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29 Night, 100+ Production, Multi-Venue Fringe Theater.- Free Tix!

 Those looking to discover the newest, rawest, most exciting theatre happening need look no further than FronteraFest: a smorgasbord of over 100 new works presented over 5 weeks on multiple stages. Named the “best theatrical event” by the Austin Chronicle and “the fringe theatre event of the Southwest” by the Austin American-Statesman, the 17th Annual FronteraFest will again exhilarate theatre fans and purveyors alike by opening its stages to some of the most innovative local and national talents on Tuesday, January 12 through Saturday, February 13.

Austin.com hs teamed up with Wyatt Brands to offer free tickets to the Long Fringe shows.  To win a pair of tickets, please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and type "Frontera Fest" in the subject line.  Please also indicate which show you would like to see (please include date and time).  To find a listing of the Long Fringe shows, click the read more link.

“FronteraFest is like a huge grab-bag of performing arts” said Christina J. Moore, festival producer and executive director of Austin Script Works. “With multiple performances every night for five weeks, audiences can be surprised, delighted, touched, and entertained by the work of over 1,000 local and national talents, including performers, directors and playwrights, at venues all over Austin.”
 
Co-produced with Austin Script Works and Hyde Park Theatre, FronteraFest 2010 features more out-of-town visitors than ever before including performers from New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, New Orleans, and more.
 
For the last 16 years, FronteraFest has provided a venue for new theatre, comedy, and dance performers, as well as established local and national performers and writers to explore new works that challenge these artists and Austin audiences.
 
Nationally recognized playwrights like Kirk Lynn, John Walch, and Lisa D’Amour presented some of their earliest work at the festival. Many plays that began as FronteraFest pieces have gone on to become full-length, award-winning productions incuding works by Steven Tomlinson, Ron Berry, Hans Frank, Cyndi Williams, Lowell Bartholomee, Zell Miller III, and others.
 
The breadth and variety of offerings available in FronteraFest includes four tracks: the Short Fringe including 80 pieces under 25 minutes, the Long Fringe including 20 feature-length works, Mi Casa es Su Teatro where participants present their creative work specifically in their homes, and Bring Your Own Venue featuring site-specific performances. Details for each division of festival can be found at www.www.hydeparktheatre.org

Tickets range from $3 to $16 per performance.  To purchase tickets visit www.hydeparktheatre.org or call 512-479-PLAY (7529)

 

Long Fringe Schedule at Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road

Melissa Rodriguez – Lady M by Melissa Rodriguez (75 minutes)
Gruoch Comegáin is a Scottish noblewoman happily married with a child. Her father, Boite, is a ruthless, ambitious man who will stop at nothing to reach Scotland’s throne. This is the possible story behind one of literature’s most misguided and bloody figures that has captured the fascination of audiences for centuries. What happened to Gruoch to transform her to the fiend-like Lady Macbeth? Produced by Texas State University, directed by Matthew Braylon Haynes.
Tickets:  $10
Tues 1/19 8:45 p.m.   Sat 1/23 5:15 p.m.   Mon 1/25 9:15 p.m.   Thurs 1/28 7 p.m.

Schave and Reilly – Some Other Day (60 minutes)
Some Other Day is Schave & Reilly’s take on the inevitable: death and weather. With their absurd blend of physical comedy, clowning, and dance, the clowns take ‘em on. In our story of redemptive grief, acceptance through denial, and love, scarves take flight, umbrellas dance, and the occasional bomb goes off. Written & Directed & Performed by: Ben Schave and Caitlin Reilly; produced by: Caitlin Reilly.
Tickets:  $10
Tues 1/19 7 p.m.   Wed 1/27 9:15 p.m.   Sat 1/30 2:15 p.m.   Sun 1/31 8:15 p.m.

