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 . . . .

Auditions for Circus Performers and Actors for Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics, Sky Candy, November 1 and 2, 2013

Audition notice! We are thrilled to announce that Sky Candy, east Austin's aerial and circus arts company, will be collaborating with acclaimed Austin theatre director Rudy Ramirez on an aerial theatre production of 'Cosmicomics', Italo Calvino's beloved collection of short stories. We are looking for actors, aerialists, and other circus artists to collaborate with us and perform in this exciting show!
'Cosmicomics' will run June 20th-29th 2014 at the Rollins Theater, with bi-weekly workshops starting as early as November and rehearsals starting in late April. Audition times are as follows:
Friday November 1st 8-10 pm - Saturday November 2nd 4-10 pm - CALLBACKS Sunday November 3rd noon-4pm
Aerialists/circus artists: Please prepare a 3-minute aerial or circus routine to show. You also have the option to prepare a comic monologue, and you should be prepared to read sides (lines) at the audition.
Actors: Please prepare a comic monologue and be prepared to read sides.
'Cosmicomics' is an aerial theatre adaptation of Italo Calvino's beloved collection of short stories. In the words of the director, "'Cosmicomics' will draw from the aesthetics of silent film, commedia dell’arte and turn-of-the-century circus arts to tell these stories of climbing ladders to the moon, the love-life of the last living dinosaur, and why the ultimate answer to the question “Why are we here?” just might be “pasta.”
If you are interested in auditioning, please e-mail Joanna at joanna@skycandyaustin.com and specify which day and time works best for you.

SING, MUSE, Vortex Repertory, August 23 - September 14, 2013

(Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd.) 

presents

Sing Muse

Conceived and directed by Rudy Ramirez | devised by the Ensemble
Aug.23 - Sep.14, 2013, Thursdays-Sundays 8pm

Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd. -- click for map 
Tickets: $30 Priority Seating, $20 General Admission, $10 Artists/Students
Limited seating. Advance Reservations available. 

---

Sing Muse - an original a cappella musical - returns to The VORTEX with an all-new production where music and dance, comedy and tragedy, poetry and science come together to retell an ancient story of human love touched by divine inspiration. The VORTEX transforms into the Theatre of Dionysus--in beautiful downtown Athens!

Few remember Thamyris, the once-legendary poet of Ancient Greece who was the first man to fall in love with another man. But the Muses remember. Thamyris claimed he could make art superior to the Muses’ and failed. After defeating him, they sentenced him to an eternity in Hell. However, eternity is a long time, and now The Muses give Thamyris one last chance to redeem himself.

This production of Sing Muse is the next phase of its artistic development. Devised last year, Sing Muse received a workshop production in August 2012. This new Sing Muse combines the best of the first production with new songs, dances, and poetry to reach divine heights.

The ensemble cast features Jonathan Itchon, Chelsea Manasseri, Melissa Vogt-Patterson, Hayley Armstrong, Laura Ray, Karen Rodriguez, Nikki Zook, Leslie Hollingsworth, Michelle Alexander, and Aisha Melhem.

Directed by Rudy Ramirez, Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon, Lighting Design by Patrick Anthony, Choreography by M’bewe Escobar. Music by Chelsea Manasseri, Rudy Ramirez, and Melissa Vogt-Patterson. Musical Arrangements by Chelsea Manasseri. 

Musical Direction by Chelsea Manserri and Jennifer Coy.

The Cast:

• Hayley Armstrong: Urania, Muse of Astronomy
• Nikki Zook: Polyhymnia, Muse of Hymns and Religious Poetry
• Aisha Melhem\: Terpsichore, Muse of Dance
• Michelle Alexander: Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry
• Chelsea Manasseri: Euterpe, Muse of Music
• Leslie Hollingsworth: Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy
• Laura Ray: Clio, Muse of History
• Karen Rodriguez: Thalia, Muse of Comedy
• Melissa Vogt-Patterson: Erato, Muse of Love Poetry
• Jonathan Itchon: Thamyris, a poet

Sing Muse is funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, and by the City of Austin through the Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office/Cultural Arts Division, believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin's future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

QUALITIES OF STARLIGHT by Gabriel Jason Dean, Vortex Repertory, May 25 - June 15, 2013

 
 (Vortex Repertory Company, 2307 Manor Rd.) 
 presents

A twisted comedy by Gabriel Jason Dean | Directed by Rudy Ramirez
May.25-Jun.15, 2013; Thursdays-Sundays 8 pm

Qualities of Starlight is an award-winning twisted comedy about the expansion of the universe and the contraction of a troubled family. Previously produced in workshop productions in Atlanta and Washington D.C, Qualities of Starlight now debuts at The VORTEX in its definitive version.

