UT Theatre & Dance to Present THE METHOD GUN by Rude Mechs, 9/10-14

A play about the ecstasy and excesses of performing, the dangers of public intimacy and the incompatibility of truth on stage and sanity in real life, Rude Mechs' widely acclaimed work returns to Austin. The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents The Method Gun September 10-14, 2014 at the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre.

Since its premiere at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in 2010, The Method Gun has toured to twelve cities, including Brisbane, Australia. "We are thrilled to present the premiere of the exciting and final version of Rude Mechs' masterpiece, The Method Gun," says Brant Pope, Chairman of the Department of Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at Austin. "This production is another example of the many ways we have opened wide the doors of Theatre and Dance to the community and the region. From our partnership with the Mechs, to our collaborations with the Long Center for the Performing Arts, ZACH Theatre, and Austin Lyric Opera, we're excited to be an integral member of the arts community in this great city."

The Method Gun explores the life and techniques of Stella Burden, actor-training guru of the 1960s and 70s, whose sudden emigration to South America still haunts her most fervent followers. Burden's training technique, The Approach (often referred to as "the most dangerous acting technique in the world"), fused Western acting methods with risk-based rituals in order to infuse even the smallest role with sex, death and violence.

Using found text from the journals and performance reports of Stella Burden's company, The Method Gun re-enacts the final months of her company's rehearsals for their nine-years-in-the-making production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Burden left the company under mysterious circumstances in 1972. Diaries and letters from actors in the company express a sense of desperation, inadequacy, and frustration inherent to the process of creating meaningful work for the stage and in everyday life. The Method Gun bounces between interior monologues, rehearsal sequences of Streetcar, and group interactions - all gleaned from historical documents - to express a longing for the return of inspiration and a more believable presentation of self in everyday life.

For more information on The Method Gun, please visit JoinTheDrama.org.