Our Shows...

MilkMilkLemonade (2010)
Meet Emory, an 11-year-old boy who lives on a farm with his chain-smoking Nanna and his only friend, a giant chicken named Linda. Nanna wishes Emory would put that barbie down, stop choreographing elaborate dance numbers and act more like a boy. Elliot, the bully down the road, wishes the parasitic twin living inside him would stop making him beat up on Emory. Linda wishes she could pursue a career as a stand-up comedian instead of a main course meal. And Emory... he just wants to reach for the stars!

Shrewd Productions was proud to present the Austin premiere of Joshua Conkel's wickedly funny, delightfully strange and decidedly shrewd exploration of gender, adolescence and how we fight to be who we are – no matter what. MilkMilkLemonade played to enormous critical acclaim at the Vortex in September, 2010 under the direction of Jason Hays, starring Xaq Webb, Joe Hartman, Jericho Thorp, Chris Humphrey and Shannon Grounds, with set design by Nick Renaud, lights by Jon Derrington, sound by Bryan Schneider, makeup by Amelia Turner, choreography by Sharon Sparlin and costumes by Pam Friday.

 

The Long Now
Tish Reilly has a very special friend... Time. Tish can go back to any place where a good memory remains and enter it, reliving the moments that please her. When she reunites with the oft-remembered Larry, her first love, she finds a reason to finally begin to push forward in her life again. But will Time, who has grown so fond of her, be willing to let her go?

Shrewd Productions presented the world premiere of this drama at the Blue Theatre in the spring of 2009. The Long Now was written and directed by Beth Burns and featured original music from Grammy-nominated composer/musician Burton C. Bell and founding Shrewd T. Lynn Mikeska. Renowned puppeteer Jesse Kingsley designed shadowed backdrops and ingenious shadow puppets to represent the character "Time". Starring Shannon Grounds, T. Lynn Mikeska, Mason Stewart, Anne Hulsman, D.H. Thompson, and Suzanne Balling, and featuring set design by Connor Hopkins, sound by Buzz Moran and lights by Stephen Pruitt; The Long Now received 3 B. Iden Payne nominations including Best Actress in a Drama for Shannon Grounds, Best Original Score for T. Lynn Mikeska and Burton Bell and winning Best Original Script for Beth Burns.

Kidnapped by Craigslist
Want to buy a couch? Find a date? Complain about your roommate? Your boss? Your sketchy neighbor that sleeps in his doghouse? Kidnapped by Craigslist is a unique new comedy that explores the carnivalesque, cult-like phenomenon that is Craigslist. Combining actual postings from the Austin website with scripted material, the show tells the true stories locked inside an online community that has shaped and inspired today's internet generation.

Adapted exclusively for Shrewd Productions and the Austin stage by playwrights Katie Goan and Nitra Guttierez, the play had a successful 2007 New York City engagement at the acclaimed People's Improv Theater. Directed by Shrewd company member, Jason Hays, Kidnapped by Craigslist featured an outstanding ensemble cast including: Lynn Burnor, Brock England , Nitra Gutierrez, Chris Humphrey, Pierce Purselley, Bryan Schneider and Andrew Varenhorst. Critically acclaimed lighting designer Natalie George and award-winning sound and video designer, K. Eliot Haynes brought the fascinating, fun-house world of Kidnapped by Craigslist to life.

 

Io: a myth about you
When money and fame guarantee you worship, where do the real gods go?
The god of the streets captures a savior with a secret and a mistress with no memory -- but who's the real prisoner here? Part myth, part mockery, part modern-day morality play, Io will remind you of the distinct joys of being mortal.

Shrewd Productions presented the world premiere of Io: a myth about you , written by founding company member, Monika Bustamante, and directed by NYC-based (by way of Austin) director, Elena Araoz, with original music by Shrewd's own T. Lynn Mikeska and Adam Sultan. This exciting new foray into heroic tales, vengeance, decadence, salvation, forgiveness, and rock & roll ran at the VORTEX in the Fall of 2008 to critical acclaim, receiving 4 Austin Critics' Table Nominations including Best Production of a Musical, Best New Play for Monika Bustamante, Best Supporting Actor for Gina Houston and winning Best Actor for Jude Hickey. Io: a myth about you featured an all-star cast including T. Lynn Mikeska, Andrea Skola, Jude Hickey, Aaron Alexander, Gina Houston, Shannon Grounds, Jason Hays, Anne Hulsman, Ashley Edwards, Jerry Joe Benson and Kathleen Fletcher.

 

Trash Anthems
The brother with only one gift left to give. The feminist studies major turned Vegas showgirl. The Man Who Made the Plan to Drop the Shock and Spread the Awe. Superman. And a woman singing that same ol' white trash anthem...with a twist. These are just some of the characters in this single evening of short plays dedicated to beloved losers across time and space. They're all down on their luck. They're all facing catastrophe. And they're all funny.

Shrewd produced this evening of short plays by Dan Dietz at the Hyde Park Theatre in the Spring of 2007, to glowing reviews and packed houses. Directed by Andrea Skola in collaboration with the company Shrewd, Trash Anthems featured company members Jerry Joe Benson, Shannon Grounds, Jude Hickey, T. Lynn Mikeska, Andrea Skola, and Valerie Redd with newcomer Tom Coiner.

 

Stillborn: a bedtime story
Are we born what we are, or do we become what we fear? When three sisters are left to fend for themselves in a one bar town with a too sad story, what's to grow up for? In this meticulously structured story, memory is instructive; pain is recreated; lessons are learned early and never forgotten. But if you can't forgive the past, how do you see the future - and what if the stories you tell yourself come true?

This world premiere by Monika Bustamante featured actors Kathleen Fletcher, Shannon Grounds, Michael Joplin, and Paul Wright (AEA), direction by Andrea Skola, set design by Paul Davis, lighting design by Brock England, costume design by T. Lynn Mikeska, and sound design by Skipper Chong Warson, garnering a B. Iden Payne nomination for Kathleen Fletcher for Best Actress in a Drama.

 

Cheater
What does it mean to be a cheater? We were interested in the idea of cheating and its many possible meanings. Cheating in business? In schemes? In love? In a game? On a test? In our government? Cheating death? Gravity? So we sent out a call for playwrights, both local and national, to submit short pieces on the theme of cheating.

We reviewed all submissions and chose 8 short plays that represent a broad interpretation of what it means to be a cheater: from a professional scapegoat to a hypnotist with something up her sleeve, from secrets in the bedroom to the highest levels of government, from the smallest cheat to the biggest, and from cheating another to cheating oneself. Cheater featured the work of playwrights George Brant, Monika Bustamante, Michael Kranes, Robert J. LeBlanc, Greg Romero, Velma Sublette, Mical Trejo, and Ken Webster and a cast including Jerry Joe Benson, Monika Bustamante, Lana Dieterich, Brock England, Kelly Hollabaugh, Jude Hickey, Shannon Grounds, T. Lynn Mikeska, Valerie Redd, Andrea Skola and Jessie Tilton. Solo pieces created by the ensemble rounded out this evening about getting away with it all…or not… and what it means to cheat.