Rude Mechanicals (a.k.a. Rude Mechs)
Encyclopedia
Rude Mechanicals is a collaborative theater company operating out of Austin, Texas, USA. Founded in 1995, the company has created 25 original plays and produced another 25 premieres and workshops. Since 1999, they have run a theater space called The Off Center, where they premiere all of their work. The company first garnered national attention with their original adaptationLipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century
, based on the book by Greil Marcus
. This fast-paced, irreverent examination of 20th Century politics and art and the Sex Pistols
brought a great deal of attention to the company, as did a New York production of play in 2001, two subsequent national tours, and an international tour. Since, the company has garnered more and further-reaching notoriety with plays such as Requiem for Tesla (Fresh Terrain Festival), an adaptation of James Kelman's novel, How Late it Was, How Late
(Philly Live Arts Festival), an adaptation of David Reese's internet comic strip Get Your War On
(Total Theatre Award, Edinburgh Festival), and their original production The Method Gun (Humana Festival 2010, NYC production run 2011, national touring). With six Co-Producing Artistic Directors guiding the collective of 29 members, the creation of the work springs from a dedication to collaboration and physical theater.
UBU ROI
TOO MUCH LIGHT MAKES THE BABY GO BLIND: 30 PLAYS IN 60 MINUTES
UBU ROI
Prometheus Unbound
Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century
Requium for Tesla
How late it was, how late
300 Plays About Vladimir Putin
Get Your War On
Get Your War On
Get Your War On
Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century
Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century is a non-fiction book by American rock-music critic Greil Marcus that examines popular music and art as a social critique of Western culture....
, based on the book by Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
. This fast-paced, irreverent examination of 20th Century politics and art and the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
brought a great deal of attention to the company, as did a New York production of play in 2001, two subsequent national tours, and an international tour. Since, the company has garnered more and further-reaching notoriety with plays such as Requiem for Tesla (Fresh Terrain Festival), an adaptation of James Kelman's novel, How Late it Was, How Late
How late it was, how late
How late it was, how late is a 1994 stream of consciousness novel written by Scottish writer James Kelman. The Glasgow-centred work is written in a working class Scottish dialect, and follows Sammy, a shoplifter and ex-convict.-Plot summary:...
(Philly Live Arts Festival), an adaptation of David Reese's internet comic strip Get Your War On
Get Your War On
Get Your War On is a series of satirical comic strips by David Rees about political topics — originally the effects of the September 11 attacks on New York City but quickly switching focus to more recent ones, in particular the "War on Terrorism"...
(Total Theatre Award, Edinburgh Festival), and their original production The Method Gun (Humana Festival 2010, NYC production run 2011, national touring). With six Co-Producing Artistic Directors guiding the collective of 29 members, the creation of the work springs from a dedication to collaboration and physical theater.
Pale Idiot
- a world premiere by Kirk LynnKirk LynnKirk Lynn is a playwright who lives in Austin, Texas. He graduated from Douglas MacArthur High School in 1990. He is one of the founders of Rude Mechanicals theater company and he has been working with this collaborative theater company since 1996...
• directed by Kirsten Kern - October 1996 Auditorium on Waller Creek/Hyde Park Theater
UBU ROIUbu RoiUbu Roi is a play by Alfred Jarry, premiered in 1896. It is a precursor of the Theatre of the Absurd and Surrealism. It is the first of three stylised burlesques in which Jarry satirises power, greed, and their evil practices — in particular the propensity of the complacent bourgeois to abuse the...
(a one-night only extravaganza)
- a staged riot of the play by Alfred JarryAlfred JarryAlfred Jarry was a French writer born in Laval, Mayenne, France, not far from the border of Brittany; he was of Breton descent on his mother's side....
• directed by Sarah Richardson and Kirk Lynn - December 1996
Grainings (a Frontera Fest production)
- a world premiere by Kirk Lynn • directed by Lana Lesley
- February 1997 Hyde Park Theater
TOO MUCH LIGHT MAKES THE BABY GO BLIND: 30 PLAYS IN 60 MINUTESToo Much Light Makes the Baby Go BlindToo Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes is the longest running show in Chicago and the only open-run Off-Off-Broadway show in New York. Starting in 1988, the show has run 50 weekends of the year since then...