Theo Turner is a young cosmologist on the verge. But Theo’s “big bang” isn’t theoretical. His universe explodes when he and his wife travel to the Appalachian South to visit his parents about an impending adoption only to discover that Theo's aging parents are meth addicts. Science crashes violently into nature, identities shift, memories speak, and the future can only be won by renegotiating the past. The cosmos is no more wondrous than a troubled human family improvising its path into the future.

Staring Jennifer Underwood, Dennis Bailey, Toby Minor, and Andréa Suzanne Rebecca Smith. Directed by Rudy Ramirez. Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon. Lighting Design by Patrick Anthony. Costume Design by Michelle Symons. Sound Design by David DeMaris. Prop Design by Helen Parish. Dramaturgy by Carrie Kaplan and Natashia Lindsey.

Tickets: $30-$10
$30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
2-for-1 admission on Thursdays and Sundays with donation of 2 canned goods for SafePlace.
Limited seating. Advance Purchase Recommended.

“…a well-crafted…engaging drama…
Qualities of Starlight registers as a welcome find.” ~ Washington Post

“…a thoughtful and entertaining new play…Qualities of Starlight shows people determined to recover from the bruises of the past and move towards a brighter, more hopeful future.”~ DC Theatre Scene

"So dang funny!" ~ VSA Arts of Georgia

Qualities of Starlight is presented with the assistance of SCRIPTWORKS through their FINERPOINT FUND FOR NEW PLAY PRODUCTION and funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, and by the City of Austin through the Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office/Cultural Arts Division, believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin's future. 

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

īnspīrō Fest, B Tru Arts at the Vortex Repertory, June 1, 2013

Free admission -- donations gratefully accepted!

Īnspīrō Fest, a communal artistic festival on June 1 will be created to bring together and promote local multicultural artists in an exciting and enlightening collection of live music, dance, theatre, and an eclectic variety of other artistic performances. B*TRU ARTS is proudly working in conjunction with several local businesses to showcase their unique products while providing great food and a host of interactive activities in a spirited and electrifying atmosphere supporting Austin’s undiscovered ethnic talent.
Events will include musical performances by Meagan Jacobsen and Hillie Lyman, 5 original short plays written and performed by local artists, a variety of exhilarating dance performances, stand-up comedy, beat-boxing, and a special performance by the groundbreaking, genre-defying artist ExStus. The festival will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2013 at The Vortex 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722 from 1pm-7pm and will be emceed by local beatbox talent Michael “The Maestro” Matson. Tickets are currently available through http://www.btruarts.com/ for a discounted price of $10.

a communal artistic festival

Festival Schedule ​
1:00 pm-7:00 pm​
​Intro - Emcee Maestro
​
 1​:00 pm
"UkuleleMagic"
performed by Hillie Lyman
​​
2:00 pm
EL VENDEDOR​, a ten minute play​
written & directed by​ Sean Whelton

Brief Synopsis: With a play minutes away from its official premiere, cast members battle their nerves while gradually realizing there may be an ulterior motive for the production.​​

​CAST

SAM: Derrick Bryant MARTY: Aaron Walther

SALLY: Carley Marrissa DIRECTOR: Mick D'arcy

​ STAGE MANAGER: Tiffany Richardson​
​
​​"Opa Cabana: A Blended Vintage Belly Dance Revue"
performed by Emerald Mystiek​
​​​​
2:30 pm
​ALONE IN THE PARK, a ten minute play​
 ​by Aisha Melhem​ & directed by Mick D'arcy
​​CAST​

​YOUNG MAN/INNER VOICE:Derrick Bryant

LADY BUG/ACORN/TREE: Gareth White

BUM: Kirk Kelso

​
​​​​​​”A One Man Bit” (interactive stand-up)​
performed by Aaron Walther
​​
​3:00 pm
ONE MAN'S TRASH, a ten minute play​
by Will Johnson & directed by Aisha Melhem
​Brief Synopsis: One Man's Trash is a short play in which a man finds his voice amidst all of his objects. Phillip, the main character is filmed and interviewed for the t.v. series, One Man's Trash, as he brings the audience deep into the heart of his obsession of collecting. The interviewer is followed by the camera guy through a house full of past-remnant things kept alive by a man who claims he's ready to let go of it all.

