Casta
by Salvage Vanguard Theater
Aug. 27, 2016
Saturday
CREATE! THEATER WORKS CREATED, PRODUCED, OR PRESENTED BY THE SALVAGE VANGUARD COMPANY AND COMPANY MEMBERS.
Salvage Vanguard Theater (SVT) announces the workshop performance of Casta (working title), a new performance piece in development by playwright Adrienne Daw
es in collaboration with visual artist Beth Consetta Rubel. Casta is presented as part of SVT’s Works Progress Austin new play development series.
Casta explores mixed-race representation in the casta paintings of Nueva Espana (Mexico) that grew in popularity over the 18th century. Casta paintings were a unique genre of portraiture that depicted different racial mixtures arranged according to a hierarchy of race and status.
Casta (working title) explores these constructed images of colonial bodies and the failed attempts of the government to control its subjects through increasing social regulations. Casta features object puppetry, mask work, and portraits painted by Beth Consetta Rubel.
Casta workshop is directed by Jenny Larson and features performers Florinda Bryant, Lori Navarette, Noel Gaulin, Matt Frazier, and khattieQ.
In this draft workshop, the creative team will share an excerpt of the script in progress.
ABOUT ADRIENNE DAWES: Adrienne Dawes' plays include Denim Doves, Am I White, You Are Pretty, Jesus Loves Good Christians, and Heritage, Her-i-tage, and Hair-i-tage. Her work has been produced by Salvage Vanguard Theater, American Repertory Theatre of London, Live Girls! Theatre, Little Fish Theatre Company, New England Academy of Theater, New Jersey Repertory Company, Hyde Park Theater, St. Idiot Collective, and American Theater Company (Chicago, IL). Her plays have been published by Playscripts Inc., Smith & Kraus, Heuer Publishing, Heartland Plays and Vintage Books. Adrienne is the recipient of the Stanley and Evelyn Lipkin Prize for Playwriting. Her play Am I White was a finalist for the 2012 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and semifinalist for the 2012 Princess Grace Award. Am I White won the David Mark Cohen New Play Award (2015 Austin Critics Table Awards), an award for Outstanding Original Script (2015 B. Iden Payne, Awards) and was honorably mentioned by The List (The Kilroys) of recommended new plays by female and trans authors. Adrienne is a member of ScriptWorks and a company member of Salvage Vanguard Theater in Austin, TX. In January 2017, Adrienne will join the inaugural class of writers in the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, supported by the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
ABOUT BETH CONSETTA RUBEL: Artist Statement “I was raised in a small town in Texas settled by Germans. My parents moved frequently to deflect discrimination they faced for being in an interracial marriage. The experience growing up as a biracial child was impregnated by intolerance from classmates, family members, and occasionally teachers. I draw upon my personal narrative and am highly influenced by diversity, assimilation, and stereotypes in American culture. The intersection of race and pop culture are fundamental components that invigorate my paintings. The process of rummaging thrift stores to find antique photos, yellow and curling at the edges, vintage postcards, and cast iron objects with a history are a basis for my work. Nostalgic blues music and rhythmic jazz shape the atmosphere in which I work. I explore and dissect Deep South mentality, black face minstrel shows, and the stereotypes present in all outlets of media. I aggressively approach my paintings with an expressive application. I utilize layers of chalk pastel, acrylic, gouache, fabric and found objects and assemble paper cut outs to create a pop-up effect that speculate the irony of subtle racism that shape our society. Is racism permanently embedded in our culture, or is it a learned behavior that is exploited in media and fed to the masses? The subjects of my works include both historical and mainstream imagery that evaluate these questions and embrace contradictions that are philosophical, sexual and emotional.”
ABOUT SALVAGE VANGUARD THEATER Salvage Vanguard Theater (SVT) is a theater company and performance hub located in East Austin. SVT creates and presents transformative high-quality artistic experiences that foster experimentation and conversation.
Visit www.salvagevanguard.org or contact Jenny Larson for more information: 512-474 7886 or jenny@salvagevanguard.org
This project is funded and supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts. Art Works, and in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department/Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin’s future. This project is produced in coordination with the City of Austin’s Brush Square Museums and Parks and Recreation Department.
Casta
by Adrienne Dawes and Consetta Rubel
Salvage Vanguard Theater
August 27, 2016
August 27th at 8pm / FREE
Brush Square Museums, 411 E 5th St. 78703
TICKETS: http://salvagevanguard.org/tickets/
