2010 Out of the Loop Festival

WaterTower Theatre is proud to announce that the 2010 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival will take place March 4 - 14, 2010. Applications are now available. The postmark deadline for the 2010 festival is October 2, 2009. All applicants will be notified of their acceptance by November 13, 2009.

The Out of the Loop Fringe Festival provides opportunities for existing and emerging theatre, dance and music companies and artists to present work that may vary in form and presentation from their typical content. Together, these companies provide the North Dallas and surrounding areas with a diverse range of artistic endeavors. National, regional and Dallas-based artists in theatre, dance, music, comedy, puppetry, and poetry will be presented side by side throughout the Festival.

In the meantime, take a moment to see some of the highlights of the 2009 festival.

WaterTower Theatre presents One Man Star Wars Trilogy
written and performed by Charlie Ross

A one-hour, high energy, nonstop blast through the first three Star Wars films. The catch is, there's only one cast member. Charles Ross, the writer and solo performer, spent too much of his childhood in a galaxy far, far away- adulthood has been similar. Ross plays all the characters, recreates the effects, sings the music, flies the ships, and fights both sides of the battles.

About Charlie Ross
Best known as the mastermind behind the infamous One Man Star Wars Trilogy and One Man Lord of the Rings, Charles Ross is a Canadian actor who has followed his heart and his career from one side of the continent to the other. Since first performing his One Man Star Wars Trilogy in Toronto, Ontario in January of 2001, Ross has brought countless audiences, both large and small, to their feet with his surprisingly unique shows.

Word of Ross's one of a kind talent has spread like wildfire with recent appearances on Craig Ferguson, The Today Show, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. His off-Broadway debut in August 2005 was a smashing success with critics raving about the incredible intensity that Charles brings to his work. To mark the release of Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, Charles was honored to perform at Lucasfilm's official movie release convention, Celebration 3. Even the likes of Vin Diesel and Sir Ian McKellan have taken in his performances with rave reviews.

Andy & Joleen Mullins presents Takin' A Break from Sex
Created and performed by Andy and Joleen Mullins

In Takin’ a Break from Sex, Andy and Joleen Mullins have taken marriage, friendship, mid life crisis, and absurdities of relationships, along with some silliness and have written them into original comedic sketches that range from clever to brazen. This married comedy couple invites you to sit back and enjoy their fun romp through scenes emphasizing that opposite sex perceptions are a myriad of crazy conversations and hilarious situations.

Bill Bowers presents Under a Montana Moon
written and performed by Bill Bowers

Bill Bowers' critically acclaimed Under a Montana Moon is a Collection of Silent Stories, which all take place under a western sky. Performed without words and within a tapestry of sound, Bill takes his audience on a moving, magic journey through the American West. Under a Montana Moon uses the Art of Silence to investigate the Heart of Silence- in the land of cowboys and bronco busters, of painter Jackson Pollock and martyr Matthew Shepard.
One of the most acclaimed mimes in America, Bill Bowers' eloquent movement evokes the deepest truths of the human condition. Often compared to Chaplin and Keaton, Bowers has truly created a style all his own.

"To watch Bill Bowers' collection of silent stories, Under a Montana Moon, is to see the technical elements of a style that brings Marcel Marceau readily to mind, joined to the American West. Mime can be wonderful - the air between him and us was his palette."
-Margo Jones, The New York Times

Bill's 2008 Out of the Loop show It Goes Without Saying received a Dallas/Ft. Worth Theatre Critic's Forum Award for Outstanding Touring Production.

David Schmader presents Straight
written and performed by David Schmader

Straight is David Schmader's hilarious and subversive solo play about the world of conversion therapy, where gays and lesbians are reputedly "cured" of their homosexuality and made "straight." Plunging into the heart of this highly charged territory—from going undercover at "ex-gay" support groups in Seattle to an intensive crash course in Christian heterosexuality deep in the heart of Texas—writer/performer Schmader blends an essayist's insight with the spark of stand-up comedy to get to the bottom of what it means to be "straight."

Just a warning: This shows contains adult language and situations.

Diwa Theater Company presents Cowboy versus Samurai
by Michael Golamco

Travis Park is a high school English teacher and the only Korean American man living in a dusty cowboy town known as Breakneck, Wyoming.

And when a gorgeous, whip-smart Asian American woman moves into town, he immediately falls for her; the only problem is that she only dates white men.

In this savagely funny and often moving comic re-telling of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, one man must choose allegiance between his cowboy friend (a dim, handsome, Caucasian P.E. teacher named Del) and his Asian Brother-with-a-Capital-B (crazed, militant Asian of Unknown Origin, Chester). He must choose between the Asian American and the American within himself – between Cowboy versus Samurai – in a pursuit of a love that may only be as real as the love letters he writes for someone else.

