Upcoming: The Creation of the World by Arthur Miller, Round About Players, UT, April 16 - 18

Noted at UT and found on-line:

The Creation of the World and Other Business
by Arthur Miller

Presented by Round About Players
April 16 - 18, Utopia Theatre, UT School of Social Work, 6:30 p.m.

As one of Arthur Miller's only comedies, this parody about Adam and Eve, their humorous sexual tension, and the relationship between God and Lucifer inspires conversation about life, love, sex, murder, religion, humanity, and so much more.

Whether you are interested in religious history, the follies of mankind, or the natural, comedic bickering between man and woman, this play will affect you. Creation evokes emotion, provokes opinions, and sparks contemplation, as the plot subjectively reaches out to the audience. Arthur Miller makes several social and political statements about mankind by paralleling the story of Adam and Eve, as a way to relate humanity. Though Creation is a controversial & theatrical piece of history, the play remains applicable to every audience member, regardless of religious preference or practice. We're excited to present this lesser known masterpiece, and we hope you all enjoy the show as much as we do!

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

The End?: Austin Drama Club and Geppetto Dreams

Received directly, news that:

• Officials of the City of Austin have ordered Japhy Fernandes and associates in the informal Austin Drama Club to stop offering public performances at the frame house just off E. 7th Street that they've been using since 2003. Last night Fernandes informed the cast, who had been preparing Romeo and Juliet for three weekends of performances beginning April 15. Prospects are dim and uncertain for this underground, underfunded and underappreciated group of Shakespeare lovers.(UPDATE, April 7: The City of Austin has handled this in a very cool way. . . .There is a ray of hope that we might find a new space. Maybe by the fall we'll be doing shows again. [No further information])

• Ricki Vincent is disbanding the Geppetto Dreams puppet company performance troupe. He writes, "After much soul searching and some craziness I can’t go into just yet, I've decided to disband our performance troupe. I'll be taking down the website Geppettodreams.com at the end of May and since there doesn't seem to be light at the end of the funding tunnel I will most likely be closing Geppetto Dreams at the end of this year… That being the case, a lot of our puppets from past shows are for sale. Some are up on E-bay for auction. Others are here at a set price if you'd like to haggle. All these puppets were made with a lot of care & love and are for sale cheap-cheap-cheap! So check it out and see if there's anything you can use for your shows... Also I still will be building/ writing/designing custom shows and single puppets for other people so if you don't see anything you like let me know what you're looking for and i'll build it just for you... The only limits are your Imagination... Oh... And your budget. For those who wish to keep up with my art or need to contact me at admin AT geppettodreams.com or just go to my Youtube Channel."

Images by Bret Brookshire: City of Angels, St. Edward's University, April 8 - 18

Click for ALT review, April 13


Received directly: Bret Brookshire's images for St. Edward's University's 'film noir' musical:

City of Angels runs April 8 - 18, 2010 at Mary Moody Northen Theatre, St. Edward's University. Performances Thursday - Saturday evenings at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM. Added show Wednesday, April 14 at 7:30 PM is student night with 1/2 price student tickets.

Directed by Michael McKelvey and featuring Equity guest artists Sarah Gay, Jamie Goodwin and David Long. Tickets through the MMNT Box Office at 448-8484.

Image: David Long as Stone (by Brett Brookshire)

Click to view additional image and larger versions at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Patrick Kniseley Profiles New Arts Venues in Round Rock

Found on-line: Patrick Kniseley's feature at Austinist.com about Penfold Theatre and improv locale The Lair, both opening soon to complement Round Rock's long running venture the Sam Bass Community Theatre:

What's Up With Round Rock Arts?

{. . . ][T]hings may be changing in Austin's neighbor to the north, Round Rock.

In 2000, according to the census, there were slightly more than 60,000 people in Round Rock. Today the city estimates just under 100,000 residents. With this kind of population growth one can expect to see industries and communities of all kinds flourish, and that includes the arts. Round Rock has been home to the Sam Bass Community Theater since the early 1980s, but outside of that venue, there hasn't been much in the way of live theater in Round Rock.

