The Tea Sippers' present The Pillowman and Theatre 810 is floored!

The Tea Sippers' Theatre Company moved into Theatre 810 this weekend in preparation for their latest production, The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh.

""The Pillowman" opens in an interrogation room in an unnamed totalitarian dictatorship, Katurian Katurian, a writer, is being interrogated by two detectives, Tupolski and Ariel. Next door, Katurian’s mentally disabled brother Michal waits. The detectives want to know why Katurian’s stories feature gruesome plots about child murder and torture, and in particular, why they seem to mirror a string of recent child murders in the area.

This brutal dark comedy from Martin McDonagh, the master of the horror-comedy, poses unanswerable questions: Can stories hold the power to cause atrocities? Where is the line between truth and fairy tale? Is a life of horror worth living at all? Drawing on inspiration as diverse as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Kafka, and Antonin Artaud, "The Pillowman" is a dark, twisty, and utterly unforgettable masterpiece from one of Ireland’s most treasured writers.

This is the third production of The Tea Sippers' 5th season, following "The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" by Daniel Singer, Adam Long, and Jess Winfield and "The Rocky Horror Concert Show" by Richard O'Brien."

The Pillowman will run January 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, & 30 at 7:30pm (No Matinees). You can purchase your tickets online at pillowman.eventbrite.com or reserve your seats by phone at (337)484-0172. Tickets are $15 General Admission and $12 for seniors and students with valid school ID.

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Thanks to many helping hands (and feet) in our local theatre community, Theatre 810 now has a full stage floor! The addition of the floor brings another level of flexibility to the space, allowing incoming companies the option to paint the floor to coordinate with their sets.

Photo by Aren Chaisson

What better way to celebrate our new floor than Adult Beginner Tap Dancing Classes?! Learn and/or practice the basics of tap dancing, taught by Sharon Leahy, to swing era jazz and blues played by Rick Good. The hour-long classes are "Pay What You Can" and will take place every Tuesday evening at 5:30, beginning this Tuesday, January 19th. For more information about Sharon and Rick, check out www.leahygood.com. ("Tap shoes are recommended but you can get started with hard soled shoes, no sneakers.")

Or maybe you've been itching to get your hands on our light board? Next month, join us from 1:00-3:30pm on Saturday, February 13th as Andre LaFleur guides us through the basic operation of Theatre 810's lighting system. Registration for this 2.5 hour class is $20. Sign up online at http://810lights.eventbrite.com/

Be sure to keep an eye on our Google Calendar to keep yourself up to date on everything going on at Theatre 810!

Wanderlust to close out Theatre 810's year with All My Sons by Arthur Miller

There are only 2 weeks left of scheduled performances here at 810 Jefferson Street, but they are a GOOD two weeks, let me tell ya:

- Wanderlust Theatre Co. is proud to present, as the conclusion of the year long city-wide Arthur Miller Centennial Theatre Festival, All My Sons. An American classic, this play explores family secrets, the price we pay for the American Dream, and the moral and emotional scars of war. A family drama that established Arthur Miller as a leading voice in theater, All My Sons takes the audience to a startling and heartbreaking conclusion.

The seasoned ensemble includes Joe Riehl as Joe Keller, Christy Leichty as Kate Keller with Brady McKellar, Kristen DuBois, Aren Chaisson III, Casey Harmon, Catharine Arceneaux, Jordan Umphries, Gabe Ortego and Michael Allgood rounding out the cast. Elsa Dimitriadis directs with John W. Fiero as dramaturg.

Wanderlust's last production was the summer's original stage adaptation of Saint Exupery's The Little Prince.

December 11,12,18 & 19 at 7:30 pm
December 13 & 20 at 3 pm
Theatre 810, 810 Jefferson Street, Downtown Lafayette
Tickets are $15/general admission, $12/students and seniors 65+.

For ticket reservations, please call (337) 484-0172 or purchase online at allmysons.eventbrite.com
But that's not all! In the middle of Wanderlust's run, there are two special events we don't want you to miss out on!

- On Wednesday, December 16th, the Silverbacks will present their traditional “Holiday Show.” Each year around the Holidays, Silverbacks interpret their signature improvisations through the lens of a Holiday – a brand new, completely made up Holiday that is. With the audience’s help, Silverbacks will create their very own holiday – think “Festivus for the Rest of Us” from Seinfeld.

