Now Playing - SMALL STEPS - a World Premiere Comedy
Written by Briandaniel Oglesby - Directed by Braxton Rae
Shrewd Productions is proud to present the first World Premiere of local playwright, Briandaniel Oglesby, with our production of SMALL STEPS at Hyde Park Theatre, with the generous support of Scriptworks.
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When Skip Powers realizes that no one will ever love him, he volunteers to go to Mars - and the Principal of NASA says, "Yeah, sure. You'll do." Skip isn’t close to his family, hasn’t had ANY luck with dating, and isn’t interested in participating in the gene pool – making him the perfect candidate for NASA to send millions of miles on a solo mission to Mars from which he will never return.
After disheartening experiences on gay hookup apps, he's more than prepared for training with the Abstinence Coach -- but a little less prepared when the Love of His Life tries to keep him on earth. This play about what it means to attempt to live your life in the pursuit of great things spans a million years and fifty-five million miles.
A hilarious, campy, and heartfelt story, SMALL STEPS deals with the very real themes of isolation and loneliness, and the bravery involved in searching for real connection in a disconnected world.
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DATES: July 21st - August 12th
TIMES: Thursdays - Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 5pm
WHERE: Hyde Park Theatre, 511 W. 43rd Street, Austin, TX 78751
TICKETS: $21 - $28, Click Here for Tickets and Information
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CONTACT US: shrewdproductions@gmail.com or 512-956-6306
SMALL STEPS is directed by Braxton Rae, starring Dane Parker as Skip Powers with an ensemble featuring Jen Brown, Trey Deason, Shannon Grounds, and Andy Shaw. The show boast the talents of Pam Friday as Costume Designer, Amy Lewis as Lighting Designer, Demetri Bellini as Set Designer, Johann Solo as Sound and Media Designer, and Helen Parish as Props Designer.
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SMALL STEPS is being presented with the assistance of ScriptWorks through the Finer Point Fund for New Play Production.
About the Playwright
Briandaniel is a mixed-Latino LGBT playwright based out of Austin and Sacramento. He writes plays for both teens and mature audiences. His play Small Steps was developed at the JAW Festival and Playwrights' Week at the Lark. His play Halfway, Nebraska was developed at Playwrights’ Week at the Lark, and went on to win the award for Outstanding Playwriting from the New York International Fringe Festival. His play She Gets Naked in the End received the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Latinidad Award, and he is a three-time National Finalist for the festival for his short work. He frequently develops his plays-for-teens with a group of teenagers, using devising techniques and kinesthetic dramaturgy. For ten years, he was Literary Manager for Barnyard Theatre, a company he co-founded that produced new work in a historic dirt-floored barn. He has an MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts from the University of California at Riverside and a second MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin.
Braxton Rae is an artist whose creative work and scholarship is focused on blackness, queerness, womanism, and marginalized identities more broadly. Additionally, Braxton is passionately pursuing the craft of intimacy work. Braxton’s artistic goals are to foster an arts community that focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Recently Braxton directed Always Patsy Cline at Great River Shakespeare Theatre Festival and the UT mainstage production of…but you could’ve held my hand. Learn more at www.braxtonrae.com
About the Director
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About Shrewd Productions
Championing unique perspectives and emerging artists, Shrewd Productions is focused on women's voices, new plays, and work developed through a collaborative artistic approach. We are committed to creating high-quality theatrical experiences that are thoughtful, provocative, and entertaining, featuring the work of women, LGBTQ, and BIPOC artists as we seek to provide a broader array of voices in American theatre and for Austin audiences.
Shrewd has been honored with over 85 nominations and multiple awards from the Austin Critics Table, B. Iden Payne Committee, and Broadway World, among others, as well as inclusion on multiple “Best Of” lists in the Austin Chronicle. Now in our 19th season, we are proud to be a member of ATX Theatre, Austin Creative Alliance, and the National New Play Network, building Austin's professional theatre community devoted to the development of original work.
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