With Stop Hitting Yourself, Rude Mechs is embracing the fundamental beliefs underlying late-stage capitalism and indulging in our version of 1930’s Hollywood glamour. Part Pygmalion, part Busby Berkley, part self-help lexicon — all while dancing around a queso fountain. Rude Mechs borrows from the plots of 1930’s musicals to dig into the contemporary conservative dilemma: how to honor steely individualism without disavowing the virtue of charity. Tap dancing, fine dining, and the missionary position will be employed in order to help all Americans to stop hitting yourself.

“Improvement. Queso. Charity. Belief.” — Wildman

Once a year at the Charity Retreat a single worthy cause is selected to benefit from the Queen’s annual good deed. Families of note compete to find the citizens most deserving of assistance. This year, a socialite has discovered a wildman in the forest and sets out to improve him. The wildman’s desire to save the natural world and to bring about an era of love and harmony is a sure winner. Now she must teach him how to eat and dance, how to bow and flatter, how to behave in society so that his cause can be victorious.

Production Support: Stop Hitting Yourself is a commission of LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater. Creation support for this project also comes in part from from The MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, Mid-America Arts Alliance and foundations, corporations and individuals throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, and The National Endowment for the Arts, because a great nation deserves great art.

Arts Writing

Dallas Observer |  .pdf of article  |  Preview Article by Lauren Smart

New York Times |  .pdf of article  |  Preview Article by Charles Isherwood

American Theatre Magazine (print only) |  .pdf of article  |  Preview Article by Russell Dembin

TDF Stages: Theatre Magazine |  .pdf of article  |  Feature Article by Mark Blankenship

arts+culture magazine |  .pdf of article  |  Feature Article by Cate Blouke

Fusebox Festival blog reaction by Bridget Evarts

Fusebox Festival blog reaction by Kathy Catmull

Fusebox Festival blog reaction by Aaron Sanders

Reviews

“This fiendishly clever satire feels incredibly fresh. An ingenious piece of devised theater that has appeared like a golden unicorn in the Claire Tow Theater.” – David Cote, Time Out NY

“A playful and engrossing exploration of wealth, charity, poverty and human nature. You’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.” – Zachary Stewart, TheatreMania

 “But what makes this show exceptional is the way it brings together a medley of styles, ideas, and theater magic to both delight and deliberately unsettle its audiences.” – Cate Blouke, Austin American-Statesman

“If you can imagine a variety show swallowing your stoned poli-sci seminar in college, you’ve got a pretty good grasp on what the Rude Mechs are offering with Stop Hitting Yourself.” – Caroline North, Dallas Observer

Review of Stop Hitting Yourself by David Cote  |  Time Out New York 2014  |  pdf of review

Review of Stop Hitting Yourself by Zachary Stewart  |  Theatremania 2014  |  pdf of review

Review of Stop Hitting Yourself by Jonathan Mandell  |  NY Theatre Magazine 2014 |  pdf of review

Review of Stop Hitting Yourself by Lindsey Wilson |  culturemap Dallas 2015  |  pdf of review

Review of Stop Hitting Yourself by Caroline North |  Dallas Observer 2015 |  pdf of review

Review of Stop Hitting Yourself by Mark Lowry |  TheaterJones 2015 |  pdf of review

Awards / Citations:

“Best of 2014”  |  Time Out New York

Editor Pick by Amanda Cooper |  Flavorpill (dead link) 2014  |  pdf of review

Editor Pick by David Cote |  Time Out New York (print only) 2014 |  pdf of review

Video is available upon request.

Rude Mechs creates new works collaboratively, and we believe it is important to acknowledge that the work wouldn’t exist without the generative contribution of every Rude artist in the room.

Touring

Cal Performances – November 19 – 22, 2015

AT&T Performing Arts Center – May 28-30, 2015

Development & Premiere

January 15 – February 23, 2014
World Premiere Production at Lincoln Center’s Claire Tow Theater

September 19 – 28, 2013
a work-in-progress showing created by Rude Mechs at The Off Center

April 4 – 21 , 2013
Full-Length First-Draft Showing at The Off Center as part of Fusebox Festival’s Machine Shop Series

January 15 – February 23, 2014
World Premiere Production at Lincoln Center’s Claire Tow Theater

Production Team:

Performer / Wildman – Thomas Graves
Performer / Lady’s Maid – Heather Hanna
Performer / Unknown Prince – Joey Hood
Performer / Trust Fund Sister – Hannah Kenah
Performer / Socialite – Lana Lesley
Performer / Magnate – E. Jason Liebrecht
Performer / The Queen – Paul Soileau
Director – Shawn Sides
Writer – Kirk Lynn

Costume Designer – Emily Rebholz
Lighting Designer – Brian H Scott
Scenic Ground Plan – Mimi Lien
Composer / Sound Designer – Graham Reynolds
Production Supervisor – Madge Darlington
Stage Manager – Dave Polato

Special Thanks:

Big love goes to the Lincoln Center Theater LCT3 team – every single person we worked with there was a theatre champion and we couldn’t have done any of it without their love and support and hard work.

Here’s a link to the NYC production playbill, so you can see exactly who they are!

