Hot Nights: George Feydeau's "Ladies' Man" together with Adrian and the Sickness
April 25th, 2013
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 show will be accompanied by Adrian and the Sickness. The Exchange Artists’ Bridget Farr directs.
Short Play. Long Set. Big Party.
Artists:
Direction: Bridget Farr
Production: Bridget Farr and Rachel Wiese
Featuring: Adrian and the Sicknes, Vanessa Marie, and Briana Miller McKeague
Hot Nights: Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy" together with Language Room
January 31st, 2013
Odets' Golden Boy is Joe Bonaparte, a concert violinist who gives up his music for boxing and its 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 passionate but doomed relationship play out against the backdrop of the 1930s New York Boxing Scene. The scenes are tied to and carried by the music and creative sounds of Language Room. There will be violence.
Short Play. Long Set. Big Party.
Artists:
Direction: Rachel Wiese
Production: Bridget Farr and Rachel Wiese
Featuring: Language Room (Todd Sapio, Scott Graham, Matt Graham, Sean Hill), Aaron Alexander, Akasha Banks Villalobos, John William Daley
Can Can: A 1940s Floor Show
November 13th and 15th, 2012
Brush off your three-piece suit or your sequined gown and step into a late 1940s floor show. Presented by The EXCHANGE ARTISTS and hosted by the inimitable Noel Gaulin, CAN CAN features song & dance numbers, tap dancing from Tapestry, Too and Romulus Linney’s short play of the same title, not to mention vintage music, costumes for all, themed drinks at the bar and the hottest dance floor in town. Performances are Tuesday and Thursday, November 13 and 15, 2012 at 8:00pm at Palm Door (or, as we like to call it, the “Palm D’Or”), 401 Sabine Street, Austin, TX. There will be a cash bar, and tickets are $15.00 or $25.00. A portion of all ticket sales will go to local charities Equality Texas and H.A.N.D. (Helping the Aging, Needy, and Disabled). Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com.
Artists:
Direction: Katie Richter
Production: Bridget Farr
Custom Millinery and Costume Design: Laura Del Villaggio
Hair Styling: Katie Scott
Featuring: Will Brittain, Bridget Farr, Jonathan Itchon, Michelle Keffer, and Cassie Stewart
The Man Who Planted Trees
October 4-20, 2012
The Exchange Artists are pleased to present THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES, a site-specific theatrical adaptation of Jean Giono’s allegorical tale, running October 4 – 20, Thursday through Sunday evenings at 7pm. The performance will take place both indoors and outdoors at Sparky Pocket Park with actors guiding the traveling audience throughout the space to witness the story unfold. Sparky Park is located at 3701 Grooms Street, Austin, TX 78705 just south of 38 ½ Street, two blocks west of Duval Street in the North University Neighborhood. Tickets are a suggested $15-$25 donation and can be reserved by emailing exchangeartists@gmail.com, calling (979) 255-8292, or online at brownpapertickets.com.
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES, an internationally beloved short story by French author Jean Giono, is a beautiful reminder of each individual’s responsibility and opportunity to be a steward of our natural resources. Set in Provence between 1913 and 1947, the story follows Elzeard Bouffier, a man who singlehandedly plants one hundred acorns every day for over thirty years. His perseverance and constancy in creation offer a meaningful contrast to the immense destruction that Jean, a young traveler to Provence, experiences during two world wars. Elzeard’s work is not only successful in restoring a desolate landscape through his labor, but in restoring hope to a people. The tale is 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, projected media, and the natural beauty of Sparky Park.
Artists:
Direction: Rachel Wiese
Adaptation: Katherine Craft
Original Score: Rohan Joseph
Projected Media: Katie Rose Pipkin
Production Team: Zac Crofford, Sara Harless, Jamie Urban
Featuring: Hildreth England, Alexander Hilary, Gene Menger, Vanessa Marie O’Brien, and Rommel Sulit.
Introducing Hot Nights: Chekhov's "The Bear" together with the Whiskey Shivers
August 30, 2012
The Exchange Artists are pleased to introduce Hot Nights, a new event series pairing short works of theatre with hot local bands. This inaugural event combines Anton Chekhov’s comical short play THE BEAR with the equally rollicking and always foot-stomping folk band THE WHISKEY SHIVERS. This one time only event will be Thursday, August 30th, 2012 at 9:00 pm at The Blackheart, 86 Rainey Street, Austin, TX, 78701. The doors will open at 8:00 pm. The cover is $5 at the door. Cash only.
The night will begin with a few songs from the band, which will lead directly into the THE BEAR, a 15-minute performance underscored by THE WHISKEY SHIVERS. Then there will be a short break to check out the specialty ‘Russian’ and ‘Bear’ themed drinks created by The Blacheart Bar, and after the break THE WHISKEY SHIVERS will play a full set of their rockin’, growlin’ foot-stompin’ fun. So what are Hot Nights? That’s easy! Short Play. Long Set. Big Party.
