Dallas Solo Fest Q-and-A: Brad McEntire

Producer of the Dallas Solo Fest Brad McEntire [credit: Robert Heart/ TheaterJones]

Chatting with the man behind the Dallas Solo Fest, which runs through Sunday.

by Mark Lowry
published Thursday, June 7, 2018


Dallas — For the final interview of our Dallas Solo Fest coverage, we chat with Brad McEntire, who runs Audacity Theatre Lab and produces the Dallas Solo Fest. This is the event's fourth year (he skipped 2017 because had recently become a father, and to rethink the festival).

The event runs through Sunday at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts (home of the Dallas Children's Theater).

TheaterJones: This year's festival is different from the first three. Tell me about the changes.

Brad McEntire: Since the beginning, the team behind the Dallas Solo Fest, myself included, really have focused on making the festival a little better year by year. This year, we’ve tightened the whole thing up. There are six performers instead of eight, one week instead of two weekends and no daytime workshops. We have also moved the festival to a new venue. We are now in the studio theatre at the Rosewood Center of the Family Arts instead of where we were previously, at the Margo Jones Theatre in Fair Park.

While we have made a few changes, we have kept the good parts that have developed over the last three incarnations of the fest.  We have continued to focus on content-diverse shows to give a good cross-section of what solo performance can offer.  We have also continued the tradition of 70% of the ticket sales going directly to the artists, who still don’t pay any form of festival fee to participate. We even arranged housing for visiting artists who were coming in from out-of-town. We want to insure that the performers get a nice dose of Texas hospitality.

What is your submission/acceptance process? Are you looking for fully formed works? Stuff in development? Both?

The application process began last fall. We received dozens of submissions. A selection committee combed through each submission and we whittled it down to the six that audiences will see at this year’s Dallas Solo Fest.

We are not a “fringe” fest, so we don’t do selection by lottery or on a first-come-first-serve basis. We curate the selection very closely because it is such a focused, intimate festival. I call it a “boutique” arts festival. In place of the big, blustery, street fair-like atmosphere audiences can get at other performance festivals around the country, especially fringe festivals, we are aiming for a more personal experience for both the performers and audiences alike. With just six performers, we do our best to fit the programming together so each show is different and offers a unique theatre experience.

To answer your question more directly, we ONLY look for developed works. In order to deepen and grow the quality of the festival, we have made it a mission to seek out shows that have already played at several venues for several different sets of audiences. There are places that cater to shows in development, allowing artists to experiment and workshop, but we aren’t looking to be one of those kinds of fests. I actually host a quarterly workshop event called the Audacity Solo Salon for that kind of thing. No, we are looking for virtuosity, originality and a bit of hard-won experience from the performers we choose for the Dallas Solo Fest.

You've done fringe and solo festivals for years as a performer. Describe how networking with other artists and presenters on these circuits helped you with Solo Fest.

Independent touring fringe festival artists, particularly those that perform solo shows, are a wonderfully tight-knit community. There are Facebook groups and performers really do kind of keep track of who’s doing what and where.

I have noticed two things again and again when meeting solo touring artists around North America. First, solo performers almost always have an overwhelming sense of enthusiasm. They are real champions for their own shows and like to talk about what they do with audiences and fellow artists. They also are amazingly self-sufficient. Solo performers aren’t just the single actor on stage during their shows, but more often than not, the driving force behind the scenes, too. They are interested in their own marketing, ticket sales, technical requirements, and a bunch of off-stage concerns that traditional actors aren’t always that into. I think this is maybe because the production for a solo performer is by its nature a rather personal endeavor.

Since becoming a dad at the end of 2016, I have, of late, had to curtail a lot of my adventuring around performing my own solo shows. Kiddos, it turns out, take up a lot of time, energy and love. I am slowly getting back into it (I’m off to Minneapolis and Canada this summer to perform my solo piece Robert’s Eternal Goldfish). I hope to strike up some new friendships, see some great new shows, talk with other festival organizers and build out my network more and more.

Despite small audiences for the previous festivals, are your artists generally happy with their experience in Dallas?

On the whole, yes, the performers from the past several years have sent us overwhelmingly positive feedback about the festival and about Dallas. This has been important because one of my personal core beliefs is that the theatre should serve the artist first, then—and only then—the artist can serve the audience and the community.

Crowds have been rather uneven. Some shows sell out, sometimes you can hear crickets. It is especially difficult to market out-of-town performers to local audiences who have little name recognition outside of the fringe touring circuit. Plus, there is a lot of other great stuff happening around Dallas this time of year, such as Kitchen Dog’s wonderful New Works Festival. My hope is that audiences don’t chose one over the other, but instead turn out to both.

The team and I have gone out of our way to really push the content of the shows when marketing. We hope people will see what a given show is about, and then, based on that, decide to come see it.

To make it more worthwhile for the artists, we video shows for performers and drum up as much press for their individual shows as we can. We also offer billeting (touring speak for housing) with local theatre artists acting as hosts. We encourage interaction with audience members before and after the show in the lobby and we do our best to make them feel welcome and appreciated.

