATE: Review of Mr Z Loves Company by Wayne Alan Brenner in Austin Chronicle of April 16




Received March 2:

RUBBER REPERTORY proudly presents:
Mister Z Loves Company
An X-Rated Self-Help Odyssey
Created and Directed by Matt Hislope and Josh Meyer
Produced in association with VORTEX Repertory Company and the Fusebox Festival.

"Mister Z Loves Company takes the topic [of sex] beyond the limits of taste previously witnessed in Austin theater." --Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman

Look out! Rubber Repertory strikes again with a revival of their cult hit from 2003. Join the immaculately dressed Mister Z and his chorus of naughty maids for an evening of musical comedy thrills and performance art spills that are definitely not for the squeamish. With the help of two tiny organs, an old steamer trunk, and an army of phallic substitutions, Mister Z's id will be unleashed in ways you'll never forget. Adults only.

The cast of Mister Z Loves Company includes Rubber Repertory Co-Artistic Directors Matt Hislope and Josh Meyer in the title roles, with Amie Elyn, Carlos Treviño, Andreá Smith, Angelica Mcauley, Mikaela Thomas, and David Yeakle as the naughty maids. Featuring a whimsical original score by Adam Sultan and scenic design by Lowell Bartholomee.

At The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722 Friday, April 10-Saturday, April 25. Thursday-Sunday at 8pm.
Tickets: Pick-Your-Price: $30-$10 $30-$25 Priority Seating, $20-$15 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
Available at 512-478-LAVA (5282) or www.vortexrep.org Limited seating. Advance purchase recommended.

ABOUT RUBBER REPERTORY Since 2002, Co-Directors Josh Meyer and Matt Hislope have created some of the most unique theatre in Texas. With shows such as The Casket of Passing Fancy (2007 Rockefeller MAP Fund grant), RED CANS, At Home With Dick, and the American premiere of Wallace Shawn's notoriously "unstageable" A Thought in Three Parts, Rubber Rep constantly pushes boundaries and creates work that's high on invention and surprise. Their productions have garnered B. Iden Payne and Austin Critics Table Awards for "Outstanding Theatrical Innovation," "Outstanding Direction," "Unique Theatrical Experience," and "Outstanding Late-Night Adventure." For more information, visit www.rubberrep.org.

Rubber Rep photos from the 2003 production

Rubber Rep photomontage from 2003 production