What's Goin' On Poster
SEASON 26 | MAY 2014
What’s Goin’ On?
Devised by the ensemble
Directed by k.b. short
Presented by GenEnCo & The VORTEX
What’s Goin’ On is an epic journey of many stories inspired by other works (including The Good Person of Szechwan by Brecht), found objects, and Anne Bogart’s Viewpoints. The stories are woven together by the mostly-queer, mostly-people-of-color cast and through the use of site-specific theatre, complete with a roving audience throughout The VORTEX compound. The ensemble examines the juxtaposition of virtue and money along with the dichotomies of good & evil, male & female, wealth & poverty, coercion & consent, and artifice & authenticity. This devised, immersive theatre piece pushes boundaries literally and figuratively by disregarding the fourth wall and consciously engaging or disengaging the audience throughout the performance. The earnest exploration of what virtue truly means when inequality makes “goodness” feel like a luxury will leave audiences inspired to examine within their own worlds: “What’s Goin’ On?”
cast
Morgan Robyn Collado, Kannou, Olivia Jimenez, James McMaster, Smalls McCoy, Saray de Jesus Rosales, and Wendy Vastine.
production team
Directed by kt shorb. Devised by the ensemble, What’s Goin’ On Stage management by Shelina Widner and Tamara L. Farley.
About kt shorb (Director)
Trained as a composer and raised as a drag king, kt shorb is a director and performer. Her directorial work has won a FronteraFest "Best of Fest," and been shown at the Menil Collection, the Pulitzer Foundation, and in many venues across Texas. She has performed in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, and beyond.
A pioneering leader in Austin’s alternative theatre, scene The VORTEX has successfully produced hundreds of original productions since 1989. As a haven for alternative performance, The VORTEX enriches and expands both spectators and artists. The VORTEX creates and produces vital, ground-breaking performances that generate though and discourse on the issues of our time.
The Generic Ensemble Company (GenEnCo) makes the invisible visible through bold, socially relevant, body-centered theatre.
This project is funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, and by the City of Austin Economic Development Department/Cultural Arts Division believing an investment in the Arts is an investment in Austin’s future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.