Amphibian Stage Goes Global To Bring The Unexpected In 2023

Amphibian Stage announced today the theater company's 2023 season lineup launching February 10, featuring a world premiere new play inspired by Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, a Van Cliburn-style acting competition addition to SparkFest, and three weeks of back-to-back stand-up comedy featuring the series creator, Grace & Frankie star Baron Vaughn.

The 12-month lineup never-before-seen theatrical experiences and bold programming all serve to champion the nonprofit's mission to build a community of artists and patrons who can unite through thought-provoking performing arts. Every selection in 2023 will offer audiences a space to engage with the material long after the lights go down. The main-stage season explores the perplexing, difficult, but crucial need for human connection in vastly different settings; a rocket ship to mars, a US Immigration office, Victorian England, and a run-down German town. In March, the Stand-Up Comic Residency will place three prominent Black comedians in the spotlight. And SparkFest, in its third year, will celebrate and amplify voices that often go unheard.

Amphibian Stage maintains their commitment to work in partnership with artists in the creation of new work-from development to production. The Main Stage season features a provocative world premiere and two plays that will have their first professional staging since they were originally conceived. Amphibian Stage is working directly with the writers to develop a new approach to designing and directing these works. This year's SparkFest will center around a community often underrepresented on U.S. stages in an effort to better acquaint the theatre industry at large with Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian (MENASA) artists. This festival, like the whole season, will demonstrate the effect new work can have on the future of performing arts.

"For years I've dreamed of hosting an acting competition that would not only reward actors for their years of training and experience, but that would also allow audiences to see the brightest Texas talent. There is a perceived absence of MENASA talent in the area, and this further limits the opportunities available to them. By showcasing them, we hope to introduce artistic leaders to more actors and thus encourage all of us to include their stories in our seasons." -Kathleen Culebro, Amphibian Stage Artistic Director.