FamiLIES
by Coldtowne Theatre
May. 14 - Jun. 25, 2016
Saturdays
ColdTowne Theater (4803 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78751) presents the world premiere of famiLIES, an original play developed entirely through improvisation in collaboration with the notable iO West L.A. based improv troupe, Dasariski. Directed by The Second City and Boom Chicago alumnus Dave Buckman, this marks the world premiere of this comedic play. Featured in the cast are some of Austin funniest actors, including comedy heavyweights Joseph Dailey, Frank Netscher, Michael Jastroch, Bryan “LuBu” Roberts, Kristen Samuelsen, Chaz Formicella, Audrey Sansom and Xaria Coleman, as well as newcomers to the Austin stage Bonnie Cordova, Kyle Moore and Jae Long. Chelsea Bunn will act as Assistant Director and co-Producer with Buckman.
famiLIES follows three, deadbeat brothers as they examine the mistakes of their past and attempt to confront their future. The show toggles rapidly between the past and present, through a series of sordid events, introducing a band of colorful, quirky characters along the way. The experience can best be described as a whirlwind, laugh riot.
The play is being adapted in collaboration with Dasariski and borrows heavily from their hit, improvised plays Loose Fish and Dead Uncle Ted, which were produced by ColdTowne Theater and performed by a cast of ColdTowne, Hideout and Gnap Performers at the Salvage Vanguard Theater on New Year's Eve 2010. Dasariski combines the talents of Robert Dassie (The Second City, iO West), Rich Talarico (Key and Peele, Saturday Night Live), and Craig Cackowski (Community, Arrested Development).They are known for their “slow play” style of longform improvisation and play to sold-out houses every week a Los Angeles’s iO West Theater.
“famiLIES is a passion project of mine for the past 6 years. Bob, Rich and Craig [Dasariski] are personal heroes and mentors of mine,” said Director Dave Buckman. “When we performed these one-act plays in 2010, I saw some thematic connections around a singular, real character in each that could be played as the same person. So I set out to create a new play that brings both stories together using that character as a focal point.” Buckman’s script stays true to the playfulness of the source plays, while developing the heart of each play to create a new, very personal, story. Buckman has been editing this script for the past few years and is devising new scenes with this cast through improvisation.
Dave Buckman has directed, taught and performed at some of the world’s leading improvisational comedy institutions. He served as Artistic Director of Boom Chicago in Amsterdam for 2 years, where he was fortunate to work with and direct some of the funniest people working in television and web-based sketch today, including Jordan Peele (Key & Peele), Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses) and Seth Meyers (Late Night with Seth Meyers) among others. He has also taught and directed at The Second City in Chicago and Cleveland. Dave has been living in Austin, TX since 2005 and performs weekly with the acclaimed improv troupe, The Frank Mills.
FamiLIES
by Dave Buckman, Dasiriski and ensemble
Coldtowne Theatre
May 14 - June 25, 2016
ColdTowne Theater (4803 Airport Blvd, Austin, TX 78751)
Saturdays May 14th, 21st, 28th and June 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th at 8:30 PM
TICKETS: $12 admission at the door, $10 online
MORE INFO AT: http://www.coldtownetheater.com or (512) 814-TOWN
