Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company Announces 2014-2015 Season

As Mildred's Umbrella continues to grow, we proudly bring you another season of Premieres, as well as our Museum of Dysfunction Play Festival as we always do... but this year we've added our WOMEN'S PROJECT, which will be four short-run productions, designed to give up-and-coming female artists a chance to create art with us while also raising awareness of local women's charities.

The upcoming season at Mildred's Umbrella is set to inlude POLLYWOG, RED DEATH, CLOUD TECTONICS, and MUSEUM OF DYSFUNCTION VII.

POLLYWOG, by Keian McKee, will run from July 31-August 16, 2014 and will be directed by Matt Huff .At sunrise, Polly wades alone into the spring waters of the Atlantic to begin her first ocean swim. In a small container secured to her body are her mother Jule's ashes. This is no contest for fame or glory. Rather, Polly is seeking a genuine conclusion to swimming lessons prematurely halted at age nine when Jule suffered a stroke and Polly's childhood effectively ended. Although physically alone on her journey, she carries within herself, and ultimately confronts, the main characters of her life: Jule, before and after her stroke; Esther and Johnny, Hollywood swim idols and Polly's imaginary helpmates in Jule's care; and her father Mort, a former sailor turned cemetery salesman.

RED DEATH by Lisa D'amour will receive its Houston premiere from October 9-25, 2014 and will be directed by Rob Kimbro. Jane, a kindergarten teacher/lifeguard searches for the origin of evil and human weakness that is responsible for the human fear of death. She searches Florida beaches, Texas sewers, the middle of the Adriatic Sea, following Prospero, her childhood friend who she knows will provide the answer. A twenty-first century riff on Edgar Allen Poe's Masque of the Red Death .

CLOUD TECTONICS by Jose Rivera will run January 22-Feb 7, 2015. Directed by Jennifer Decker, the show is receiving its Houston premiere. On a rainy night in LA, a lonely man picks up a young pregnant hitchhiker and brings her to his home for refuge. She claims that she is over 50 years old and that she has been pregnant for two years, and that time passes for her in a way that doesn't match the rest of the world. Set in a world of magical realism where decades happen in a single night, the question is explored: 'is there ever a 'right' time for love?

MUSEUM OF DYSFUNCTION VII will run from March 26-April 4, 2015. A collection of world premiere short plays chosen from submissions from around the world produced by Mildred's Umbrella and Wordsmyth Theatre and performed by Mildred's Umbrella.

Performances of Mildred's Umbrella Women's Project will include CASSANDRA, FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS, LATE: A COWBOY SONG, and BECKY'S NEW CAR.

CASSANDRA by Katharine Sherman, directed by Melissa Flower, will run from May 15-24, 2015 at 536 Westbury Square, Houston, TX 77035 (the courtyard of Company Onstage). The production is co-produced by WORDSMYTH THEATRE and presented in support of THE HOUSTON AREA WOMEN'S CENTER. Cassandra is a modern retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Cassandra, the beautiful girl who was given the gift of prophesy in exchange for the promise of sex with the god Apollo. When she goes back on her promise, she keeps the gift of prophesy, but is also given the curse that no one will ever believe her. This fresh take on the myth is mesmerizing as Cassandra's current events and events of the future happen at the same instant, and even the girl who knows the tragedies that will befall the people around her, holds out hope for the tiniest change to her dire predictions.

FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS by Alan Ball, Directed and Co-Produced by Rochelle Sanders, will be performed June 12-21, 2014 at Studio 101, 1824 Spring Street, Houston TX 77007 in support of THE HOUSTON AREA WOMEN'S CENTER. During an over the top wedding reception at a Tennessee estate, five bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below. They include a religious fundamentalist, the lesbian sister of the groom, a woman reacting to a recently failed marriage of her own, a rebellious sister of the bride with a dark secret, and a cynical beauty queen. As the day wears on, these five very different women discover they have far more in common with each other than with the bride.

LATE: A COWBOY SONG by Sarah Ruhl will run from November 14-22, 2014 at 14 Pews, 800 Aurora St. Houston, TX 77009. The production will be directed by Bree Bridger and co-produced by 14 Pews. "Mary, always late and always married, meets a lady cowboy outside the city limits of Pittsburgh who teaches her how to ride a horse. Mary's husband, Crick, buys a painting with the last of their savings. Mary and Crick have a baby, but they can't decide on the baby's name, or the baby's gender. A story of one woman's education and her search to find true love outside the box." (New Dramatists)

BECKY'S NEW CAR by Stephen Dietz will be direted by Ron Jones (location TBA). Becky Foster is caught between middle age, middle management and in a middling marriage - with seemingly no way of changing any of it, until one night when a grieving millionaire happens into the car dealership where she works and she's offered the chance at a wild ride into an exciting life. .. A devious and delightful romp down a road seldom taken.

For more information visit mildredsumbrella.com/index or call 832-463-0409.

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