What would you like to see for DSF 2019? 2025?

Okay, don’t get ahead of yourself, Mark. If the festival goes well this year, I will do at least one more in 2019. I originally intended to do at least five years of the festival when I started. This is the fourth one. We’ll see. This is really contingent on whether audiences show up and support the event.

I’m not producing in a vacuum. If the message is, “Hey, buddy, Dallas doesn’t want or need this in the cultural landscape,” then that will come through loud and clear. If it fills a gap in the theatre community, then, of course, I’ll keep it going.

Personally, I am an advocate for intimate, indie theatre such as these one-person shows, but I’m not aiming to shove it down Dallas’ throat if it is not wanted.

If it does continue, I can promise we will try to make it better and better. I dream of the Dallas Solo Fest, eventually, becoming a multi-week event in several close together venues with panel discussions, workshops, open mics, food trucks and a roster of the best, brightest and most diverse solo shows in the world converging on Dallas. It would still be relatively small and focused, but with a wider range of programming and, perhaps, it would make a slightly deeper dent in the universe. Dallas could potentially become known as a hub for these kinds of shows, bringing in as well as exporting one-person productions. I mean, that’s the dream.

Anything else to add?

Yep, tickets are on sale. The welcome mat is out for audiences. All info one could want is here on TheaterJones and at www.DallasSoloFest.com.

Shout Out from TheaterJones about TARANTUBEARS

Dani Martin as Crossbow Joan in NIGHT OF THE TARANTUBEARS

The play is by [Jeff Hernandez and] Brad McEntire for his outfit Audacity Theatre Lab, and really all you need to know is the title: The Night of the Tarantubears. Horror plus comedy equals camp that McEntire does so well. | Jan. 21-31

See Original post... HERE

NOTE: Brad didn't know he did "camp." But he does do kick-ass storytelling and fills it with humor and insight.

Dallas Solo Fest Debriefing in TheaterJones

A Solo Debriefing

Brad McEntire, producer of the recent Dallas Solo Fest, on what he learned from the project.

by Brad McEntire | TheaterJones.com | published Friday, June 6, 2014

DALLAS - Recently, under the banner of my small theatre company, Audacity Theatre Lab, I produced the first ever Dallas Solo Fest, a fringe-like celebration of one-person theatrical performance. The goal was to introduce Dallas audiences to a wide range of solo performances styles as well as raise awareness of the format in the north Texas area. To that end, I brought together a curated collection of solo performers from around the country along with several local favorites.

I have been producing for years and though the festival was small by arts festival standards (with only eight productions), this was the largest event of this kind I’ve ever attempted. I am a hands-on producer and by virtue of the way Audacity Theatre Lab is set up, I was the sole staff member until right before the festival began. The project presented several challenges, but ultimately it went over pretty well.

Here’s what I learned…

Get a Grant

When I began planning the Dallas Solo Fest back in the summer of last year, one of the people I reached out to was Grant Knutson. Through his group Minion Productions, he serves as a sort of consultant/coordinator/coach for fringe performers aiming to tackle the many “fringe” theatre festivals around North America.

Fringes are generally distinguished by short, unconventional performances and low-cost tickets with a large share of ticket sales returned to artists. Many open their stages to amateurs as well as seasoned acts.

Upon its launch in 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival of performing arts was eclipsed by a more grassroots event. In makeshift performance spaces around the city—"round the fringe" of the official performing arts festival, as one journalist put it—artists began mounting small-scale, independent performances. There in Edinburgh, Scotland, the "fringe festival" concept began. It has since spread all over the world.

Grant was curious about how I was putting together a national festival from the ground up and I was curious to pick his brain. He currently sits on the board of the Fresno Fringe and has assisted administratively behind the scenes of several other festivals. So, he, like me, had worked on both sides of the curtain: the artist’s side and the administration side. He also knew several of the artists in the Dallas Solo Fest personally from his own travels. He offered to come down during the fest and help and I took him up on it.

I am so glad I did. Besides supplying lots of good ideas, observations and being a great sounding board, it was good to have another set of hands. Besides the board operator Shea Smith, the staff during the festival itself consisted of me, my wife Ruth Engel and some on-again-off-again support from fellow Audacity artist Jeff Hernandez. Grant did everything from updating social media to taking out trash. And he did it all with a positive attitude.

To have one more informed and good-natured staff member made the whole event much more manageable. My recommendation to anyone doing a festival like this in the future… you should also get yourself a Grant.

Plan for the Unexpected

On the first Saturday of the Dallas Solo Fest, around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, I learned there was going to be a thousand people right next door to the Margo Jones Theatre in a matter of hours. They would be celebrating something called Bayou Bash. Needless to say, this took me by surprise. The Bayou Bash is a huge picnic-style fundraiser for Alumni Association of Southern University, complete with outdoor DJ and authentic Louisiana cuisine. They had rented the African American Museum next door to the theatre and had spread onto the balcony of the theatre itself.

They did not know we were going to be at the Margo Jones and I didn’t know they were going to be throwing a loud party next door at the Museum until right before our respective events.

