BWW Q&A: Patrick Osteen Talks RED at RhinoLeap Productions

RhinoLeap Productions announces its first production of 2026: Red by John Logan.  Winner of six Tony Awards, Red focuses on the late career of modernist painter Mark Rothko.  The production will be presented at StarWorks in Star, NC as part of a month-long live performance residency surrounded by galleries filled with art created by their glass blowers, metal sculptors, and potters.  The live performances run March 7th-22nd.

About the Play: Under the watchful gaze of his young assistant and the threatening presence of a new generation of artists, Rothko takes on his greatest challenge yet: to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. Red is a moving and compelling account of one of the greatest visual artists of the 20th century whose struggle to accept his growing fame became his ultimate undoing. ​

About the Production Team: John Logan's additional work as an Academy Award nominated screenwriter includes: Ridley Scott's Gladiator, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, and Sam Mendes' Bond films Skyfall and Spectre.

The play will be performed by Kira Geiger and Michael Tourek as Rothko.  Kira is RhinoLeap’s Associate Artistic Director and Michael is a film and television actor based in North Carolina.  His credits include The Accountant 2, Red One, The Walking Dead, Mayor of Kingstown, and Ozark.  The director of the production will be RhinoLeap Artistic Director, Patrick Osteen.

When: March 7 – 22, 2026

Where: StarWorks @ 100 Russell Drive, Star, NC

RhinoLeap's mission is to demonstrate the power of the arts to transform rural communities striking a balance between asking meaningful questions and our desire to entertain. We have produced 35 productions and have performed and/or taught in 17 counties across North Carolina. Our creations include live theater, dance, and music as well as our weekly radio show, Crash Radio on WKXR and WFDD.

STARworks is an internationally renowned maker’s space converted from a textile mill promoting community and economic development.  They increase the diversity of artistic experiences available in their region by bringing nationally and internationally known artists for demonstrations, classes, and commissions.

Patrick Osteen lives in Asheboro, NC. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of RhinoLeap Productions. Before moving back to North Carolina in 2019 to help run the company, Patrick performed all over the United States in the Broadway National Tour of War Horse and then all over the world in the international tour of Cirque du Soleil’s Toruk. Regional credits include Sweeney Todd, The Glass Menagerie, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, An Iliad, Unnecessary Farce, The Pavilion, Bright Star, Constellations, Sense & Sensibility, A Few Good Men, and Much Ado About Nothing. Patrick also currently teaches at UNC-Greensboro and at high schools all over the state. He has a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Talk about the found of RhinoLeap and why?

While in college at UNCSA I began getting frustrated with how many excellent actors were graduating and mostly sitting around waiting to book a job. It seemed to me that everyone moving to the same place to fight over the same few jobs was not a very efficient use of talent. So my dad and I starter having conversations about creating our own theater company so we could create more job opportunities outside the major markets. After I graduated, I did a few regional jobs before being hired on the National Tour of War Horse and the theater company idea took a backseat. After returning home in late 2014, my folks picked me up from CLT and my dad (who had retired from the medical field about 5 years prior) said he wanted to become a theater producer. After lots of figuring out, we brought a workshop down to UNCSA (my alma mater) the following summer, marking 2015 as the first unofficial RhinoLeap project. We weren’t named until the following summer when we became a non profit. RhinoLeap comes from something ancient doing something unexpected.

What was your experience like on War Horse?

It was such an unexpected departure from what I thought my trajectory would be. I was a very physical actor but I had never done any puppetry prior to the audition. We had a really good mask program at UNCSA and I think that gave me the access point into puppetry. I’m so glad to have been given that opportunity because I fell in love with the form. The show itself was life changing. We were our own village traveling through the country. The story of War Horse is gripping and wide reaching. It was a privilege to live in that world for over two years. The puppets themselves are still the most beautifully designed and functional puppets I’ve ever used. Anything you do for so long can become monotonous and I certainly lost sight of the joy now and then but I remember trying to stay in the awe of the experience. I got to spend my 23rd birthday on stage at the Kennedy Center. I was in horse and a buddy in the cast walked up and whispered “Happy birthday, boy”. It’s a special thing.

What was it like touring the world with Cirque du Soleil?

It was another huge surprise. I yelled on the street when I found out. I’ve always been a huge admirer of Cirque du Soleil since my family took me to Corteo when I was a kid. I was a gymnast and had some tumbling skills but I wasn’t nearly that level. I had a buddy from War Horse who had been on the show, TORUK, since creation. It was their first cast turnover and they had a few puppetry positions opening up. I auditioned and joined the show and happily moved my stuff out of New York and ran away with the circus for a few years. Traveling the world is surreal. I had done some traveling growing up and we had gone to Japan with War Horse but this was on another level. We were often week to week in different countries. I remember being in Shanghai and a drunken businessman asked “Am I in China?” I said “Yes” and he responded “Ok.” I kinda understood. You’re also traveling with some absurdly talented people - and talented in ways that are deeply unusual and sometimes unique. I have life-long friends from that show as well. You’re part of this little town braving around and trying to take care of one another.

Why has RED become one of your favorite plays?

When I was on tour with War Horse we played the Ahmanson in LA. We got a notice that this new show was going into the Taper, next door, and they needed an audience for their dress rehearsal before moving into the theater. So like 40 of us go to this little rehearsal space across the street - it used to be a small school or something - and sat in folding chairs in this old cafeteria-looking room while Alfred Molina and Jonathan Groff delivered Red under the florescent lights. I’ve been waiting for my chance at it ever since.

What led you to choose "Red" as RhinoLeap's first production of 2026?

It’s a deeply thoughtful play that crackles with passion. I love how it explores nuance and contradiction. In a time when the structures of our society are being shaken and broken, I’m grappling with meaning. I think maybe we all are, to some degree. This play explores that conversation. I’m also very excited about the Venue partnership. The show will be at Starworks, a multidisciplinary arts crafting space. They have glass blowing and pottery studios. They even manufacture clay. So, performing the show in their Gallery gives us the opportunity to have an installation for the audience to move through before arriving at the seating area. It will be an unusual and remarkable experience.

Can you share more about the process of getting "Red" to the stage?

At RhinoLeap, we have become a mostly found-space theater producing group. This season will only have one show held in a conventional theater space. So, much of the details come down to how to effectively create the piece in the specific space. We have a fairly long history with Starworks so we are developing a shorthand that allows us to discover more opportunities to “embrace the space“. What that looks like for Red is best codified by the installation we are planning. Much of the dialogue discusses other famous artists of the time and the past. We have worked with Starworks to create a museum gallery installation showcasing the works of those various artists. This will be how the audience enters the space and should provide clear context for the show.

How does your background as a performer influence your approach to directing?

I’m very scene-work forward. I care about the moments more than the tech which can be tricky. However, we commonly work with the same (growing) pool of designers so they know what they’re getting into. It also gives them more autonomy over their design as I try to trust the instincts of the people we’ve hired.

Why must audiences come and see the show?