Out of the Loop Fringe Festival 2014 Lineup Announced; Kicks Off 3/6

WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director and Loop Executive Producer Terry Martin today announced the line-up for the 2014 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival, March 6-16, 2014 at the Addison Theatre and Conference Centre.

Seven world premieres highlight this year's festival as well as many new artists and several returning favorites. The Festival will include dance, theatre, cabaret artists and visual arts, and a play produced by WaterTower Theatre. The Festival is made possible, in part, through the generous support of The Town of Addison and the Texas Commission on the Arts and media sponsor, TheaterJones.com.

Eighteen artists and performing arts organizations will participate in this year's Festival of which 13 are making their *Festival debut. They are: *Actor's Conservatory Theater, *Alex Tha Great, Audacity Theatre Lab, *Aztec Economy, *Brandon Simmons, Contemporary Ballet Dallas, *Cynthia Scott, *Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet, Diana Sheehan, Express Productions/David Parr, *Jenn Dodd, *Miniature Curiosa, *Jendi Tarde, Muscle Memory Dance Theatre, *Risk Theater Initiative, *SiHK Brothers, *Sossy Mechanics, Sundown Collaborative Theatre and WaterTower Theatre. (*Festival debut.)

Seven world premieres will be presented at this year's Festival: Mozart's Muse (Jendi Tarde), Beware of Plastics (Actor's Conservatory Theater), Diana Sheehan in Searching for Gertrude Lawrence, David Parr's (Express Productions) Express from 59th, Robert's EternAl Goldfish (Audacity Theatre Lab), Sundown Collaborative Theatre's Sweet Chariot, and Contemporary Ballet Dallas' Sidewalk Stories.

A 10-day celebration of theatre, dance, music, and art, the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival features performances by arts organizations and artists from across the nation. Performances are held at the Addison Theatre Centre, in four performance venues: the Main Stage, the Studio Theatre, the Stone Cottage, and the Main Lobby.

The Best of Loop will return this year. On the final day of the Festival, WaterTower Theatre will invite back for a special performance the Best of the Main Stage, Studio Theatre and Stone Cottage performers as chosen by our Loop passholders. Passholders will have an opportunity to cast ballots for their "Best Of" choice on the final Saturday of the Festival.

The Festival is produced by WaterTower Theatre - Terry Martin (Executive Producer) and Kelsey Leigh Ervi (Associate Producer).

The Dallas Observer named the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival "Best Theatre Festival" in its annual "Best of Dallas" issue. Additionally, the 2004 Dallas-Fort Worth Theatre Critics Forum awarded the Festival a special citation for providing performance opportunities to new works and new production companies.

Single tickets to all events go on sale Feb. 18. Festival Passes, now on sale, include one admission to each Festival event and are $65. WaterTower Theatre subscribers receive $10 off each Festival pass. Individual ticket prices for each event are $10 or $15. Loop passholders may make reservations starting February 11, 2014.

2014 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival Production Notes:

Actor's Conservatory Theater

Beware of Plastics

Beware of Plastics is an original performance piece made up of monologues written and performed by the young women in the show. These young actresses share their personal experiences and opinions of diversity, times of celebration of the differences between us and times of isolation because of dissimilarity.

Stone Cottage 3/7 - 7:00 pm; 3/8 - 8:00 pm; 3/9 - 5:00pm

With Robert's EternAl Goldfish (Audacity Theatre Lab)

Alex Tha Great

Passport to Womanhood

Kenya, a young and curious girl, embarks on a journey through life and recounts her fondest memories growing up and how they have shaped her into becoming a woman. All of her life lessons serve as metaphorical stamps on her passport that provide her access into womanhood.

Stone Cottage 3/8 - 2:00 pm; 3/13 - 7:30 pm; 3/15 - 8:00 pm

Audacity Theatre Lab

Robert's EternAl Goldfish

In this solo show by Brad McEntire, the audience comes face to face with Mr. Charlemagne J. Roberts. Roberts has a huge problem with people. All people. One day he becomes the unlikely custodian of a magicAl Goldfish and Mr. Roberts' misanthropic view of the world is seriously challenged.