For the most basic of productions, the unexpected will happen. For a festival with so many moving parts I learned this phenomenon increases a hundred fold. Actors had flights cancelled, keys to billets didn’t work, last minute props had to be located, audiences went to the other Margo Jones Theatre (the one at SMU), typos were found on flyers after bunches were printed and so much more.

The whole two weeks was an extended exercise in constant problem-solving. On top of this, if things went smoothly, no one was the wiser. If problems occurred, everyone knew. Though it was certainly stressful, it was also a wonderful challenge…and even kind of fun.

Love the Locals

The three locals brought in their respective audiences, they delivered great performances, and more importantly they served as excellent representatives of Dallas.

Elaine Liner, Danny O’Connor and John Michael could have retreated into exclusively marketing their own shows, just shown up to do their techs and performances and not really been a part of the overall festival beyond simple participant. That didn’t happen. They totally stepped up and got the word out.

Elaine, Danny and John met and chatted with the out-of-towners. They showed genuine enthusiasm for the festival.  The individual and rather disparate crowds of Elaine Liner, Danny O’Connor and John Michael really made the festival a distinctly “Dallas” event. And an economically feasible one at that.

Not only did they perform some kick-ass shows, what I am most proud of is that they were great ambassadors for Dallas, especially to the out-of-town artists. Elaine, Danny and John welcomed the traveling performers with open arms. They held and attended workshops. They bought beers and talked shop.

I was so pleased to have these three particular local performers, each in his or her distinct way, represent the cultural landscape of Dallas so well.

Just Ask

The Dallas Solo Fest received sponsorship and partnerships that helped make the event an even bigger and better.

Uber, the car service app, partnered with DSF and supplied $20 credit vouchers for Dallas Solo Fest patrons who became first time Uber users. They allowed us to send out a promo code to our mailing list. We gave Uber cards to festival pass holders, Kickstarter supporters and workshop participants. Cards were given to the out-of-town artists (a great perk in a car-city like Dallas).

How did this Uber partnership happen? Well, I asked them. And they said "yes."

TheaterJones became our official media sponsor. They ran preview articles, profiles of the performers and reviews of all eight shows. They created a special section on their website for the Dallas Solo Fest. It worked out for both parties. It drove traffic to their website and the DSF profited from the exposure.

How did this TheaterJones sponsorship happen? Well, I asked them (and then one of the local performers also asked them). They said “yes.”

Before the festival, I created the ultimate “ask” with a Kickstarter campaign. I asked for monetary support and 34 different people stepped up, donated to the cause and said “yes.” The outstanding Kickstarter supporters helped establish the potential of the fest. They made the initial awesomeness possible.

I have learned not to underestimate the power of simply asking.

Good Vibes Go a Long Way

One bad apple could have spoiled the whole barrel, but that didn’t happen. All the performers, even the ones who had travelled from half-a-country away, were positive and humble. There were no divas. Everyone was patient and courteous and, most importantly, professional.

The audiences spanned a wide range of demographics. All were welcome. We tried to maintain a casual atmosphere in the lobby between productions, encouraged talk with the artists outside after shows and most of the performers gave little-shout outs to the other performers or the festival as a whole from the stage after their shows.

I truly believe the positivity and enthusiasm was infectious. It was generated by the organizers, and spread to the artists and patrons. It went a long way to making the festival a really fun event.

My hope was that the artists traveling in from out of town would leave with a good impression of the city as well as with their experience at the Dallas Solo Fest. From the feedback I have received so far, that has been the case.

Overall, the Dallas Solo Fest was a challenge, but a really enjoyable, educational one. Maybe I’ll have to do another one in the future…

» Brad McEntire is the artistic director and founder of Audacity Theatre Lab, and the founder of the first Dallas Solo Fest.

Original post HERE.

DSF Line-Up on TheaterJones.com

Dallas Solo Fest Lineup Announced

Audacity Theatre Lab will bring in performers from across the country, plus some of our homegrown talent, for the first Solo Fest.

TheaterJones.com | By Mark Lowry | March 30, 2014

Alexandra Tatarsky in Beast of Festive Skin

Dallas — Exciting news for North Texas and the festival scene: The lineup for the first Dallas Solo Fest has been announced. Running May 15-25 at thje Margo Jones Theatre in Fair Park and presented by Dallas' Audacity Theatre Lab, the festival includes eight solo performances from across the country, including works from New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Austin, plus shows from Dallas performers Elaine Liner, John Michael and Danny O'Connor.

The inaugural Dallas Solo Fest line-up includes Deanna Fleysher’s Butt Kapinski, Veronica Russell’s A Different Woman, John Michael’s Crossing Your I’s, Zeb L. West’s Innocent When You Dream, David Mogolov’s Eating My Garbage, Alexandra Tatasky’s Beast of Festive Skin, Elaine Liner’s Sweater Curse: A Yarn ABout Love and Danny O’Connor’s Bouncing Ugly. According to the news release, "collectively, these performers represent a wide variety of solo performance styles from storytelling, puppetry and improvisational clown pieces to shows that defy easy explanation."