- written by the Neo-FuturistsNeo-FuturistsThe Neo-Futurists are an experimental theater troupe founded by Greg Allen in 1988. Neo-Futurism, inspired by the Italian Futurist movement from the early 20th century, is based on an aesthetics of honesty, speed and brevity.-Aesthetic:...
• directed by the cast - June/July 1997 The Electric Lounge
Cursd & Shrewd: The Taming of the Shrew Unhinged
- a world premiere conceived by Shawn Sides • adapted by Kirk Lynn • created by Rude Mechs
- August 1997 Hyde Park Theater
Lust Supper (Part I of the Faminly Trilogy)
- a world premiere by Kirk Lynn • directed by Sarah Richardson
- November 1997
UBU ROIUbu RoiUbu Roi is a play by Alfred Jarry, premiered in 1896. It is a precursor of the Theatre of the Absurd and Surrealism. It is the first of three stylised burlesques in which Jarry satirises power, greed, and their evil practices — in particular the propensity of the complacent bourgeois to abuse the...
(a one-night only extravaganza)
- a staged riot of the play by Alfred JarryAlfred JarryAlfred Jarry was a French writer born in Laval, Mayenne, France, not far from the border of Brittany; he was of Breton descent on his mother's side....
• directed by Sarah Richardson and Kirk Lynn - December 1997 The Electric Lounge
¡Gringo! (a Frontera Fest production)
- written by José Hernández and Kirk Lynn • directed by Catherine Glynn
- February 1998 Hyde Park Theater
Prometheus UnboundPrometheus UnboundPrometheus Unbound is a four-act play by Percy Bysshe Shelley first published in 1820, concerned with the torments of the Greek mythological figure Prometheus and his suffering at the hands of Zeus. It is inspired by Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and concerns Prometheus' release from captivity...
- written by Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
• directed by Madge Darlington - April 1998 The University of Texas at Austin
Crucks (Part II of the Faminly Trilogy)
- a world premiere by Kirk Lynn • directed by Shawn Sides
- July/August 1998 Public Domain
Salivation (Part III of the Faminly Trilogy)
- a world premiere by Kirk Lynn • directed by Gavin Mundy
- November 1998 Hyde Park Theater
don b.’s Snow White
- adapted from Donald BarthelmeDonald BarthelmeDonald Barthelme was an American author known for his playful, postmodernist style of short fiction. Barthelme also worked as a newspaper reporter for the Houston Post, managing editor of Location magazine, director of the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston , co-founder of Fiction Donald...
’s post-modern classic novel - a world premiere adapted and directed by Lana Lesley • created by Rude Mechs
- April 1999 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th CenturyLipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th CenturyLipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century is a non-fiction book by American rock-music critic Greil Marcus that examines popular music and art as a social critique of Western culture....
- adapted from the cult classic by Greil MarcusGreil MarcusGreil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
- conceived by Shawn Sides • adapted by Kirk Lynn • created by Rude Mechs
- July 1999 Ice Factory Festival (New York, NY)
- September 1999 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
- September 2000 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
- June/July 2001 *The Ohio Theatre (New York, NY)
- January 2002 The Walker Arts Center
- January 2002 The Wexner Center for the Arts
- January 2002 Legion Arts CSPS
- January 2002 DiverseWorks
- September 2002 *On The Boards (Seattle, WA)
- October 2002 *UCLA Live! Performance Festival (L.A., CA)
- July 2003 Szene Salzburg Festival
- produced by Foundry Theatre (NY, NY)
The 7th Day Projects (a second-stage production)
- a play created by the cast in 7 days
- December 1999 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Crossing Borders
- a presenting series featuring Marga GomezMarga GomezMarga Gomez is a Puerto Rican/Cuban-American comedian, playwright, and humorist. She is openly lesbian....
, Carmelita TropicanaCarmelita TropicanaAlina Troyano , better known as Carmelita Tropicana, is a Cuban-American stage and film actress.-References:* * -External links:...