Stone Cottage 3/7 - 7:00 pm; 3/8 - 8:00 pm; 3/9 - 5:00 pm

With Beware of Plastics (Actor's Conservatory Theater)

Aztec Economy

Butcher Holler Here We Come

It's 1973 in a West Virginia coal mine. Following a cave collapse, five coal miners struggle to survive the dwindling supply of oxygen, the lack of food and water, the unraveling sense of passing time, and, even more threatening, their own competing natures. Brutally weaving through family histories, complicated friendships, crooked politics, childhood visions, audacious hopes, eerie dreams, criminal addictions, and fervent spirituality in this run-of-the-mill Appalachian community, Butcher Holler Here We Come is a descent into the male psyche-in-crisis where secret desires, carnal urges, and hidden memories come boiling to the surface in a primitive territory of Earth that mirrors the subliminal mind.

Stone Cottage 3/7 - 9:00 pm; 3/8 - 5:00 pm; 3/9 - 2:00 pm

Brandon Simmons in

Falling Man by Will Scheffer

Falling Man examines the lives of a diverse group of gay men from various backgrounds. Join Brandon Simmons in a tour-de-force performance as we meet a former drag queen, a young hustler who is taken over by the spirit of Tennessee Williams, the infamous Jeffrey Dahmer, and a former cha-cha champion who just wants to be remembered. Starring Brandon Simmons and directed by Ted Wold.

Stone Cottage 3/11 - 7:30 pm; 3/14 - 7:30 pm; 3/15 - 2:00 pm

Contemporary Ballet Dallas

Sidewalk Stories

Sidewalk Stories explores the lives of urban dwellers. Audiences will learn the characters' individual stories and see the relevance of their lives on the greater whole. The performance is in collaboration with tap group Rhythmic Souls and Epiphany Dance Arts. The piece is composed of original works by Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer Valeries Shelton Tabor and choreographer Jill S. Rucci. Sidewalk Stories is inspired, in part, by works of the legendary jazz singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone.

Main Stage 3/8 - 5:00 pm; 3/12 - 7:30 pm; 3/15 - 2:00 pm;

Cynthia Scott

One Raelette's Journey

Former Ray Charles "Raelette" Cynthia Scott reveals slices of her life in a humorous and compassionate musical journey. The daughter of a preacher from Arkansas, Scott reflects on her childhood, the trying times of the civil rights movement, the pain of her mother's illness with Alzheimer disease, and the life and death of the legendary singer Ray Charles. Produced byCynthia Scott/Ttcos Productions.

Studio Theatre 3/13 - 7:30 pm; 3/15 - 2:00 pm

Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet

An Evening with DNCB

Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet will present selections from their repertoire in An Evening with DNCB. Included in the evening's line-up are original works by the DNCB'S co-founders, as well as works by company members, Jaclyn Brewer-Poole and Addison Reed. DNCB will also present an array of classical variations, and a new piece set to original compositions by Jordan Kuspa.

Main Stage 3/8 - 8:00 pm; 3/9 - 2:00 pm;

Diana Sheehan in

Searching for Gertrude Lawrence

Once one of the most famous women in the world and one of the biggest stars of Broadway and the West End, Gertrude Lawrence (1900-1952) inspired some of the greatest songwriters in the American Musical Theatre including: George & Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Noel Coward, Kurt Weill and Rodgers & Hammerstein. Diana Sheehan (Best of Loop Winner 2012 and 2013) explores the music and elusive qualities that made Gertrude Lawrence a star who shined brightly for over four decades on the Broadway stage. Songs include: Someone to Watch Over Me, Mad About the Boy, My Ship, Shall We Dance? and many more.

Studio Theatre: 3/11 - 7:30 pm; 3/15 - 8:00 pm; 3/16 - 2:00 pm

Express Productions

Express From 59th

The comedic drama, Express From 59th, by David Parr, is a kaleidoscopic look at the variety of ways in which strangers express themselves, tracking the same ten minutes on a late night subway ride in midtown Manhattan from four dramatically different perspectives.

