The 2007 Cohen New Works Festival

Presented by the University Co-op
April 9-17, 2007


Press and Reviews 

Austinist
"Dance, Music, Theatre, and Art Converge at the Cohen New Works Festival" (April 6, 2007)

The Austin Chronicle
"The Laboratory of Playmaking" (April 5, 2007)


2007 Team 

Faculty Co-Producers: Denise Martel, Suzan Zeder and David Justin

The Cohen New Works Festival Executive Committees (2007): Angie Ahlgren, Corey Atkins, Wendy Bable, Andrea Beckham, Yvonne Boudreaux, George Brant, Chase Brindgartner, Meg Brooker, Stephanie Brown, Scott Bussey, Pamela Christian, Alex Cogburn, Greg Cornelius, Rusty Cloyes, Jenny Connell, Anastasia Coon, Douglas Dempster, Ashley DePalermo, Rachel Durkin-Drga, Denise Forbes-Erickson, Kristen Frankiewicz, Yesenia Garcia, April Gentry-Sutterfield, Stephen Gerald, Nicole Del Giudice, Charlotte Griffin, Lori Grubbs, Michelle Habeck, Katy Hallee, Alison Hart, Kelly Howe, Natasha Jarvis, David Justin, Sydney Katz, Jenny Keto, Heather Koslov, Sarah Lankenau, Diego Larrea, Kristin Leahey, Soo-Jin Lee, Larry Lehew, Amber Loftis, Maddie Lynch, Shelley Manis, Denise Martel, Brandi Matthews-James, Jan McCauley, Beth McDonald, Anne Marie McKaskle, Yonatan Mendelsberg, Susan Mickey, David Modigliani, Derek Moon, Colum Morgan, Sarah Myers, Julie Nathanielsz, Candida Nichols, Kim Ngo, Eleanor Owicki, Nichole Palmietto, Deborah Paredez, Daymon Passmore, Ryan Pavelchik, Sara Rinner, Janna Rock, Chris Rusch, Erica Saleh, Robert Sanchez, Sarah Schultz, Tanya Schurr, Fadi Skreiker, Meg Sullivan, Spencer Sutterfield, Joan Thibodeau, Susan Todd, Eve Tulbert, Sally Vander Gheynst, Eric Vera, Stacy Wolf, Alex Wood, Leanne Zacharias, Suzan Zeder

2007 Festival Roster

Ashes, Ashes

A dark fairy tale for our time. This new play for family audiences explores two sources: real stories of children living with industrial pollution and the myths of Baba Yaga and Kali, mysterious witches who oversee the forces of life and death. In a place where dark ash fills the sky, a young girl must venture into caves and coal mines to restore life to the world.

Written by Eve Tulbert and Directed by Dustin Wills


Between this Breath and You

M.F.A. Directing student Corey Atkins presents a new one-act play by Obie award winner Naomi Wallace. The script explores the conflict between Israel and Palestine through the story of an Israeli janitor, an American nurse and a Palestinian patient at a medical clinic in the West Bank.

Written by Naomi Wallace and Directed by Corey Atkins


Breaking Boundaries: Listen to Our Voices

A performance questioning and celebrating the experiences of women of color at UT.

Created by Diversity Arts Collective


By the Hand of Mother

An installation of photographs about mothers and children based on texts from dramatic literature and opera, complimented by lighting and sound.

Created by Candida Nichols


Choreography Exhibit

A dance performance focused on presenting the original work of various student choreographers in experimental and scientific parameters.

Created by Kristen Frankiewicz, Ashley DePalermo and Kara Liotta


Chrysalis

A multi–disciplinary performance exploring love, memory, and the space between this life and the next.

Created by Jenny Connell, Mary A. Chase & Jennifer J. Madison; Directed by Katy Hallee


Corona

Corona, New Mexico is the town closest to the site of the infamous UFO crash of July 1947. The arrival of a mysterious woman that same night forces the citizens of Corona to search for the truth.

Created by Diego Larrea and Andy Harold


Deep in Disbear

Written by Ryan Pavelchik


Elephant’s Graveyard

A play in workshop combining historical fact and legend as it explores the only known lynching of an elephant in America.

