LIVE Developmental Reading
of
The River of Haircuts
by Kyle John Schmidt, playwright of THE SECRETARY
When a supernatural phenomenon is discovered outside of a small town, the local government must act before the tourists come to tear them apart. A serious play about civic duty in the face of a river that cuts hair.
Participate in the chat during the reading! | Talkback to immediately follow with cast & creatives!
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Cast: Dana Lau, Bob Jones, Ben Bazan, Joy Cunningham, Sam Mandelbaum, and Sarah Danko.
Director: Jenny Lavery | Livestream Support: Blake Addyson, Jenny Hanna Chambers
READING DETAILS:
THE RIVER OF HAIRCUTS
Tuesday, November 17th at 8:00 PM
FREE with RSVP
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DANCE NATION
DANCE NATION
Regional Premiere Production by Clare Barron
2019 Pulitzer Prize Finalist
“I want you to think about all the people in the world who are suffering… And I want you to go out there… And I want you to dance for them.”
—Dance Teacher Pat
Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. And if their new routing is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at the Boogie Down Grand Prix in Tampa Bay. But in Clare Barron’s raucous pageant of ambition and ferocity, these young dancers have more than choreography on their minds, because every plié and jeté is a step toward finding themselves, and a fight to unleash their power.
*****
“Critic’s Pick! A blazingly original play from the insanely talented Clare Barron. Marvel at how close what you see cuts to the bone.”
—BEN BRANTLEY, The New York Times
*****
“I have seen the future, and it is Dance Nation.”
—PETER MARKS, The Washington Post
PRE-TEEN ARMY. HERE TO SLAY.
PRODUCTION DETAILS:
DANCE NATION @ the Long Center
August 29 - September 15 | THREE WEEKS ONLY!
Wednesday - Sunday at 8pm
Pre-show entertainment begins in the lobby starting at 7:15pm.
Optional Talkbacks follow every performance with the cast and creative team.
Artwork on display in the lobby will center on ‘Coming of Age’
ARTISTS INVOLVED
Starring: Amy Downing*, Sarah Danko, Giselle Marie Muñoz, Dennis Bailey*, Michael Galvan, Katy Atkinson, Whitney Abraham, Susan Myburgh, and Elise Jacobs*, Directed by: Jenny Lavery
Dance Nation—winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, The Relentless Award, and 2019 Pulitzer Prize Finalist—is a ferocious exploration of youth, ambition and self-discovery. There will also be Optional Talk Backs regarding ambition, the messiness of growing up, and how women are taught to claim or subvert their power following each performance.
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WORLD OF WEE!
Upcoming Wee! Shows:
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Last ONSTAGE:
UNTIL THE FLOOD
by Dael Orlandersmith
REGIONAL PREMIERE
STARRING FLORINDA BRYANT
From Pulitzer Prize finalist, Dael Orlandersmith comes an extraordinary theatrical event that explores the reactions of the St. Louis region to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. After conducting hundreds of interviews, Orlandersmith crafted a stunning play featuring eight real-life characters, all with unique and interesting perspectives. These stories reflect a range of human experiences – the drive to forward one’s prospects with education, the innate need to protect our loved ones from the harsh realities of the world and the urge to seek answers to life’s biggest questions. The result is a theatrical mosaic of diverse voices that explores how a community heals and grows together.
"Both eye-opening and quietly moving" - VARIETY
"Dazzling...mesmerizing piece of theatre that I consider required viewing!" - BROADWAY WORLD
"A great public service...she brings the questions,the pain, and even the unspeakable thoughts of hundreds, if not millions to life. Until the Flood is an urgent moral inquest." - THE NEW YORK TIMES
Nightly Optional Talk Backs regarding race relations, impacts of trauma on a community, and self-protection following each performance.
Until the Flood features Florinda Bryant, in a one-woman powerhouse performance.
closing out the 2017-2018 season...
CRY IT OUT
Who should cry it out?
Cry It Out takes an honest look at the absurdities of being home with a baby, the power of female friendship, the dilemma of going back to work, and the effect class has on parenthood in America.
Cooped up on maternity leave and starved for conversation, Jessie invites her forthright neighbor Lina, also a new mom, for coffee on the patio between their duplexes. Despite their vastly different finances, they become fast friends during nap times—while someone watches from the mansion on the cliff overlooking Jessie’s yard.
3 women. 3 Different backgrounds. 1 shared struggle.
STARRING:
Lee Eddy, Christin Davis*, and Ben Wolfe*
“Comic gold…finely written!”
"Tender, revealing and incisive."
“…a deeply felt drama that takes audiences on an emotional roller-coaster ride that whipsaws through laughs, poignant tears and moments of monumental rage…”
“Whip-smart!”
Winner of Scriptworks' Finer Point Funding
supporting the
WORLD PREMIERE
of
THE SECRETARY
by local playwright, Kyle John Schmidt
presented by Theatre en Bloc and The Long Center
Who should own a gun?
