Out of the Loop Fringe Festival 2016 Lineup Announced
By: Tyler Peterson Jan. 06, 2016
"WaterTower Theatre will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2016, and, the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival celebrates its 15th year too," said WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director Terry Martin. "The Festival has grown to become an integral part of our artistic vision and is a key artistic component that helps us fulfill our mission to offer diverse opportunities that inspire people to experience and embrace live theatre and the arts.
"The Festival has been host to more than 200 artists or organizations over its 15 year history," Martin continued. "Loop has a proud history of presenting new works and, a conservative estimate, shows that over the past 15 years, our festival has been home to approximately 75 world premieres. That's a pretty significant number and one of which our community can be very proud."
Twenty-three artists and/or performing arts organizations will participate in this year's Festival: Angie Bolling, Avant Chamber Ballet, Cattle Prod, Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet, Dance Linkages, Diana Sheehan, Ebony Stewart, Front Line Cabaret, Glass Half Full Theatre, Ian Ferguson, Ian Mead Moore, Goat Song Collective, Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, It Ain't Shakespeare, Jeff Lankov, Junior Players, Kris Noteboom, Lone Star Circus, One Word Revolution, Rite of Passage Theatre Company, Shakespeare Dallas, Vox Productions, and WaterTower Theatre.
Six world premieres will be presented at this year's Festival: Innovation Through Tradition; The Theatrical Piano; Diana Sheehan Sings: The Jerome Kern Songbook; With My Eyes Shut; I Love You Honey Bunny; Prospect High: Brooklyn.
An 11?day celebration of theatre, dance, music, and art, the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival features performances by arts organizations and artists from across the nation. Performances are held at the Addison Theatre Centre, in four performance venues: the Main Stage, the Studio Theatre, the Stone Cottage and the Main Lobby.
Single tickets to all events go on sale Feb. 9. Festival Passes, now on sale, include one admission to each Festival event and are $65. WaterTower Theatre subscribers receive $10 off each Festival pass. Individual ticket prices for each event are $10. Lobby performances are free. Loop passholders may make reservations starting February 2, 2016.
Tickets will be available online at www.watertowertheatre.org/outofloop.aspx, by phone at 972.450.6232, or in-person at the WaterTower Theatre Box Office located at the Addison Theatre Centre, 15650 Addison Road, Addison, Texas 75001.
Festival Passes are available at $65 ($55 for WaterTower Theatre Subscribers).
A pass includes one admission to each event. Loop pass holders may start making reservations on February 2 at 12 noon.
All individual event tickets are $10 per person, unless otherwise noted.
2016 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival Production Notes:
Angie Bolling, Visual Artist
Lobby: 2/25-3/6
Inspired by the colors & textures of Mexico, Mardi Gras, and folk-art from many cultures, Angie creates original mixed-media pieces. Strongly influenced by her Deep South roots and love of family & friends, her drive to create and share continues to open endless channels of expression in the various studio arts, needlework, decorating and design, art directing, writing, and teaching.
Avant Chamber Ballet
INNOVATION THROUGH TRADITION
Main Stage: 2/26 - 8 pm; 2/28 - 2 pm
Innovation Through Tradition is an evening of live music and innovative dance. The program features repertoire by Katie Cooper including a new one-act version of the classic ballet Raymonda, as well as Caracole and Memories of Change. The performance will be accompanied by a live orchestra which includes music by composers Glazunov, Prokofiev and Bach.
Cattle Prod
OH JESUS or AN ACTOR, A CYNIC AND A SAVIOR WALK INTO A BAR
Stone Cottage: 2/26 - 8 pm; 3/2 - 7.30 pm; 3/5 - 2 pm
A one-man show written and performed by John S. Davies and directed by Gene Ray Price, Oh Jesus or An Actor, A Cynic and A Savior Walk into a Bar is a dark comedy that explores the battle between our angels and our demons. Jesus (or, at least a guy who thinks he's Jesus...) has come back to try to make things right with his Dad (i.e. God). Dad is disappointed because Man (i.e. us) keeps screwing up. But this time, the resurrection will be live streamed via Go Pros so everyone can see and, finally, believe. The problem is Jesus needs to attract followers to handle the arrangements. The problem also is what if he's not Jesus? Plus, God keeps trying to control him and some cynic keeps interrupting him.
Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet
LE TRAIN BLEU
Main Stage: 2/25 - 8 pm; 2/27 - 2 pm
Le Train Bleu originally premiered on June 20, 1924 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. It was choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska for Serge Diaghilev's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. The libretto was by Jean Cocteau, music by Darius Milhaud, set designs were by Henri Laurens, curtain by Pablo Picasso, and costumes were designed by Coco Chanel. The title was taken from the night train called Le Train Bleu that transported wealthy passengers from Calais to the Mediterranean Sea; the ballet itself was set at the fashionable resort of Deauville. The ballet has a sporting theme, with swimmers, tennis players, and weight lifters and is a study on the wealthy youth of the time. Laurens supplied a Cubist beach scene, and Chanel outfitted the cast in sportswear. DNCB restaged this delightful ballet for the Dallas Museum of Art last June while collaborating with Zachary Broadhurst and Danny Skinner on set design and Kennetha Woods on costume design.
Dance Linkages
SOLA: WOMEN DANCING WOMEN
Main Stage: 2/25 - 7.30 pm; 2/27 - 2 pm
Dance Linkages is a project created by Andee Scott designed to build a contemporary network of artists connecting across disciplines to develop new work. SOLA: WOMEN DANCING WOMEN is an evening of solo dances created by and for women, featuring performances and choreography by Amy Chavasse, Tzveta Kassabova, Bliss Kohlmyer, Pamela Pietro, Andee Scott, and Mary Williford-Shade (performing choreography by Ursula Payne).
DIANA SHEEHAN SINGS: THE JEROME KERN SONGBOOK
Studio Theatre: 2/26 - 8 pm; 2/27 - 2 pm; 3/5 - 5 pm
Two-time "Best of Loop" Winner Diana Sheehan returns to the Festival this year with a world premiere cabaret show celebrating the legendary American composer Jerome Kern. Considered by many to be the father of the American Musical, Kern collaborated with the greatest lyricists of his day leaving us a treasure trove of some of the most gorgeous melodies ever written. Songs include: "All the Things You Are," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "A Fine Romance," "The Way You Look Tonight" and many others. Musical direction is by James McQuillen.
Ebony Stewart
HUNGER
Studio Theatre: 2/27 - 8 pm; 2/28 - 2 pm
Ebony Stewart is a performance artist and spoken word poet. She has been active in Texas slam poetry and the theatre arts community for over 10 years. Ebony is the only adult female three-time Slam Champion in Austin, Texas. She is a published author and her work has been featured in the Texas Observer, For Harriet and The Agenda: working for LGBT economic equality. In 2015, Ebony debuted her first one woman show, Hunger, at The Vortex Theatre. The show was nominated for a B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Original Script and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama. Hunger is an emotionally challenging performance piece - disturbing, moving, yet filled with wit, laughter and joy.
Front Line Cabaret
DOWN THAT ROAD
Stone Cottage: 2/27 - 8 pm; 3/4 - 8 pm; 3/6 - 2 pm
Front Line Productions is dedicated to presenting the art of cabaret. Front Line strives to close the literal and figurative gap between performer and audience allowing both an experience that is intimate, revealing and vulnerable. By eliminating the "fourth wall," a shared experience that is engaging, interactive and transformative becomes possible. Our goal is to put both performer and audience on the artistic front line where anything is possible.
Glass Half Full Theatre
MISSIONARY POSITION: PLEASURE JOURNEYS FOR THE INTREPID LADY EXPLORER
Stone Cottage: 2/25 - 7.30 pm; 2/27 - 5 pm; 2/28 - 2 pm
The Missionary Position: Pleasure Journeys for the Intrepid Lady Explorer is a comedic faux lecture series packed with physical comedy. Amelia Weatherbeaten (Caroline Reck) and Eleanor Dangerbottom (Cami Alys) are Victorian-era Lady Explorers and Spokeswomen for Hartmann's Hygenic Towellettes for Ladies, the first commercially available menstrual products for women. They travel around the world at the turn of the 19th century, hocking their products and lecturing hilariously on topics of interest to the Society of Learned Ladies, Where Ladies Share Knowledge with Ladies. (That's you.) They have arrived with their collection of travel curios to set you straight on what you thought you didn't think you needed to know. Part P.T. Barnum sideshow, part Victorian Geographical Salon, these ladies will offer a seat at their table but you won't stay in it for long. Anticipate a raucous, interactive, inventive evening that kicks the stuffing out of stuffy "period" theater.