For this show, each of the performers will be wearing a Holiday Sweater and invite the audience to do the same. ANY Holiday themed items are welcome – the audience is invited to wear their finest Christmas, Easter, Mardi Gras, or even Groundhog day sweaters to add to the fun. Previous invented holidays were “Paper-Clip Appreciation Day” (2012), “Garden Gnome Day” (2013), and Leonardo

DaVinci's Mother's Birthday (2014). What will be 2015’s holiday?

Tickets can be purchased at the door, beginning at 6:30pm on December 16th, for $10 general admission. Those patrons arriving dressed in their Holiday Finery may purchase tickets for $8!

- Finally, (but not in a chronological way) Acting Unlimited and Theatre 810 would like to thank you all for being so supportive of us this year by inviting you to a our third annual Holiday Inspired Potluck Party! Bring a shareable snack and wear your favorite holiday attire to Theatre 810 on Tuesday, December 15 at 7:30pm and join us to visit one more time before 2016 gets here! If you'd like to participate in an optional White Elephant Gift Swap, bring a wrapped gift worth no more than $10. Gifts should be appropriate for all ages.

This is a FREE event, and you are all invited. Thank you for everything. We wouldn't be here without your support.

What are your Pre-Thanksgiving plans?

It's the Week Before Thanksgiving!
"But Theatre 810," you ask, "what's so special about the week before Thanksgiving?"

Let me tell you, friends: LOTS.

This Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the Lauren-Reilly Eliot Theatre Company will present their last three performances of "The Motherf*%cker With The Hat." This show is hilarious, surprising, and real. For tickets and information, call Theater 810 at (337)484-0172 or go to www.LREtheater.com or http://mferhat.eventbrite.com/

Next up on the calendar: Sunday, November 22, 2015 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, several theatre and performance companies are volunteering their time, energy, and creativity to help make the second Black Box Affair possible!Theatre 810, operated by Acting Unlimited, Inc., is Lafayette, LA's own blackbox theatre space. Recently described as an "indie micro-theater", Theatre 810 hosts many local theatre and performance art companies, giving them a space to produce quirky, experimental, or original works.

Join your favorite local theatre companies on Sunday, November 22nd to support Theatre 810! Your $50 ticket grants you access to an exclusive evening of food and drinks at Pop's Poboys, dessert and a silent auction at Carpe Diem Gelato & Espresso, and a show at Theatre 810! Suggested attire for this event is Dressy Casual. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at blackboxaffair.eventbrite.com . Call 337-484-0172 for more information

And finally, on Wednesday, November 25th at 7:30pm, Silverbacks Improv Theatre will be back with their annual Pre-Thanksgiving Improv Show! Join the Silverbacks while your vegetables marinate and your Turkey thaws for a night of made-up-on-the-spot entertainment.

Thank you for allowing Theatre 810 to be a part of this year's Pre-Thanksgiving memories.

Opening Weekend has arrived for Lauren-Reilly Eliot's production of The MotherF**cker With The Hat

It's been two years since by the Lauren-Reilly Eliot Company as graced our stage, but this weekend, they're returning IN FORCE with Stephen Aldy Guirgis's The MotherF**cker With The Hat!

From the Facebook Event page:
Nominated for six Tony awards (including Best Play) and three Drama League Awards, strap yourself in for this high-octane verbal cage match about love, fidelity, addiction and misplaced haberdashery. From the playwright of "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" and "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train"; this wildly candid and colorful comedy tells the story of a couple whose desire for each other is only bested by their drive for self-sabotage. Jackie and Veronica have been in love since the eighth grade. Nothing can come between them…except sobriety…and a motherfucking hat.

Directed by Scott Gremillion

Cast: Andre Trahan, Brittany Cernek, Skip Woods, Angela Thomas and Andrew Lee Vincent

Dates: November 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 @ 7:30pm
November 15 @ 2pm

For tickets and information, call Theater 810 at (337)484-0172
or go to www.LREtheater.com or http://mferhat.eventbrite.com/

Acadiana Repertory Theatre closes out their season with a Developmental Production!

Acting Unlimited, Inc. completed their two week run of All In The Timing by David Ives on Saturday evening. Immediately after their final show, the cast and crew tore down the set, mopped up the peanut shell dust, and made way for Acadiana Repertory Theatre! Sunday Afternoon, ART began to set the stage for the Final Show of their 2015 season, a developmental production of Tiffany Antone's Twigs & Bone.

