Out of the Loop Fringe Festival

Dance Review: Out On a Limb Dance Company

2009-04-30T11:40:00.001-05:00

The Out of the Loop Fringe Festival was last weekend in Dallas at the WaterTower Theatre. I joined 5 members of Out On a Limb Dance Company for a performance on Sunday evening. I am continually amazed at how their choreography evolves. One of the pieces premiered that night, called A Long Journey Home (photographed). The movement was refreshingly physical and the choreography complicated yet palpable. I was in awe as I watched it from 4 different views through rehearsals, dress runs, and backstage perspectives and I could never get enough.

Naturally, it made me wish I was in this piece, but i doubt my one year old infant son (who's trying to crawl into my lap at this moment) would let me travel for rehearsals any more than I already do.

But more than just being a piece that makes me want to dance it, it is a piece that is delicately smart and generous with kinesthetic detail that begs to be seen more than once. The longer I watch this company, the more I see the performers evolve as well. It is work that breathes and allows the performers to actually BE performers - to bring to the work an individual telling of the story, not just an imitation of the choreography. I so appreciate that as a performer myself.

Kudos, OoLD. More than kudos...bravo.

Rachel Bruce Johnson

[sic] by Melissa James Gibson

2009-02-27T14:13:00.004-06:00

We are just a little over a week away from our first performance of [sic]. Rehearsals have been great so far. It's so fun to keep finding layers of humor in this already hilarious piece! One surprising thing to me has been how many sweet moments are also emerging. I can't wait to put all of the pieces together in our technical rehearsal in just a couple of days!

The festival is not far off. I hope you'll come see [sic] on Monday, March 9 at 7:30, Saturday, March 14 at 5:00, or Sunday, March 15 at 2:00 in the Studio Theater at WaterTower. With actors like Tasia Munoz, Chris LaBove, and Tyler Johnson, you know it's going to be a blast!

Google Update #1

2009-02-18T22:26:00.015-06:00

I'm not going to lament about the hour I spent on writing a blog entry for this Out of the Loop Festival blog and then how it somehow disappeared, lost somewhere in cyberspace. That would be a waste of time...

And, right now, it's all about time. We've been in rehearsals for close to two weeks now (a special shout out to Theatre Three and Uptown Players for providing rehearsal space for us). This actual marks about the midway point between starting rehearsals and opening because in about 2 weeks, we'll be doing the show in front of an audience.

It's been an exciting process for me personally. It's been my first chance to work with Joel McDonald who is great. He makes the process look easy. I like to watch actors who make me think, "How do they do that?" and he's one of them.

We tallied it up, and this is the 7th time I've been able to work with Kevin Moore and the 5th opportunity I've had to work with Bruce Coleman. Everytime I've been able to work with each of them, it's been a great time. This is no different.

So, for me, it's been a mix of old and new... it's resulting in an exciting big of theatre I think.

It's hard to give too much 'behind the scenes' without giving too much of the show away. I find that in movies, tv and even theatre, there are few surprises. Too often, I think audiences can see exactly where a story is going to go. This piece is different... It's very unique and provides some turns that most people can't predict. It's both refreshing and unsettling-- in the best possible ways.

The best preview I can give is to just ask if you've ever googled yourself. If you've ever typed your name into a search engine, you've seen the sites it brings up. Some of these sites might be about you; others might be about different people who share your name. Imagine that somehow, you met someone else who shares your name. Would having that one thing in common make up for any diffrences you share?

This may make you think twice about googling yourself again...

2009-02-13T17:12:00.001-06:00

The Play about The Coach

2009-02-13T17:04:00.002-06:00

For the passionate theatre fan and the casual sports fan

For the passionate sports fan and the casual theatre fan

The Play about The Coach
the true meaning of March Madness

Premiering Thurs March 12th @ 7:30 at the Stone Cottage

GREEN press photos

2009-01-20T01:39:00.003-06:00

March 5, 7, 9

Stone Cottage--Addison Theatre Center

SceneShop Offers a Surprising Ride with "Vince Banyon"

2009-01-06T21:23:00.002-06:00

2009 is SceneShop's fifth year to participate in Out of the Loop. In the past, we've offered programs of three or so short pieces, since that's what we specialize in. But this year, we have something new. It started last August, when longtime contributor Grayson harper (a noted Fort Worth writer and visual artist) approached me, saying he was writing a piece about an hour long and would I be interested in looking at it? "It's pretty weird," he cautioned me. Weird, however, has never been a deterrent to SceneShop and after I read the first pages Grayson gave me, I couldn't wait to read the rest.
Long story short, SceneShop's contribution to the 2009 Out of the Loop Fringe festival is the world premiere of "The Interrogation of Vince Banyon." This is a smart and surprising piece and we've assembled a cast- Seth Johnston, Nicholas Irion, Stephen Eyre- that's up to the challenge. After a read-thru in early December, Grayson made some revisions to his script and our rehearsals will be starting soon. I'll be back with more info.

