Theater + Music

Theatrical Highlights: 

2010 - Sleeping Beauty by Bonnie Cullum and Content Love Knowles 
           Co-Recipient of NEA MAPS Grant. Wrote book and music, Musical Director/ Live Band                      Leader. Nominated for multiple B Iden Payne awards, including Best Musical Theater/Austin).            Won BIPA for Musical Direction. 
2009 - Murder Ballad, Murder Mystery Tutto Co
           Singer/Actress - won B Iden Payne Award for Featured Actress In a Musical

2009 - Oceana by Bonnie Cullum and Content Love Knowles 
           Wrote book and music, Musical Director/ Live Band Leader. Nominated for multiple B Iden                Payne awards
2008 - Troades

           singer/actor - Won B Iden Payne Award for Ensemble Performance Chorus

2007 - Trickster

           Collaborative composer, Musical Director, Musical Design
2007 - Unhinged w Barry Pineo
           Co-Produced for Frontera Long Fringe
2007 - Catfish by Mick D'arcy

           Co-Produced and Directed for Frontera Long Fringe

2006 - Dark Goddess '06 

          Collaborative Composer, Musical Director, Actor

2006 - The Visit 
          Lead Actor 
2005 - Sleeping Beauty by Bonnie Cullum and Content Love Knowles    

          Wrote book and music, Musical Director/Live Band Leader/Featured Performer. Nominated                for Austin Critics Table Award for the score

2005 - Vitriol & Violets
           Directed for VORTEX Summer Youth Theater - 2 B Iden Payne Nominations 
2004 - Dark Goddess 2004 

           Musical direction, collaborative composition, and performance. Nominated for Austin Critics             Table Award for Sound Design
2002 - Dark Goddess 2002 

            Musical direction, collaborive composition, and performance 
2001 - Dark Goddess 2001 
           Musical direction, collaborive composition, and performance
ONE WOMAN SHOW

Time Alphabet, Frontera Fest ATX
           Wrote, directed, co-produced, and performed one woman musical. Advanced to "Best of                  Week" Frontera Short Fringe. 

PERFORMANCE INSTALLATIONS 

Criminal Argot, Symphonic Taint, Mi Casa Es Su Teatro 2013 
Pie & Rye, Symphonic Taint, Mi Casa Es Su Teatro, 2014 
Conceived, Directed, Co-Produced, and Performed

SCORE + SOUND DESIGN 

Highlights: 

2014 - Circle the Wagons, Exchange Artists, Austin, Tx
           Designed and created sound and music, Composed and Musically Directed, Executed Live
2012 - The Time Machine, Sky Candy, Austin, Tx. 
           Composed and recorded score for the show, did sound design. 

2010 -  Eurydice - Different Stages Co 
            Composed and recorded score for the show, did sound design. Nominated for Austin                       Critics Table Award for Sound Design.

2006 - Bent - Dash Mammoth, Austin, Tx

            Composed song and underscore, did sound design, played live, won Austin Critics Table                Award for Sound Design.

PRODUCTION 

Rites of Eleusis, Austin Tx - 1995 - 2001 
Produced and co-directed a seven year production encompassing 49 pieces of devised/scripted ritual theater in Austin, Tx. Responsible for all publicity, fund raising, and creative content review in addition to directing one play each of the seven years.

 

BIG LOVE PRODUCTIONS - 2007
Produced two plays for Frontera Long Fringe in Austin, Tx
Produced all Symphonic Taint shows 2013, including various theaters, variety shows,  and 4 month residency at the Butterfly Bar, Austin, Tx.  

 

Recent projects: 

Above and Below, Frontera Short Fringe, Hyde Park Theatre, Austin, Tx Jan 2016

A collaborative work involving musical interpretation of text by Wayne Allen Brenner and images by Roy Moore (Control Images) by Content Love Knowles and Emily Breedlove. 
(Collaborative composer and live performer).

Paramount Theater's Story Wranglers - Austin, Tx
Musical Director/Song Writer Oct - Dec 2015

This innovative program takes stories written by third graders as part of Paramount Theater's Education Program and turns them into an SNL type show of sketches and songs performed for the elementary schools where they were written, with a one week turnaround per show/school.  

As Musical Director, responsibilities included weekly songwriting for full cast w one day turnaround, musical direction of cast, weekly live performance accompaniment. 

14:48 Festival ATX
(house band/musician)  
2 days, 14 plays. Scripted, staged and scored on the spot. 

Created all necessary scoring and underscoring for same day performance.

Juke Box Musicals I, II, III - Institution Theater  Spring/Summer 2015
These quickly produced shows were written to feature the music of a given band (Smashing Pumpkins, Peter Gabriel, Radiohead) in a new context. 5 rehearsal turnaround.  

