FronteraFest, the five-week-long performance festival that ScriptWorks co-produces with Hyde Park Theatre returns next week with performances starting January 14th. The Short Fringe, for pieces 25 minutes or less occurs at Hyde Park Theatre, with four to five shows performing a night. All shows start at 8 PM. We commission four pieces for the Short Fringe, that appear weekly on Wednesday nights. Every year, several of our members are involved in FronteraFest. Below are the members participating in the Short Fringe this year. Mi Casa es Su Teatro also returns this year on February 8th so stay tuned for more information about that. For the full festival line-up and to purchase tickets visit Hyde Park Theatre.
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Silent Faces, written and performed by Alex Garza. In his original solo work, Silent Faces, Alex Garza fuses together several of his poems and performs them as character monologues to tell the journey of a gay man through his life. The play explores one person’s evolution and search for love, identity, and visibility in the world.
The Heart of Things, by Andy Tate (ScriptWorks Commission). Zach and Adam are sorting through their belongings as they prepare to leave their apartment for a fresh start. While packing up, they begin unpacking their three-year relationship. Now every object is a treasured memory to unearth, or a hard truth to expose, and neither of them is in the mood to stop digging. Featuring Joseph Paz and Kirk Scarbrough. Directed by Jason Sierra.
THE Talk: A Pep Rally Purity Play, by Lilly Percifield and CB Goodman. Let’s go LIONS! It’s Homecoming at Christian High School Academy, and there’s no better time to talk about… Abstinence. In this excerpt, Principal Luke’s smokin’ hot wife is here to teach the girls How To Stay Pure. Lilly Percifield channels her experience with West Texas Evangelical Purity Culture into a ridiculously absurd solo comedy that resembles a “Youth Group on Steroids” using one very important sandwich.
Friday, January 17, 2025
12 Steps to a More Dysfunctional Part 5, This Time It’s Personal, by Rob Nash. Fred tours as a non-motivational speaker, Margot has a podcast for Christian Wives and Mothers, her husband Reverend Bob televangelizes every Sunday, Windsong and Moonbird are trying to save the family and the world by getting them to enroll in The Landmark Forum, Ashley is trying to save her plural marriage and Matt just wants to drink in peace.
The Yolk, or, Scenes from The Egg: A Comedy, by Noah Masterson. A new technology upends the lives of a woman who lays eggs and a man whose face sprouts feathers. Directed by David Ritch, The Yolk is a set piece for a full-length play to be produced later in 2025.
Wednesday, January 22, 2022
Identity Crisis, an excerpt from the play by Mindy Reed. Michelle Greene returned to clean out her childhood home and discovered an old film canister. Curious, she has the pictures developed, only to find her own face staring back at her. She’s always felt like an outcast in her own family and this unearthing makes her question her lineage. Letters in the attic reveal the truth.
Daughter and Dada, written and directed by Marley Miller, and Zell Miller, III. Through spoken word a 3d image of what it is like to be the father and daughter of a scorpio artist.
The Woman in the Attic, by Kleo James Ryan (ScriptWorks Commission). What secrets lie locked away in the attic? Aubrey, a young bride, finds herself drawn to mysterious sounds echoing throughout her new home. Her enigmatic husband, Edgar, promises there’s nothing to fear and urges her to ignore them. But as Aubrey ventures into the attic, she discovers the truth about Edgar’s past. Directed by Lacey Cannon Gonzales, this Gothic tale explores love, madness, and the devastating cost of secrets.
HR, by Monroe Oxley. In this dark comedy, HR , Mr. X takes Ruth, a self-involved receptionist, on an existential journey of her life. Ruth is about to find out that there is more to life than gossip and work, even if she’s been dead for a year.
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Showstopper by Angela J Latham. Angela J Latham eventually escaped White Evangelicalism. Barely. Once noted in evangelical circles for her performances of biblical texts and religious heroines, Latham replays her dramatic turn from fundamentalist to freethinker in an irreverent and poignant solo performance that is equal parts meta-theatre, memoir, and biting social commentary.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Texas Book of Beasts: Year of the Gnu, by Jeff Irvin. Activist organizes the audience in opposition to a new development that threatens an endangered toad. With clickers and signs. Parental Note: with implied amphibian sex.