Here is more about the shows and performance times:

A Different Woman: A True Story of a Texas Childhood by Veronica Russell (New Orleans), adapted the book My First Thirty Years by Gertrude Beasley. This solo show presents an unvarnished, unapologetic and cynical tale of a rural Texas childhood told by a woman who pulled herself out of the cycle of poverty and abuse in which she found herself. A Different Woman is a darkly humorous stage adaptation of Ms. Beasley's controversial banned memoir.

• Thursday, May 22, 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, May 23, 9 p.m.
• Saturday, May 24, 10:30 p.m.

Beast of Festive Skin by Alexandra Tatarsky (New York City) is an absurdist vaudeville about alchemists, rappers and other creative visionaries stuck in Hell. These deranged darlings of the underworld tell their tales of woe with a truly fiery need to get by. The horror of existence! The agony of creation! The one-woman show people are dying to see!

• Friday, May 16, 10:30 p.m.
• Saturday, May 17, 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, May 18, 5 p.m.

Bouncing Ugly by Danny O’Connor (Dallas) recounts his experience as a bouncer at the Coyote Ugly Saloon in NYC. He has stories, oh yes, he has stories. 

• Thursday, May 15, 9 p.m.
• Saturday, May 17, 9 p.m.
• Sunday, May 18, 8:30 p.m.

Danny O'Connor in Bouncing Ugly

 Butt Kapinski by Deanna Fleysher (Los Angeles) stars as Private Eye Butt Kapinski. The audience is invited to co-star in an improvisational film noir fantasy. This funny, filthy, fully-interactive ride is riddled with sex, sin, shadows and subterfuge.

• Thursday, May 22, 10:30 p.m.
• Friday, May 23, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, May 24, 9 p.m.

Crossing Your I’s by John Michael (Dallas) concerns John’s experiences learning from and working with dementia patients. This World Premiere solo show about intergenerational understanding and the messiness of human connections is filtered through John Michael’s uniquely kinetic and hilarious perspective.

• Thursday, May 15, 10:30 p.m.
• Friday, May 18, 9 p.m.
• Friday, May 23, 10:30 p.m.

Eating My Garbage by David Mogolov (Boston). Dumbfounded by a call from a political pollster, David searches himself for a reason to believe the nation isn't utterly doomed. When he can't quite think of one, he turns to irrational reasons. That's when his search gets more promising.

• Friday, May 16, 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, May 17, 10:30 p.m.
• Sunday, May 18, 7 p.m.

Zeb L. West in Innocent When You Dream

Innocent When You Dream by Zeb L. West (Austin) takes place in the belly of a whale. A heartbroken castaway, swallowed and driven mad has only two books to read - Don Quixote and Moby Dick.  He acts out the books using puppets and masks fashioned from flotsam. This solo adventure uses physical comedy and sea shanties to smash two literary epics into an hour of shameless antics!

• Thursday, May 22, 9 p.m.
• Saturday, May 24, 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, May 25, 3:30 p.m.

Sweater Curse: A Yarn About Love by Elaine Liner (Dallas) was a 5-star hit at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Bring your knitting (or crocheting) and stitch along as Dallas writer-performer Elaine Liner shares her obsessions with great literature, old movies and the romantic entanglements of knitting sweaters for significant others.

• Thursday, May 15, 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, May 18, 3:30 p.m.
• Sunday, May 25, 5 p.m. 

Here's more about the event from the press release:

The purpose of the Dallas Solo Fest is to celebrate extraordinary solo theatre as well as increase awareness and appreciation for the form in the north Texas area. 

The Dallas Solo Fest will be produced by Audacity Theatre Lab and will play at the Margo Jones Theatre. Located at the Magnolia Lounge in Fair Park at 1121 First Avenue, Dallas, TX 75210, the Margo Jones Theatre features ample free, well-lit parking, access to the DART Rail, and a handy BYOB policy! 

Single tickets and Festival Passes for all shows go on sale April 23.  Festival Passes, now on sale, include one admission to each festival show and are $55.  Individual ticket prices for each show are $12. Reservations can be made at the Dallas Solo Fest website or by calling (214) 888-6650. Details about the shows, artists bios, the full schedule and ticket information at www.DallasSoloFest.com

ROBERTS ETERNAL GOLDFISH in TheaterJones.com

Loop Review: Beware of Plastics / Robert's Eternal Goldfish 
In this odd double bill of Actor's Conservatory Theatre and Audacity Theatre Lab, Brad McEntire once again proves himself a master storyteller. 

TheaterJones.com | by Kris Noteboom | published Saturday, March 8, 2014 

 ... 

If the first show in this double feature was the beginners, then Audacity Theatre Lab’s Robert's Eternal Goldfish is the master. Created and performed by Brad McEntire, he plays Charlemagne J. Roberts, a man filled with hate. 

He begins by recounting a tale of a snorkeling excursion gone wrong. This lays the groundwork for his generally negative outlook towards life. However, after a chance and tragic encounter with his polar mood opposite, a particularly cheerful young woman, Roberts finds himself buying a goldfish in tribute to her. 

Of course, being such a sad sack, Roberts soon grows tired of the fish and flushes it. But, there’s something wrong. This fish doesn’t seem to die. 

