A Night at the Theater

Last night Jeff and I saw Time Steps, the 11th annual Out of Ink festival from Austin Script Works, at the Blue Theater. It was a series of 8 plays written over a retreat weekend that were to conform to the following 3 rules:

The play must go backward, from beginning to end
Include a sudden dance break that causes a shift in the action
Include three things your mother told you not to do

All in all it was a very enjoyable experience. There was a good mix of drama, suspense, and comedy. Supposedly they were 10 minute plays, but that only accounts for 80 minutes plus a ten minute intermission, and we were there for almost two hours so I think one or two may have run a little longer.

Out of the whole lot there was only one play that I didn't really enjoy. It was okay, and Jeff liked it much more than I did, but I couldn't get into it. I'm not going to name it because I have nothing constructive to say about it and I don't want to put down any of the hard work that went into it. Instead I'll tell you what I felt were some major highlights of the night.

My favorite drama piece of the night was Where the Sidewalk Ends by Meg Haley. It was a really compelling story, and if you need a girl to cry in your next play you should check out Kathleen Fletcher, because that was hard to watch. She was also good when she wasn't crying; I'm just saying that girl can turn on the sorrow.

My favorite character of the night was Bernard, played by David Gallagher in Bernard Henry's Magic Tricks by Aimee Gonzalez. He was funny and charming and so much fun to cheer on. He reminded us a lot of the character Andrew from the Buffy tv series. Kind of a goofy innocence about him that ends up causing quite a bit of trouble, but despite it all you still like him and are routing for him.

My favorite dance of the night was done by Kelli Bland in Dancing Counts by Susan McMath Platt. I've never in my life seen someone in a cow suit perform such a great dance routine. Nicole Marosis as Aunt Charlotte provided a great backdrop and counter point to the wild cow dance that was happening across the rest of the stage. It was hysterical.

Finally my favorite monologue, by a huge margin, was in Hungry Love by Timothy Thomas. I've always loved the St Crispin's Day speech from Henry V and in my mind I always see it as done by Kenneth Branagh in the 1989 film version. Tim takes that speech and tweaks it to become a St Valentine's Day speech instead, but still with the same sound, mood, and fervor of the original. Zeb L. West did an awesome job delivering the speech and rallying the troops with his call to arms as he climbed in and out of the audience. It was full of win.

Jeff and I had a good time, and I recommend you go check it out. Time Steps only runs two weekends though so don't wait too long.

Get Some Culture

I know that you're just itching to go see some Austin theater, but you don't know what to see. Well I've added a little button over there to help you out.

The Automat is another fine Loaded Gun Theory production by Timothy Thomas. I really like the story that Tim has written in this play, and it's going to be a great show*. Don't take my word for it though, go check it out.

Dates:
Feb 29, Mar 1 & 2
Mar 6-9
Mar 12-15
Sundays start at 5pm, all other shows are at 8pm
Dougherty Arts Center

Call 512-916-9856 or go to lgt.buyplaytix.com (or click the pretty button over there ->) to make your reservations.

*I got a sneak peak during a rehearsal because I forgot my keys and Julie wasn't cruel enough to just dump me on my front porch.

Another Fine Show

You need to make time to go see Little Murders, if you haven't already. The play is hysterical and the cast was great. The wedding scene scared me, but that's only because we're in wedding planning mode right now. I had no idea that I needed to worry about my dad punching Jeff repeatedly in the kidney, but all of a sudden it seems like a valid concern. As funny as it is, it's probably even funnier if you don't have a potential wedding nightmare looming in the back of your mind.

Loaded Murders

Loaded Gun Theory is doing the Jules Feiffer play Little Murders. You can use the button on the right there to go buy some tickets, and see what looks like a really cool play.

Also, heads up, because there's a party on Saturday night after the show that will feature a free keg of beer. Yum! You can't lose with free beer!*

Some show details ripped right from the LGT page:
The Newquists are your typical American family: Mom is overbearing and belittling, Dad is milquetoast but don't call him Carol (even though it's his name), Brother likes to wear Sister's shoes and Sister wears the pants in her relationship with her fiancée Alfred, who knows how to roll with the punches: he figures if you daydream while being mugged, it won't hurt so much. As their neighborhood is besieged by snipers taking out random citizens, the real violence goes down in their apartment. Join LGT for their first foray into non-original work with a script that still has that LGT edge.

*I lie, you can lose with free beer, but this is good free beer, so you won't lose in this case.