Monday, March 18, 2013

ART's A PLACE TO LAND


Acadiana Repertory Theatre presents the first show in their 2013 'Only Connect' Season. The world premiere of Chelsea Marcantel's "A Place To Land".

Graham and Rebecca are a couple on the brink of non-coupledom. Feeling too young to have been married so long, they seek advice and indiscretion from their closest friends, Casey and Miyo. But when Casey and Miyo discover that the closeness they truly want comes from each other, a hilarious downward spiral of secret-revealing, feelings-hurting, and self-discovery is initiated. Why is it sometimes so much sadder to see a couple stay together than to see one break up? And why do the most revealing and tense moments of our lives so often take place at mealtime? As funny as it is heartfelt, A Place to Land is a new relationship examination for a new generation, whose themes are as familiar as the voices inside your head.

Featuring: Gabe Ortego, Erica Jure, Lindsey Fite Finley and Steven R. Landry
Directed by: Kate S. Schneider

March 20-24 Theatre 810 Downtown Lafayette
Wed-Sat at 7:30pm
Sunday Matinee at 3:00pm

Tickets: $12 / Students (with valid I.D.) $10
For more information and to reserve tickets please visit:
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5725148072
or
call Theatre 810: (337) 484 0172

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Acting Unlimited's SHOTGUN will open this Saturday!



Acting Unlimited is proud to announce its upcoming production of Louisiana Writer of the Year John Biguenet's SHOTGUN.   Set four months after the arrival of Hurricane Katrina and the collapse of levees in New Orleans, a white man and his teenaged son rent half of a shotgun duplex from an African-American woman.  Everyone is trying to cope with their losses from the hurricane (individual, familial and city-wide), including the woman's father, displaced by the devastating flooding, and an old boyfriend.  Even in the close quarters that they find themselves, there are still walls running between them--can those walls, like the city's levees, be breached?

SHOTGUN is directed by veteran director and producer Walter Brown.  Brown's varied past productions include shows ranging from "Our Town" to "Bat Boy:The Musical".   "SHOTGUN attracted me because it's a story about relationships and people in extremely difficult situations.   The heart of the story is both intensely personal and grounded in the New Orleans' experience of Hurricane Katrina and absolutely universal in its application," Brown explained.

The creative team is comprised of some of the best talent available in the area.  Duncan Thistlethwaite  is set designer ("Broken Chain", "William and Judith"and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" ), Brady McKellar from Wanderlust Theatre Co. and the UL-Lafayette Performing Arts Program  is costume designer ("The Rabble", "Picnic" and "Wolves in the Walls" ).  Travis Johnson, also from the UL-Lafayette Performing Arts Program, is the lighting designer ("An Evening of Poe", "The Rabble" and "Kaleidoscope" ).   Elsa Dimitriadis, from Wanderlust Theatre Co., is serving as dramaturg.

Acting Unlimited's cast for this show is comprised of some faces which the audience will recognize immediately and some relatively new to the Lafayette stage.   Rudy Eisenzopf ("Beau Jeste", "Buried Child"), Angela Thomas, Andrew D. Hunter ("We All Do", "Promised Land"), Dr. Daniel Wiltz ("To Kill a Mockingbird", "Lilies of the Field") and Cody Dunstan ("Wolves in the Walls", "Dracula") make up the cast.
SHOTGUN will be presented at Theatre 810, Acting Unlimited's home theatre, located at 810 Jefferson Street in downtown Lafayette, opening on Saturday, March 9th at 8 pm (following ArtWalk Saturday) and running through March 17th.  Tickets are available for purchase online at shotgun.eventbrite.com.  They can also be reserved by calling (337) 484-0172.

Along with the Acting Unlimited production of SHOTGUN, there will be productions of the other two plays of John Biguenet's Katrina Cycles.  The Swine Palace of Baton Rouge (http://www.swinepalace.org/) will be presenting RISING WATERS from March 6-17, and Southern Rep in New Orleans (http://www.southernrep.com/) will produce the world premiere of the newest play in the trilogy, MOLD, from March 20-April 14.