One of McEntire’s many talents is being able to couch very real meditations on life into extraordinary stories. This show allows him to flash his bad boy side with hilarious ends. Normally a very pleasant man, it’s a lot of fun to see McEntire mean and complain about everything. His commitment to the role is believable and laugh inducing. Yet, when it’s all said and done, both Roberts and the audience learn a little something. 

This double feature performance is a strange pairing. The shows have nothing in common and represent a huge gap in talent and experience. That said, it’s worth giving the girls of Beware of Plastics a chance, if only to get to the awesome Roberts’ Eternal Goldfish. 

  original post HERE.

Some nice mentions in 2013

Jeff Swearingen got mentioned as one of the "Best Acting Performances by Men" for DINOSAUR AND ROBOT STOP A TRAIN on local critic Alexandra Bonifield's Critical Rant Blog.

Mark Lowry of TheaterJones.com noted about Brad McEntire: "On a smaller scale, several performers and writers helped grow our city’s reputation by taking their work elsewhere... Local solo performer Brad McEntire of Audacity Theatre Lab did the national festival circuit (nothing new for him)."

In the same 2013 Year-In-Review article, Lowry cites Kate Mura's SUBURBAN TRIBE (hosted by Audacity in November) as one of the "Best Small Tours in Other Locations."

Lastly, the first several items on Mr. Lowry's "Wish-List for 2014" directly reflect ATL and the things we are trying to accomplish...

1. More regional collaboration and festival-sharing. WaterTower Theatre’s Out of the Loop Fringe Festival continues doing its part, but it would be nice to see more collaboration between artists in cities in this region of the country: DFW, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, New Orleans, Little Rock, etc. Yes, I realize there’s a distance and travel/cost issues—it’s not like the cities in the Northeast, where train travel is easy-peasy—but if someone could get financially behind a larger, regional performing arts festival, happening here, that’d be swell. 

2. In that same vein, there is one solo festival planned this year: The Dallas Solo Performance Festival, produced by Brad McEntire’s Audacity Theatre Lab at the Margo Jones Theatre. Hoping for success. Solo shows are easier to travel. 

3. That the folks at the Margo Jones Theatre figure out how to get more butts in seats. What’s happening there is important, we just need more people to understand that.

Congrats to casts of RASPBERRY FIZZ, SUBURBAN TRIBE and DINOSAUR AND ROBOT STOP A TRAIN!

Audacity's RASPBERRY FIZZ in TheaterJones.com

The Laboratory of Life

Audacity Theatre Lab keeps the spirit of experimentation alive at the Margo Jones Theatre, with a double bill of Grading on a Curve and Raspberry Fizz.

by Mark Lowry
published Friday, November 29, 2013

Travis Stuebing and Tashina Richardson in RASPBERRY FIZZ at the Margo Jones Theatre

Dallas — Just in case you’re curious how Audacity Theatre Lab has managed to fly under the radar in DFW for more than a decade, and still make some of the most consistently entertaining shows on a budget for which the term “shoestring” seems fancy, you’re not alone. The group, run by Brad McEntire and his wife Ruth Engel-McEntire, specializes in original work, often one-person shows—or at least with a small cast.

In the past month, it has presented three such shows in the new Margo Jones Theatre space in Fair Park, two of them still running on one bill. A.V. Phibes’ play Grading on a Curve, directed by McEntire and performed by Lauren Moore, begins the show as a 25-minute curtain raiser. That’s followed by McEntire’s play Raspberry Fizz.

One of the first shows presented there after the 2013 State Fair closed was under the Audacity banner, an import from Portland, Ore., Kate Mura’s one-person mask show Suburban Tribe. It was performed twice in early November. Mura, the Artistic Ambassador of Portland’s Fuse Theatre Ensemble, wrote the work as a thank you to a New Jersey community that rallied around a family after a “freak accident.” She’s been performing it on the festival circuit for several years. (McEntire also does that circuit.)

On a table behind her are group of commedia-style masks in dark-brown tones, some of which come with extra costumes or props, such as hats and scarves. She switches masks to change characters, including an elderly Polish woman who’s in line for the Pearly Gates but still has plenty to talk about before she gets there. There’s also a clergyman, people who show up to deliver casseroles after a death and various family members. A few of the characters don’t require masks, and it’s interesting to see how naked and raw those characters feel after you’re used to seeing a parade of masks.

Mura frequently references The Secret Garden and sings a few songs, including “Bride Over Troubled Water” and Nirvana’s “Come As You Are.” In 50 minutes, she switches voices and characterizations effortlessly, and offers vivid representations of people who exhibit compassion in a trying time. It gives you hope that people can be like this all the time, not just in the wake of tragedy.

Here’s a snippet of the show from Mura’s YouTube channel, from a performance two years ago. Upcoming dates include Los Angeles and Tacoma, Wash.; and according to the show’s Facebook page, 2014 will take it to festivals in Bali and Australia.