The Secretary is an offbeat comedy about safety, love, and guns in a world that's up in arms.
When an elderly secretary at the local high school confronts a threat in her office with six bullets, the local gun company responds by naming their latest gun after the reluctant hero: The Secretary. But as production begins on The Secretary, guns start going off all around town—and no one’s pulling the trigger.
6 women. 1 office. Lots of feelings.
STARRING:
Amber Quick, Babs George*, Liz Beckham, Susan Myburgh, Elise Ogden*, and Regan Goins
Past seasons
here's where we've been:
2011:
American Bear by Larry Mitchell
New Work - Best Lighting Design
American Bear is a play about how we define home and family during family crisis. Is family forever? When isn't blood thicker than water?
It's the journey of two brothers, Eddie and Jules, who are struggling in the wake of their parents’ untimely death. Eddie, who has been gone for many years, returns to the boys' childhood home for the funeral with his new fiancée, Lonnie, in tow. As the three work through the history of family strife, it is more than sibling rivalry that comes between the two brothers.
Central Texas Live Theatre Review
"There's an integrity to Mitchell's portrayal of these characters. He neither apologizes for them nor caricatures them."
"Jenny Lavery just breaks your heart. Her Lonnie is simple, watchful, a sweet guarded thing with a tentative smile."
2012:
Just Outside Redemption by Dennis Bailey & David Mixner
New Work - Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor
"Dennis Bailey's Just Outside Redemption as staged by Jenny Lavery and Derek Kolluri of Theatre en Bloc wears its heart on its sleeve and it's as pure an example of theatre as community as any that I've come across."
"Just Outside Redemption is painful to watch which is exactly why you should see it. Hate crimes are driven by emotion, not rationality. Just Outside Redemption makes you understand that."
Theatre en Bloc, partnered with Equality TX, proudly presented the world premiere of JUST OUTSIDE REDEMPTION which dramatizes the personal, professional and political sacrifices involved in the fight for inclusive hate crimes legislation in the Lone Star State in the 1990s. Based on actual events and set in the city where it all happened, Austin, TX, JOR is an honest and emotional observation of Dianne Hardy Garcia’s journey to include sexual orientation in a bill that would eventually become the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act. This legislation was the precursor to the National Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The story is a triumphant reflection of how government can enact laws that ultimately bend the course of history toward justice.
Austin Chronicle Review, Burnt Orange Review, CTX Review
2013:
Violet Crown: Dog's Town (New Work - Best of Frontera Fest)
Violet Crown: Dog's Town
Austin is a Place: You Are Here (New Work - Best Theatrical Event)
Fat Pig (Best Drama, Best Director, Best Lead Actor)
2014:
Violet Crown: Salamander Down (New Work - Best of Frontera Fest)
Bethany (Best Drama, Best Director, Best Fight Choreography)
Cock (Best Cast, Best Director, Best Production)
2015:
Jacob's Ladder
(World Premiere - Scriptworks Finer Point Funding Recipient)
2016:
Bright Half Life
The Totalitarians (Best Set Design)
The Drowning Girls
(Best Production, Best Cast, Best Director, Best Set Design, Best Light Design)
2017:
World of Wee! Wee Celebrate the Seasons (New Work - Pilot Production)
Neva
World of Wee!
2018:
The Secretary (New Work - World Premiere)
Cry It Out (Regional Premiere)
Until the Flood (Regional Premiere)
Good things come to those who wait.
Thank you for your patience.
OUR MISSION:
THEATRE EN BLOC CREATES AND SHARES ELEGANTLY RENDERED THEATRICAL EVENTS, BOTH NEW AND EXTANT, THAT COLLIDE WITH THE QUESTION:
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ALIVE
IN THE WORLD TODAY?
EVERYTHING WE CREATE
Theatre en Bloc creates theatrical events as a reaction to living in Austin, Texas, the United States, and the World. We’re interested in how an ever changing world affects people, how they react, and how they choose to make existence better or make it worse. Being human is an affliction and a gift. We hope our work plays some role in helping people make sense of the non-sense.
EXTRAORDINARY CRAFT
We're tireless in our pursuit of perfection. We push ourselves to be creative, innovative and entertaining. The result is top-notch work. Fail. Fail again. Fail better.
CULTURE OF COMPANY
More than collaboration - it's a state of being - an understanding between individual artists that our talents + ability to produce profound work are strengthened and nurtured when we work as a collective. Group think (and do).
COMING TOGETHER
Theatre is most effective when we're putting the right piece of work in front of the right people at the right time. Our work is never complete until you are a part of it.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU...
MAKE A DONATION:
VIA PHONE: 512-522-4083
VIA MAIL: AUSTIN CREATIVE ALLIANCE C/O THEATRE EN BLOC
81 SAN MARCOS ST. SUITE C1, AUSTIN, TX 78702