Shanon Weaver

'The rest of the world might be going to hell, but stories are better than ever,' says Sandy (Tom Green), the boss and leader of the think tank in THE ANTIPODES, the newest play from Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Baker currently on stage at Hyde Park Theatre in what is the second production of this fascinating new work. Hyde Park has a history of producing her plays, most recently having staged both John and The Flick. In THE ANTIPODES, Baker examines the very nature of story telling and also has some fun with the concept of time and how it is perceived. It is also interesting to note that the definition of antipodes is 'the opposite'. Baker, in the very construct of the play, is giving us the opposite of traditional plot structure. Sandy reveals a great deal of what Baker is attempting to accomplish in his early remarks to the group: 'If you think about the greatest thinkers in world history: Jesus, Socrates, Confucius; None of those guys recorded anything or wrote anything down. And what we know about them we know through other people telling stories about their stories. Could we go back to the beginning? Could we remake our collective unconscious?'

Austin Playhouse recently produced staged readings of the three winning plays from their Festival of New Texas Plays. EIDOPHUSIKON by Reina Hardy kicked off the festival on Friday, April 27, NUTSHELL by C. Denby Swanson was on Saturday, April 28, and MONROE by Lisa B. Thompson concluded the lineup on Sunday, April 29. Along with the professional staged reading, which featured Austin Playhouse directors and company members, each of the winning playwrights received a $500 prize.

THE FLICK is the 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning play by Annie Baker that also won the 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting. Set in a run down old movie palace called The Flick, the action of the play concerns three low wage ushers: newbie Avery (Delante G. Keys), veteran Sam (Shanon Weaver) and film projectionist Rose, (Katie Kohler), who are responsible for the tedious labor that keeps the place running, from cleaning up spilled drinks from the floors to taking tickets. The show is a comedy of the mundane - the everyday annoyances and frustrations of the workplace.

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents Poor Boys' Chorus, a new play by Brian Kettler, tonight, November 7-16 at the University Student Activities Center Blackbox Theatre.

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents Poor Boys' Chorus, a new play by Brian Kettler, November 7-16 at the University Student Activities Center Blackbox Theatre.

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents the beloved children's story Esperanza Rising, now through October 12 at the B. Iden Payne Theatre. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents the beloved children's story Esperanza Rising, today, October 3-12 at the B. Iden Payne Theatre.

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents the beloved children's story Esperanza Rising, October 3-12 at the B. Iden Payne Theatre.

Samuel D. Hunter's haunting Off-Broadway smash-tragicomedy The Whale will receive its fifth production worldwide in Austin TX-Spring 2014-following successful runs at The Denver Center, Victory Gardens, South Coast Rep, and Playwrights Horizons in NYC. Austin's own A Chick & A Dude Productions will present the show at Hyde Park Theatre (511 W. 43rd St.) Thursdays through Todays, February 20-March 15, 2014. Curtain at 8pm. Tickets are sliding-scale "pick-your-price," $15-$30 ($10-$30 Thursdays.) Discount tickets for $10 good for any show are available to all Active Duty or retired Military, Police, Fire Department, EMS, and Medical Field employees. For more information, tickets or reservations, please visit www.achickandadude.com

Upon entering Hyde Park Theatre for a chick and a dude's current production of The Whale, you get several clues about the central character of Charlie. His apartment, designed by Michael B. Raiford, is absolutely disgusting. Pizza boxes and KFC buckets litter the floor, and the couch, which has seen better days, is propped up on cinder blocks. Between the set decoration and the title, one can guess that Charlie's going to be on the larger side, and he is. Thanks to an extraordinarily believable fat suit constructed by Kelly Ruiz, Charlie (Shanon Weaver) is a 600 pound man. But The Whale, which could easily be a play about a fat suit, has far more to it.

Samuel D. Hunter's haunting Off-Broadway smash-tragicomedy The Whale will receive its fifth production worldwide in Austin TX-Spring 2014-following successful runs at The Denver Center, Victory Gardens, South Coast Rep, and Playwrights Horizons in NYC. Austin's own A Chick & A Dude Productions will present the show at Hyde Park Theatre (511 W. 43rd St.) Thursdays through Saturdays, today, February 20-March 15, 2014. Curtain at 8pm.

Austin-based A Chick & A Dude Productions recently started an IndieGoGo campaign to fund their upcoming production of Samuel D. Hunter's Off-Broadway smash tragicomedy The Whale.

Samuel D. Hunter's haunting Off-Broadway smash-tragicomedy The Whale will receive its fifth production worldwide in Austin TX-Spring 2014-following successful runs at The Denver Center, Victory Gardens, South Coast Rep, and Playwrights Horizons in NYC.

Samuel D. Hunter's haunting Off-Broadway smash-tragicomedy The Whale will receive its fifth production worldwide in Austin TX-Spring 2014-following successful runs at The Denver Center, Victory Gardens, South Coast Rep, and Playwrights Horizons in NYC. Austin's own A Chick & A Dude Productions will present the show at Hyde Park Theatre (511 W. 43rd St.) Thursdays through Saturdays, February 20-March 15, 2014. Curtain at 8pm. Tickets are sliding-scale "pick-your-price," $15-$30 ($10-$30 Thursdays.) Discount tickets for $10 good for any show are available to all Active Duty or retired Military, Police, Fire Department, EMS, and Medical Field employees. For more information, tickets or reservations, please visit www.achickandadude.com

Is there such thing as the perfect murder? That's certainly the question at the heart of Dial "M" for Murder, the 1952 drama about a husband's plot to murder his adulterous wife. Frederick Knott's play, now playing at University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance, is not as well-known as the Alfred Hitchcock directed film version, and while the production succeeds wonderfully in some areas, it struggles in others.

Drama turns deadly in The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance's 2013-2014 season opening production, Dial "M" for Murder, October 4-13 at the B. Iden Payne Theatre.

Theatre East presents the award winning play HIT. as the next installment in its NEIGHBORHOOD READING SERIES upstairs at O'Lunney's, 145 West 45th Street (bet. Broadway & 6th Ave.) today, September 16 at 7pm (Cocktail hour begins at 6pm).

Theatre East presents the award winning play HIT. as the next installment in its NEIGHBORHOOD READING SERIES upstairs at O'Lunney's, 145 West 45th Street (bet. Broadway & 6th Ave.) on Monday, September 16 at 7pm (Cocktail hour begins at 6pm).

In the second act of Hit, currently playing at Hyde Park Theatre and produced by A Chick and A Dude Productions, the tough, dangerous Asher states that the identity of the hit man has changed over the years. No longer are hit men Italian goons who kowtow to an old guy by kissing his ring or conniving thugs making offers no one can refuse. That idea of the true identity of a hit man is the clear focus of Hit, the gritty, daring drama written by and starring Shanon Weaver, Co-Artistic Director of A Chick and A Dude. Hit effortlessly goes underneath the tough guy exterior and reminds us that even killers-for-hire have a heart and a moral compass. They too can feel love and compassion, and they too have families. They're just like us, and the notion that these sinister characters are human after all makes Hit all the more stimulating.