​CAST​

​ INTERVIEWER: Chanise Littlefield PHIL: Justin LaVergne

​​​​​​CAMERA GUY: George Ray ​


​​​"S​ingularity"​
dance performed by Phillip KidFury Wainwright & Talaessa Bice
​​
​​3:30 pm
​LOVE IS A KNIFE FIGHT, a ten minute play
 ​by Daniel Hershberger & directed by Justin LaVergne
​CAST

 FRANKIE: Aaron Walther CREEPY GUY: TBD

LOU: Kirk Kelso NICE GUY: Dashiell Johnson

SATIN: Daria Jansen
​​
"Definition of My Heart":Excruciatingly vindictive against the persona of privileges pertaining to decorum...
dances performed by Erickque & company @@gotta see it to believe it@@

​4:00 PM 
 
THE GIRL WHO WAS TOO FAT​, a ten minute play
by Aisha Melhem​​ & directed by Rudy Ramirez
​CAST

GIRL: Natalie Rivera

CAT: Hayley Armstrong

 TIMMY: John Lopez

​
Spokenword
performed by Poet Selah Vie​ from EXSE SPOKENWORD on Channel Austin​
​
​dance performed by Precious Jewel (DGMM)

Boogie Bones' Popping Showcase
performed by Robbie Pryor

 "MEGANOKE"​
performed by Meagan Jacobsen
Meagan Jacobsen (Meganoke) is an accomplished Austin based artist, writer, songstress & speaker. With 2 books and 2 albums under her belt, she is no stranger to collaboration, creation & hard work. These days you can find Meagan dancing Argentine Tango, singing, speaking at events & creating fun new projects with other innovative artists across her home planet.​ Visit (www.Cloudsofsky.com) for more info.​
​​​
6 pm-7 pm 
 
Transglobal Electronic Music
performed by ExStus
Exstus is on a mission: To spread a message of dance, spirituality and unity through the creation of innovative transglobal electronic music. Lush sonic textures and phat beats coexist with elements of traditional Middle Eastern, Indian, & Latin music. He combines all of this with live virtuosic jazz & gypsy/spanish guitar in the context of uplifting, ultra-modern, all-original songs.


(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Upcoming: SIng, Muse, Vortex Repertory, August 3 - 11

VORTEX Repertory Company

presents

Sing Muse

A devised ensemble work by VORTEX Repertory Company

Conceived and directed by Rudy Ramirez

August 3-11, 2012 Two Weeks Only!
There will be a talkback session after every performance for the audience to have a conversation with the artists who created the piece.

at The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722 (click for map) Free Parking. Bus Route.
The Butterfly Bar@The VORTEX--open nightly at 5pm

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE!
Tickets: $30-$10
Sliding Scale: $30-$25 Priority Seating,
$15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
Available at www.vortexrep.org or call 512-478-5282.
Limited seating.

Sing Muse draws on the classical art forms of poetry, theatre, music, dance, history, and astronomy to bring a long-forgotten myth to the VORTEX stage for two weeks only.

Few remember Thamyris, the once-legendary poet of Ancient Greece who was the first man to fall in love with another man. But the Muses remember. Thamyris claimed he could make art superior to the Muses’ and failed. After defeating him, they sentenced him to an eternity in Hell. However, eternity is a long time, and now The Muses will give Thamyris one last chance to redeem himself. Together they tell a story about searching for the one thing more elusive than love: inspiration.

This production of Sing Muse is the initial phase of its artistic development. VORTEX welcomes audience response in order to assist in the future revision and production of this piece for VORTEX’s upcoming 25th season. There will be a talkback session after every performance for the audience to have a conversation with the artists who created the piece.


VORTEX Repertory Company members Jennifer Coy, Krysta Gonzales, Jonathan Itchon, Chelsea Manasseri, Betsy McCann, and Melissa Vogt-Patterson join with guest artists Hayley Armstrong, Nickclette Izuegbu, Laura Ray, and Karen Rodriguez to create a new theatre piece under the direction of Rudy Ramirez. These artists collaborated on original material all year to develop and devise Sing Muse.