September 19 – 28, 2013
a work-in-progress showing created by Rude Mechs at The Off Center

Production Team:

Performer / Wildman – Thomas Graves
Performer / Lady’s Maid – Heather Hanna
Performer / Unknown Prince – Joey Hood
Performer / Trust Fund Sister – Hannah Kenah
Performer / Socialite – Lana Lesley
Performer / Magnate – E. Jason Liebrecht
Performer / The Queen – Paul Soileau
Director – Shawn Sides
Writer – Kirk Lynn
Lighting Designer – Brian H Scott
Scenic Ground Plan – Mimi Lien
Composer / Sound Designer – Graham Reynolds
Production Supervisor – Madge Darlington
Production Manager – Dallas Tate
Stage Manager – Sam Accettulli
Sound Engineer/Operator – Robert Fisher
Technical Designer – Ben Schave
Master Electrician – David Higgins
Master Carpenter – Joey Maran
Wardrobe / Backstage Crew – Kelli Bland
Props Procurer – Madge Darlington
Scenic Carpenters – David Higgins, Zac Crofford
Box Office Manager – Tina Van Winkle
Front of House Manager – Michelle Keffer
Thanks to Lisa Laratta, the April 2013
Workshop Scenic Designer, for contributing
elements to this workshop’s set design.
Thanks to Hope Bennett, the April 2013
Workshop Costume Designer, for contributing
elements to this workshop’s costume design.
Scenic Materials for this production supplied by
Austin Scenic Co-Op, a program of Rude Mechs.

Special Thanks:

The April 2013 Production Team, including and especially
Matt Hislope, Danny Herman, Rocker Verastique, Hope
Bennett, Lisa Laratta, Isaac Klein, and Erin Meyer for
the amazing work they did to push this puppy along.

– “Manifest Density” (the “Who wants a dollar?” piece)
is from the show “Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go
Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes)” conceived and written
by Neo-Futurist Founder Greg Allen and used with the
kind permission of the author.

– Natasha Sinha and Paige Evans of LCT3
– Robert Whyburn and St. Stephen’s School
– UT’s Performing Arts Center
– Loaded Gun Theory
– Ellie McBride and Deanne Croan for the mobility
cart loan, vroom!
– David Higgins
– Joey Maran
– Susan Mickey
– Jon Peterson
– Stephen Pruitt
– Steven Shirey
– Lindsay Taylor / Movin’ Easy
– Everyone who participated in the workshops, dropped
in to rehearsals and gave feedback, or just made us
better because you were watching – thank you!

April 4 – 21 , 2013
Full-Length First-Draft Showing at The Off Center as part of Fusebox Festival’s Machine Shop Series

Production Team:

Performer / Wildman – Thomas Graves
Performer / Lady’s Maid & Guest – Heather Hanna
Performer / Fake Prince – Matt Hislope
Performer / Twin Sister – Hannah Kenah
Performer / Socialite – Lana Lesley
Performer / Magnate – E. Jason Liebrecht
Performer / The Queen – Paul Soileau
Director – Shawn Sides
Writer – Kirk Lynn
Tap Choreographer – Danny Herman
Costume Designer – Hope Bennett
Lighting Designer – Brian H Scott
Scenic Designer – Lisa Laratta
Sound Designer / Composer – Graham Reynolds
Production Manager – Dallas Tate
Stage Manager – Sam Accettulli
Technical Designer – J. Scott Guthrie
Master Electrician – Dallas Tate
Costume Design Assistant – Ashley Zeh
Sound Operator – Erin Fleming
Production Intern – Isaac Klein
Props Procurer – Madge Darlington
Props Decorator – Erin Meyer
Scenic Carpenter – Dorian Robison
Wardrobe Assistant – Olivia Warner
Assistant Stage Manager – Cassandra Castillo
Box Office Manager – Tina Van Winkle
Front of House Manager – Annie Bradley McCall

Special Thanks :

– “Manifest Density” (the “Who wants a dollar?” piece) is from the show “Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes)” conceived and written by Neo-Futurist Founder Greg Allen and used with the kind permission of the author.

– Fusebox Festival 2013 for inviting us to the party
– Special Thanks to The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre of Dance who have selected Rude Mechs as Resident Theater Company. See Creation Notes for details on our Residency!
– Robert Whyburn and St. Stephen’s School
– UT’s Performing Arts Center for the chandeliers
– Rocker Verastique for inspiration
– Lindsay Taylor / Movin’ Easy – thank you
– Sarah Statham of Method Hair
– Ellie McBride and Deanne Croan for the mobility cart loan, vroom!
– And these fantastic volunteers: Blake Montgomery, Noah Martin, Jessica Helton, Rebecca Goldstein, Samuel Gorena, Jon Peterson, Jess Hughes,
– Everyone who participated in the workshops, dropped in to rehearsals and gave feedback, or just made us better because you were watching – thank you!

We were happy to show you our panties by sharing that first draft of Stop Hitting Yourself. And we are proud it was part of Fusebox Festival’s Machine Shop series. We hope you will continue to support new work creation in this way – by coming out to see it!

Rude Mechs creates new works collaboratively, and our creation and development process shifts from production to production. For Stop Hitting Yourself, we began with the script. The Co-Producing Artistic Directors met a few times per week for about 6 weeks in Fall 2012. We knew we wanted to think about altruism.

We ended up really focusing on Ayn Rand, especially her novel Anthem and an on-line lexicon of her ideas. We held two company workshops to hatch ideas around the themes of greed and money and personal extravagances. We introduced ourselves to the world of tap dance with youtube videos. Then we ran off and toured The Method Gun for a month.

When we got back, we cast the production and started to look at structure, order, design, style.
And what you saw was our best first look at all of these elements.

As we refine these into a more finished draft, YOUR feedback is, as always, critical to our process. We want to know what you loved, what you wanted more of, what you hated, what you wanted less of, what we missed entirely. You know the drill: r email us at info[at]rudemechs.com, or both!

Rude Mechs is supported by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division