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.

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.

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

THE HEAD by Connor Hopkins, Trouble Puppet Theatre Company at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre, September 26 - October 12, 2013

[resident at Salvage Vanguard Theatre, 2803 Manor Rd. -- click for map]

presents

 
 The Head: A Trouble Puppet Show

by Connor Hopkins
Sept. 26–Oct. 12, 2013, 8 pm
Thursdays – Saturdays, 6pm Sundays

Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78722 - click for map

ASL interpretation offered on selected nights. Group sales welcome. Director/cast talkbacks available for groups of five or more.
**This show contains content and copious amounts of language not suitable for children.** 

Tickets$10–$20 at the door or via






Trouble Puppet Theater Co. presents The Head, a darkly hilarious original work of puppet theater for grown-ups. Inside the Man's head, an overworked Mechanic struggles with faulty machinery and the head's other residents, the Personal Demons, to navigate through the day.

The Mechanic maintains and operates the machinery that makes it possible for The Man to get out of bed, go to work, have conversations, and otherwise live daily life. The Man's issues, poor judgment, and bad habits chronically make the little Mechanic's job more difficult. When the Personal Demons climb out of the shadows of the Limbic Lobe, all hell breaks loose inside and outside the Head.

Trouble Puppet's bunraku-style tabletop puppets are each manipulated by as many as 3 puppeteers and are designed and built by Connor Hopkins, our assistant builder, and invited guest builders from out of town. The puppets, the set, and the show are a visually and technically remarkable spectacle, with a gorgeous original score.

A completely original work by the company who brought Austin award-winning productions of The Jungle, Frankenstein, Riddley Walker, Toil & Trouble, and The Cruel Circus. Written and directed by Artistic Director Connor Hopkins (winner of B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Drama as well as Outstanding Original Script and The Austin Examiner's Best New Play Written by an Austinite), The Head features music by Justin Sherburn, lighting by Megan Reilly, sound design by K. Eliot Haynes, costume design by Monica Gibson, graphic design by Chris Owen. Performers: Jose Villarreal, Noel Gaulin, Rachel Wiese, Parker Dority, David Higgins, Travis Bedard, Kim Adams, Nathan Lahay, Elyce Lahay, Chris Gibson.

Trouble Puppet Theater Company: Founded in 2004, Trouble Puppet is dedicated to the creation of exceptional works of puppet theater, to the promotion of the art of puppetry, and to the support of its practitioners. We reach as far as we can into the possibilities that puppetry offers, in its many forms and styles, and seek to balance risk and exploration with a drive for excellent craft and technique. Our work is inspired not only by our artistic passion but by our social, political, and human convictions: that there can be no end to the struggle for knowledge and compassion, against injustice and intolerance . . . and boring theater.

Trouble Puppet is a sponsored project of Salvage Vanguard Theater. This production is supported by the Jim Henson Foundation.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

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)

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)

Auditions for The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono, The Exchange Artists, August 7 - 10

The Exchange Artists inviteyou to audition for an adaptation of Jean Giono’s The Man Who Planted Trees on August 7, 8, 9, and 10 (Tuesday through Friday) 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. at Tapestry Dance Academy, 2302 Western Trails Boulevard Austin, TX. (click for map) 

Please rsvp to reserve a night. No need to prepare material, but plan to stay the whole hour and a half. We will run the audition like a workshop. Dress comfortably for movement. For questions and to rsvp email exchangeartists@gmail.com. We are casting a small and diverse ensemble.

The Man Who Planted Trees will be performed at Sparky Pocket Park located at 3701 Grooms Street, in Hyde Park, Austin, TX 78705 (click for map), Thursday - Sunday evenings at 8pm, October 4 through 20, 2012. 

This internationally beloved short story by French author Jean Giono is a beautiful allegorical tale of each individual’s responsibility to be a steward of our natural resources. Set in Provençe between 1913 and 1947, the story follows a single man who plants one hundred acorns every day for more than thirty years. He restores a desolate landscape through his labor, a gentle reminder that our lives and our livelihoods are in direct connection with the earth.

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

An Austin Celebration of World Theatre Day, March 27 at the Butterfly Bar, Vortex Repertory

Posted by Rachel Wiese and Travis Bedard as a Facebook event:

Calling friends of theatre to party:

World Theatre Day, March 27th , falls on a Tuesday in 2012 and Austin’s Celebration will take place at 7pm at The Vortex’s Butterfly Bar, 2307 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78722. [click for map]

World Theatre Day (WTD) was founded in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute to unify and empower theatre arts around the globe. Each year, a renowned theatre artist is asked to write a message to the global theatre community. This year, the WTD Message was written by John Malkovich and will be read aloud at 8pm by Austin’s Kathryn Rogers.