Directed by Rudy Ramirez, Scenic design by Ann Marie Gordon, Lighting design by Patrick Anthony, Costume design by Haydee Antunano.

The Cast:
Hayley Armstrong: Urania, Muse of Astronomy
Jennifer Coy: Polyhymnia, Muse of Hymns and Religious Poetry
Krysta Gonzales: Terpsichore, Muse of Dance
Nickclette Izuegbu: Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry
Chelsea Manasseri: Euterpe, Muse of Music
Betsy McCann: Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy
Laura Ray: Clio, Muse of History
Karen Rodriguez: Thalia, Muse of Comedy
Melissa Vogt-Patterson: Erato, Muse of Love Poetry
Jonathan Itchon: Thamyris, a poet


Tickets and more information www.vortexrep.org

Upcoming: Midsummer in Motion, Austin Bike Zoo, May 25 - June 3

The Austin Bike Zoo

presents

MIDSUMMER IN MOTION

 

A Pedal-Powered Shakespearean Fantasy!
Featuring performers from Sky Candy
music by The Inheritance
drected by Rudy Ramirez

The Austin Bike Zoo cordially invites you to pedal on down to Republic Square Park and Brush Square for a circus-commedia-gender-bending-Midsummer-Night's-Dream-for-the-whole-family . . . ON BIKES!

starring Haydee Antunano, Caleb Britton, Cassidy Browning, Jennifer Davis, Trey Deason, Isaac Gomez, Shannon Grounds, Harrison Harvey, Mindy Rast-Keenan, Karen Rodriguez, Justin Scalise, Harley Jacob Schmalz and Melissa Vogt-Patterson

featuring Sky Candy performers Celeste Bliss, Chelsea Laumen and Joanna Wright and original music by Bruce Salmon and The Inheritance!

REPUBLIC SQUARE PARK SHOWS (5th and Guadalupe):
Thursday, May 24th
Saturday, May 26th
Thursday, May 31st
Saturday, June 2nd
Sunday, June 3rd

BRUSH SQUARE SHOW (5th and Neches):
Friday, June 1st

All shows start at 7:30pm and are ABSOLUTELY FREE!

We are also seeking VOLUNTEERS to be bike riders and fairy extras! People of all ages can apply! Contact austinbikezoo@gmail.com for more information!

The Austin Bike Zoo is dedicated to creating human-powered performances that enliven urban green-spaces and celebrate the most energy-efficient mode of transportation ever invented. http://www.austinbikezoo.org/

Upcoming: The Physicists by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Vortex Summer Youth Production, July 22 - 30

Found on-line:

VORTEX Repertory Company Summer Youth Theatre presents

The Physicists

by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

directed by Rudy Ramirez

Vortex Repertory, 2307 Manor Road (click for map)

July 22 - 30, Thursdays - Sundays, 8 p.m.

Sliding scale, $15 - $30; tickets available on-line at the Vortex website

This summer VORTEX’s 20th annual Summer Youth Theatre presents The Physicists, a dark comedy written in 1961 by Swiss playwright, Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Three mad scientists--Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Johann Wilhelm Möbius--hold court in an insane asylum atop the Swiss Alps. As nurses begin turning up dead, a police inspector and a venerated psychiatrist join forces to find the cause. Is it the ghost of King Solomon? Is it Möbius's revolutionary theory, the Principle of Universal Discovery? Or is it the simple truth that what has been thought can never be unthought? Written under the threat of nuclear war and now produced in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, The Physicists provides an opportunity for the students of SYT to tackle science, politics, and ethics while telling a story that will make audiences laugh out loud before it chills them to the bone.

The Physicists is directed by Rudy Ramirez, VORTEX director, actor, and performance artist. Mr. Ramirez recently directed VORTEX’s production of Lear. He has directed numerous other projects including Wheels of Wonderland for the Austin Bike Zoo and Trey Deason’s play Cardigan. His one-man shows and writing have received accolades around town. He recently received his MA from the University of Texas in Performance as Public Practice and additionally holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon. Costume Design by Talena Martinez. Lighting Design by Patrick Anthony. Sound Design by Sergio R. Samayoa.

The Physicists features an outstanding young cast including VORTEX SYT veterans Xander Slay-Tamkin , Anissa McVea, Cassidy Timms, Josh Braun, Hannah Lyllith Newcomer, Rio Esquivel, Felipe Ramirez, and Martin Ramirez. Introducing Hunter Archield-Cupit, Molly Bentley, Emma Blaw, Taylor Cruse, Lois Durant, Sean Eure, O’tavian Fitzgerald, Maria Leuzinger, Nikaela Valentina Roe Sainz, Harley Jacob Schmalz, and Eric Spears.

