Austin On Stage - Your Online Source for Austin's Performing Arts

Dead White Males

Sustainable Theatre Project

August 19th through September 11th

Hideout Theater

Following three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education approved a social studies curriculum that - according to the New York Times - "puts conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks - stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers' commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light." Austin's Sustainable Theatre Project takes the Board to task with the new play Dead White Males: A Year in the Trenches of Teaching running August 19th through September 11th at the Hideout Theatre.

The production by William Missouri Downs questions the widely controversial decisions passed by the Texas Board of Education, asking how the politics of education are allowed to interfere with teachers' ability to connect with children - and how to define "a good education" when no one can agree on what should be taught. The darkly-humorous critique of the educational system and American life " is a hot-button hit that will seem like satire to the uninitiated and documentary to those who've spent any time in the trenches, just in time for the beginning of a new school year," according to director Derek Kolluri.

"Three of the actors and I have been teachers in different capacities," said Kolluri, who is also the Producing Artistic Director of Sustainable Theatre Project (STP). "The play is set in Kansas - which was once home to every member of STP, four of whom spent the better part of their early education in the Kansas public school systems - so we don't have to look far for personal relevance."

Kansas has been through its share of education controversies during the last decade. In August 1999, by a similar 6 to 4 vote, the Kansas State Board of Education changed their science education standards to remove any mention of "biological macroevolution, the age of the Earth, or the origin and early development of the Universe."

"It was rescinded within the next two years, but not before Kansas was tossed around the national stage and almost every (theatre) company that could put up a production of Inherit the Wind," said Kolluri. "And, of course, there was ‘Brown versus the Board of Education.’"

The Austin production features Molly Fonseca, Suzanne Balling, Beth Burroughs, Robert Deike, Katie Brock, Dennis Bailey and Ryan Hamilton. The production team - individual winners of more than 20 Austin theatre nominations and awards - includes Derek Kolluri, Adam Hilton, Jamie Urban, Adriane Deveney, Ia Enstera, Christal Boyd, Larry Mitchell and Elizabeth Elliot.

"At the end of the day, school should be about empowering our children - not subjecting them to the same, decades-old battle over what theory is right," Kolluri said. But Dead White Males is so poignant because - like all great plays - it focuses on how we deal with these issues as human beings."

Performances run Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., with a Sunday matinee on August 29th at 5 p.m. The Thursday, August 26th, will be presented with audio description for the visually impaired. Tickets are $10 to $20.

The Hideout Theatre is located at 617 Congress Avenue. For tickets and more information, call (512) 964-5685 or visit www.SustainableTheatreProject.org.




Dead White Males Sustainable Theatre Project August 19th through September 11th Hideout Theater Following three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education approved a social studies curriculum that - according to the New York Times - "puts conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks - stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers' commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light." Austin's Sustainable Theatre Project takes the Board to task with the new play Dead White Males: A Year in the Trenches of Teaching running August 19th through September 11th at the Hideout Theatre. The production by William Missouri Downs questions the widely controversial decisions passed by the Texas Board of Education, asking how the politics of education are allowed to interfere with teachers' ability to connect with children - and how to define "a good education" when no one can agree on what should be taught. The darkly-humorous critique of the educational system and American life " is a hot-button hit that will seem like satire to the uninitiated and documentary to those who've spent any time in the trenches, just in time for the beginning of a new school year," according to director Derek Kolluri. "Three of the actors and I have been teachers in different capacities," said Kolluri, who is also the Producing Artistic Director of Sustainable Theatre Project (STP). "The play is set in Kansas - which was once home to every member of STP, four of whom spent the better part of their early education in the Kansas public school systems - so we don't have to look far for personal relevance." Kansas has been through its share of education controversies during the last decade. In August 1999, by a similar 6 to 4 vote, the Kansas State Board of Education changed their science education standards to remove any mention of "biological macroevolution, the age of the Earth, or the origin and early development of the Universe." "It was rescinded within the next two years, but not before Kansas was tossed around the national stage and almost every (theatre) company that could put up a production of Inherit the Wind," said Kolluri. "And, of course, there was ‘Brown versus the Board of Education.’" The Austin production features Molly Fonseca, Suzanne Balling, Beth Burroughs, Robert Deike, Katie Brock, Dennis Bailey and Ryan Hamilton. The production team - individual winners of more than 20 Austin theatre nominations and awards - includes Derek Kolluri, Adam Hilton, Jamie Urban, Adriane Deveney, Ia Enstera, Christal Boyd, Larry Mitchell and Elizabeth Elliot. "At the end of the day, school should be about empowering our children - not subjecting them to the same, decades-old battle over what theory is right," Kolluri said. But Dead White Males is so poignant because - like all great plays - it focuses on how we deal with these issues as human beings." Performances run Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., with a Sunday matinee on August 29th at 5 p.m. The Thursday, August 26th, will be presented with audio description for the visually impaired. Tickets are $10 to $20. The Hideout Theatre is located at 617 Congress Avenue. For tickets and more information, call (512) 964-5685 or visit www.SustainableTheatreProject.org.

			(Photo by Justin Browne)

		Buy Tickets Visit Official Website Get Map to the Theatre


	© Copyright 2010 AustinOnStage.com All rights reserved