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Poseidon Cruise Presents Sheila and Carla Jean’s High Tide Happy Hour Comedy Cabaret Deck 4 Weather Permitting Casual, by Lee Eddy and Jenny Larson. Join us for an evening of so-so singing, mediocre jokes, and desperate tears. It’s “Poseidon Cruise Presents Sheila and Carla Jean’s High Tide Happy Hour Comedy Cabaret.” The ship is sinking, passengers are vomiting, chaos reigns, but Sheila and Carla Jean know the show must go on.
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Augusta Stops the Show, by Helen Sneed. Augusta Stops the Show is the third one-act play in a series written and performed by Helen Sneed. It’s the story of an accomplished woman with mental illness fighting to survive in New York City.
Friday, January 31, 2025
A Stinging Convention, by Max Langert. First created and performed at the 14/48 festival in Austin, this comedic play follows a few insects attending a work conference as they await the day’s keynote speaker. Directed by Ruth Foulkrod.
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, with additional original text and performed by Alex Garza. In this gripping tale of loss and consequence, Hamlet deals with the sinister circumstances surrounding the death of the King, his father, while at the same time attempting to reconcile a strong resentment towards his mother. In coming to terms with the romantic feelings for the men in his life, he also must face the difficulty of his relationship with Ophelia. In this solo performance, Alex Garza mixes Shakespeare’s classic script with original text.
Cuentos Desde Comal is a storytelling/monologue project from Comal Street Theater. Anya Carreon-Reyes, Veronica Castillo-Perez, and Rupert Reyes will be writing and performing their stories based on personal experience about race and how it has impacted their lives. In this day and age, we must memorialize these stories in order to create change because we see them as being extremely relevant.
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Sound Bombing!, by Jeff “DaShade” Johnson & Zell Miller, III. An experiment into sound, fusing rhymes, spoken word, tap dance rhythms and the energy of hip-hop culture Sound Bombing is a declaration of freedom. Produced by ZM3LiveProductions
Featuring: Queen Deelah, Siobhan Cook, Zell Miller, III, Thomas Wheeler, Jeffery “DaShade Moonbeam” Johnson
A Good Year for the Sunflowers, by Christine Schiele Gutierrez (ScriptWorks Commission) In a journey through time, a sister remembers her brother. From childhood adventures in Tehran to coming-of-age escapades in 1980s New York, and finally to the tender moments of his final days, this solo performance explores the intricate landscape of sibling love, loss, and memory. Over coffee – a shared passion – Christine weaves a poignant narrative that transforms personal grief into a universal meditation on connection, resilience, and the enduring power of familial bonds.
Snowpacolypse by Tristan Young Mercado. When five college freshmen get trapped in their dorm during a Texas snow storm and power outage, they find themselves having to make real life connections without social media.
Thursday, February 6, 2025
Long Live Dead Irish Poets, by Raymond V. Whelan. Long Live Dead Irish Poets is a short-play, one period piece about three reporters in an old saloon focused on the closing of the Chicago Daily News in 1978.
Friday, February 7, 2025
Teachers and Students, Pardon the Interruption by Maggie Meador. Teachers and Students, Pardon the Interruption, created by Maggie Meador. The performers- real teachers. The announcements – all actual announcements that have played at some point during our wonderful school years. The catch: The actors do NOT know what the announcements are ahead of time. They will have to adjust, pivot, react, solve, move on, and LIVE! You know. Like they do. Step into the world of ‘you cannot make these up’ announcements in public education. You’re welcome. Please enjoy. 🙂
Cookie Cutter, by Brian Wittenbrook. You are invited to a panel discussion of director Kenner Cameron’s new true-crime documentary, Cookie Cutter, moderated by scream queen Didi Moon, with the director, Alice Park (the victim’s daughter), and JJ Andrews, president of the War on Miscreant Behavior (W.O.M.B.). The panel will discuss Cameron’s theory that behind the murder of Manny Park (a.k.a the Better Baker) lies a deeper conspiracy. Cookie Cutter stars LB Deyo, Kelly Hasandras, Danu Uribe Mara, and Brian Wittenbrook. It is written and directed by Brian Wittenbrook, with Kathryn Rogers as the Assistant Director.