The Vortex Summer Youth Theatre has mentored hundreds of Central Texas students, teaming them with adult professionals to create many award-winning productions of great world literature including You Can’t Take It With You, R.U.R., Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, The Visit, Vitriol and Violets: Tales from the Algonquin Round Table, Machinal, The Frogs, and Moby Dick.

SYT 2010 provides students with experiences in all aspects of theatre including acting, technical theatre, and publicity. Rehearsals and workshops are free to all participants. Summer Youth Theatre is funded in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, the City of Austin under the auspices of the Austin Arts Commission, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Images by Kimberley Mead: Lear, Vortex Repertory, May 20 - June 18

Images by Kimberley Mead:

presents

Lear

by William Shakespeare in a new adaptation by Rudy Ramirez

starring Jennifer Underwood

directed by Rudy Ramirez

May 20 - June 18

Thursdays - Sundays at 8 p.m.

Vortex Repertory, 2307 Manor Rd. (click for map)

(Jennifer Coy as Regan, Suzanne Balling as Cordelia)

In an age when women hold more power and in a time when the media turns the private into the public a mother divides her empire among her daughters. As her world crumbles and her family turns its back on her, can she face the storm and find love, forgiveness, and peace? A Celtic legend made into a Renaissance masterpiece, The VORTEX now re-imagines William Shakespeare's King Lear as a female leader for the modern world, where globalization blurs the line between governments and corporations and names like Clinton, Palin, Thatcher, Stewart, Wintour, and Winfrey have inspired admiration, contempt and controversy. Jennifer Underwood leads a cast of Austin's finest actors in a story of gender and power, family and business, compassion and betrayal.

Click to view additional images by Kimberley Mead at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .

Short Take: Lear by Shakespeare, Vortex Repertory, May 20 - June 18

Short take:

The Vortex version of Lear features several accomplished Austin actors, including most notably Jennifer Underwood in the title role, but director Rudy Ramirez trivializes Shakespeare's great epic of royal folly and delusion. Lear's rage against the storm is converted into a confused confrontation with paparazzi, and key narration is projected as sound-bites from MSNBC-style talking heads, proving that style can defeat substance. Cross-gender casting for the roles of Kent and Edda (Edgar) is puzzling; less so for Shannon Grounds as the Fool. Underwood doesn't really get going until the mad scene in Act IV, scene 6. Other standouts in the cast include Micah Goodding as the wily and wicked bastard Edmund, Jen Coy as Regan and Tom Truss as Cornwall. The last third or so of the production -- from the blinding of Gloucester onward -- has impact and conviction.

Upcoming: Footnotes for People Who Don't Speak Spanish, Rudy Ramirez, Vortex Repertory, April 8 - 10

Received directly:

The VORTEX presents

Footnotes for People Who Don’t Speak Spanish

Written by Rudy Ramirez

Performed by Rudy Ramirez and Beliza Torres Narvaez

When: April 8-10, 2011 at 8pm

Friday-Sunday for 3 nights only

Where: The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722

Free Parking. Bus Route. The Butterfly Bar with beer, wine, luscious desserts, and savory snacks.

Tickets: Sliding Scale $10-$25

Available at 512-478-LAVA (5282) or www.vortexrep.org

Do you feel sad? Are you looking for natural male enhancement? Still trying to shed those last 20 pounds? You just might need a prescription for LATINOL(tm), guaranteed to offer you a 100% authentic Latino experience. Or you might want to sit down and watch a queer Chicano figure out how to deal with the mission he was assigned at birth: to infiltrate white culture and aid his people in their struggle for equality! With the help of a Puerto Rican secret agent and two Mexican grandmothers, he navigates through a world of Harry Potter, Jem and the Holograms and Sound of Music references to find a way to be an artist, a radical, a big ol' queen and a credit to his people (hint: plus-size vintage gowns help). Possible side effects may include laughter, political insight, the occasional sniffle, and drymouth.

This production was written by and stars Rudy Ramirez (Promised Land; A Radical Queer Revival) and features Beliza Torres Narvaez (Resabios de Amargura/The Bitter Cabaret).