That starts changing today, however. The Lair, founded by improv enthusiast Alex Gray, opens its doors tonight at I-35 and Gattis School Road. And what's more, Penfold Theatre Company is getting ready to launch a second Round Rock-based theater within the year. Austinist caught up with some of our neighbors to the north to find out—what's going on up in Round Rock?

So why are the people at The Lair and Penfold Theatre Company interested in doing theater in Round Rock instead of Austin? According to Penfold's Ryan Crowder, "There's a window here. There's a hole."

Read full text at Austinist.com . . . .

Rubber Repertory Seeks Candidates for 'Your Life,' Interviews April 23 - 25

Received directly:

[photo by Marjory Collins]







Calling all self-aware sensualists!
Calling all erudite explorers of their own existence!
Calling all those who submit to solipsism!

Rubber Repertory wants to give you an extraordinary experience: the chance to have an entire show based on YOUR LIFE. On April 23rd-25th, the gentlemen of RR will be conducting dozens of 10-minute interviews to select a subject for a new work that will premiere at Salvage Vanguard Theatre in October. They'll ask you some questions, tell you some secrets, and administer a few simple tests that won't hurt a bit. A handful of finalists will be invited back later in the week for a more rigorous examination, and then one lucky person will be selected to have their pains/pleasures made abstract/immortal.

Please bring:
your oldest article of clothing
a sample from a journal or diary entry
something that smells like you (will not be returned)
a donation to support the development of the show

Appointment times:
April 23: 6 p.m. -10 p.m.; April 24: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; April 25: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Interviews by appointment at Salvage Vanguard Theatre: rubberrep@gmail.com

PROUDLY PART OF THE 2010 and 2011 FUSEBOX FESTIVAL.
--
www.rubberrep.org
www.fuseboxfestival.com
www.salvagevanguard.org

Waiting for Godot, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, March 26 - April 10

Director Veronica Prior took on the job of directing this classic piece of twentieth century theatre despite some misgivings. She writes in the program, "I studied this play in college, as many of us did. I have seen several different productions over the years, and wondered what was wrong with me, that I just didn't 'get it.' I am a simple person, not a philosopher. To be honest, I know very little of the 'isms' that others see in this play. I see a story. A good story, and one that has something for each of us to hear."

This production proves her wrong. Ronnie Prior does "get it." This is a notable staging, an exploration in airy, droll and quizzical comic mode. Actors and director do not flinch from Beckett's dark message, but they glide through it, moment by moment, with a tolerance for ambiguity and for one another.

This text from the 1950s, written first in French and later converted by the author into English, has provoked endless debte and discussion. Martin Esslin used it to push the thesis of his book The Theatre of the Absurd. Vivien Mercier wrote a famous review in the Irish Times calling it "a play in which nothing happens, that yet keeps audiences glued to their seats. What's more, since the second act is a subtly different reprise of the first, he has written a play in which nothing happens, twice." And if you want a summary and a long taste of the "-isms" eagerly applied to the play, spend some time with the entry in Wikipedia.

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

Reviews from Elsewhere: Robert Faires on the Rude Mechanicals' Method Gun at Humana Festival

Published by the Austin Chronicle on April 1:

Humana Festival of New American Plays

How Austin looked on the national stage

by Robert Faires

[. . . ] This latest Method Gun – the "10% sadder version," claims playwright Kirk Lynn – played in a 160-seat black box with audience on three sides, and whether it was that space's heightened intimacy, my own familiarity with the material, or a tightening of the show, the Humana staging moved me more than any version I'd seen. Cast members Thomas Graves, Hannah Kenah, Lana Lesley, Jason Liebrecht, and Shawn Sides keep getting deeper under the skins of the misfit disciples of acting guru Stella Burden, who, after she abandons them, question what they've learned and how to finish the project they've been rehearsing for nine years: a version of A Streetcar Named Desire that omits Blanche, Stanley, Stella, and Mitch. The Method Gun has always struck me as being more about how to live than how to act – whenever its characters express anxiety about behaving the right way "onstage," I hear "in the world" – and that hits home more poignantly with each viewing. [. . .]

Read full review at AustinChronicle.com . . . .