(l/r) Emily Tindall as Nini, Kristin Leahey as Mother, and Rodney Richardson as Father
Written by Eve Tulbert
Directed by Dustin Wills
Performances: November 2*, 3, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17 at 8:00 PM
November 4**, 11, 18 at 2:00 PM
B. Iden Payne Theatre
Tickets: $16 adults, $13 UT faculty & staff, $10 students available online at www.utpac.org or by phone at 477–6060.
*Join us on November 2nd for a post–show discussion with the playwright and director as well as renowned fairy tale scholar, Jack Zipes. Learn about the play development process, and why fairy tales are an important and useful way to explore issues such as pollution, censorship, and activism.
**November 4th is Ashes Family Day! We invite you and your family to experience a dramatic day of family fun! Family Day includes a pre–performance workshop, seeing “Ashes, Ashes,” and a post–play talk–back with members of the play's production team. Recommended for families with children ages 8–11.
Ashes Family Day (update: Ashes Family Day is full)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
12:00 noon – 1:30 PM
Rm 2.180, Winship Drama Building
Cost: While the pre–performance workshop and post–performance talk back are both free, tickets to see the play are as shown above.
Register by Nov. 1 by emailing aliciareid@mail.utexas.edu or calling (512) 471–6728.
Media and Resources:
- Cast List
- Director Information
- Playwright Information
- Costume Renderings by Sarah Mosher
- Synopsis
- Press and Reviews
Synopsis: A giant power plant has taken over a mythical town. Dark clouds of ashes obscure the sky, and no one has seen sunlight in generations. People in the town are beginning to “disintegrate” from a mysterious illness. When Nini, a young girl, loses her mother to the illness, she goes on a journey into a mysterious underworld of coal mining shafts and caves where the walls are alive. Through a series of challenges and encounters with interesting new characters, Nini searches for a secret that could possibly save the world above.
Ashes, Ashes is a show for family audiences, though the themes are complex and the language poetic. Although the target audience is fourth– and fifth–graders, it is a show that people of all ages will appreciate. Ashes, Ashes was premiered in April of 2007 as part of the University Co–op presents the Cohen New Works Festival.
Eve Tulbert is a recent graduate of the MFA program in Drama and Theatre for Youth at UT Austin. Before coming to UT, she worked for over 7 years as a teaching artist, bringing the dramatic arts to a wide range of classrooms. The script Ashes, Ashes grew out of her interest in mythology and her encounter with young people living with industrial pollution. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in child development research at UCLA and continuing to write for young audiences.
Director: Dustin Wills (2006 Austin Critics Table award winner, Best Director of Drama)
Dustin Wills has recently returned from directing a new play, The Moths, for the Teatro L'Arciliuto in Rome, Italy. Dustin focuses his directing on the production of new, work, collaborative performance, and Shakespeare adaptations. He is a recipient of the George H. Mitchell Award for his directing and writing of the play Ophelia produced as part of the University Co–op Presents the David Mark Cohen New Works Festival 2005, which was also produced in Rome, Italy in 2006. He is also the recipient of the Austin Critic's Table Award for Best Direction for the production of Cymbeline, or what I will – an outdoor Shakespeare performance combining all of Shakespeare's plays into one. Ashes, Ashes has already proved a very rewarding experience thus far as he has worked closely with the writer on the development of this play from its initial drafts, through the workshop production, and now into the full production process. Dustin also works with the Theatre Action Project in Austin, which gives him access to childre's ideas and thoughts on the production, which have helped this children's show immensely.
- Emily Tindall as Nini
- Kristin Leahey as Mother
- Rodney Richardson as Father
- Leslie Chastain as Stopwatch
- Chibbi Orduña as History Book
- Chelsea Bunn as Chorus
- Hailey Hansard as Chorus
- Jena Kirmse as Chorus
- Joshua McGowan as Chorus
- Davina Ugochukwu as Chorus
- Jessica Webb as Chorus
- Joan Lazarus as Witch/Woman in the Hole
- Austinist review – 11/16/07
- Austin Chronicle review – 11/8/07
- Hear interviews and scene snippets on KUT's Aielli Unleashed
- DT Weekend: Longhorns conquer the theater – 10/8/07
- Ashes, Ashes press release – 10/15/07
- Austin Chronicle “Top 10…2007” – 01/04/08
- Austin Chronicle "Another Round of Praise" - 05/09/08
