Gardenalia
by Coldtowne Theatre

Apr. 02 - May. 07, 2016
Saturdays

Gardenalia is a Bachanalian garden party. A yearly ritual clandestinely celebrated by women for over 3000 years. Secrets revealed, powers unleashed, patterns observed. A garden party in the 1920’s where the “rituals” heighten to absurdity and release. An experiential comedic and weird experience about the small, strange things people do to navigate the world and the hidden practices of the people you think you know.

Featuring:

Kim Lowery
Molly Moore
Aly Dixon
Naomi Perryman
Lindsey Moringy
Lilli Lopez
Kristen Samuelsen
Arian Brumby
Emma Holder

Directed by Kristin Henn/Produced by Kristin Henn & Erika May McNichol

 

Notes from director Kristin Henn:

 

On its surface, Gardenalia is an improvised comedy about acquaintances coming together for a yearly garden party on an evening in the late 1920s. The secret purpose of this seemingly civilized gathering, however, is the clandestine worship of Dionysus, the ancient Greek God of Wine, Theatre and Ritual Madness. As the ladies chat, eat tiny sandwiches and graduate from tea to wine, they observe the rituals of this secret worship. We see them transform from polite friends into ecstatic worshipers, dropping the masks they present to the world to reveal their darker truths. It’s weird, it’s funny, it’s dumb. And we love it.

 

The original adherents of ancient Dionysian rituals were women known as the Maenads, or "the Raving Ones." Taking inspiration from this ancient group of revelers provided an opportunity to create a show that utilizes a number of Austin’s  talented female improvisers. The increasing visibility of the female perspective in comedy allows for conversations concerning the struggles unique to women in our community and in the world. This is point of view is apparent in the show, but more importantly, these gifted performers create a unique and highly entertaining world each week.

 

>Gardenalia>/b> is set in the 1920s in part because prohibition allowed us to emphasize that these ladies must celebrate in secret, drinking wine behind a locked garden gate. The aesthetics of the time appealed to the entire cast and allowed us to create an absurd version of the garden and the ladies who spend their evening there. Additionally, it was a decade when women were allowed a level of social freedom and experimentation that was unprecedented. Though we are not trying to create an historically accurate snapshot of the era, we are taking cues from the general cultural changes of that time to allow for characters who have different levels of comfort with tradition and change.

 

The show was partly inspired by the idea of group ritual as a means of letting go of the outer and entering into a more honest state. Improv itself is an art packed with rituals, big and small, and I wanted to create a show that builds these rituals directly into the performance. By the end of the show, our hope is that both the performers and the characters they play are changed by the processes and and discoveries made over the course of the hour. The rituals themselves are partly choreographed, partly improvised according to themes that develop over the course of the show. As each one begins, the ladies step into their places, drink the wine, and become a little more themselves. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. Either way, the process is entertaining for those of us who watch. The ecstasy of truth sets them free. The wine helps too.

 

None of this would be possible without my Assistant Director Emma Holder, our amazing cast and awesome tech support. This show is entirely collaborative, built from the ideas of the players and entirely new each time it is performed. I am grateful to Erika May McNichol for her help and support, Dave Buckman for his cool ideas and ColdTowne Theater for being the best place in the world.

Hilarious, unexpected and weird. Welcome to the Garden.

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Gardenalia
by ensemble directed by Kristin Henn
Coldtowne Theatre

Saturdays at 8:30 p.m., April 2 - May 7, 2016

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