Audacity’s current offering, running on Saturday afternoons through Dec. 7, begins with Grading on a Curve. In the short work, Lauren Moore plays a woman in search for something to make her life have more meaning. She admits her love for gooey, orange nacho cheese, but even that can’t quash her desire to see what happens when she embarks on a hunger strike with another character she considers more interesting than her.

In her quest to not be consumed with ennui, she describes what happens to her body and mind at various points in the strike, all the way up to 170 hours.

The story comes back around to a man she meets who, while not physically perfect, could prove to be the person she needs in her life. Moore is engaging throughout, taking us through the twisty turns of this brief story with vivid imagery. A comical ending plays with the adage “life’s too short.”

Lauren Moore in A. V. Phibes' GRADING ON A CURVE at the Margo Jones Theatre

In 2012, Raspberry Fizz was seen at WaterTower Theatre’s Out of the Loop Fringe Festival. McEntire again plays the carnival barker in 1949 small-town America who promises something amazing under a cardboard box, for anyone who will pay to take a peek. That’s interspersed with scenes between adolescents Samantha (Tashina Richardson) and Ellson (Travis Stuebing). He is clearly intrigued with her, and all she wants is to chew gum, tease and drink a soda called Raspberry Fizz. Ellson, always curious, takes up the Barker’s offer.

It’s short and sweet, with charming performances from Richardson and Stuebing. There’s a message about expectations versus reality, and the viewer can’t help but feel nostalgia for a more innocent time. Not just of childhood, but of a bygone era captured in Norman Rockwell paintings. Even as we know that will never return, there’s a big sigh in watching it represented through art.

The Margo Jones Theatre, which is dedicated to incubating small and/or emerging companies and isn’t averse to experimentation and risk, is the perfect place for such work. Audiences are small, shows are short and rewards are big.

Next up for Audacity is the return of the play The Last Castrato, starring Jeff Swearingen in the title role.

DF380 on TheaterJones.com

Double Dribble 
Or maybe triple or quadruple. On Sept. 1, Brad McEntire will attempt six hours of solo improvisation at the Margo Jones Theatre. No, he's not crazy. 
by Mark Lowry - published Saturday, August 31, 2013 

Dallas — An ungodly amount of nonstop improvisation has been done before in North Texas, and although Brad McEntire isn't attempting to break any records (except his own) or a feat like his pal Jeff Swearingen managed two years ago *, McEntire is nonetheless gonna go for the long-haul. 

He's attempting six-plus hours of solo improv on Sunday, Sept. 1 at the Margo Jones Theatre in the Magnolia Lounge. It's called, begins at 5 p.m., and the ticket is a suggest donation of $10. You can come and go as you please, and there will be two breaks, at the two and four hour marks. 

But you're encouraged to go for the marathon. It's not like you haven't sat through almost-as-long and much less interesting performances before. 

Here's more about the performance from the website of McEntire's performance company, Audacity Theatre Lab: 

Since 2005 McEntire has been developing a solo improvisational format called Dribble Funk. The longest he has performed the piece to date has been 50 minutes. On September 1, 2013 he will stand alone on the stage and attempt to create nearly six and half hours of spontaneous theatre. From an audience suggestion he will play all the characters, create all the environments and drive the story forward—whatever it may be—single-handedly. 

Artistic Director of Audacity Theatre Lab with a background in both traditional and experimental theatre, McEntire is one of a handful of pioneering performers in the sub-arcana of solo improvisation (there are only maybe a dozen or so consistent practitioners in the United States). He is the creator of the original solo improvisational story format Dribble Funk, a hybrid creation at the crossroads of longform improvisation, traditional theatre and storytelling. He is also a playwright, solo performer, visual artist, director, podcast host, webcartoonist and raconteur. More information at: www.BradMcEntire.com. 

Audience members may come and go after initial admission, though are encouraged to stay for the entire performance. There will be two short breaks in the performance at the two and four hour marks. Food and drink will be available on site for the duration of the performance. Outside food and beverage are permitted (including alcohol...BYOB). Do not worry. You will be taken care of. It will be an adventure. 

 Original post HERE.

RASPBERRY FIZZ at TheaterJones.com

Jeff Swearingen and Natalie Young in Brad McEntire's RASPBERRY FIZZ

Warm Fizzies
Loop review: Audacity Theatre Lab's Raspberry Fizz is delectable at WaterTower Theatre's Out of the Loop Fringe Festival
by Mike Maiella for TheaterJones.com, Sunday, March 4, 2012

Addison — If you make it up to the intimate Studio Theater at Water Tower Theatre to catch Audacity Theatre Lab's production of Raspberry Fizz, you will be in for a real theatrical treat.

Running at just 45 minutes, the show—written by Audacity's Brad McEntire and directed by Andy Baldwin for the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival—is an endearing portrayal of two adolescents dealing with the awkward tension of young love. Ellson (Jeff Swearingen) has been stopping by the same steps to chat with Samantha (Natalie Young) for the past few days. She seems rather indifferent as she sits reading a newspaper and chewing gum. When Ellson first enters, he is drinking some raspberry fizz. And Samantha wants some, too.

