February 25, 2022
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THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE
PRESENTS
UTNT (UT New Theatre)
MARCH 3-11, 2022
AT THE OSCAR G. BROCKETT THEATRE
FEATURING NEW WORKS FROM RISING PLAYWRIGHTS
CO-PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTORS KJ SANCHEZ AND ALEXANDRA BASSIAKOU SHAW
Texas Theatre and Dance is pleased to present UTNT (UT New Theatre), March 3-11, 2022 in the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre. Established in 2007 by nationally renowned playwright Steven Dietz, UTNT (UT New Theatre) celebrates is 15th season as an annual showcase of newly developed works for the American stage. Featuring three never-before-seen plays by playwrights of the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Michener Center for Writers at The University of Texas at Austin, UTNT continues to serve as an incubator of powerful new ideas for the stage.
“It is an honor to present three new works this season by our ascending third-year M.F.A. playwriting and directing candidates,” share Co-Producing Artistic Directors KJ Sanchez and Alexandra Bassiakou Shaw. “UTNT has consistently served as a launchpad for The University of Texas at Austin’s graduate and undergraduate theatre artists; artists who are continuing to change the American theatre landscape and influence hearts and minds around the globe.”
The university’s Department of Theatre and Dance and Michener Center for Writers have been heralded nationally as incubators for new work (American Theatre). Notable alumni of these programs include Lisa D’Amour (2011 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Detroit), Abe Koogler (Fulfillment Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, 2017), Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig (2011 Wasserstein Award Recipient), George Brant (2008 Keene Prize for Literature, Elephant’s Graveyard), Kimber Lee (2013-2014 Lark Fellow) and Kirk Lynn (2011 USA Fellow in Theatre Arts; Rude Mechs).
The 2022 UTNT (UT New Theatre) plays include:
Tiny Fingerprints
Written by Jaymes Sanchez (2020 Keene Prize winner)
Directed by Adam Flores
Set at San Antonio's famous haunted train tracks, Tiny Fingerprints explores grief, the nature and power of belief and the lies we all tell ourselves to make life worth living. In this play, Bobby believes that the spirit of his dead child lives with the "ghost children" at the haunted train tracks. As Bobby falls deeper into grief and delusion, his ex-wife urges him to seek help, a famous psychic medium encourages his fantasies and a science YouTuber attempts to destroy his world with reason. As mischievous ghost children and a troubled playwright meddle in the action, Bobby's fantasies become the foundation of his life, and the destructive potential of the truth grows.
Murky as Hell
Written and Directed by Andrea L. Hart
Murky as Hell is based on the stories of women who aided Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein and Terry Richardson, among others. What began as an exercise in imagining fitting punishment for these women turned into a meditation on the violence we inflict on each other and the systems that teach us how to do it. Darkly comic and brutally over-the-top, Murky as Hell examines notions of guilt and complicity in the biggest flesh-eating, spine tingling, scale-balancing match of the century. Buckle up.
Jinkies! or The Dog Play
Written by Josiah Thomas Turner
Directed by Braxton Rae
Ten years ago, following a botched case, the members of our favorite Saturday-morning-cartoon teenage-mystery-solving team went their separate ways. Now as crisis descends on Coolsville and one of their own is swept into the spotlight, accused of a heinous crime, the gang must reunite to solve one last mystery - But the question remains; Where is The Dog?
For more information about UTNT (UT New Theatre), please visit JoinTheDrama.org
CALENDAR LISTING
March 3-11, 2022 – The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents UTNT (UT New Theatre) at the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre (300 E. 23rd St.), located in the F. Loren Winship Drama Building. A map of the campus: theatredance.utexas.edu/about/location-directions-parking
Tickets for all performances are now on sale and available online at JoinTheDrama.org or at the F. Loren Winship Box Office. Office locations and hours: theatredance.utexas.edu/ticketing
ABOUT TEXAS THEATRE AND DANCE
The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance is a world-class educational environment that serves as the ultimate creative incubator for the next generation of artists, thinkers and leaders in theatre and performance.
ALSO THIS SEASON
Dance Repertory Theatre presents
PIVOT
April 6-10, 2022
B. Iden Payne Theatre
Love and Information
By Caryl Churchill
April 13-24, 2022
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre
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