Goat Song Collective
WITH MY EYES SHUT
Studio Theatre: 2/28 - 5 pm; 3/1 - 7.30 pm; 3/5 - 8 pm
Two people - who've been found to be on the autism spectrum - find themselves stuck in clown school to learn social skills. Naomi, a dance prodigy in her twenties, feels in colors and refuses to wear a clown nose. Cole, a percussion virtuoso, can recite a complete history of the xylophone, but won't meet your eyes. Measured against scales of social competence, they'll push the boundaries of compliance to find connection in an isolating world and shatter the complacency of the nameless faces and disembodied voices running the show. Goat Song Collective is a new theatre company of early-career and multidisciplinary theatre artists based in the Dallas area.
Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy
PROSPECT HIGH: BROOKLYN
Main Stage: 2/28 - 5 pm
Conceived by Daniel Robert Sullivan (Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys, Author of Places Please!) and co?written by a team of New York City teenagers, the play focuses on four intelligent, highly charged students and one seriously apathetic teacher. Prospect High: Brooklyn was created with the intent of offering a new collection of serious, true?to?life material for teenage actors. The play addresses themes of apathy, revenge, deep friendship, trans acceptance, casual racism, self?harm, and the power of both good and bad advice from teachers, all against the backdrop of an enormous Brooklyn high school. Prospect High: Brooklyn was developed in partnership with Roundabout Theatre and the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships. Prospect High: Brooklyn received a workshop presentation at Roundabout Theatre Company in April 2014.
Ian Ferguson, Guitarist
Lobby: 2/27 - 7 pm; 3/6 - 4pm
Ian Ferguson is a local actor and musician, originally from Amarillo, TX. He plays guitar, keys, and vocals for the Dallas band, Mur, as well as his band Veteran Children with his wife Aubrey - another local actor. Recent Dallas area theatre appearances from Ian include: Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play at Stage West, Bull at Second Thought Theatre and On The Eve at Theatre Three.
Ian Mead Moore, Guitarist
Lobby: 2/28 - 4pm; 3/5 - 7pm
Ian Mead Moore is a local DFW actor, singer, and musician. He currently plays bass and provides backing vocals for local band Pool Lights, and lead vocals/rhythm guitar for Angry Goblin. He dabbles in composition for the theatre, and arranges/accompanies on guitar for singers, along with teaching beginning/intermediate guitar. He has been seen onstage with Uptown Players, Shakespeare Dallas, Lyric Stage, Theatre Three, and in the recording booth at FUNmation.
It Ain't Shakespeare
PUN: A PLAY ON WORDS, A Staged Reading
Studio Theatre: 3/4 - 8 pm; 3/6 - 2 pm
Pun: A Play on Words is an energetic, meta-theatrical comedy following the desperate final rehearsal of a new play's staged reading in the minutes before its only public performance. As the clock ticks down, the Director's sanity shatters in a maelstrom of hilarious despair and the actors find themselves caught in an epic battle of wills between two unstoppable theatrical forces.
Jeff Lankov
THE THEATRICAL PIANO
Main Stage: 2/27 - 5 pm; 3/3 - 7.30 pm
Pianist Jeff Lankov has been described as "alternately ferocious and sensitive" (The New York Times), "a fearless musician" (Dallas Morning News), "a master of concert programming" (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram) and "a pianist of great passion and verve" (Portland Tribune). His solo programs regularly feature works by living composers, often in unusual juxtapositions that explore the synthesis of popular and classical forms. His multimedia programs combine music with theatrical elements, visual art and computer-generated sounds and images. Recent concerts have included the piano works of John Adams, Blind Tom, John Cage, Michael Finnissy, George Gershwin, Scott Joplin and Astor Piazzolla, along with music for toy piano and prepared piano and Lankov's own solo-piano transcriptions of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps and The Firebird.
Junior Players
THE TRANSFORMATION PROJECT
Main Stage: 3/4 - 8 pm; 3/6 - 5.00 pm
The Transformation Project provides a glimpse of what challenges exist within our teen communities and family ecosystems. The Transformation Project pairs these light-hearted and life-altering struggles to music, stage combat, and choreography for a thought provoking production performed entirely by a cast of teen dancers. The issues are real, the teens are real, and the experience is life changing.