Rearranged the songs for piano and accompanied the live shows/ 

 

Associations: 

VORTEX Rep Co, (company member)

IMPROV 

EDUCATION: 

​
Merlin-Works 2011 - 2013 (graduate) 
Hideout Theatre Improv School 2013 - 2015 (graduate)
Institution Theatre Improv Training program 2013/20

TEXT ANALYSIS:

Barry Pineo/Austin Acting Workshop

WORKSHOPS/INTENSIVES/Teachers of Note: 
 

Organic Improvisation with Todd Stashwick (2012 and 2013)
Improv Intensive with 3-for-All (2013)
Jeff Griggs (2012) 
Stephen Kearin Physicality Workshop (2013)
Tim Orr (2012) 
Deanna Fleyscher Naked Comedy(2012, 2013)
Mark Belzman's The Art of Allowing

David Razowsky

Baby Wants Candy
NYC Neo-Futurists Writing Workshop
PGraph Intensive w Parallelogramaphonograph (2012)
Steve Jarand Trance Mask Workshops
Viewpoints in Improv w Sarah Marie Curry
 

 

SHOWS: 

Highlights

​

Breaking Beckett, Institution Theater (musical improvisor) review 
Leng In Wonderland, Lucky Chaos Theater, improvised opera w Leng Wong. 2015
The ReSet Project, Lucky Chaos Theater (musical improvisor) 
ReFramed, Lucky Chaos Theater (musical improvisor) review
Tarantula, Institution Theater (guest musical improvisor)
Maestro, Fancy-Pants Mashup, Pick Your Own Path - Hideout 2012/13 (imp)

 

PRESS: 
reviews, interviews, publicity

 

Improv … Tragedy? Absurdity? WTF, Institution Theater?, Wayne Allen Brenner, Austin Chronicle 2014

 

BREAKING BECKETT Will Forever Change How You Think About Improv - Frank Benge, Broadwayworld.com 2014

 

'Circle the Wagons' Exchange Artists' latest site-specific theatre piece...Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle 2014

 

Reframed -Photography provides the impetus for improv...Stacy Alexander Evans, Austin Chronicle 2014

Home Is Where the Art Is - Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle 2013

Frontera Fest 2013 - Performance Jam's 20th...Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2013

RADIO: Off Stage & On the Air - The Reset Project Interview Lucky Chaos Theater w Lisa Schepps

 

Culture Flash!...Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle 2010

 

Vortex Production Reimagines Sleeping Beauty - Jean Claire van Ryzin Austin American Statesman 2010

 

2010 B. Iden Payne Awards - Honoring Last Season's Fab Four of Theatre - Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2010

 

A Year's Cheers: the Nominees for the 2010 Austin Critics Table Awards - Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2010

Sleeping Beauty: the Strength of the VORTEX's Original Musical... - Elizabeth Cobbe Austin Chronicle 2010

REVIEW: Eurydice - Elizabeth Cobbe Austin Chronicle 2010

 

Austin Arts Groups: Grants In Their Stockings - Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2009

REVIEW: Murder Ballad/Murder Mystery - Barry Pineo Austin Chronicle 2009

REVIEW: Oceana - Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2009

2008 B Iden Payne Awards - Many Honors...Robert Faires 2008

REVIEW: Trickster - Patty Hadad Austin Chronicle 2007

Summer Youth Theater's The Visit Hanah Kenah Austin Chronicle 2006

 

I'd Like To Thank...Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2006

Frontera Fest Short Fringe - Best of Week One - Patty Hadad Austin Chronicle 2006

Top 10 Most Memorable Theatrical Offerings of 2005 - Barry Pineo Austin Chronicle 2006

 

Getting Kids Into the Act - Barry Pineo Austin Chronicle 2005

Applause, Applause: Austin Critics Table Nominations 2004/2005 Season Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2005

Working Beauty - Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2005

 

Payne Pleasures - Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2004

 

ARTS REVIEW: The Black Tower - Robert Faires Austin Chronicle 2003

 

The Wizards of Austin's Webzines Behind the Curtains, Sam Martin, Austin Chronicle, 1999

 

 

Instruments

Voice
Keyboards 
Percussion

Synths
Diverse Gadgets
Toy Instruments

Skills

Improvised song
Improvised Theatre
LARPING
Versatile Character Work
Direction
Composition
Musical arrangement
Musical Direction
Arts Project Management
Devised Theater Assembly
One on One Theater
Theatrical Installations
Score + Book

Symphonic Taint

​2013 - present
Director/Member

 

Symphonic Taint is a self accompanied 2 person improv troupe, directed by Content Love Knowles. Members Content Love Knowles and David DeMaris do shows as "The Captain and Muerte" during which all songs are made up from seeds/titles suggested by the audience, based on themes proposed ST.

Produced, directed, and performed over 40 shows in 2013, including a 4 month weekly residency at the Butterfly Bar in Austin, Tx, Mi Casa Es Su Teatro/Frontera Fest, and Frontera Fest Short Fringe 2014.

 

Austin Mongoose Collective

Member

​2013 - present

 

Based on John Zorn's Cobra, Mongoose encorporates theater into rules based musical chaos.

 

Performed as multi-instrumentalist and improvisor in multiple live shows for various festivals, theaters, and venues. 

CHILDREN of JACK EVENINGS FOR NEW MUSIC
Series of house concerts in service to Capital Area Food Bank in Austin, Tx. 2010 - 2016

 

Produced, publicized and performed house concerts

PAST PROJECTS INCLUDE: 
Criminal Cabaret 
So Wrong Johnson
Alien Time Ensemble

Recent Musical Projects