Flying Man Website

2008-12-15T00:41:00.002-06:00

Be sure to check the website for Flying Man Productions!

http://www.flyingmanprod.com

The Victims

2008-12-13T13:23:00.004-06:00

The improv comedy troupe, The Victims return to the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival with their show Deconstructing… Each night The Victims will create a totally improvised show based on the true stories of a very special guest. Deconstructing... contains adult language and content.

To find out more about The Victims go to www.victimsimprov.com

Welcome to the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival Blog

2008-12-09T14:07:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the official blog for the 2009 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival!

This year we are trying something brand new. We're giving all of our OOTL participants access to the blog with an open invitation to post what they want, as much as they want. We're hoping this inside access to the artists and their work will inspire you to visit the festival and check out some of the best in theatre, dance, music and art from around the country!

Last night was the first official meeting of all the organizations. I can't quite tell you everyone who's in the festival yet - that is coming very soon I promise! But I can tell you we have a very exciting line up - I think one of the best in our eight year history (but of course I'm biased!).

Be sure to check back here often or subscriber to our RSS feed to get all the inside scoop as it occurs.

And here's a bit of mandatory marketings - festival passes are still the best way to experience the festival. $60 gets you into everything. It's a steal. If you want a pass, call the box office at 972.450.6232. Single tickets to the festival go onsale February 17!

James Lemons
OOTL Producer

NINETY EIGHT theatre 2009 OOTL DEBUT-MAKES IT DO WHAT IT DO

2008-12-09T12:01:00.002-06:00

FAIRYTALE BLUES
Lights-Music- and laughter

In a crowded smoked hazed night club on the corner of Hollywood and Claude a young black horn player stands confidently at the groove tube trumpeting subtle notes into the air; he pauses for a moment, takes a hit of some a dat good sh*t, flicks the doobie onto the sweat stained hardwood stage, his blue and white Stacy Adams (size 10 to be exact) casually grinds the rest into powder as he snaps his fingers and coos out in a jazzy tone, "double time" the band kicks into overdrive and the crowd goes crazy.
"Play dat Song!" shouts an oltimer.
"shake dem legs, baby shake dem legs!" sings a goodtimer. HIS HORN BLARES NOTES OF INNOCENCE, discontentment, and rage on a kick ass improv.
As he tells his story they dance the night to a new sun.

Little boy blu' come blow your horn!

Ninety Eight theatre presents
Fairy Tale Blues-ONE show only! - Festival Main stage
SUNDAY MARCH 8TH 7PM

GREEN accepted to OOTL Festival 2009!

2008-12-09T10:42:00.002-06:00

It's official! Flying Man Productions' performance of Green by Brandon Smith has been accepted into Water Tower Theatre's Out of the Loop Festival 2009!

We (Josh Blann & Brandon Smith) are thrilled that this will be the first production for our brand new company, Flying Man Productions.

Green is a new play centered around the Global Energy Crisis. Trevor Clendenin is a talented young inventor who thinks he may have created a machine that will dramatically change the game in favor of affordable energy. If only he can get his machine patented before it falls into the wrong hands.

I (Josh) will be directing & designing the production, which will perform in the Stone Cottage at the Addison Theatre Center. Performances of Green will be March 5 at 7:00, March 7 at 2:00, and March 9 at 7:00.

We are currently in the middle of casting and will continue to post updates as we get further along in the proccess.

Make sure you come out and see the show! Seating is very limited so get your tickets early!

josh blann

"Breaking News" in the making

2008-12-07T21:18:00.006-06:00

M2DT has 5 choreographers currently contributing to our new production premiering in the 2009 Out of the Loop Festival. It's been "good times" bouncing ideas, battling out opinions while we are developing a cohesive project with each other. The process is the anthesis of working as THE choreographer of a production; it so much richer and fulfilling to have each other communicating multiple perspectives. While compromise is not always easy, it certainly does have its rewards in the end. We hope our event can fit into your busy schedules: Sunday March 15th.