Frustrated but wanting to win her affections, Ellson leaves to go buy her a bottle. When he returns, Samantha now wants some more gum, too. Meanwhile, Ellson repeatedly tries to muster the courage to ask her out to the fall harvest dance. Throughout the show, there is a strange man (Shane Beeson) on the other side of the stage who shouts random outbursts that sound like a carnival barker with his shouts of "step right up, folks!" There is something sinister about him though. He tells Ellson that for a nickel he can look inside a cardboard box and see a glimpse of the future.

The strength of the production lies in the simplicity of both the story and the set. Swearingen and Young are perfect together. He moves and sounds like a young boy. With his shorts pulled up high and donning a small cap, he has the awkward fidgety mannerisms and nervous stuttering of a boy speaking to the girl he has a crush on. And Young strikes the right balance of the girl who acts abrasive and bossy on the surface but actually likes the boy.

There are hilarious moments between them, too. At one point, Ellson very gingerly tries to sit next to Samantha on the step and then just as quickly stands back up when realizing what he is doing. When Samantha tells him to guess what she wants to be when she grows up, Ellson's first guess is a scientist. There is something funny but also tender and sweet in his response.

The show finds a beautiful balance between humor and the earnestness of a young crush. It's a fizzy delight.

CYRANO A-GO-GO has begun!

McEntire has opened his new solo show, an "oration" on Cyrano de Bergerac and how the piece has impacted his life. Info on this "free" show here.

Also, a swell essay by McEntire has recently run on TheaterJones.com about the opening night of Cyrano in 1897. Check it out here.

GREAT GOD off to a good start

Loop Review: I Have Angered a Great God
Audacity Theatre Lab gets Tiki with it at Out of the Loop.
by Kris Noteboom
published Monday, March 7, 2011

If there’s one thing theater sometimes needs, it’s a lighter side. In a landscape strewn with weighty dramas, the occasional quirky comedy is an oasis for the laughter-famished gut.

And in I Have Angered a Great God, Audacity Theatre Lab gives the audience that healthy dose of comedic nourishment they so desperately need.

The brainchild of Audacity founder Brad McEntire, I Have Angered a Great God takes the audience on the flashback-laden tale of Robert von Ritchie Ritchie (Oscar Contreras), as he tries to figure out just what he did to spark the wrath of an ancient Tiki god (Jeff Hernandez).

Much of this introspection is accomplished in the office of his therapist (Jeremy Whiteker), who coincidentally also happens to treat Robert’s now ex-girlfriend, Martha (Angela Parsons), and the Great God itself. Due to a crippling selfishness, Robert is oblivious to how his actions affect those around him, particularly the Great God. Naturally, he comes to realize his mistake and make amends, but not until after most of his friends and family have paid the price in his stead.

Opening with a rapped prologue complete with cardboard cut-out Tiki gods, McEntire quickly establishes the expectations for the performance. It’s gonna get a little weird…but, in a good way.

Jokes pepper the non-sequential, sometimes hard to follow, script, and while they don’t always fully land with the appropriate oomph, McEntire’s offbeat sense of humor still manages to shine through.

Parsons and Whiteker bring substantial comedy chops with them to the production, and it shows. With all apologies to Hernandez, whose lines under his giant, cardboard Tiki head consisted of a series of grunts and barely decipherable words, Parsons and Whiteker stood apart from the bunch when it came to communicating McEntire’s unique comic voice.

McEntire himself, who delivers the opening rap and plays several other minor characters, channels Graham Chapman with his deadpan delivery. The purest measure of a truly gifted comedic performer is their ability to make any character funny. McEntire does that with his turns as a barista and a MENSA rep.

I Have Angered a Great God is a quirky romp through the human psyche, externalized in the visage of a blue-clad Easter Island escapee. The comedy is sometimes bungled in the delivery, but enough of it connects that this remarkably peculiar, yet boldly inventive, story comes out all smiles.

◊ I Have Angered a Great God plays at the Addison Theatre Centre's Stone Cottage. View a full Out of the Loop Fringe Festival schedule here.

Congrats to Arianna for HELLO HUMAN FEMALE: The Remount!

Arianna Movassagh was named one of the "Outstanding Female Performers of 2010" by Alexandra Bonifield on TheaterJones.com for her work in Audacity's HELLO HUMAN FEMALE: The Remount last January.
Mucho thanks to Arianna and the rest of the cast (Becca Shivers, Jeff Swearingen, Jeremy Whiteker, Tyson Rinehart and Johnny Sequenzia) as well as playwright Matt Lyle, lighting designer Jaymes Gregory and director/designer Brad McEntire.
Read about it here.

Tracking Peter Brook

Artistic Director Brad McEntire and Managing Director Ruth Engel recently travelled to Sydney, Australia to see one of the last productions directed by Peter Brook.

They also petted koalas and stuff.

You can read McEntire's article on Peter Brook's production ELEVEN & TWELVE here.

You can see the photostream of pics from the trip here.

ATL's McEntire chats with Transcendence

ATL Artistic Director Brad McEntire recently met the artists involved with Transcendence Theatre Company. He also recently submitted an article on the work Transcendence is doing (including an interview with Artistic Director Amy Miller) to TheaterJones.com.

