(UTNT) UT New Theatre is a showcase of new plays by graduating M.F.A. candidate playwrights. Now in its sixteenth season, UTNT brings together students from all theatre-making disciplines to develop new plays from script to stage. The final piece of each development process, whether it culminates in a production or a reading, is their chance to share the work with you, the audience.
KJ Sanchez and Alexandra Bassiakou Shaw serve as co-producing artistic directors, with M.F.A. candidate Braxton Rae acting as associate producer. Rylee Vines takes on the role of production manager for these performances.
UTNT (UT New Theatre) 2023 includes:
Address the Body!
Half paranoid conspiracy thriller, half Kafkaesque ghost story, Address the Body! interrogates the institutional racism present within academia through lost African legacies, treasonous Latin mottos and experimental Japanese technology. Written by Zachariah Ezer, Address the Body! features actors Nolan Myers (Dr. Timothy Wagner/William Taylor), Allen Porterie (Epimetheus), Mackenzie “Mack” Thornton (Rhodelle Grayson), Lizzie Ufomadu (Cree Burnside), Josephine Bonnington-Mailisi (Dr. Grace Levin-Kwan), Marissa Angel Barker (Blair Woodyard) and Jay Smith (Dr. Jim Cooper).
An outstanding creative team helps immerse the audience into Ezer’s play, consisting of Teresa Guerrero C. (Scenic Designer), Demian Gael Chavez (Sound Designer), Bridgette Clifford (Properties Manager), Jackson Cobb (Assistant Projection Designer), Katie Concannon (Costume Designer), Sydny DeMeyer (Properties Supervisor), Zachariah Ezer (Playwright), Clarissa Garcia (Stage Manager), Andy Grapko (Intimacy Director), Renita James (Community Engagement), Ryan K. Johnson (Choreographer), Lauresther Medina-Jimenez (Assistant Costume Designer), Tobie Minor (Fight Director), Michael Mobley (Dramaturg), Aria Morgan (Assistant Director), Tenzing Ortega (Associate Scenic Designer), Leila Rabah (Assistant Stage Manager), Dominique Rider (Director), Sydney Sousa (Projection Designer), David Tolin (Technical Director), Donna Bonnelle Yancey (Lighting Designer) and Jacob Zamarripa (Assistant Lighting Designer).
Very Blue Light
An extraterrestrial exploration of alien abduction, Very Blue Light examines isolation and doubt, revising relationships, and the implications of the existence of unidentified aerial phenomena. Featuring an original script by playwright Daphne Silbiger, Very Blue Light stars Ozma Darling (Magna), Angel Hernandez (Angela), Hal Cosentino (Coleman) and Mateo Hernandez (Michigan).
A talented team of creatives propels audiences into the astronomical, including Kayla Alonzo (Assistant Stage Manager), Jacob Benaim (Costume Designer), Avery Brooks (Assistant Director), Daniel Ruiz Bustos (Associate Scenic Designer), Teresa Guerrero C. (Scenic Designer), Jackson Cobb (Assistant Projection Designer), Hal Cosentino (Dramaturg), Sydny DeMeyer (Properties Supervisor), Andy Grapko (Intimacy Consultant), Dillon James (Sound Designer), Heekyung Kim (Projection Designer), Kristen Osborn (Director), Malena Pennycook (Dramaturg), Yobany Pizano (Assistant Director), Stephen Pruitt (Lighting Designer), Natalia Martin Rodezno (Properties Manager), David Tolin (Technical Director), Emma Winder (Stage Manager) and Jacob Zamarripa (Assistant Lighting Designer).
UTNT 2023 will also feature the following readings:
Harold
Harold, written by Justine Gelfman and directed by Susanna Wolk, follows a disqualified college improv team that is offered an unconventional opportunity to compete when a new member joins. Harold is a play about long-form improv, consent, saying yes-and, and the thorny complications of saying no. The talented cast features Angela Mata (Eloise), Ashley Diaz (Georgia), Dominic Gross (Thomas/Tomas), Joe Adkins (Noah B.) and Jackson Froelich (Noah D.).
mirror, mirror