Main Stage 3/13 - 7:30 pm; 3/15 - 5:00 pm; 3/16 - 5:00 pm

Jenn Dodd

No Show: A One Woman Show

Woody Allen said "80% of success is showing up." Apparently, comedic actress, Jenn Dodd, missed the memo. It's the opening night of her one woman show and friends, family and fellow industry colleagues are all ready and waiting to see what this comedy gal has to offer. With the pressure rising and a misguided director who's cut all the funny lines from her show, our leading lady is nowhere to be found and the stage crew has to scramble. What happens when the one woman who's show it is, is a no-show? Comedy chameleon, Jenn Dodd, plays all of the characters in this quirky, fast-paced comedy of errors.

Studio Theatre 3/7 - 7:00 pm; 3/8 - 2:00 pm; 3/9 - 5:00 pm

Miniature Curiosa

Tonight a Clown Will Travel Time

Haunted by the bloodthirsty execution of a law-breaking elephant and inspired by a mysterious woman from a century earlier, one clown escapes to the past in order to change the course of history and finally do something useful with his life.

Stone Cottage 3/12 - 7:30 pm; 3/15 - 5:00 pm; 3/16 - 5:00 pm

Jendi Tarde presents

Mozart's Muse

Mozart's Muse, starring Jendi Tarde, is an operatic play about Aloysia Weber Lange, the most sought - after and difficult diva of her time. Enter her dressing room as she strips to a shift, petticoats are layered, the corset stays are painfully strapped on, a wide pannier is hooked over her, a dresser attaches the stomacher with long, sharp pins. It's a strangely sensual experience watching her dress. All the while, we are taken through a story drowned in the beauty of Mozart's music, sung by the woman he wrote it all for...his greatest love, his every inspiration and his wife's sister.

Main Stage 3/11 - 7:30 pm; 3/15 - 8:00 pm; 3/16 - 2:00 pm

Muscle Memory Dance Theatre

(K) New Order: A Dance-o-rama Movement Scene

Choreographers Lesley Snelson, Kristin Daniels, Lindsey Knight, and Jackie Beth Shilcutt collaborate in giving a nod to the beloved British rock band that transformed the global dance scene and culture throughout the 1980s and 1990s. M2DT celebrates New Order's legacy by moving and grooving to some of the band's most popular hits.

Main Stage: 3/7 - 9:00 pm; 3/9 - 5:00 pm

Risk Theater Initiative

Antarctica

Risk Theater Initiative returns to producing after a six year hiatus with this absurdist fairy tale on growing up. Shy Magda (Jessica Cavanaugh) meets frenetic fellow 15 year old Winnie (Marianne Galloway)...and they immediately become best friends forever. In the certainty that "it will change everything", the two impulsively embark on a journey to the unknown tundra of Antarctica...their path fraught with boys, penguins and an enchanted polar bear (Chad Gowen Spear) with a dire message. A darkly comic fantasia of kaleidoscopic proportions. Antarctica, written by Carolyn Raship, is directed by Marianne Galloway featuring RTI company members Marianne Galloway, Jessica Cavanaugh, and Chad Gowen Spear.

Studio Theatre 3/7 - 9:00 pm; 3/14 - 7:30 pm; 3/16 - 5:00 pm

SiHK Brothers

Playing with Myself: An Exercise in Narcissism

Playing with Myself has been described as "a deeply philosophical investigation of dreams and human performance. " But they're a bunch of dirty liars. This action-packed tour de force explores one man's dark subconscious -- via pickles, homicidal puppetry, dick jokes, and a brawl against himself.

