Exit Strategy
by Beyond August Productions
Jun. 21 - Jul. 14
The teachers of Tumbldn High School don't live in an inspirational teacher movie. They bring mousetraps from home, they make the toilet paper last, and they show up for the kids nobody else shows up for. So when the school is slated for closure at the end of the year, and the weight of the inevitable bears down on the community, students and teachers alike discover their breaking points.
Ricky, the vice principal, has stayed firmly on the sidelines for all of the teachers' previous battles, but now in the eleventh hour, he's compelled to step up with a plan to save the school. Some risk their futures to follow his lead-- But does he actually have any idea what he's doing?
Spiked with humor and brimming with fury, Exit Strategy is an exhilarating call to arms about what we owe each other.
This crisp, current comedy follows the multi-faceted journeys of the teachers, vice-principal, and a savvy yet savage student in the days leading up to their high-school’s (inevitable?) closure. Exit Strategy is described by The Chicago Tribune as “at once poetic, political, sad, funny, timely, complex and compassionate.”
Experiencing Exit Strategy feels closer to watching a cable comedy than a stage play -- its dynamic, fast paced, and thought-provoking. It’s cerebral yet silly, a conversation can turn on a dime. The show’s charisma and heart flows seamlessly through its characters, their essences, and how they interact with both each other, and their own perspectives.
Review by Cat McCarry for the Austin Chronicle, July 4, 2024
Audio feature by Michael Lee, KUT-FM, July 8, 2024
Exit Strategy
by Ike Holter
Beyond August Productions
June 21st to July 14th, 2024
Rosette Theatre, Baker Building, Ave. B at 39th Street