In honor of World Theatre Day’s 50th Anniversary, The Theatre Communications Group launched an online video series called I AM THEATRE, and requests that theatre artists participate by submitting three-minute videos sharing pivotal moments in their theatre-making experience. A capturing station will be set up at the Vortex for anyone wanting to create a submission. [Click to see Dave Steakley's video as an example.]

There will also be cake.

We hope to see you all at the Butterfly Bar on Tuesday, March 27th at 7pm to celebrate World Theatre Day.

Love,

Travis Bedard (Cambiare Productions)
Rachel Wiese (The Exchange Artists)

Messenger No. 4, Cambiare Productions at the Blue Theatre, February 17 - March 4

And here's the other fraternal twin of the Paper Moon Rep/Cambiare collaboration. ALT always regrets writing 'after the fact' pieces. There's something laudable about setting things down for the historical record, but a theatre friend used regularly to disparage such essays as 'useless reviews.'

Perhaps less so in this case. These compatible personalities and theatre companies carried out a new and successful strategy of production. At a time when others are talking about cooperation -- as with the nascent Scenery Co-op that's under study and partly underwritten by the generosity of the MetLife Foundation -- they teamed up for some of their fundraising and they shared a venue, an ingenious set by Ia Enstera, and a performance calendar. Paper Moon took the first shift; Cambiare hit the boards afterward, about 9 p.m.

Not everyone was able to attend the double-header. Will Hollis Snider's jaunty Messenger No. 4 ran until almost 11 p.m. Although there was a pause of 15 minutes or so for resetting the scene, each piece played without interruption. I, for one, was a bit punch drunk by the end of Messenger -- so much so that I managed to lose the program sheets for both of the performances.

Rachel's Phineas was a carnival of caring while Will's script for Messenger No. 4 was a scrappy, all-boy imaginng. He pulled apart dramatic conventions with happy audacity, rewriting Greek tragedies with a 21st-century corporate spin. This Monty Pythonesque deconstruction of dramatic art had a good dose of Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future -- and in fact of much of the extensive sci-fi literature about the risks of time travel.

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

Auditions for Actors and Dancers for The Man Who Planted Trees, Exchange Artists, March 8 and 9

AUDITIONS POSTPONED TO FALL, 2012

The Exchange Artists seek actors and dancers for an adaptation of Jean Giono’s The Man Who Planted Trees to take place October 4-20, 2012. The one-hour performance will integrate original music, artwork, choreography and verse. It will happen both indoors and outdoors, weather permitting. An archive of past works including photos, video, and critical reviews can be found at www.exchangeartists.org.

The Man Who Planted Trees is a beautiful, allegorical tale, a gentle reminder that our lives and our livelihoods are in direct connection with the earth.

Cast: 2 actors (men, differing ages) 2 dancers (modern training or theatrical movement experience preferred).

Marvelous Things by Lindsey Greer Sikes, October 6 - 23

While watching Lindsey Greer Sikes' Marvelous Things at the Blue Theatre last week, I was struck by the feeling that rather than see this gentle fantasy, I'd really prefer to be in it. That's not unusual for those who haunt the dusty glitter of Austin stages; we've had a connection to theatre art at some time in the past so immediate and powerful that we've become performance junkies.

Rachel Wiese in the principal role of "Girl" and the rest of the cast had the delicate, concentrated gazes of make believe. Characters are unnamed and emblematic; the story is an abstraction into a coloring-book version of childhood's surrender to adolescence. The Girl has an abashed aspiring beau (Nathan Brockett) who accepts the limits she desires, physical and fantastical; she has a confidante, the "Other Girl" (Sara Harless), who's brash, gutsy and sensual; and there's the "Other Boy" (Stephen Mercantel), hormone-driven but well meaning, even so. The Old Folks her parents are cranky and broken down by life.

And then there are the Girl's imaginary friends. They perch in the upper reaches of the theatre on either wide of the playing area, back by the cellists who thrum, bow and accent the simple growing-up stories acted out at center. During the first act you might initially mistake the six 'mechanicals' for spectators particularly captivated by the action, but then they insinuate themselves with comments, contained gestures, grimaces and vocalized melodies. In the second half they emerge to surround the Girl, to assert their identities as Harvey, Faye Bell, Pinky, Betty, Adelaide and Goodie. They're pure Id, moving, quarreling amongst themselves and badgering the Girl as if they were five-year-olds.

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

Upcoming: Marvelous Things by Lindsey Greer Sikes and Paul Marbach, Blue Theatre, October 6 - 23

Received directly:

Lindsey Greer Sikes presents a new story for the stage:

script by Lindsey Greer Sikes, original music by Paul Marbech

directed by Lindsey Greer Sikes October 6 – 23, Thursdays - Saturdays at 7 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m.

at the Blue Theater, 916 Springdale (click for map)

Tickets $12-$20, reservations via marveloustickets@gmail.com

Click to view FaceBook Event Page

In a theatre, who's to say what's real and what's imagined?