[From the Facebook Event Page:]
After her estranged parent’s phone line has been disconnected, Moira Lane begrudgingly returns to the home she abandoned eight years ago only to find things far worse than she could have feared. Her father, William, has taken to peeing in coffee mugs and her mother, Bonnie, claims to have had a miraculous birth. Believing the “baby” to be her youngest daughter reincarnated, Bonnie is convinced that Faeries in the woods have blessed the family with a second chance. As a terrible storm moves in, Moira must battle her family’s madness and navigate the years of guilt and grief feeding the storm if she has any hope of getting out alive.

Directed by Artistic Director Steven Landry, with Allen Higginbotham as production assistant starring Deborah D. Ardoin as Bonnie, Gayle James as Moira, and Kevin Miller as William.

Playwright Tiffany Antone will be joining us on opening weekend, so pick up tickets to the first three shows and get a chance to chat with the wonderful woman behind this compelling, dark, funny, and riveting script.

Performances are on October 30th and 31st and November 5th, 6th, and 7th at 7:30pm and November 1st at 2:00pm

Tickets are 15.00 general admission or 12:00 seniors and students(with an I.D.)

Tickets are available in advance online at twigsandbone.eventbrite.com. You can also call Theatre 810 at (337)484-0172 to reserve your seats. For more information about Twigs and Bone, visit acadianarep.org.

Support local theatre, support new works, love your ART!

A Weekend of Comedy and Horror and Theatre 810

This weekend, Theatre 810 has a bit of a mashup for you!

Tonight is opening night for Acting Unlimited, Inc.'s production of All In The Timing, 6 one-acts by David Ives. The cast and crew have spent this week perfecting each scene and practicing their delivery to give you a show that lives up to its title. For many of the cast members, this isn't their first time working with Ives witticisms and puns: about half of the cast, the crew, and the director were also in AUI's 2012 production of David Ive's Lives of the Saints, the company's first official production at the brand new, freshly named Theatre 810.

The show opens tonight (Friday, October 16th) at 7:30pm, and will run for two weekends: October 17, 22, 23, and 24th at 7:30pm, and Sunday afternoon, October 18th at 3:00pm. Tickets can be reserved ahead of time by calling (337)484-0172 or purchased online at auitiming.eventbrite.com


But that's not all that's lurking in the shadows of our little edge of downtown Lafayette. Silverbacks Improv Theatre have been hard at work developing a new improvised format for your entertainment: HORRORSHOW - an improvised take on psychological horror.

On Sunday evening, October 18th at 7:30pm, Silverbacks will take their signature improvisations on a twisty ride through the shadows. Taking inspiration from the great horror masters of film, fiction, and theatre, the Silverbacks will aim to deliver a show that is genuinely chilling for those who dare to partake. This show will be “Pay-What-You-Can" for all patrons. Reservations can be made ahead of time by calling (337)484-0172.

Make this weekend one to remember! Tell your friends, make some calls, and join us at Theatre 810 for comedy... and terror.

AUI presents All In The Timing by David Ives

Acting Unlimited, Inc. moved into Theatre 810 yesterday in preparation for their next show, All In The Timing, a series of comedy one-acts by David Ives.  Winner of the John Gassner Playwriting Award, All In The Timing is a critically acclaimed, award-winning evening of comedies that combines wit, intellect, satire, and is just plain fun.

Directed by Cara Bacque, the one-acts feature performances by many local actors and actresses: Amy Brown, Andrew Mills, Annette Diaz, Brady McKellar, Breanne Hernandez, Catharine Arceneaux, Cody Dunstan, Elaine Kibodeaux, Erin Segura, Jordan Umphries, Joseph Diaz, and Phillip Spear.

This is the third production of Acting Unlimited, Inc.'s  2015 season, following Super-Wellesian by Rory Jobst in February and The Addams Family: A New Musical Comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice in August.

Performances of All In The Timing will take place at Theatre 810, located at 810 Jefferson Street, Lafayette, LA on October 16, 17, 22, 23, and 24 at 7:30pm, with a matinee on Sunday, October 13 at 3:00pm. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased online at auitiming.eventbrite.com.  For more information, call Theatre 810 at (337)484-0172