Artists
THE BEAR features:
Noel Gaulin as Grigory Stepanovitch Smirnov
Briana McKeague as Elena Popova
Doug Costello as Luka
The project was conceived by The Exchange Artists’ newest producing partner, Bridget Farr, and will be directed by Rachel Wiese.
The Wizard of Oz
A Bilingual Adaptation of Baum’s beloved book
May 2, 2012 9:00 pm
Exchange Artists’ Producing Artistic Director, Rachel Wiese, traveled to Castiglione Fiorentino to direct Texas A&M future teachers and their Italian middle school English language students in an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz that she wrote and also choreographed. This collaboration between Texas A&M, Dante Schola Media and all of the teachers, students and their families proved that theatre really is a fantastic vehicle for teaching language. The Italian English students performed their roles and sang in English, and the Americans performed in Italian. A true exchange!
World Theatre Day 2012
The Exchange Artists and Cambiare Productions host Austin’s Celebration
March 27, 2012 7:00 pm
World Theatre Day was founded in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute to unify and empower theatre artists around the globe. Each year, a renowned theatre artist is asked to write a message to the global theatre community. The 2012 WTD Message was written by John Malkovich and was read aloud by Austin’s Kathryn Rogers at The Vortex Theatre and Butterfly Bar. Austin theatre artists were also filmed participating in The Theatre Communications Group’s video series called I AM THEATRE.
The Order of the Elm
An Interactive Play for the End of the World
December 11, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Don, leader of THE ORDER OF THE ELM, has had a vision that the world will end on December 11, 2011 and has offered protection to all who are willing to join The Order before the final moment arrives. He invites you to save yourself by coming to the Omni Austin Hotel Southpark to survive the apocalypse and wait for his next vision. Tickets are $15-$25 and are available at brownpapertickets.com. This is a one time only event and tickets must be purchased in advance.
Artists:
THE ORDER OF THE ELM features Arthur Simone as Don, with Kelli Bland, Bastion Carboni, Katherine Craft, Bridget Farr, Emily Kennedy, Donner Maldonado, Erin Meyer, Todd Pate, Katie Richter, Rachel Wiese, and Georgia Young.
The Story Seekers
March 25 - April 10, 2011
A site-specific show created for the grounds of The Elisabet Ney Museum, The Story Seekers transforms Hyde Park’s landmark castle into the setting of a dark, surreal drama with actors leading the audience throughout the grounds as the story unfolds around them. A band of children live as prisoners in a timeless, alternate world, trapped by the power of a ruthless storyteller. Only when a young princess flees her comfortable castle after a bloody revolution and finds herself snared in the storyteller’s world do the children find hope of escape. The Story Seekers explores the power that stories have to create and control reality: In a world where freedom means the power to tell your own story, how do you remember the right words to say?
Learn more about the development of The Story Seekers on The Exchange Artists' BLOG.
Artists:
Director/Creator: Rachel Wiese
Playwright/Creator: Katherine Craft
Cast/Collaborators: Karen Alvarado, Isaac Arrieta, Travis Bedard, Kelli Bland, Jen Brown, Bastion Carboni, Bridget Farr, Emily Kennedy, Steffanie Ngo-Hatchie, Mindy Rast, Karina Dominguez Smith, and Frederic Winkler with guides Trey Deason, Jonathon Itchon, Shannon Martin Quisenberry and Rachel Wiese
Costume Design: Katherine Craft
Stage Management: Lana Marks
Media:
Press:
Feature by Samantha Picthel at austinist.com including interview and photos March 26, 2010
Review by Cate Blouke at Statesman’s Austin 360 “Seeing Things” blog March 29, 2010
Review by Elizabeth Cobbe for The Austin Chronicle March 31, 2010
Review by Michael Meigs at austinlivetheatre.com April 4, 2010
Review by Ryan E. Johnson at examiner.com April 7, 2010
Spect-Actor: World Theatre Day
March 27, 2010
In 1961 The International Theatre Institute designated an annual World Theatre Day, and The Exchange Artists teamed up with the Greater Austin Creative Alliance to organize a city-wide celebration in Austin, TX called SPECT-ACTOR. On Saturday, March 27, theatre artists took to the streets, busses, shops, parks and fountains of Austin to perform random acts of theatre for unsuspecting audiences as participants in SPECT-ACTOR. Random acts of theatre took place between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. in various locations around Austin followed by a 7:00 p.m. party at the ACoT Studio, 701 Tillery Street Austin, TX. The evening's highlights included a reading of Judy Dench's International World Theatre Day message by KenWebster (Artistic Director, Hyde Park Theatre), a State of the Arts in Austin address by Robert Faires (arts editor, The Austin Chronicle) and a screening of captured video of the day's random acts of theatre. Cambiare Productions streamed the event live online, linking Austin to World Theatre Day Celebrations around the globe.
Click here for SPECT-ACTOR archive.
Press:
Feature by Dan Solomon for austinist.com December 18, 2009
Feature by Robert Faires for The Austin Chronicle March 26, 2010