Raymond King Shurtz – Bohemian Cowboy by Raymond King Shurtz (90 minutes)
In November 2005, Raymond Dean Shurtz walked into the desert in Clark County, Nevada, The Valley of Fire, and vanished for two years. Nevada search-and-rescue detectives, psychics, and family, including his son, Raymond King Shurtz, searched for his body, but it was never recovered. Bohemian Cowboy is an authentic portrayal of a theatre artist, a bohemian, and a cowboy still searching for the west. Produced by Marie Hills and directed by Kurt Brungardt
Tickets: $12
Thurs 1/21 9:15 p.m.   Sun 1/24 8:15 p.m.   Wed 1/27 7 p.m.    Sat 1/30 12 p.m.

Ben Prager – Things in Life by Ben Prager (90 minutes)
Three time Best-of-Fest winner Ben Prager reprises his comic monologues that portray with unblinking realism “ordinary” Americans. In 2009, Things in Life was nominated for three Austin Critics Table Awards. Directed by Wynne West
Tickets: $12
Sat 1/23 1 p.m.     Mon 1/25 7 p.m.   Sat 1/30 8:30 p.m.    Sun 1/31 3:45 p.m.

A2Z2U – An Evening with Chastity and Alan Jr. by Alan Metoskie and Zoe Schwartz (60 minutes)
Famous country western duo Alan Jr. and Chastity Gambler have always been in love.  But their commitment to each other and to their show will be tested as secrets are revealed, lyrics are forgotten, and tears are shed over spilt beer. Leave your daddy’s shotgun at home and let this charming and hilarious musical revue blow your brains out.
Tickets: $8
Mon 1/18 9 p.m.   Wed 1/20 7 p.m.   Sat 1/23 7:15 p.m.    Sun 1/24 2:15 p.m. 

Midnight Society – I Can’t Believe Its Not Funny: The Best of Midnight Society Presents written, produced, directed, and performed by Midnight Society (75 minutes)
For nearly two years, Midnight Society has been writing and performing sketch comedy at ColdTowne Theater. In that time, they've gone through 37 gorilla suits, 168 banana peels, and 1 working time machine, all in an attempt to craft the perfect sketch show. The result: The Best of Midnight Society Presents and a full hour of the best sketch comedy Austin has to offer.  The full cast of Midnight Society Presents: Lance Gilstrap, Michael Jastroch, Joel Keith, Delaney Liming, Andy Petruzzo, Nick Ramirez, Kyle Sweeney, Jericho Thorp, Michael Williams.
Tickets: $5
Wed 1/20 8:45 p.m.    Sun 1/24 6:15 p.m.    Thurs 1/28 9 p.m.    Sun 1/31 2 p.m.

Aaron Black – Hotel Morocco by Aaron Black (90 minutes)
Adam has lost his dad, girlfriend, and job. Now he’s stuck as the overnight bellman at Hotel Morocco, a Times Square tourist trap. Alongside encounters with his ex-girlfriend, a seductress, and various hotel characters; he meets Rocco, the resident, who claims the owners want him dead. Adam seeks clarity amongst chaos in this new comedy by Aaron Black, Directed by Shannon Davis, starring Alexander Hall. Producer: Aaron Black, Shannon Davis, Alexander Hall Director: Shannon Davis. Contains mature language.
Tickets: $10
Fri 1/22 9:15 p.m.   Sun 1/24 12 p.m.     Tues 1/26 7 p.m.      Sat 1/30 6:15 p.m.

 Long Fringe Schedule at the Blue Theatre, 916 Springdale Rd

Robert Minshew – Habit by Robert Minshew (45 minutes)
Habit is a new play by Robert Minshew, dealing with themes of addiction, obligation, and the gut-wrenching pain of combining two lives. Timothy is down to his last five cigarettes. Moving to a new home, however, dredges up his past with his wife Jane, and complicates the task of quitting. Starring Andrew Black as Timothy and Lisa-Nicole Lenger as Jane. Directed by Josh Nanninga.
Tickets: $6
Mon. 1/18 9:15 p.m.     Sat. 1/23 6:30 p.m.     Sun. 1/24 8:30 p.m.    Sun. 1/31 3:30 p.m. 

