1. I’ve Never Been So Happy – a work-in-progress transmedia performance party. All tix $10!
2. Join Rude Mechs for “Austin Responds” at Austin Museum of Art
3. Rude Mechs Season Sponsors continue to give and give and give!
1. I’VE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY
a work-in-progress new musical transmedia performance party
created by Rude Mechs
book/lyrics by Kirk Lynn
music/lyrics by Peter Stopschinski
When: December 4 – 13, 2008 (Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm)
Please note Thursday, December 4th is a special benefit night reserved for a private group. Tickets are available for all other performances.
Where: The Off Center (2211-A Hidalgo St., Austin, TX 78702)
Tickets: All tickets are $10.00 Click here to purchase tickets.
Created by Austin Experimental Punk Grand Wizard Peter Stopschinski with Austin Experimental Theatre Mascot Kirk Lynn and 23 artists, I’ve Never Been So Happy is an exploration of the wild frontier of parenthood. A single mother ties her son to the last mountain lion in Texas to toughen him up. A single father tries to keep his daughter from leaving home. Philip Larkin said it best, “They fuck you up, your mum and dad.” All this plus a dachshund race, three jokes about rope, a six-piece band, eight singers, three video puppeteers, and a dance team to create a wild west wonderland in the Rudes’ theater THE OFF CENTER. (And remember, The Off Center was once a feed store!)
A transmedia performance party that purposely defies definition, we invite you to experience a sort of western carnival that will probably include a short documentary film about parenting, our patented “Ask the West” booth featuring a real rancher and a mountain lion ready with answers, a margarita booth, a Rube-Goldberg style art-making installation, an arrow shooting booth targeted at how the West has affected gender identity, the environment, culture… You might go home with a western portrait, a new set of used duds, and you just might be listened to for the first time in your life! And at the center of this evening are selections from Rude Mechs’ newest musical.
Rude Mechs will present I’ve Never Been So Happy in a serial workshop format. The father/daughter story, Scenes 2, 4 and 7, will be presented in December. The mother/son story, Scenes 1, 3, and 6, will be presented in September ’09. And then all of the scenes, including the lion’s tale, will be presented at the world premiere in April 2010.
Looking to grab a bite before or after the show? Check out Yelp.com for restaurants near The Off Center.
I’ve Never Been So Happy is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and was named as one of five NEA Distinguished New Play Development Program selections by the NEA. All NPDP selections will be presented in Washington DC at Arena Stage in Fall 2010. Rude Mechs is supported by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division.
2. Join Rude Mechs at AMOA
On December 3rd at 7pm, AMOA will present the next installment of Austin Responds. Inspired by the current exhibit “Workers: Photographs by Sebastião Salgado,” performers from Rude Mechs, Zach Scott Theater, Teatro Vivo and Performance Encounters will respond with an evening of performance that gives voice to workers. Hear oral histories of American workers come to life performed through dramatic monologues adapted from Studs Terkel’s honest and fascinating book “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.” Click here for more information.
AMOA With two locations to welcome our city and its visitors, the Austin Museum of Art presents an array of art experiences in the fun, informal, and collaborative spirit of Austin. As a community-oriented museum, we reflect the character and vibrancy of our city. We’re Austin’s Museum of Art!
Austin Responds Designed to spotlight Austin-area artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, and performers to respond to the work on view, this popular program provides bridges to other disciplines and ways of thinking and communicating about art experiences.
3. Support local businesses that support the arts!
RUDE MECHS 2008/2009 SPONSORS