Due to some strong language and crude humor, parental guidance is advised.

The Mad Mamas present Last Lists of My Mad Mother
by Julie Jenson

Is there ANYthing funny about Alzheimers? Julie Jensen's prize-winning play Last Lists of My Mad Mother illustrates with wit and wisdom the plight of Alzheimers' patients and their caregivers. Veteran actresses Jeanne Evans, Pam Dougherty and Lisa Fairchild shine a revealing light on a condition that is becoming more prevalent as the population ages. They prove there is often comedy in the tragedy of, as Dot says, "losing your beans."

Representatives from the Greater Dallas Area chapter of the Alzheimers Association will lead talkbacks after each performance.

Ninety Eight Theatre Company presents Fairytale Blues
By Joshua Bridgewater & Mary Humphrey

Fairytale blues sings the song of a street opera from the Bronx in New York city.
Little Rosie Boe Peep's all too common story is told, having a BIG dream that no one else believes in. She leaves her home town and heads out to see the enchanted hills of Hollywood, where all manner of entrapment and temptation presents itself.
On her journey, she encounters a host of dysfunctional fairytale characters, from a TRANS-GENDERED Big Bad Wolf, to a NEUROTIC,cosmetically frustrated Turtle and militant Hare, who's out to "STICK IT TO THE MAN!"
The genres of, Jazz and Blues music, gives us an easy current of life waters to ride on while elements of, movement and good ole juke box jig, help us tell the story. Rosie gets whisked into a whirlwind of blues SINGING, BEER drinking, BAD MOUTHING, DRY HUMPING, BREAST FODDLING storytelling as she makes her way through the FAIRYTALE BLUES.

Project X presents Some People
by Thomas Riccio

Some People is about an ordinary Dallas suburb. The husband, wife and
kid, relatives, neighbors, and friends—some people who hear voices, stare off into space thinking of nothing, and have no idea how they got there. No matter how they try the world makes no sense. Is it a dream? A comic routine? What’s going on? As time and space fold and spin something happens to some people we know. Things are different…and they
like it.

Rocketship Productions presents The Play about The Coach
Written and performed by Paden Fallis

A New York Magazine "pick of the week," The Play about The Coach takes the audience courtside into the final minutes of an NCAA tournament game. As the clock ticks away, a coach tries to pull his team to victory while his own world comes crashing down around him.

This show is intended for mature audiences.

SceneShop presents The Interrogation of Vince Banyon
by Grayson Harper

For its fifth entry in Out of the Loop, SceneShop stages the world premiere of a new work by well-regarded Fort Worth writer and visual artist Grayson Harper. In The Interrogation of Vince Banyon, a charismatic drifter is questioned by two no-nonsense detectives. As they pepper the evasive suspect for answers, it becomes clear a girl is at the center of the situation... but what, exactly, is the crime?

Second Thought Theatre presents Pvt. Wars
by James McClure

Set in a veterans hospital post Vietnam War, Pvt. Wars follows the abundant, and sometimes absurd, exploits of Silvio, Gately, and Natwick. This uplifting portrayal of everyday life in the wake of war artfully blends humor and pain, triumph and uncertainty. Laughs of every type are sure to abound in James McClure's acidly funny portrayal of three young men working to resolve their own private wars.

StageWorks presents Hopelessly Puccini
by Steve Lovett

Hopelessly Puccini is a "date movie onstage" which believes every audience should have a chance to see themselves live, laugh, and love in the theater. It is a romantic comedy about four men and the snowed-in weekend they share. Past history collides with the present and youth with age as the four explore where they've been, where they are, and where they hope to be on the subject of love.

Theatre Britain presents Vincent River
by Philip Ridley

Some stories must be told. No matter how painful or unbelievable they are they must be told over and over again. We tell the story hoping for the moment when the pain becomes the past. The past dissolves into history. History fades into legend. Legend sinks into myth. And, finally, myth resolves into belief. The firm belief that such a thing could never happen and people could never really treat each other like that.

A contemporary drama set in the East End of London, Vincent River follows Anita and Davey, two disparate souls, as they search for salvation and an answer to the simplest and most impossible of questions: Why?

Contains adult language. Not suitable for children.

Uncommon Ground presents i google myself
by Jason Schafer

i google myself is the unusual story of three very different men with the same name brought together by an internet search engine. What starts as a curiosity turns into an obsession that makes these three men’s worlds violently collide. The play is an insightful and entertaining window into our society's preoccupation with fame and recognition, and how internet innovations like blogs and online chats promote one's quest to be known, even as the same technology can lead to a debilitating isolation that increases the need for connection.