Vince Bell – One Man's Music: A Monologue with Song by Vince Bell (60 minutes)
Based on his new autobiography, Bell tells a fine tale about Texas music, the singer-songwriter tradition, and a personal journey of determined rehabilitation and subsequent comeback from a car wreck that ends triumphant in the here and now. One Man's Music is a story of distance and reunion, of shrapnel and balm, and the journey of a "music-lifer" as well as a life resurrected by music.
Tickets: $10
Sat. 1/23 8 p.m.     Mon. 1/25 7 p.m.     Tue. 1/26 9 p.m.      Sat. 1/30 2:15 p.m.  

Movin’ Melvin Brown – A Man, A Magic, A Music by Melvin Brown (90 minutes)
A magical journey through Black Music history 50's-90's, in Song, Tap & Clogging, Comedy, Characters & Story! Songs of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Chubby Checker, Otis Redding, Temptations and more... “performed so you think the original artist stands before you...Brown is a one man concert!”  *****The Scotsman, Edinburgh – Characters like: the 'Black Preacher', James Brown, the “music box dancer”, Bojangles... Sold out in Edinburgh, Edmonton, and Adelaide. www.movinmelvin.com
Tickets: $12
Fri. 1/22 7 p.m.     Sun. 1/24 4:15 p.m.     Mon. 1/25 8:45 p.m.     Sat. 1/30 10:15 p.m.

City On a Hill? Productions – American Volunteers by John M. Meyer (90 minutes)
American Volunteers follows a squad of special operations Rangers as they patrol the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The play focuses on three sergeants responsible for leading the squad, and the conflict that arises as each pursues life, liberty or happiness. The story is told through the bifocal perspective of a female soldier briefly attached to the squad, and a metamorphic Chorus. Warning: Strong language, violence, and meter.
Tickets: $8
Tue. 1/19 9:15 p.m.     Thur. 1/21 7 p.m.     Sat. 1/23 9:45 p.m.      Sat. 1/30 12 p.m.

Chaotic Theatre Company – Alice!  by James Jackson Lynch (75 minutes)
From the twisted mind of the Chaotic Theatre Company, comes Alice!, a story about a young girl’s descent into madness. Along this journey she meets characters with sinister smiles and outrageous personalities. Menacing laughter will fill your ears and engulf your mind. You will be torn between two worlds: the harsh reality of Blackthorn Asylum and the fantastical world of Wonderland.
Tickets: $10
Wed. 1/20 9:15 p.m.     Sat. 1/23 12 p.m.    Thur. 1/28 7 p.m.     Sun. 1/31 5 p.m.

Philip Kreyche – Love Me by Philip Kreyche (90 minutes)
When his love left him, Oskar thought his life was over. Now, several years and a world war later, he still can't get over her. To avoid reality and save himself, he orders a mannequin made in her image. But little by little, his fantasy becomes a nightmare.
Tickets: $8
Mon. 1/18 7 p.m.    Sat. 1/23 2 p.m.     Wed. 1/27 9 p.m.     Sat. 1/30 6 p.m.

Rhonda Kulhanek – The Mommy Confessions by Rhonda Kulhanek (90 minutes)
Kulhanek’s hilarious one-woman show features 13 different characters struggling to survive their maternal lives.  There’s a "memaw" raising her great-grandkids who confess to Jesus, a former beauty queen who comes clean at Mommies Anonymous, and an unwed mother-to-be who confides in her unborn son.  These are just three characters eagerly awaiting the chance to tell their story about what it takes to be a mommy!
Tickets: $12
Wed. 1/20 7 p.m.     Fri. 1/22 9:15 p.m.     Sat. 1/23 4:15 p.m.     Sun. 1/31 7 p.m.

Capital T Theatre Co. – Dying City by Christopher Shinn (90 minutes)
The first casualty of war is the truth. Christopher Shinn's unsettling new play, Dying City, seeks that truth in a quiet, transfixing tale of grief and violence, set in the shadow of the Iraq war. Capital T proudly presents the regional premiere of this Pulitzer-nominated play examining the politics of the American soul.
Tickets: $12
Tue. 1/19 7 p.m.     Sun. 1/24 2 p.m.      Thur. 1/28 9 p.m.     Fri. 1/29 7 p.m.