AusChron Top 9's / Play: A Journal of Plays / Humana Fest

The Method Gun was published in Issue #4 of Play: A Journal of Plays.

The Method Gun will be produced in the 2010 Humana Festival of New American Plays.

Rude Mechs landed three nods in The Austin Chronicle's Top 9's in '09 lists

1) 'THE METHOD GUN' (RUDE MECHANICALS) Even after all the months of hype and the iterative changes wrought by the show's restless creators, this deconstruction-and-extension-of-A Streetcar Named Desire-by-way-of-investigating-methods-of-performance-and-theatre-myth surpassed expectations and proved to be a brilliant distillation of all the gambits the Rudes had succeeded with before. – Wayne Alan Brenner

1) 'DIONYSUS IN 69' (RUDE MECHANICALS) Ritual performance. Sensuality, nudity, birthing. Group dancing, heterosexuality, homosexuality, orgy. A fitting dismemberment. Cunning. Joyful. Transcendent. Theatre at its absolute best. Directed by Madge Darlington and Shawn Sides. – Barry Pineo

3) 'DIONYSUS IN 69' (RUDE MECHANICALS) The Rudes' archaeological expedition into Sixties avant-garde theatre – re-creating, move for move, the Performance Group's boundary-busting original production – proved as full of life as the group's original works, drawing us inside an ancient Greek drama to experience its tragedy personally. Bravely performed by a committed cast. – Robert Faires

With Honorable Mentions from Robert Faires for I've Never Been So Happy and The Method Gun

Last Chance to Give to Rude Mechs in 2009! Buy Gold!

		THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GIVE RUDE MECHS A GIFT IN 2009! DON'T WASTE IT!
		YES! I trust Rude Mechs with my money... at least as much as I trust the Federal Reserve! I'd like to make a secure donation via Google Checkout! $ I am not familiar with Google Checkout and want to give another way! HERE ARE A COUPLE OF OPTIONS FOR DONATING: 1. BY CHECK: Make your check payable to Rude Mechanicals, and mail to: The Off Center, 2211-A Hidalgo St., Austin, TX 78702 2. BY CREDIT CARD: Email info@rudemechs.com to let us know you'd like to pay by credit card, and we'll set up a time to process your card over the phone!

Statesman Review: Dionysus in 69

"This 2009 ‘Dionysus in ‘69’ is an keen, spirited, brilliantly acted paean to experimental theater past, present and future." – Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, Austin American-Statesman

Click here for full review.

Feel the Glee! Stitchlab event to benefit Grrl Action!

We are thrilled to report that the upcoming Stitch Lab's 1st Annual Indie Crafitivity Scene will benefit Grrl Action by donating a portion of the sales to our program!

Come on out, shop local and celebrate Stitch Lab's Grand Opening, while supporting Grrl Action on December 19th and 20th from noon to 8 pm, at 1000 S. 1st St..

Statesman Article on Dionysus in 69

ARTS

Fleshing out innovative '60s theater

With help from 'Dionysus in 69' director, Rude Mechanicals tackle free-form production.

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN ARTS WRITER
Thursday, December 03, 2009

For 'Dionysus in 69,' actors let the audience be part of the production. Richard Schechner, the original director of the 1960s production, will give a pre-show talk on Friday.

Time was when a stage with no boundary between audience and actors — and a play that changed each night according to how the audience might react — seemed all so terribly new.

It was in 1968 when theater pioneer Richard Schechner led the collective known as The Performance Group in a radical new version of the Greek tragedy, 'The Bacchae,' which Schechner called 'Dionysus in 69.' In a converted garage in New York City's Soho, Schechner and his troupe explored the limits of audience participation, kept the focus of the action always variable and flexible and even moved the show out to the street at times. Actors shed their clothes and spent most of the play naked. They switched characters and invited the audience to dance. In response, audiences staged spontaneous sit-ins or other group actions.

'Dionysus in 69' gave a 1960s spin to Euripides' tale of the struggle — to the death — between self-control and collective passion.

Click here to keep reading.

The Method Gun Fires Off to 2010 Humana Festival of New American Plays

Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > November > 18 > Entry

‘The Method Gun’ heads to Humana Festival

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin | Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 11:42 AM

The Rude Mechanicals are getting ready to hit the road to the prestigious Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.

For 34 years, the best of new American theater has been showcased at the Humana Festival. And the Rudes will take their wonderous ‘The Method Gun’ to ATL’s Victor Jory Theatre for a run March 16-28, 2010.

A valentine to the process of art-making, ‘The Method Gun’ impressed when it opened the Long Center’s Rollins Studio Theatre in 2008.

Then last season, the Rudes’ offered a slightly re-tweaked version at the Off Center. And as I said then, ‘The Method Gun’ ranks as one of the best productions to grace the Austin theater scene in the past few years.

See a slide show of the production here.

The Rudes next production, ‘Dionysus in ‘69’ opens Dec. 3.

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Austin Chronicle Feature Article on Dionysus in 69!

'Bacchae' to the Future

How in (a Greek) god's name can the Rude Mechs re-create 'Dionysus in 69' in '09?

BY ROBERT FAIRES

Excerpt:
"...Now, four decades after Dionysus in 69 rattled the cages of the American theatre, Schechner has come to Austin much as the titular god came to Thebes: a much-lauded figure out of the East seeking new participants in his revels. The key difference here is that Schechner doesn't need to bring a band of dancing, drinking, true-believing maenads with him; they're already here. Local theatrical mavericks the Rude Mechanicals have been carrying the torch of the Performance Group and incorporating many of its tradition-busting practices into their own productions for 13 years now. In fact, within the company, Dionysus in 69 has been the stuff of legend, a production revered for its innovation and daring and impact on audiences. So esteemed is the work by the Rudes that they are taking on their shoulders the ambitious, audacious task of re-creating the production four decades after the fact, something almost no one has attempted in all the years since."

Click here to read entire feature article.