Fresh from a successful run at the Cohen New Works Festival at the University of Texas, Rudy Ramirez brings his new show home to The VORTEX for 3 nights only.

Cardigan by Trey Deason, Purple Crayon Theatre at FF Long Fringe, January 20 - 29

Maybe a playwright shouldn't act in his own play. Unless, of course, he's one of those comedy yuksters who speaks directly to the audience and makes smartass observations about his own life exeriences and surroundings.

Trey Deason, the playwright, plays the lead character in Cardigan, a piece expanded from a well-received 2010 Short Fringe offering. His assumption of that identity may be disconcerting to those who have run into him in so-called real life.

Deason is reticent, polite and quiet almost to a fault, at least with those whom he doesn't know well. As Edgar Cardigan, writer, arriving to lecture to us for a class in creative writing, he's emphatic, dismissive, vulgar and as hopped-up as if he were on speed. One is tempted to suppose that this is a portrait of Deason's Evil Twin, a sort of exercise in personal psychodrama. The writer is writing about a writer who is quickly revealed as a compulsive fabricator, and most of what follows is demonstration both of misogyny and misanthropy.

Perhaps director Rudy Ramirez shouldn't have allowed Cardigan to have have snarled so quickly and viciously at Angelia Davis, the actress planted in the audience to play the student. Perhaps Deason should have done breathing exercises so that his character would be less twitchy at the start. Or perhaps just have entrusted the role to another actor.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

re:Psyche, Secondhand Theatre at the Blue Theatre, June 23 - July 18

Secondhand Theatre's re:Psyche, playing at the Blue Theatre until July 18, reminds me of a Swiss circus.

In late spring and summer, medium-sized towns and villages in the Swiss mountains awaken to find a weathered Little Top has appeared on a vacant municipal lot, surrounded by a miscellany of campers and caravans. The troupe rarely numbers more than ten performers, perhaps with three or four musicians. Practised professionals, they are initiates in make-believe, gymnastics and glitter. They stay for a week or ten days, then fold their tent and disappear.

The seven actors in re:Psyche have the same mysterious resilience and commitment. Five of the actors and three of the tech staff established ties in UT's MFA programs for theatre arts, where Re:Psyche began as "an experiment in movement-based ensemble-created work." Jenny Connell's script with chracters from the legend of Psyche, that mortal woman who involuntarily enchanted Eros (Cupid), became an offering at the Mark Cohen New Play Festival in 2009, voted "Best of Fest." UT sponsored an additional staging in 2009, much appreciated.

Now, with further reworking, cast changes and the addition of eerie, effective music by Austin string minimalists Mother Falcon, the troupe has set up its metaphorical tent as Secondhand Theatre, at the Blue Theatre building, that odd patch behind the Goodwill warehouse at 916 Springdale Road.

I suggest that you get over there and take it in before the group disperses. These folks are serious, comic, and seriously entertaining.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: R.A.W. Theatre, Vortex Repertory, First Tuesdays

Found on-line:

Vortex Repertory Company presents

R.A.W. Theatre

Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 7 p.m. … and continuing the first Tuesday of every month
The Vortex Café, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722
FREE Admission

R.A.W. Theatre: The Resident Artists' Workshop
R.A.W. Theatre provides a chance for Vortex artists--those who are currently resident artists, company alumni, and those who have participated in a show within the past year--to perform work in front of a friendly audience before premiering onstage. This monthly event--part workshop, part open-mic, part good excuse to get together outside of rehearsal--is meant to develop new work, foster collaboration, and provide Vortex artists a forum to share their talents.

We invite:

* Playwrights who want to do readings or stagings of scenes from works-in-progress.
* Performance Artists and Songwriters who want to try out new pieces.
* Singers and Musicians who want to practice recital or audition pieces.
* Actors who want to practice audition pieces or participate in readings and stagings.

Audiences who want to see a sneak preview from Vortex artists and who want to support The Vortex with applause for its performers and a drink at the café.

Bring your art, bring your friends, bring yourselves, bring it on!