Written by George Brant; Directed by Charles Otte


Fit

Sharp objects and high temperatures are the least of her worries. Watch one costume designer as she navigates the unlikely pitfalls of actors, directors and the always–looming fitting.

Created by Kim H. Ngo; Produced by Victor R. Moyers; Written by Kim Beverett and Robbie Walker


For Which it Stands

A theatre performance developed by Austin area high school students exploring the relationship between government control and personal freedom.

Created and performed by the UT Connections Ensemble


Freaklove

A play in workshop about the photographer, Diane Arbus who focuses on anomalies of human nature and their function in creating isolation.

Written by Jenny Keto; Directed by Anne–Marie McKaskle


Futari Tomo (performed with Thel)

Literally “two people together,” a new Japanese taiko drumming composition featuring the pounding rhythms and fluid movement unique to this dynamic art form.

Created by Angie Ahlgren


God of the Gaps

An absurd and earnest look at the Intelligent Design controversy from a pro–science perspective explored in a play reading and interactive workshop.

Written by Sarah Myers; Directed by Kelly Howe


Hear This

A multimedia musical performance deconstructing the concert rituals that shape our experience of art music.

Created by Leanne Zacharias and Gregory Cornelius


Kouti Anthropinos

Translation: Human Box; In this non–stop multi–media performance, contemporary dance is aligned with pedestrian movement, video, music, set and audience interaction to portray the nature of humanism.

Conceptualized, choreographed and directed by Kirstin Grbic, Yonatan Mendelsberg and Alex Wood


Love, Candy

A play in workshop that looks at love, sex, and Andy Warhol through the eyes of the famed transvestite Candy Darling.

Written by Erica Saleh


M.F.A. ACTORS PRESENT

A showcase of solo performances individually researched and developed by UT's graduate actors. Three distinct programs, each presented once.

Written and performed by Fajer Al–Kaisi, Anastasia Coon, Robbie Ann Darby, Blake Delong, Yesenia Garcia, Corey Jones, Colum Morgan, Simon Provan, Kate Roberts, Jeremy Selim, Dorcas Sowunmi, and Natalie Wheeler


People Watching

A site–specific performance piece bringing life to a narrative collection of visual art.

Created by Alex Cogburn and Autumn Mackey; Directed by Alex Cogburn


Portrait

A design and dance installation in which dancers suspended seventy feet from the ceiling of the Payne Theatre explore the back wall as though it were a floor.

Created by Yvonne Boudreaux; Choreographed by Andee Scott


Querencia: A Search for Home

A collection of auto/biographical solo performances that weave performers' personal narratives with the lives of the historical women they portray.

Written and performed by Michelle Dvoskin, April Gentry–Sutterfield, Kristin Leahey, Elizabeth Mcketta, Priscilla Sample and Meg Sullivan


RAVEN STUDY

An interdisciplinary synthesis of music, choreography, visual art, and film production elements inspired by the film genre of dance for the camera. Animated images introduce a live–action dancer and drummer to reveal layers of dynamic texture.

Directed and choreographed by Charlotte Griffin; Produced by Christopher Rusch; Direction of photography by Iskra Valtcheva


RTF Films

Sycorax

A play/prequel based on Shakespeare's The Tempest performed in ritualistic, sensational and poetic style.

Written by Susan Gayle Todd; Directed by Fadi Skeiker


The Dyslexia Theatre Project

A docudrama performance based on over a dozen interviews exploring the visible and invisible worlds of dyslexia.

Created by Spencer Sutterfield


The Knot

A dance advancing “the dream of the protection that is closest to us” – an investigation in movement of the geometry and origins of our every day garments.

Created by Julie Nathanielsz


Thel (performed with Futari Tomo)

A trio choreographed in the Isadora Duncan dance technique and inspired by the themes of desire and impermanence in William Blake's “The Book of Thel.” Set the Franz Lizst's “Harmonies du soir” with live piano accompaniment.

Created by Meg Brooker


Wireless-less

A man, a woman, a laptop computer: love in the age of information. Out of his turntables, a DJ spins this story of digital addiction and human connection.

Written by David Modigliani; Directed by Katie Pearl