Review: ‘The Bird’ and ‘The Bee’
By Joey Seiler | Monday, January 26, 2009, 12:40 PM
“The Bird and The Bee” is essentially two very good plays within one great production.
“The Bird,” by Al Smith, and “The Bee,” by Matt Hartley, were originally staged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as two separate offerings, giving audiences the chance to view them a la carte or take in the double billing. In Capital T Theatre’s new take, it’s hard to imagine them apart.
Each play tells the story of a different teenager and how they …

[image title="matt-hartley" size="small" id="313"  align="none" linkto="full" ]
conducted by Carrie Klypchak Dramaturg / Literary Manager for Capital T

>Al has talked to us about his initial inspiration for the production.  Could you discuss what drew you to the project, the developmental process which you have undertaken, and a history of the play(s) in production?
When Al asked me to write something for his company Kandinsky I jumped at the chance. I’d never had a play on in Edinburgh and Al had a habit of being able …

[image title="al smith" id="301" align="none" linkto="full" ]
conducted by Carrie Klypchak   Dramaturg/Literary Manager for Capital T
> Could you discuss a bit about the inspiration for writing THE BIRD, the developmental process of play, and the history of the production?
I’d been leafing through a newspaper and had my eye drawn to an article about a spate of teenage suicides in Bridgend, a small town in rural Wales. The article was trying to figure out what specifically it was about this particular region that drove these poor young folk to take their own …

Capital T is proud to announce the cast for The Bird and The Bee which will open in January as part of FronteraFest 2009.
Returning to work with Capital T, Chase Wooldridge, will play Jakob in the Bird and ensemble in the The Bee.  He has appeared in Mr. Marmalade, i google myself, La Dispute and Edward II for Capital T.
Tayler Gill will play Chloe in the Bee and ensemble in the Bird.  While she has collaborated with Capital T in the past on Happy Days and La Dispute, this is …

[image title="Katherine Catmull Best Actress 2008 B Iden Payne Awards" size="medium" id="308" align="left" linkto="full" ] Katherine Catmull was honored with the 2008 B Iden Payne Award for Best Leading actress in a comedy, for her performance as Winnie in Capital T’s production of Happy Days by Samuel Beckett.
The B. Iden Payne Awards — named for the renowned British theater director and teacher who concluded his career at the University of Texas at Austin — are awarded annually to recognize outstanding contributions to the Austin theater community.
This was her 18th B …

Review: ‘Blackbird’ at Hyde Park Theatre
By Joey Seiler | Monday, September 15, 2008, 12:16 PM
“Blackbird” may wind up being one of the most richly challenging plays for audiences this year.
Ray (Ken Webster) and Una (Xochitl Romero) meet and recount their relationship from 15 years ago, when he was in his 40s and she was 12. And that’s it.
There’s little action beyond their dialogue as they look for redemption and only as much plot progression as each audience member’s notion of how successful that journey is. There’s no time and no …

Happy Days was honored by being nominated for 4 B Iden Payne Awards when the nominations were announced this week. 
Happy Days  – Best Production of a Comedy  
Katherine Catmull – Best Actor in a Leading Role
Mick D’Arcy – Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Mark Pickell – Best Director
Named for the renowned British theater director and teacher who profouncly influenced the drama department at University of Texas at Austin, the B. Iden Payne Awards are awarded annually to recognize outstanding contributions to the Austin theater community . Each year, a nominating committe reviews eligible …

Happy Days
by Robert Faires
When you see someone who’s endeavoring to read a line of print in criminally small type take the arm in which the offending text is held and, to compensate for fading vision, extend it as far as it can go, you’re witnessing a rite of middle age so commonplace as to be good for a knowing chuckle. And yet, when that person is buried waist-deep in the earth, as is Winnie, the heroine of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, the humor of where we are in life is …

‘LA DISPUTE’ ULTIMATELY SWEET
 In a new translation of Pierre Marivaux’s “La Dispute,” the qualities of basic human nature are explored with all the subtlety of “Laguna Beach.”
A prince and lady dispute over which gender was the first to break lovers’ vows and cheat. Fortunately, two boys and two girls have been raised as if each were the only child on the planet. Now that they’ve been introduced, the audience can watch the innocence of Eden fade away.
In Capital T Theatre’s production, the framing device could easily be discarded. After a …