Click here to read the article.

Human Nurture
Audacity Theatre Lab offers another sip of Matt Lyle's comedy that features his most endearing character yet. Who doesn't heart Blork?
By Perry Stewart - TheatreJones.com
Published Sunday, January 17, 2010
permalink

If the frantic and fickle world of pop culture would somehow evolve correctly, the romantic duo of Hello Human Female would be elevated to icon status and Blorkspeak would become the New Slang.

Audacity Theatre Lab premiered Matt Lyle's witty outrage of a comedy 11 months ago. Now the Dallas troupe is staging a slightly altered version that Lyle calls "The Remount." On the snug stage of Teatro Dallas, Blork and Tamela, the oddest couple in the solar system, launch anew their quest for love, compassion and pronouns. 

Tamela, 37, is a virgin who has "never even been kissed by a boy." As naive as she is desperate, Tamela responds to an online dating service pitch and is mismatched with Dr. Gorn, a B-movie-style mad scientist who hopes to inseminate Tamela with various strains of devil seed as part of his plan for world domination. 

But, wait: In lurches Blork, the lab assistant whom the good doctor has stitched together with parts from more than 30 human bodies. It's love at first leer, and Tamela takes Blork home to meet Mother. 

Director Brad McEntire's cast is uniformly excellent. Playwright Lyle has invested Tamela with a series of ridiculous quirks that become thoroughly endearing when brought to life by Arianna Movassagh. Her dollplay/foreplay is a charming example. Jeff Swearingen is nothing short of amazing as he stumbles through Blork's journey of self-discovery. This has to be one of the most actor-punishing roles in local theater history. 

Jeremy Whiteker excels as Dr. Gorn and Tamela's mother, with the Greater Tuna-esque latter character delivering bravo-worthy hilarity. Tyson Rinehart, one of two new cast members, appears as a homeless former astronaut and a dotty grandfather who mistakes Blork for a canine. That leads to a delightful parody of those rescue scenes from the Lassie TV series. ("Is Timmy in trouble? Take me to him.") 

Timmy, meanwhile, is played with shrill conviction by Becca Shivers, who reappears later as the Yakbeesapien, a sexually supercharged creation by Dr. Gorn. 

Johnny Sequenzia composed music for the earlier production, and this time he joins the cast as the narrator. 

McEntire's "dungeonesque" (Tamela's word) set is as spare as his direction is lively. Costume design (by Joyous Israel Keller) is full of whimsy. In particular: Movassagh's jumper and accessories, and Shivers' Yakbeesapien look. 

The most apparent updating in this remount is a Sarah Palin reference. Even she couldn't shoot down the lovable creations in Lyle's comedy.

ARSENIC press

Teresa Valenza and Jeff Swearingen in ARSENIC AND ROSES

From The Dallas Morning News:

Festival of Independent Theatres Gets Off to a Strong Start

Monday July 20, 2009

By Lawson Taitte / Dallas Morning News
 

The first two weekends of this year's Festival of Indepependent Theatres share a similiar lineup of openings: One of the two founding companies still participating anchors with a show by a famous woman playwright, while three newer companies contibute a new play, most world premieres. The first week's entires, reviewed Sunday, all looked strong.

. . .

The two completely original scripts both deal with odd couples. The more successful, Audacity Theatre Lab's Arsenic and Roses is a trifle, but a really pleasant one. Jeff Hernandez directed Brad McEntire's comedy about a man down on his luck who (Jeff Swearingen) who seeks refuge in a bar where the sole waitress is a girl he snubbed in high school (Teresa Valenza). Swearingen's knack for leavening hilarious schtick with deadeye emotional accuracy works its usual wonders, and Valenza builds sympathy for a character who in the wrong hands would simply be annoying.

From TheatreJones.com

Fantasy and Romance

That's what the first round of openings at the Festival of Independent Theatres delivered. Who's up for more?

by Mark Lowry

Published Sunday, July 19, 2009

. . .

Audacity Theatre Lab goes for something much more traditional with Brad McEntire's Arsenic & Roses, directed by Jeff Hernandez.

Jeff Swearingen plays Charles, a man who's down on his relationship luck and was just dumped by his girlfriend of two months (the reason behind this is one of the play's funnier revelations). He wanders into a diner on a rainy night, where he meets waitress Katherine (Teresa Valenza).

Turns out, they've met before. They dated in high school, and Katherine still harbors resentment. They talk, fight and play "remember when," and if things seem familiar to them, it's even more so for the audience. McEntire has a talent for the one-liners ("he thought a Persian rug was made of cat fur," Katherine says about a former boyfriend), but this play feels like a work-in-progress. But, honestly, that's another valid reason for producing in FIT—it's a fine testing ground. 

Before this show goes any further, though, Valenza has work to do. Her anger is not believable and she talks too fast. Even in the small confines of the Bath House, she needs to project. 

Swearingen is great in a role that's less physical than we're used to seeing from him, proving that he doesn't need to be outrageous to maintain his status as one of—if not the—funniest actor in North Texas. Acting-wise, this production is off-balance.