Sunday, February 11, 2018

FOXING Mi Casa

On Saturday, February 10th, 2018, my collaborators and I presented Foxing again, this time in the cozy environs of Jason Phelps' living room in Austin, Texas, as part of FronteraFest's program, "Mi Casa es su Teatro"-- a one-day event that presents live performances in people's homes and in found spaces across the city.

It was fun and instructive to see the play again in such a unique, intimate space, and, as always, a joy to witness the work of performers Errin Delperdang, Kelly Hasandras, and Olivia O'Hare, who continue to elevate the play off the page.

 "Mi Casa es su Teatro" took place in multiple locations in the Travis Heights neighborhood in South Austin.

Big thank yous to Errin, Kelly, and Olivia for keeping the play alive, to FronteraFest for its gifts to the city of Austin in the form of lovely coming-together events, and to the rest of the participants and audience who communed together on Saturday.

Aaron (Errin Delperdang), Charlie (Kelly Hasandras), and Beatrice (Olivia O'Hare). Hyde Park Theatre; Austin, TX.  Photo by Kelly O'Hare.


And thank you to Jason Phelps and Margery Segal (and Tiger and Lazer) for sharing their home with us!

Continued thank yous to ScriptWorks for their support of the play, and to Cumberland County College, who originally provoked me to write it.

much love,

ROMERO

Friday, February 09, 2018

BIG IRON FIRES FronteraFest

On Friday, February 9th, 2018, my experimental theatre project, Big Iron Fires, will play at Hyde Park Theatre in Austin, Texas, as part of the Short Fringe program of FronteraFest.

This is one way to describe the project:

"Gwen goes off-script so she can listen to you. Lost characters from a different play, a volunteer from the audience, a song, and a gun. We don't know everything that will happen."

In the time since I wrote this description, we've also added Country line-dancing, discovered even more layers and worlds, and kind of blown the lid off of my previous understanding of the play. 


Nina (Cristina Flores) and Gwen (Susan Myburgh) in Big Iron Fires.  Hyde Park Theatre: Austin, TX.  Photo by Mike Vernusky.

We are all very excited to share this work, and I am incredibly grateful to be working with this particular group of artists-- all of whom are talented, smart, generous, thoughtful, surprising, and have all been very brave in trying out some theatrically dangerous ideas.

Big thank yous to actors Susan Myburgh, Cristina Flores, and Brooks Laney; costume designer Stephanie Fisher; composer Mike Vernusky; and for help from Dan Caffrey.  Enormous thank yous to director Jess Shoemaker, whose idea it was to work on this play and who has stewarded a process that has been full of creative rewards and exciting moments of discovery and collaboration.  Thank you also to the University of Texas-Austin students who have participated in rehearsal, offering insights and productive questions.

And thank yous to the FronteraFest staff and crew, who are doing exhaustive work in making everything look and sound excellent, and for their grace and humor.

Continued thank yous to Gregory Johnson and Montana Repertory Theatre's "5 x 5 Playwriting Slam" project, for which this play was originally written.

much love,

ROMERO