Proudly based in Dallas, Texas Audacity Theatre Lab is a platform for the imaginations of a collective of individual theatre artists. The artists of ATL are empowered to use the company as an outlet for the creation of new theatre projects, be they bold re-imaginings of existing works or the incubation and exploration of completely original works for the stage.
In 2008 Audacity started a project calledthe EYE IN THE SKY project.
Commissioning pieces from playwrights around the country and recording
these pieces whenever there was time around bigger productions, the
project took three and half years.
Monday, June 18, 2012 a CD Release Party was held, hosted at the Nouveau 47 Theatre's Margo Jones Building in Dallas' Fair Park (the birthplace of the American Regional Theatre Movement). Several pieces were read live, a video intro was shown explaining the project, many free CDs were handed out and much wine was consumed. A good evening at the theatre all around.
Below you can see the intro video and pics from the event...
Free copies of the episodes were run off on CD and at the door for the taking...
Rhianna Mack reads Andy Eninger's ANT FARM from episode 1
Backstage the actors prepare for the live readings
Director Brad McEntire and Audio Recordist/Playwright John Flores
Ruth Engel, Brad McEntire, Oscar Contreras and Angela Parsons read Jeff Hernandez's BARRY, BILLY & LOUISE from episode 5
Brad McEntire reads Jeff Swearingen's I HATE ALTITUDE from episode 4
Audacity Theatre Lab member Brad McEntire
has recently received news that his one-man show CHOP has been accepted
into the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival. This is awesome
news! Way over 1000 shows are submitted every year and only around 200
are accepted.
McEntire premiered CHOP in the DFW area at the Addison Watertower
Theatre's 2010 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival. He went on to perform
the piece in Houston, Portland, New Orleans, Phoenix, Santa Fe (and soon
Seattle, too). In August the show will make its New York debut.
And here's where you come in...
FringeNYC is expensive! It is a little outside the comfort zone of a
small theatre like Audacity, where we generally pride ourselves on
mounting engaging, funny, weird theatre on a very small budget.
Brad has launched a Kickstarter Campaign. Check it out. Any size contribution can help. Spread the word.
Please consider pledging to help a Dallas artist take his little show to the East Coast.
In the winter of 2008 Audacity Theatre Lab
commissioned playwrights from around the country for a unique radio
theatre project. They were given unfettered freedom to respond to a
simple phrase:
"For one week in the middle of
the summer a giant eye appears in the sky over the city. At the end of
seven days it disappears as suddenly as it had originally
materialized..." Audacity received submissions from members of 13P, New Dramatists, Austin Script Works, as well as from a host of local writers.
Pieces poured in from a host of cities all over the country including
Dallas (Vicki Caroline Cheatwood, John Flores, Jeff Swearingen, Jeff
Hernandez), Austin (Jason Tremblay, Zach Gonzales, Chris Humphrey),
Chicago (Andy Eninger), Brooklyn and New York (Crystal Skillman, Gary
Winter, Daniel Talbott, Ben Walker Sampson, Chris Alonzo, James Comtois,
Ken Urban, Erin Courtney), Philadelphia (Greg Romero) and Evansville,
Indiana (Mark Rigney). All very original, idiosyncratic and wonderful.
Recording, engineering and posting of the six episodes lasted from 2009
to 2012. The project was puzzle-pieced in around other, larger projects
and was a complete labor of love. ATL's Brad McEntire curated and
directed the project. Kitchen Dog Theater member John Flores stepped in
to record all the dialogue of each episode. Chris Humphrey of Austin,
Texas' Red House Arts composed original music and engineered each
episode. TheUndermain Theatre very kindly donated space for recording.
Best of all, some of the most awesome actors in the Dallas area lent
their vocal talents to the project. A small sampling would include Jeff
Schmidt, Christie Vela, Bryan Pitts, Jeff Swearingen, Lydia Mackay,
Oscar Contreras, Scott Milligan, Whitney Holotik and John Flores.
Now we want to release the pieces to the world. So we're giving out CDs.
In the meantime, you can, of course, hear them online, too: http://soundcloud.com/audacity-theatrelab
Audacity, alongside Nouveau 47 Theatre, will host an official "CD
Release Party" for the project. Come listen to some amazing works,
celebrate this unique project and get a free CD.
EYE IN THE SKY CD RELEASE PARTY
WHEN: Monday, June 18 at 8 PM
WHERE: At Nouveau 47 Theatrein the historic Magnolia Lounge (Margo Jones Building), Fair Park, 1121 First Ave., Dallas, TX 75210.
COST: FREE! (Though a Pay-What-You-Can donation is always welcomed).