Kris Noteboom
AND THEN I WOKE UP
Stone Cottage: 2/28 - 5 pm; 3/4 - 8 pm; 3/6 - 5 pm
Vampires! Demons! Sex! Billy Idol! And seriously, what is up with the husband in Paranormal Activity? He sucks and gets what's coming to him. Kris has an issue with dreams. Well, nightmares. Well, really, if we're getting technical, it's somewhere in the middle. Oh, and all the existential dread. So, in a series of anecdotes, Kris takes on these dreams - both his and America's - because he's also super patriotic. It's really quite selfless; especially considering how personally embarrassing it tends to get for him. The dude just wants a good night's sleep for the love of Cthulhu!
Lone Star Circus
LE PETIT LONE STAR CIRCUS
Main Stage: 3/2 - 7.30 pm; 3/6 - 2 pm
Whether you dream of contorting, climbing, flying, flipping, balancing, bending, rolling on the circus stage or you want front row seats to the amazing feats of physical prowess, acrobatic agility, and capativating contortion, Lone Star Circus has your ticket. Under the creative direction of 8th generation circus artist Fanny Kerwich, Lone Star Circus puts a unique Texas twist on traditional European circus arts.
One Word Revolution
ONE WORD REVOLUTION: A NEW MUSICAL
Main Stage: 3/1 - 7.30 pm
With book, music and lyrics by Kelly Marie Schaaf and directed by Marianne Galloway, this new musical will be brought to life in a one-night only staged reading. The story centers on a fugitive who is on the run and ignites an uprising in those who have been held in a government-established internment camp for two decades. One of the captives, Evelyn, risks her life to send a note to the other side that reads "hello." Evelyn's note is found by a young reluctant soldier, Riley. Motivated by Evelyn's letter, Riley chooses his allegiance when the fugitive, Moyra, arrives in their city to fan the flames of revolution. A play reading.
Rite of Passage Theatre Company
I LOVE YOU HONEY BUNNY
Studio Theatre: 2/25 - 7:30 pm; 3/2 - 7:30 pm; 3/5 - 2 pm
If you can afford couples therapy, then that doesn't automatically assume you can have a "date night" once a week or go on a long weekend each quarter. But if your marriage is important enough then you've got to make some sacrifices. Terry and Marion are determined to fall in love with each other again so they discover some questionable common interests. Starring Thomas and Sherry Ward, I Love You Hunny Bunny is directed by Nic McMann.
Shakespeare Dallas
THE KING'S FACE
Studio Theatre: 2/27 - 5 pm; 3/3 - 7.30 pm; 3/6 - 5 pm
The King's Face is loosely based on the true story of a wounded warrior. It is 1403, a time of war and terrorism. At the battle of Shrewsbury, King Henry IV finally secures his crown. Late in the battle his son, and heir to the throne, Prince Harry of Monmouth is struck down by an arrow to the face. The impact of the arrow is no glancing blow. The wound festers and the life of the future monarch is in jeopardy. The story reflects the universal ordeal of all wounded warriors.
Vox Productions
JANE AND MABEL
Stone Cottage: 2/27 - 2 pm; 3/3 - 7.30 pm; 3/5 - 5 pm
Jane and Mabel, written by Pamela Cuming, is a play about two homeless women and the funny, deep and interdependent nature of their friendship. It uses humor and a mystery to examine the life of two women who have nothing but each other. Without homes, family, healthcare, employment, Jane and Mabel examines the cost of living in a world that isolates them and makes them invisible, resulting in an almost mandatory redirection of each woman's moral compass to ensure their survival. Directed by Angela Wilson and starring Nancy Sherrard and Allyn Carrell, Vox Productions is a new company dedicated to work that gives voice to women "of a certain age."
WaterTower Theatre
24-HOUR PLAY FESTIVAL
Main Stage: 3/5 - 8 pm
Playwrights, directors and actors will come together to create 4 brand new plays in just 24-hours. Four playwrights will be chosen via submission, after which they will be assigned a director and a group of actors who will then inspire them to write a 15-minute play. The 24-Hour Play Festival will culminate in a one-time only performance at 8pm on Saturday, March 5 in the Main Stage where each of the new plays will be performed for the public! The 24-HR Play Festival serves to provide a creative opportunity for local artists to work collaboratively.
WaterTower Theatre
Play reading
ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN?
Main Stage: 2/29 - 7:30 pm
In the mid-1950s, the House of Un-American Activities Committee began investigating the communist influence in the entertainment industry. This searing docudrama from actual transcripts of the hearings reveals how decent people were persuaded to name names, and the steep price paid by those who refused. Written by Obie Award winning playwright Eric Bentley, this reading will feature an all-star cast of local talent and is directed by WaterTower Theatre's Terry Martin.
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