Studio Theatre 3/8 - 8:00 pm; 3/9 - 8:00 pm

Sossy Mechanics

Trick Boxing: A dance, a bout, a romance

Immigrant apple-seller, Dancing Danny David is bamboozled by hustlers, bookies, and a dance hall girl, into becoming a championship boxer in this 1930's romantic comedy told through rapid-fire dialogue, high-energy dances, ridiculous puppetry, true love and, of course, boxing. "Fred and Ginger of the prize-fight circuit." (London Observer)

Main Stage 3/7 - 7:00 pm; 3/8 - 2:00 pm

Sundown Collaborative Theatre

Sweet Chariot

How did I get here? John sits in his bathtub getting drunk, seeking philosophical answers and emotional comfort from Boyd Worley's midnight radio show. Time and reality blur as Sweet Chariot explores the emotional psyche of a man in crisis. Written by Cody Lucas and directed by Tashina Richardson and Cody Lucas.

Stone Cottage 3/9 - 8:00pm; 3/14 - 9:00 pm; 3/16 - 2:00 pm

WaterTower Theatre

Honky

A black teenager is shot for his "Sky Max" shoes. Sales triple among white teens. Are ghetto-glorifying commercials to blame for the CEO that only sees dollar signs? Either way, a new cure for racism promises to solve everything and advertises, "If you don't think you need it, you're probably a racist!" Written by Greg Kalleres and directed by Kelsey Leigh Ervi, Honky is a darkly comedic look at five people, white and black, as they navigate the murky waters of advertising, race, romance and basketball shoes.

Studio Theatre 3/6 - 8:00 pm; 3/8 - 5:00pm; 3/9 - 2:00 pm; 3/12 - 7:30 pm; 3/14 - 9:00 pm; 3/15 - 5:00 pm

TICKETS: Festival Pass: $65 / $55 for WaterTower Theatre Subscribers (Pass includes one admission to each event.) Festival passes on sale now. Individual Event Tickets: $10 to $15 each. Tickets for all Loop shows will go on sale Feb. 18 at noon. www.watertowertheatre.org/outofloop.aspx

Some productions may contain adult language, sexual situations, and/or violence. Please consult the Box Office for content information regarding a particular production.

About WaterTower Theatre: WaterTower Theatre is celebrating its 18th anniversary with its 2013-2014 season. The Company is one of the leading regional theatres in North Dallas and Texas. It is consistently recognized for its artistic excellence by the Dallas Theatre League, Dallas-Fort Worth Theatre Critics Forum, The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Observer, D Magazine, and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others. WaterTower Theatre has a subscription base of more than 2,000 subscribers and serves an audience of over 32,000 patrons annually.

About Terry Martin, Producing Artistic Director and "Loop" Producer: Terry Martin is WaterTower Theatre's Producing Artistic Director, a position he has held for 14 years. Terry has directed 50 productions for WaterTower Theatre. Some of his directing credits at WaterTower Theatre include The Grapes of Wrath, Putting it Together, Spring Awakening, Rockin' Christmas Party, The Diary of Anne Frank, Little Shop of Horrors, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Man of La Mancha, Humble Boy, The Crucible, Take Me Out, A Country Life (which he adapted from Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and which won the 2005 Rabin Award - Best New Play), Cabaret, It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues, Company, An Inspector Calls, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Laramie Project, You Can't Take It With You, Book of Days, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2002 Rabin Award - Director of a Play), Sweeney Todd, Desire Under the Elms, Ravenscroft, Rockin' Christmas Party (2000, 2001), Enter the Guardsman, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill and Little Shop of Horrors, among others.

About Kelsey Leigh Ervi (Associate "Loop" Producer): Kelsey recently directed the WaterTower Theatre production of The Santaland Diaries. She was the Assistant Director on WaterTower Theatre's recent productions of The Grapes of Wrath, The Ugly One, and August: Osage County and is currently the Assistant Director on the upcoming production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Other Dallas credits include The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told (Uptown Players), Ask Questions Later (Rite of Passage Theatre Company), The Winter's Tale, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Dallas), Dani Girl and Waking Up (Greyman Theatre Company), The Lucky Chance (Echo Theatre), and Into the Woods (PFamily Arts). Kelsey holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Baylor University and currently serves as Assistant to the Producing Artistic Director of WaterTower Theatre.

 

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