, Paul Bonin-Rodriguez, Luis Alfaro - co-presented with University of Texas and Frontera@Hyde Park Theater’s Long Fringe Festival
- January 2000 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Out All Night and Lost My Shoes
- written and performed by Terry Galloway
- February 2000 Hyde Park Theater (Austin, TX)
In the House of the Moles
- a world premiere written by Terry Galloway • directed by Shawn Sides
- February 2000 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
War
- a world premiere written and directed by Kirk Lynn • created by Rude Mechs
- June/July 2000 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Throws Like a Girl
- a presenting series featuring Holly Hughes, Deb Margolin and Peggy Shaw
- September 2000 Preaching to the Perverted
- October 2000 Menopausal Gentleman
- November 2000 O Wholly Night and Other Jewish Solecisms
Requium for TeslaNikola TeslaNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
- written by Kirk Lynn • directed by Shawn Sides • created by Rude Mechs
- January/Feb 2001 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
- February 2003 Fresh Terrain Festival (Austin, TX)
Offcenter:Onscreen
- a bi-monthly experimental film and video series
- Throughout 2000 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
- Throughout 2001 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Big Love
- a regional premiere written by Charles L. MeeCharles L. MeeCharles L. Mee is an American playwright, historian and author known for his collage-like style of playwriting, which makes use of radical reconstructions of found texts.-Early Life and Early Career:...
• directed by Darron L. West - August/September 2001 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Throws Like a Girl
- a presenting series featuring Marty Pottenger, Peggy Shaw and Terry Galloway
- February 2002 City Water Tunnel #3
- March 2002 To My Chagrin
- March 2002 Lardo Weeping
El Paraiso
- a world premiere written by Kirk Lynn • directed by Shawn Sides • created by Rude Mechs
- April/May 2002 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
The Incubus Archives
- a world premiere written by W. David Hancock • directed by Vicky Boone
- co-produced with Hyde Park Theatre
- September/October 2002 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Hour-Minute-Second (a second-stage production)
- written by Rebecca Beegle • directed by Jon Watson
- February 2003 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Diffeent Cities, Different Names (a second-stage production)
- written by Kirk Lynn • directed by Gavin Mundy
- April/May 2003 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
How late it was, how lateHow late it was, how lateHow late it was, how late is a 1994 stream of consciousness novel written by Scottish writer James Kelman. The Glasgow-centred work is written in a working class Scottish dialect, and follows Sammy, a shoplifter and ex-convict.-Plot summary:...
- adapted from the Booker Prize winning novel by James KelmanJames KelmanJames Kelman is an influential writer of novels, short stories, plays and political essays. His novel A Disaffection was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 1989...
- a world premiere adapted by Kirk Lynn • directed by Sarah Richardson • created by Rude Mechs
- September 2003 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
- September 2004 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival (Philadelphia, PA)
300 Plays About Vladimir PutinVladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
(a second-stage production)
- written by 60 artists • curated by José Hernández • directed by Robert S. Fisher •
- December 2003 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Don't Drown (a second-stage production)
- written by Rebecca Beegle • directed by Joanna Garfinkle
- January/February 2004 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Reminiscence of the Ghetto & Other Things that Raised Me
- a second-stage presentation • co-presented with Women & Their Work
- written and performed by Angela Kariotis • directed by Paul Bonin-Rodriguez
- March 2004 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Bear (a second-stage production)
- written by Rebecca Beegle • additional words and music by Jon Watson
- April/May 2004 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Stadium Devildare
- a world-premiere written by Ruth Margraff • directed by Shawn Sides
- April/May 2004 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Cherrywood: the modern comparable
- a world premiere written by Kirk Lynn • directed by Shawn Sides • created by Rude Mechs
- October/November 2004 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
- June 2005 National Ensemble Theatre Festival (Blue Lake, CA)
Hemophiliacs (a second-stage production)
- a world-premiere written and directed by Robert Pierson
- December 2004 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Throws like a Girl
- a presenting series featuring Carmelita Tropicana, Marga Gomez, Deb Margolin, Split Britches
- February 2005 Single Wet Female
- February 2005 Index to Idioms
- April 2005 Dress Suits To Hire
Get Your War OnGet Your War OnGet Your War On is a series of satirical comic strips by David Rees about political topics — originally the effects of the September 11 attacks on New York City but quickly switching focus to more recent ones, in particular the "War on Terrorism"...
- adapted from the internet comic by David ReesDavid ReesDavid Rees may refer to:* David Rees , British children's author* David Rees , American cartoonist* David Rees , British pure mathematician...
