The Theater Within in Indiana
is excited to announce its
2011 Series
Theater address 1125 Spruce St. in Fountain Square at the corner of Spruce and Prospect behind the KFC.
Buried Child
by Sam Shepard
Directed by Rod Isaac
Performances – March 4-19, 2011
Auditions – Jan. 9 & 10, 2011
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The setting is a squalid farm home occupied by a family filled with suppressed violence and an unease born of deep-seated unhappiness. The characters are a ranting alcoholic grandfather; a sanctimonious grandmother who goes on drinking bouts with the local minister; and their sons, Tilden, an All-American footballer now a hulking semi-idiot; and Bradley, who has lost one leg to a chain saw. Into their midst comes Vince, a grandson none of them recognizes or remembers, and his girlfriend, Shelly, who cannot comprehend the madness to which she is suddenly introduced. The family harbors a dark secret—one that is utimately revealed by Tilden. His act purges the family, at last, of its infamy and suggests the perhaps slim possibility of a new beginning under Vince, whose estrangement from the others has spared him the taint of their sin.
The Last Session
Music & Lyrics by Steve Schalchlin
Book by Jim Brochu
Directed by Ruth Hawkins
Performances – May 6-21, 2011
Auditions – March 20 & 21, 2011
The Theater Within’s first musical
An Off Broadway sensation, The Last Session gathers a singing group in a recording studio to lay down a pop/gospel idol’s last album. With one exception, these are old friends (including an ex wife) and the session is full of warmth, wit and incredible music. The mix is somewhat altered by a Bible thumping, homophobic gospel singer who is there to replace the one no show of the regular back up singers. All of them, even the sound mixer in the glass booth, are deeply connected to Gideon yet are unaware that he plans to end his struggle with AIDS after the session. Harmony is restored through friendship and the power of music.
Trouble Shoot
by Paul Amandes
Directed by Rod Isaac
Performances – Aug. 5-20, 2011
Auditions – June 12 & 13, 2011
An original script written especially for The Theater Within
Trouble Shoot is the remarkable true story of Indianapolis native Chance Keesling whose death in Iraq and his family’s plight made world headlines.
Gregg Keesling was at home watching President Obama’s speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in which the president stated that one of his most solemn duties was “signing a letter of condolence to the family of servicemen or women who have given their lives for our country.”
That line resonated with the Indianapolis businessman, because he and his wife, Janet, had not received such a letter from the president after the death of their son, Chance, a U.S. Army Reserve Specialist in Iraq. The family received a folded flag, a 21-gun salute at his burial and financial death benefits, but not a letter of condolence from Obama.
After talking to military officials, Keesling realized that he would not be getting a letter for a simple reason: Chance took his own life and the president does not send condolence letters to families of soldiers who commit suicide. The unwritten policy has existed for at least a decade and rests on the long-held military conviction that suicide, even on the front lines, is not an honorable way to die.
Extremities
by William Mastrosimone
Directed by Rod Isaac
Performances – Oct. 7-22, 2011
Auditions – Aug. 14 & 15, 2011
The Associated Press described Extremities as “a searing play about rape”. This incredibly gripping drama portrays the act and it’s aftermath as the victim turns the tables on her attacker, reaching a climax of fever pitch suspense.
The Eight: Reindeer Monologues
by Jeff Goode
Directed by Ruth Hawkins
Performances – Dec 2-17, 2011
Auditions – Oct. 23 & 24, 2011
A very adult and irreverent comedy for the Holiday Season
