Broad Theatre to Stage World Premiere of FALLING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN OF GREAT STORMS

Broad Theatre will present the world premiere of Falling Down the Mountain of Great Storms. The play is written by Greg Romero, with original composition by Mike Vernusky, directed by Molly Fonseca, with dramaturgy work by Anikka Lekven. The production will run August 13-29 at The Rosette inside the Baker Center in Hyde Park.

Falling Down the Mountain of Great Storms centers on Audra, a young Cajun woman fighting through catastrophes: breaking things on her way toward healing from an attack; colliding with her estranged, skyfalling mother, Lanette; trying to devastate all the cycles, trying to outrun hurricanes, trying to run an election campaign with her friend, Barry, who works on his dancing thirty seconds at a time at the Chicken Church. The play flows between Audra's present moment, suffocating time-breaks, and a surreal more-than-human world: a great blue heron hunts along the Atchafalaya River; a hedgehog follows Audra, dragging a branch broken from a dogwood tree; and a fox invites us to plant seeds for the future. The production features a collaboration of script, live and recorded sound, and movement, creating a unique storytelling experience. Elevated by sound worlds composed from the wetlands of southern Louisiana, the story becomes a theatrical meditation on resilience, ground, and the possibility of renewal.

This production lives in the continuum of the 20 plus year collaboration between playwright Romero and composer Vernusky. Development on this work included experiments at the University of Houston, where Broad Theatre co-founder Anikka Lekven graduated with an MA in Theater, studying with Romero. This work also continues the creative relationship between Broad Theatre and Vernusky, whose sound design haunted the production of Lekven's play, A Doctor's Visit.

The production features almost 20 local Austin artists and designers and will be presented as part of Broad Theatre's ongoing commitment to developing and producing work for and by people of marginalized genders.