Coming this October to the Blue Theater is a new work by Austin Playwright and Director Lindsey Greer Sikes. Inspired by native-Texas indie-rock band Eisley’s “Room Noises”, Marvelous Things is a theatrical event which aims to challenge the traditional form of the play as well as the role of the audience, who are not only spectators but participants in the creation of a false reality—or as we more commonly call it, the theater.

We invite you to meet Winnie: a young woman full of life and always in awe of it. But as her wedding day approaches she becomes unable to distinguish the world in which she is living from the marvelous things she imagines. And as the consequences of lives around her quickly unravel, so the creatures of her mind come alive from within the world of the audience and take to the stage. Presumably, Winnie remains safe in the delusions of her imagination, until a spine-tingling series of final events forces her to confront delusion, reality and ultimately: theatrical reality.

Marvelous Things will be presented at the BLUE Theater on Thursday/Saturday at 7 PM and Sundays at 5 PM from October 6^th – 23^rd. Tickets can be reserved by emailing marveloustickets@gmail.com and purchased at the door on a sliding scale from $12-$20. For a truly Austin experience, be sure to arrive early and grab some dinner with our hot-off-the-grill BBQ, fresh pie, and featured specialty drinks including a spiked Southern Iced Tea! Cash only.

Written and Directed by Lindsey Greer Sikes. Orginal Music Composed by Paul Marbach. Featuring Rachel Weise, Nathan Brockett, Sara Harless, Stephen Mercantel, Emily Kennedy, Brett Hamman, Bastion Carboni, Heather Diamond, Jonathon Itchon, Vanessa Marie, Solveij Praxis and Georgia Young.

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!

The Story Seekers by Katherine Craft, Exchange Artists at the Elizabeth Ney Museum, March 25 - April 10

The Elizabeth Ney museum on E. 44th Street in Hyde Park is already haunted. A crowd of stark white plaster figures and busts stand in the shabby shaddows of the odd small Austin-stone castle that was Ney's final residence in studio from 1902 to 1907. Among them is a bust of German writer and philologist Jacob Grimm that she sculpted of the old man in Berlin in the 1850's.

Grimm would have approved of Kattherine Craft's Story Seekers. He and his brother Wilhelm were Germany's most famous folklorists, seeking out and transcribing the vivid and often nightmarish imaginings of simple folk in the forests and farms. Tales those folks told to their children and to one another weren't the Disneyfied lore of Cinderella or sweet Hansel and Gretel. The stories spoke of abuse, menace, dark woods, shape changers and really really wicked stepmothers. An essential message was that the world was full of dangers, so children had really better watch out.

Director Rachel Wiese from the Exchange Artists has assembled some of Austin's most attractive and dedicated young adult theatre artists for this piece. With a pass of her director's magic wand and a consensus of the cast, she has transformed them into children, aged probably from eight to twelve.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Story Seekers, Exchange Artists at the Elizabeth Ney Museum, March 25 - April 10

Found on-line:

present

[image: Kelly Bland, by Kimberley Mead]

The Story Seekers

by Katherine Craft

March 25 - April 10

Thursdays - Sundays at 7 p.m.

A new play on the grounds of The Elisabet Ney Museum

304 E. 44th Street, Hyde Park neighborhood, Austin

Tickets are a suggested $15 donation and can be reserved by emailing exchangeartists@gmail.com or calling (979) 255-8292.

A band of children live as prisoners in an alternate world, never changing as long as the storyteller who trapped them holds the endings to their stories in her book. Some of these characters are familiar – Lupe, who escapes La Lorona; Abini, the Yoruban miracle child; and Hans, who followed the Pied Piper out of Hamlin – but there are other children caught in the forest as well. Only when a young princess, Bet, flees her comfortable castle after catching a glimpse of the future through a magic window and finds herself trapped in the storyteller’s world do the children find hope of escape. Hope in the form of a gardener’s son: Bet’s best friend Gil.

THE STORY SEEKERS, a new play by Katherine Craft, developed in collaboration with Exchange Artists actors, transforms the grounds of Hyde Park’s landmark castle into the setting of a fantastical drama. The performance is participatory in nature with actors leading the audience throughout the grounds as the stories and the mysteries of the space unfold.

THE STORY SEEKERS cast includes Karen Alvarado, Isaac Arrieta, Kelli Bland, Jen Brown, Bastion Carboni, Bridget Farr, Emily Kennedy, Sidharth Khanejar, Steffanie Ngo-Hatchie, Mindy Rast, Michael Slefinger, Karina Dominguez Smith, and Frederic Winkler. Set and lighting design is by Spencer Pharr, Costume design by Katherine Craft, with Props and Crafts by Katie Richter. Choreography and direction by Rachel Wiese.

In the event of any rain cancellations, makeup performances will be held April 15, 16, and 17. Please bring a flashlight and wear shoes for walking on the museum grounds.

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.