Light and Dark World Premieres Both Impressive at Festival of Independent Theatres
By Lawson Taitte - ltaitte@dallasnews.com
June 8, 2013
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| Brad McEntire as Robot and Jeff Swearingen as Dinosaur in Audacity Theatre Lab's DINOSAUR AND ROBOT STOP A TRAIN |
Shows five and six of the 2013 Festival of Independent Theatres are extremely different but very interesting:
The two world premieres that the Festival of Independent Theatres unveiled on Friday could hardly be more different, but each is impressive in its own way.
Brad McEntire has been producing at the Bath House Cultural Center for many years, for the last five under the aegis of Audacity Theatre Lab. His new piece, Dinosaur and Robot Stop a Train, is his lightest and silliest to date.
McEntire himself in an elaborate robot costume enters and exits repeatedly to set up some chairs. Jeff Swearingen keeps popping in from the other side, clothed in an even more elaborate bright green dinosaur suit. Somehow a “very stupid” young girl has summoned them from the distant future and past to save her from being hit by a train. The time-travelers are holding a press conference to explain.
Swearingen is the kind of funny guy who can provoke hysterical laughter just by the way he lifts his sneakers as he prances on and off the stage or makes a silly face as he talks in caveman-speak. McEntire gets laughs too, and even a couple of audience members who get dragged onstage contribute substantially to the fun.
Rite of Passage Theatre Company’s Ask Questions Later, on the other hand, uses very young artists who do strong work despite any lack of experience. It’s as dark as the Audacity piece is light.
Plan Your Life
The 2013 Festival of Independent Theatres runs through June 22 at the Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake, 521 E. Lawther Drive, Dallas. $18, festival passes $60 to $70. 1-800-617-6904. http://www.festivalofindependenttheatres.org
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