This Side of the Dirt
by Tito Beveridge
Jun. 02 - Jun. 18, 2016
Thursdays-Saturdays
This Side of the Dirt is a South Texas family drama steeped in satire and humor. The story takes place days after the death of the family patriarch, Papo. We find his daughter, Jean Ann, alone and weeping as she comes to terms with her loss. As each new character enters her home, the layers of her pain and paranoia unfold.
With Jonna Juul Hansen as Jean Ann, Beth Shea as Sally, Mark Hernandez as Juan, Wray Crawford as Jimmy, Jennifer Caplan as Jenny and Jae McCain as Anthony, This Side of the Dirt is full of wild characters and big ideas about life, love and friendship. It is a charming snapshot of a lovely yet dysfunctional ranching family guided by the sure-footed and unassuming, Juan, who must keep everyone in balance to ensure their sanity.
This Side of the Dirt was born from the mind of no other than Tito Beveridge. He pieced together a story based on characters in his own life and others that he simply dreamed up. Writing about the subjects that interested him most -- family, friends, land and philosophy – he tinged this all together with a little South Texas flair to create This Side of the Dirt. Tito’s love of these characters drives his narrative through the ups and down of life and family – touching upon those hard hitting moments when we are our weakest then building back up to our best and oftentimes funniest. Most of all This Side of the Dirt is about love and family and the importance of telling it like it is and knowing that in the end it will all work out like it should.
“It’s a story of how one strong minded willful person lives on, after death, in spirit, through his family and friends”, says the renaissance man behind the script, Tito Beveridge, who’s venturing for the first time into playwriting.
View the Trailer HERE.
Live music by Shawn Pander. Photo projection by Bob Wade.
CREATIVE TEAM
Directors – Ty Roberts
Producer – Carolina Peredo
Scenic Designer – John Hoff
Lighting Designer – Natalie George
Costume Designer – Lili Walker
Props Designer – Natalie George, Keely Carter
About Tito Beveridge: Tito’s Handmade Vodka founder and master distiller Bert “Tito” Beveridge is a true pioneer in the world of microdistilling – in fact, it’s a world he helped create. A native Texan and brilliant entrepreneur, Tito was born in San Antonio and attended The University of Texas in Austin, where he earned degrees in both Geology and Geophysics, with a minor in Math. His professional life began as a Geophysicist, working around the globe at jobs in and out of the field, including dynamite-blasting oil reserves, sub-surface mapping, processing seismic data, analyzing ground water, and even at one time, as a mortgage banker. The varied life and career experiences gave Tito a unique perspective on time, forecasting, planning, finance, and the ability to understand people from all walks of life. In the early 1990s, Tito enjoyed infusing flavored vodka in his spare time, creating much-loved (and much-requested) batches for friends. Tito watched as microbreweries and boutique wineries began cropping up throughout the country, and astutely predicted that the next step would be to incorporate the same handcrafted principles to the spirits industry. In a profound self-reflection exercise, Tito sat down to reassess his career and life path by drawing a line down the middle of a single sheet of paper. He defined those things he was most skilled at on one side, and added those things he felt most passionate about to the other. In a life-changing moment, Tito’s path became clear and he decided to create his own vodka company. In 1997, Tito fought to create the permit process in Texas to establish his legal right to open the state’s first distillery. Without investors, any formal training, and on a tiny budget, Tito began to create his dream. With the unwavering dedication of a small,handpicked staff and with friends who pitched in to help build Tito’s first distillery shack, he turned his dream into a reality. “I listened closely to the advice of those who advised me to start small, saying, ‘Try to own your hometown, then, if you do that, try to own your home state, then if you do that, try to own your home country,’” recalls Tito. It took the company more than eight years to turn a profit, but today, Tito’s Handmade Vodka is one of the fastest-selling and fastest-growing microdistilleries on the market and remains one of the purest spirits available. When not walking the distillery floor and testing each batch, Tito enjoys riding dirt bikes, fishing, listening to, writing and playing music, traveling throughout Texas and doing something creative . However, he still counts his biggest hobby as selling vodka. Tito lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and three children.
About Ty Roberts: Ty is an Austin-based filmmaker whose work has been produced and seen around the globe. Ty studied under Werner Herzog at the inaugural Rogue Film School in 2011 and previously graduated from the University of Texas. He also holds a Film Certificate from New York University. His short film, “These Wild Plains”, played at international festivals including the Cannes Short Film Corner, Guadalajara Film Festival, Lucerne Film Festival and Cartagena Film Festival. For nearly a decade, Ty resided in Argentina where he worked as a freelance producer for studios such as Walt Disney developing a feature documentary “Magical Patagonia” for their DisneyNature division and as a location scout for various “Narnia” Films. He also worked as a location manager for Paul Haggis’ Route 66 Films and for Kathryn Bigelow’s drug lord heist feature to be produced by Paramount Pictures. Ty produced the award winning documentary, “The Path of the Condor” narrated by Viggo Mortensen, which aired on the Discovery Channel. While living in Mexico Ty directed the short film “Luz del Mundo”, starring Austin Nichols, about the death of beat-legend Neal Cassady which premiered at Guanajuato Film Festival. Ty has also worked as a cinematographer on award winning documentaries and as a producer on several non-scripted television series for VH1, CMT, ESPN, The Outdoor Channel and ABC. As a partner and co-founder of TourGigs Ty has directed dozens of live concert shoots for bands like The Head and The Heart, John Bon Jovi, Willie Nelson, The Strokes, The Avett Brothers as well as numerous music videos that have aired on Palladia, Hulu and AXS TV Channels. “This Side of the Dirt” is Ty’s first theatrical play as a director though his love of the stage runs deep having performed as a youngster in works like “Oliver Twist” and “Pecos Bill”. In early 2016 Ty directed the feature film adaptation of the play “This Side of the Dirt” and looks forward to releasing the film at festivals in 2016.
This Side of the Dirt
by Tito Beveredge
Tito Beveridge
June 02 - June 18, 2016
Tito’s Handmade Vodka presents new play written by Tito Beveridge
June 2-4, 2016 | Thursday thru Saturday at 8 pm
June 9-10, 2016 | Thursday thru Saturday at 8 pm
June 16-18, 2016 | Thursday thru Saturday at 8 pm
at the Dougherty Arts Center | 1110 Barton Springs Rd | Austin, TX
TICKETS: $35. Tickets on sale now via Brown Paper Tickets, by calling or in person the night of the show.
Enjoy a cocktail while you watch the play. Parking is free at the Daugherty Theater lot. We highly encourage you to take an Uber, taxi or get drop off. For private garages locations use this tool http://en.parkopedia.com/parking/1110_barton_springs_rd_austin_tx_78704/
