[ This Just In! ]
For Immediate Release
Date: February 8, 2001
SVT Presents the Fifth Anniversary Production of Ruth E. Margraff's Wallpaper Psalm
AUSTIN, TX--Five years after the company presented the world-premiere of Ruth E. Margraff's "electric and hysteric operetta" Wallpaper Psalm, Salvage Vanguard Theater is mounting it again, in a completely new production, opening March 23, 2001.
Wallpaper Psalm is one of Margraff's "widow plays", and is based on an actual account of the death of two widows. Wallpaper Psalm is the companion piece to The Cry Pitch Carrolls, which was staged to critical acclaim by Salvage Vanguard Theater in 1999 ("Riveting ... only once in a long while have we seen anything this mesmerizingly original." -- Austin American-Statesman), received mention on several critics' top ten lists for that year ("Nothing less than a small miracle." --The Austin Chronicle), and was nominated for twelve local theater awards, including Best Musical, Best Director of a Musical, Best Musical Direction, and Best Cast Performance.
Wallpaper Psalm reunites the creative team behind The Cry Pitch Carrolls. Jason Neulander is directing the show and Graham Reynolds of Golden Arm Trio is creating the score, which he will perform live. The Austin Chronicle said of their previous collaboration: "The magic is so natural and pure and white that it is able to amaze us."
"The Cry Pitch Carrolls was the most accessible theater project we've been involved with artistically," says Golden Arm Trio's Reynolds. "With the same people involved with Wallpaper Psalm, we hope to achieve the same kind of artistic success. I think the show's going to be pretty cool."
Neulander continues: "In the past five years, Salvage Vanguard has really grown. Now that we have the resources, I wanted to do the show again, with the kind of production elements it deserves. And I think we have brought together exactly the right team to do it."
That team includes set designer Leilah Stewart (Alaskan Heat/Blue Dot, One Flea Spare), costume designer Amy Adams (The American Demons) and lighting designer Diana Duecker (The Baltimore Waltz). The cast consists of award-winning actors Dan Dietz (Terminal Hip) as Robert, Joseph Meissner (The Cry Pitch Carrolls) as The Perpetrator, Sharon Elmore (The Whimsy) as Her Sister, and Lana Dieterich (A Name for a Ghost to Mutter) as Chaucia.
Neulander continues: "We had the first read through of the script with the cast last night and parts of it were truly chilling. I feel blessed to be able to collaborate with such incredibly talented people. I can't wait to see what they create through the rehearsal process."
Salvage Vanguard Theater had originally planned the revival for March 2000, but due to a last-minute health crisis for one of the actors, substituted the production with Terminal Hip and rescheduled the show for its current production dates.
"Lana called me about a week before rehearsals were going to start in 2000 to say that she couldn't continue for health reasons" says Neulander. "Lana was absolutely perfect for the role, so rather than try to recast on such short notice, we agreed that we would simply do the show next year when she was feeling better. I am glad we made the decision. After last night's reading, I can't imagine anyone else in the role. And because we had to hold back for a year, the energy behind the production is volcanic!"
Salvage Vanguard Theater introduced Austin to the work of Ruth E. Margraff with its production of Wallpaper Psalm in 1996. Since that time the company commissioned and produced her play Centaur Battle of San Jacinto (1997) and produced the regional premiere of her opera The Cry Pitch Carrolls (1999). Salvage Vanguard also commissioned the opera Night Vision, by Margraff and composer Fred Ho, through a MAP Fund grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and which was premiered by HERE in New York in 2000.
Wallpaper Psalm, an electric and hysteric operetta, opens Friday, March 23, 2001, at the Off Center (2211-A Hidalgo Street) and runs Thursday through Saturday through April 14, with a Sunday performance on April 8. All performances are at 8 PM. Tickets are $4.25 - $12. For tickets and information call 474-SVT-6 or visit the company's web site at www.salvagevanguard.org.
Salvage Vanguard Theater is a nonprofit arts organization located in Austin, Texas, committed to fostering a dynamic exchange between visionary artists and audiences new to their work. To that end, Salvage Vanguard Theater seeks to combine explosive energy with expert technique, creating forms that defy theatrical traditions and define a new American avant garde.
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