For more information call the Vortex at 512-478-5282 or contact Rudy Ramirez at notoriousrrz@gmail.com

Vortex Repertory Company is funded and supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Upcoming: Promised Land by Rudy Ramirez, Allgo at the New Movement Theatre, December 4-5, 11-12

Found on-line:




the state organization
for queer people of color
presents

Promised Land

A Radical Queer Revival: One boy’s search for love, liberation and a working toilet in the Appalachian woods
Written and Performed by Rudy Ramirez
Directed by Bree Perlman
Dec 4-5, 11-12 (Fri-Sat) at 8 p.m. at The New Movement: 1819 Rosewood Ave, Austin, TX
Recommended Donation: $5-$10
Talk back facilitated by allgo on December 11

Promised Land is the story of one queer Latino boy’s search for love, liberation, and a working toilet in the Tennessee woods. After years spent looking for romance in the wilderness of San Francisco, Austin performer Rudy Ramirez traveled to Radical Fairyland, a haven for the queerest of the queer in the Appalachian mountains. The following 24 hours changed his life forever. Now he’s taking audiences with him (don’t worry, it’s only an hour this time) to experience the vegan pot pie dinners, radical queer ninjas, freezing cabins, mountains covered in vanilla frosting, a store called Gay Identities ‘r’ Us, and, most terrifying of all, outhouses. It’s a story of finding yourself–and maybe even someone to make out with–in the most unlikely of places.


Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

The Secret Lives of the InBetweeners, Vortex Repertory, February 6 - March 7

Aaron Brown's musical at the Vortex benefits from a strong cast, Bonnie Cullum's assured direction, and a bouncy score, well executed by a five-piece band including piano, keyboard, guitar/bass, drums and a cello. You can relax and laugh, sympathize with the dilemmas of poor Joe (Jonathan G. Itchon, below) and his acquaintances, and generally have a good time.

But as for those Inbetweeners -- they seem to be the target audience for this piece, folks of university age or just beyond, who are likely to sympathize with an aspiring artist suffocated by the selfish embrace of his horrible mother (Jennifer Coy, seen only in silhouette, even during the curtain call).

This is plotting by the numbers. Central character Joe is frustrated artist who flees vulnerable woman photographer Tina (Sarah Gay) who's powerfully attracted to him ; comic relief is hairy geek Waldo (!) (Trey Deason) who lives in a computer game dream world but falls for a sassy, self-assured blonde, Charlotte (Jo Beth Henderson). Joe is putting on a play featuring Charlotte, so geek Waldo insinuates himself into rehearsals as the prop manager. Tender Tina obsesses over Joe, asks Charlotte for advice, has her telephone messages to Joe erased by the wicked Mom.

Okay, we could probably work with that. But what comes along then? A mephistophelian figure Fear (Rudy Ramirez) in black clothing, mascara, and black lipstick, balanced by Hope, a sort of happy urban gypsy played by Betsy McCann.

Let's review the Greatest Writing Clichés once again: #1, "It Was All Just A Dream"; #2, "He Dies and Goes to the Afterlife and Gets Another Chance"; and now this one: #3, "Indecisive Human Has a Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other, and the Supernatural Guys Make A Bet on Temptation and Salvation."

In all this mess, the most interesting character is None of the Above.

Errich Petersen (right) as Harry is probably meant to be the real-life devil. In a coffee shop he overhears the girls dramatizing Tina's plight and he intrudes, coming on to Tina with the casual assertion that she should pay attention to a real man. They expostulate and leave, but Tina comes back for her forgotten cell phone, and she's hooked. Harry is rich, or he pretends to be; he is out for a good time; and when Tina gets knocked up, bad old Harry urges her to turn to "a doctor that my parents have."

One problem with this stereotype is the actor. Errich Petersen is simply too credible for the character. He doesn't camp it up, so we can hiss him; he has good control over himself, his emotions, and his singing. I wound up thinking that the whole musical would have been a lot more interesting if it had been written about Harry. Oh, sure, give him a tough love lesson; but that would be a better dénouement than the one we get -- Joe finally storms out of Mommy's house to seek his fortune and Tina finds him for Instant Happiness.

Okay, maybe that's too cranky a summary of these goings on. I will confess that I'm far beyond the age of the Inbetweeners, so maybe that's why a predator is more attractive than a martyr.

Every one of these actors is talented and they give their all. Never mind me. Go and have a good time, cut 'em some slack. Especially if you're an Inbetweener!

Joey Seiler's review on the Statesman Austin360 blog, February 9.

Pre-production interviews by Priscilla Totiyapungprasert of the Daily Texan, published February 12

KUT.org audio piece published February 16

Review by Ryan E. Johnson on Austin.com, February 18