| THE DUDLEYS!: A Family Game by Leegrid Stevens - Tutto Theatre Company, 2011 - Photo by Daniel Brock | ||||||||
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 View the DUDLEYS gallery. Photos, unless otherwise noted, by Gary Jaffe. |
THE DUDLEYS!: A Family Game a new play by Leegrid Stevens directed by Gary Jaffe May 6 - 22, 2011 at the BLUE Theatre. This evocative new play translates a young man’s adolescent memories into a malfunctioning 8-bit video game, the kind he used to play as a child. A life-size video game onstage provides the setting in which the characters must score points and overcome obstacles as they navigate their way through the dangers of their own family. The Dudleys! features original video and a live 8-bit band of Ataris, Gameboys, and Commodore 64s performing original chip-tune songs (a new genre of electronic music in which old video game consoles are hacked and reprogrammed as synthesizers). The Dudleys! pits the two-dimensional, side-scrolling world of zombie shooting and treasure hunting against the three-dimensional sprawl of real life. Featuring: Alex Cogburn, Katie Dahm, Robert Deike, Spencer Driggers, Braden Hunt, Jenny Keto, Rachel McGinnis, Blake Smith, David Meissner, and Erin Treadway. Scenic design by Chase Staggs; Lighting Design by Natalie George; Costume Design by Benjamin Taylor Ridgway; Choreography by Melinda Rebman and Zenobia Taylor; Video Designs by Dan Monceaux, Angela Hill, David Bengali, Jordan Rein, Josh Lampman, David Mauro, Camillo Munar, and Jake Witlenand; and original chip-tune music composed and performed live by Steven Gridley. |
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Check out 15 minutes of footage from THE DUDLEYS! |
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Award & Citations: B. Iden Payne Award Winner: Outstanding Production of a Comedy, Outstanding Director of a Comedy, Outstanding Cast, Outstanding Original Script, Outstanding Choreography, Outstanding Original Score, Outstanding Sound Design, Outstanding Media Design Austin Critics’ Table Award Nominee: Outstanding Video Design, Outstanding Movement |
Austin Theatre Examiner Awards Nominee: Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, Best Original Score, Director of the Year Following our production, THE DUDLEYS!: A Family Game was one of four plays selected for the inaugural Alec Baldwin Fellowship development program with the Singers Forum in New York City. |
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Reviews: “The Dudleys! is incredibly ambitious both as a play and a production. [...] Helmed by new Tutto Theatre Artistic Director Gary Jaffe, [the production] synthesizes a lot of impressive contributions. First and foremost are the exquisite 8-bit video renderings. Not only do they hearken back to 8-bit classics ... but the characters seamlessly interact with the animation. The design team embraced the video-game roots of the script, and it really paid off. And the choreography by Melinda Rebman and Zenobia Taylor warrants mentioning: a lot of strangely delightful group movement pieces. The Dudleys! asks a lot of itself and its audience. At times, the drama practically hits you over the head with its rawness, and yet the next level will have a visit to a failing cancer clinic degenerate into a co-op zombie brawler game. But for all its complexities and shifting tone, the ending is quite emotionally affecting, and there are lots of delights along the way.” Avimaan Syam, Austin Chronicle |
“The reality of [the play’s] unreality was intense and moving. I thoroughly enjoyed this show.” Mark Briody, Theatre Austin “Luckily, talented director Gary Jaffe stepped up to the plate with gusto, juggling all of these disparate elements with ease and creating a wonderful mash up that shouldn’t work on paper, but which shines in execution. ... the rendition of [familal loss] is one of the most honest and heartbreaking I’ve ever seen.” Ryan Johnson, Austin Theatre Examiner |
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