Blog Archives

a quick glance back and big leaps forward by us all

12/31/2014

A few reflections on a wild, wonderful, hard, and satisfying year under the umbrella along with our plans to tear 2015 up. Duh.

Company World Cupping

From Laura

In 2014:

I'm so proud of us for taking the plunge and joining up with ARTshare. It's a crazy experiment and hopefully it works (because it would be amazing on so many levels), but regardless it's an exciting opportunity and I'm glad we grabbed it.

In 2015:

I have been dreaming about expanding THESE ARE THE MEN ever since Blake first wrote it and I performed in it in 2009. I'm crazy excited to bring the bigger, fuller adventure to the Southern in March.

VINLAND workshopping

From Carl

In 2014

Savage Umbrella fed me and my family after we had a baby, which was amazing. It was the middle of the polar vortex, we were exhausted and snowed in, and if SU hadn't brought us copious amounts of lasagna, salad and other delicious things, some Oregon Trail action might have gone down.

In 2015

I can’t wait to see what we make together.

From Lisa

In 2015

Workshop of JUNE! I'm so pumped to see Lesbian characters and sexual identity on stage as main characters not simple bit characters. I'm very excited to see where a full production and continued development could take the script! Yay Hannah!

In 2015

I'm excited to see what our fantastic theater community can do with some greased wheels.

ARTshare launching

From Hannah

In 2014

I think this year was an especially exciting year for Savage Umbrella workshops. We explored new ways of creating narratives and moments in JUNE, dug into the nooks and crannies of THESE ARE THE MEN (full production coming in March/April 2015), discovered new mythologies with the vikings of VINLAND, and tried out some new ways of staging and engaging audiences with HOUSE PARTY. It's not out of the ordinary for Savage Umbrella to try new things, but this year felt particularly satisfying. We're really getting into an awesome groove.

In 2015

I'm looking forward to SO MUCH in 2015; Savage Umbrella has some exciting things planned. I think I'm most excited to see what bubbles out of the workshops this coming year. The part of new work that gets me the most excited is the start of an idea -- when the possibilities are infinite and we get to decide where it goes. We haven't announced everything that will happen in 2015 yet, but trust me... you're in for an incredible ride.

JUNE workshopping

From Mason

In 2014

I am so proud of the number of workshop presentations we did in 2014 (4)! That's so many great conversations!

In 2015

I can't wait to be on stage at the Southern! I feel like Anne Hathaway at the top of her Oscar speech ("It came true..."). Lolz, but really, I'm so excited to perform in one of my fav spaces in town.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY workshopping

From Heidi

In 2014

We made some serious administrative changes that were hard and a little scary but as we get rockin and rollin under our new structure I can already tell the changes are serving the work and that is SUPER awesome.

In 2015

Every single company member is taking personal and artistic risks in 2015 and I am so excited to see my family grow and move and shift and change and make.

RAPTURE performance art-ing

From Tanner

In 2014

we worked with almost 50 collaborators. Seriously, I just counted. And it was a great mix of new and familiar faces. My favorite part of the process is always the work in the room, and we've been insanely fortunate to have collaborators who bring incredible creative energy to the table.

In 2015

I think once ARTshare actually gets going in January, it'll be especially exciting to see the community that will start to form at the Southern as the audiences of the various resident companies get to know each other, mingle, and chat about art over drinks.

RAPTURE cast & crew selfie-ing

THESE ARE THE MEN workshopping

From Blake

In 2014

It was amazing to work with 17 awesome collaborators from different disciplines to explore themes, staging, and content for These Are the Men. Such wonderful energy.

In 2015

The epic undertaking that is These Are the Men - I can't wait to see our grand plans come to fruition.

From Russ

In 2014

We fit more workshops into one year than, I think, we have ever done before. That means we have reached out to and worked with so many new artists and got them under our umbrella and that is so exciting.

In 2015

We are gonna make so much awesome stuff!

Ivey Award Posing

Why bother? By Russ

12/24/2014

but what if they were REAL?

Making new art is a lot like getting a tattoo. Stay with me.

I want a tattoo. I’ve wanted one for years, but it’s a big decision that takes planning, time, money, some pain and blood and will end with me having a piece of art or statement forever tethered to my person. No backsies.

Really, that’s what making new theatre is: it’s a whole lot of work and worry and culminates into a final product that reveals something about you. It’s about commitment. It’s about your stamp of approval. It’s about bringing something into the world that, in most cases, was never asked for and saying, “Hey, this thing matters. You should all take some time to witness it.” You are responsible for its existence.

Co-designing: sanity in numbers, by Mason

12/17/2014

wherein we realize we have real fur tastes
on a fake fur budget.

You know how the designers on Project Runway always lose their shit when they have a team challenge? It never fails to catch me off guard for a moment.

“Play nice, acknowledge your strengths, play to them, and knock it out!,” I scream in my mind (usually). And then I remember that they are in competition for money and exposure and all that.

Thankfully, we at SU are all about the teamwork! For our upcoming production of THESE ARE THE MEN at The Southern, Laura, Heidi, and I are combining forces to design the costumes. Here is a glimpse into the world of Team Hydra.

Theatre for an Audience of One by Tanner

12/10/2014

A scene in Metrotech Plaza from the Odyssey Works production, When I Left the House it Was Still Dark.

Imagine this: one day you receive a personal invitation to an abandoned hardware store. Huh, that’s strange. Out of curiosity, you visit the space. It’s empty. The place is empty save for a notebook. You open the notebook and find a story about a man searching for a cellist, a music recording, and a picture of a prairie.

Several days later, you’re in a car being taken somewhere you don’t know. It turns out that somewhere is the airport. You’re given a ticket and put on a plane and end up in Saskatchewan, Canada. You’re driven to a prairie (the one that was in the picture!), where you find a cellist playing a variation of the music from the recording.

freaks. by Laura

12/3/2014

This week we’re feeling so, so lucky to be part of the ARTshare family.

Due to some unexpected circumstances, there suddenly came up some free performance evenings during ARTshare’s first slot, and whammo, Savage Umbrella gets two more evenings for performances in late Jan/early Feb.

BAM.

So we’ve had a little project on the back burner for a while now, a little nugget called FREAKS. Did Tanner and I write it in 2010? Yes. Did we write it for high school students? Yes. Did they want it to be about zombies? Hell yes.

Are we going to perform it, script as it lay in 2010 for high school students? You know it.