• created by Rude Mechs - April/May 2005 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
- January/February 2006 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Match-Play
- adapted from Deborah Hay Dance Company's Bessie Award winning dance "The Match"
- September/October 2005 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Decameron Day 7: Revenge
- a world premiere written by Kirk Lynn • directed by Shawn Sides • created by Rude Mechs
- April/May 2006 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Red Cans (a Rude Fusion production with Rubber Repertory)
- created by Josh Meyer and Matt Hislope • directed by Josh Meyer and Matt Hislope
- August 2006 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Get Your War OnGet Your War OnGet Your War On is a series of satirical comic strips by David Rees about political topics — originally the effects of the September 11 attacks on New York City but quickly switching focus to more recent ones, in particular the "War on Terrorism"...
THE TOUR
- adapted from the internet comic by David ReesDavid ReesDavid Rees may refer to:* David Rees , British children's author* David Rees , American cartoonist* David Rees , British pure mathematician...
• created by Rude Mechs - September 2006: The Arcadia Stage - Philadelphia Live Arts Festival (Philadelphia, PA)
- September 2006: DiverseWorks (Houston, TX)
- October 2006: Woolly Mammoth Theater (Washington D.C.)
- October 2006: Ballroom Marfa (Marfa, TX)
Have you ever been Assassinated?
- a world premiere written by Rebecca Beegle • directed by Carlos Treviño • created by Rude Mechs
- October/November 2006 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Throws like a Girl
- a solo female performance art festival this year featuring women who rock: Gretchen Phillips, Lynn Breedlove and Bitch
- February 2007 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
Get Your War OnGet Your War OnGet Your War On is a series of satirical comic strips by David Rees about political topics — originally the effects of the September 11 attacks on New York City but quickly switching focus to more recent ones, in particular the "War on Terrorism"...
THE TOUR
- adapted from the internet comic by David ReesDavid ReesDavid Rees may refer to:* David Rees , British children's author* David Rees , American cartoonist* David Rees , British pure mathematician...
• created by Rude Mechs - January 2007: Under The Radar Festival @ 59E59 Theatres (New York, NY)
- July 2007: Galway Arts Festival (Galway, Ireland)
- August 2007: Edinburgh Fringe Festival @ Assembly Aurora Nova (Edinburgh, Scotland)
- September 2007: Bumbershoot Festival (Seattle, WA)
- October 2007: Kiasma Festival @ Espoo City Theatre (Helsinki, Finland)
I've Never Been So Happy
- a work-in-progress presentation
- December 2008 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
I've Never Been So Happy
- a work-in-progress presentation
- September 2009 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
The Method Gun
- March 2010 The Humana Festival of New American Plays (Louisville, KY)
- October 2010 Arts Emerson (Boston, MA) and Wexner Arts Center (Columbus, OH)
CL1000P (working title)
- a work-in-progress presentation
- December 2010 The Off Center (Austin, TX)
The Method Gun
- January 2011 Yale University's No Boundaries Festival (New Haven, CT) and Dance Theatre Workshop (New York, NY)
- June 2011 Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles, CA)
- September 2011 TBA Festival (Portland, OR)
Co-Producing Artistic Directors
- Madge Darlington
- Thomas Graves
- Lana Lesley
- Kirk LynnKirk LynnKirk Lynn is a playwright who lives in Austin, Texas. He graduated from Douglas MacArthur High School in 1990. He is one of the founders of Rude Mechanicals theater company and he has been working with this collaborative theater company since 1996...
- Sarah Richardson
- Shawn SidesShawn SidesShawn Sides is an American voice actress notable for the work she did for ADV Films now-defunct Monster Island Studio in Austin, Texas from 1998 through 2005...
Company Members
- Lowell Bartholomee
- Laura Cannon
- Robert S. Fisher
- Heather Hanna
- Jose Hernandez
- Joey Hood
- Connor Hopkins
- Jodi Jinx
- Hannah Kenah
- Jason Liebrecht
- Ellie McBride
- Amy Miley
- Jazz Miller
- Robert Pierson
- Stephen Pruitt
- Graham Reynolds
- Brian Scott
- Paul Soileau
- Leilah Stewart
- Peter Stopschinski
- Meg Sullivan
- Aron Taylor
- Tina Van Winkle
Board of Directors
- Dave Hime, President
- Marla Camp, Vice President
- Stephanie Hunter, Treasurer
- Sarah Sloan, Secretary
- Mark Holzbach
- Roberto Tejada
- Buck Van Winkle
Advisory Board
- Charlotte Canning
- Carrie Bills
- Paul Drown
- Sandy Levinson
- Joann McKenzie
- Lisa Moore
- Rick Pappas
- Anna Seckinger