The Generic Ensemble Company in conjunction with LuckyChaos Theatre will present an in-progress ensemble-devised performance of What’s Goin’ On? directed by kt shorb.
What’s Goin’ On? is a an ensemble-based, original performance reinterpreting Bertolt Brecht’s classic play, The Good Person of Szechwan, exploring binary notions of Good/Evil, Male/Female, Wealth/Poverty, Coercion/Consent and Artifice/Authenticity. Simultaneously critiquing Brecht’s treatment of gender, sexuality and orientalism in Szechwan while also drawing inspiration from it, this show examines the question: What does it mean to be virtuous in our current historical moment, when societal pressures and inequality continue to marginalize our bodies and lives?
Created from scratch by the performance ensemble, What’s Goin’ On’? employs new text created by ensemble members layered with activist aesthetics, choreographed movement, indeterminate games, quotidian rituals made extraordinary, and simultaneous conflicting actions to present a dense and complex collage. Drawing material relevant to ensemble members’ daily lives, What’s Goin’ On’? reflects the individual identities and personalities of each collaborator, while also reflecting The Generic Ensemble Company’s continued commitment to make the invisible visible through bold, socially relevant, body-centered theatre that showcases mostly-queer identified, mostly-people of color who are mostly women-identified.
This piece is an in-progress performance featuring: Morgan Collado, Kimberly Curette, Kirsche Dickson, Ashley Hicks, Anna McConnell, James McMaster, Julie Moore, Julian Padilla, Saray de Jesus Rosales, Wendy Vastine, Leng Wong, and kt shorb with support from Kimberly Alidio, Margaux Binder, Paige Binder, and Laura Khalil.
Tickets are sliding scale $5-15.
What’s Goin’ On? is funded and supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division.
The Generic Ensemble Company
Founded in August 2009, The Generic Ensemble Company (GenEnCo) makes the invisible visible through bold, socially relevant, body-centered theatre. We are a team of artists devising and producing innovative adaptations and new work. We view marginalized bodies, experiences, and subject positions as central to the form and content of creating our work. We train together in Suzuki, Viewpoints and Theatre of the Oppressed to develop rigorous company cohesion, physical presences, and political solidarity. GenEnCo has assembled a critically-acclaimed body of work, showcasing primarily queer-identified women of color on stage. Our first production, Stuck on Gee-Dot, was a site-specific performance inspired by Beckett’s Waiting for Godot consisting of a three-woman cast. It received critical acclaim and was cited as a “Memorable Ensemble” for 2009-2010 in Austin Live Theatre’s Applause Awards. Red Salmon Arts presented GenEnCo in collaborative improvisational performance alongside the Three Jazz Collective as part of their “Conjure” series. GenEnCo was then invited by the Roundtop Poetry festival to devise a tribute to Lucille Clifton as part of the closing ceremonies. GenEnCo is a recipient of the City of Austin Cultural Contracts. GenEnCo was awarded a grant from the Open Meadows Foundation and a Q Rental Subsidy Grant from the Creative Fund for our evening-length original play, The Experiment (2012). http://www.genericensemblecompany.blogspot.com/
LuckyChaos Theater Projects
LuckyChaos Theater Projects produce works by or about Asian Americans as well as other under-represented communities. We hope to increase dialogue about these experiences through the performance arts. Our projects are stories from a different point of view and range from published works to original works including submissions from the community. We explore all mediums including scripted, experimental, improv and movement. With regular monthly programming every 1st and 2nd weekends of the month at Salvage Vanguard Theater (Studio) Fri/Sat 8pm and 1st Sat 10pm. ”Create Art. Create Identity. Create Possibilities. Play On!” www.luckychaos.com
kimberlyalidio:
