The Tesseract Theatre Company is changing gears and identity starting late spring 2019. The company will no long be producing a September – May calendar season. Instead it will premiere is first annual Festival of New Plays, premiering three new works over the course of two weeks, starting May 15 through the 26. These full productions will be performed in rep, so all three shows will be available to be seen each weekend of the festival.
The three shows, to be performed at the .Zack, 3224 Locust, are “Earworm” by Shualee Cook, “Dates” by Elizabeth Breed Penny and “Hoist” by Erin Lane.
“Earworm” will be directed by Morgan Maul-Smith.
“Earworm” tells the story of Candles Out, a decade-old punk rock break up song seeking closure with five people whose lives she’s entwined with in very different ways – a strange trip involving music and memory and how each affects the other.
Show dates and times:Wed. May 15 @ 7pmSun. May 19 @ 2pmThur. May 23 @ 7pmSat. May 25 @ 8pmSun. May 26 @ 2pm
In “Dates,” to be directed by Tinah Twardowski, Caroline has been finding it hard to live in the outside world: literally. And the more her friends try to help, the higher she builds her walls.
Dates and times:Fri. May 17 @ 8pmSat. May 18 @ 2pmSun. May 19 @ 7pmWed. May 22 @ 7pmSun. May 26 @ 7pm
In “Hoist,” to be directed by Kevin Bowman, Skyler, a recently returned Iraq war veteran, attempts to forget, so she can continue to exist in peace. Unfortunately, the effects of her military experience, and the return of an old flame, complicate her mostly good intentions.
Dates and times:Thur. May 16 @ 7pmSat. May 18 @ 8pmFri. May 24 @ 8pmSat. May 25 @ 2pm
Tickets are available by calling MetroTix at 314-534-1111 at the Fabulous Fox box office, or by visiting www.metrotix.comTesseract tells big stories small. The company’s mission is to be an artistic home for diverse artists and a leader in new play development in the Midwest.For more information, visit www.tesseracttheatre.com
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.