FIT 2016

The Festival of Independent Theatres beats the heat and breaks the mold this summer at the Bath House Cultural Center with a technologically improved festival full of Dallas’ finest, most vibrant talent. Festival goers will enjoy a more immersive, informative experience with the help of a brand new Online Ticketing system, an up-to-the-minute mobile app, and a new look for the basement space overlooking White Rock Lake. Patrons will notice the difference immediately, as for the very first time in the festival’s history, online ticketing puts affordable summertime entertainment right at their fingertips! Now, festival passes and individual tickets are just a few clicks away without having to call the box office or wait in line. Tickets will be available through the FIT website, our new App, and on social media. For audience members looking for a little extra this summer, the new FIT APP will give patrons mobile access to behind-the-scenes footage, special offers and up-to-the-minute show time information. Built in partnership with our friends at TheaterJones, this web-based application will be available for download NOW at FIT.theaterjones.com Onstage, the work will continue to dazzle audiences as this year’s collection of independent theatres presents an exciting and diverse collection of theatrical works. Participating companies WingSpan Theatre Co., Echo Theatre, Proper Hijinx Productions, House Party Theatre, Cry Havoc Theater Company, L.I.P. Service, Frieda Dunkelberg & Company, and Fun House Theatre and Film present eight plays, including four world premieres, in a line-up that both pushes boundaries and engages audiences in new and exciting ways. After the show, the Bath House Cultural Center’s newly renovated lake-level space will host the return of FIT UNDERGROUND, a funky, after-hours speakeasy that presents an array of live music, post-show conversation and relaxing refreshments on Friday and Saturday evenings. Earlier this year, the first phase of renovations to the Bath House lakefront space began with the pouring of a concrete floor, the installation of new gates along the shore level and a number of cosmetic improvements to the interior of the space. The live music isn’t just limited to Underground, as FIT welcomes back Caleb Veazey and several of his friends from our vibrant jazz community. Fresh off the completion of his Master’s study at CalArts, Caleb will captivate the Bath House Gallery on weekend afternoons with an expansion on last year’s tribute to the legends of the Dallas music scene along with a greater focus on younger composers. Sponsored by the City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs, the eighteenth annual Festival of Independent Theatres offers eight one-act plays, presented in rotating pairs, along with a number of ancillary arts, music and performance related events, from July 8 – 30, 2016 at the Bath House Cultural Center. Tickets are $18 plus $2 handling, Passes $60-70 plus $3 handling. Individual tickets and festival passes are on sale now. For ticketing or more information, please visit www.festivalofindependenttheatres.org or call 1-800-617-6904. A brief description of each play appears below. Cry Havoc Theater Company: Good Kids by Naomi Iizuka - Distinguished director Shelby-Allison Hibbs returns to FIT with this gripping piece of investigative theater centered on the 2012 Steubenville Rape Case from the perspective of the community it devastated. Echo Theatre: Blisters by Brittany Willis - Echo Theatre playfully illuminates the often-difficult choices we make for our loved ones in this unpredictably offbeat journey through grief and self-discovery. Frieda Dunkelberg & Company: Hospit(al)able by Frieda Dunkelberg - Explore a musical and immersive world of devised movement in Frieda Dunkelberg’s expressive voyage into the intoxicating power of memory. Fun House Theatre and Film: Rush Limbaugh in Night School by Charlie Varon - Local trailblazers Fun House Theatre and Film make their FIT debut with a wildly entertaining anecdote on media’s most polarizing figure as he rediscovers himself in an experimental night school. House Party Theatre: Wealth Management by Ted Gwara - Known for their energetic, buzz worthy productions, House Party Theatre gives us a high octane, inside look at the overindulgent behavior that lead to the Housing Market Crash of 2008. L.I.P. Service: The Good Thief by Conor McPherson - Local theater critic and director Alexandra Bonifield wields the celebrated pen of Irish playwright Conor McPherson in this exploration of one man’s redemptive journey from violence to forgiveness. Proper Hijinx Productions: Missed Connections by Stefany Cambra - Heartwarming humor and an unmistakable charm accentuate a collection of Craigslist stories in Stefany Cambra’s enchanting glimpse at the tribulations of modern relationships. WingSpan Theatre Company: Play by Samuel Beckett Master director Susan Sargeant conducts Samuel Beckett’s rhythmic narrative about a wife, husband and mistress obsessing over an affair that haunts their afterlife.