ARCHIVE: SEASON 18 | July 2006

review

The Visit, a drama about a town that sells its soul for a fortune, still exerts a chilling grip [50] years after it shook up genteel Eisenhower-era audiences." - The New York Times

Summer Youth Theatre proudly presents Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Visit. First produced in 1956, this tragi-comedy provides timely social political commentary on the dangers of inaction and indifference against corporate greed and injustice.

In The Visit, a powerful woman returns to her childhood home seeking vengeance. She gives the impoverished town an ultimatum that challenges the very fabric of their moral existence. Are they willing to kill for material gain?

The 2006 Summer Youth Company includes Youth Artists: Avery Ashwill, Taylor Flanagan, Sebastian Garcia, David Johns Jr., Romeo Joy, Adaire Kamen, Stephanie Lumpkin, Emma Polunsky, and Celia Ross. Adult Guest Artists: Content Love Knowles, Jeff Castleberry, and Ian Stilwell

Directed by Le Easter; Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon|; Costume Design by Pam Fletcher Friday; Sound Design by Chad Salvata; Lighting Design by Walker Parent

"The Visit is a grotesque fable whose icy laughter and bizarre fantastical sideshows (a pair of blind eunuchs, for instance) reflect its author's proximity to both the Holocaust and the accompanying absurdist revolution in theater." - The New York Times

Director Le Easter holds a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts from Southwest Texas State. She directed last year's sensationally successful production of Birth at The VORTEX and has also appeared in VORTEX's Sleeping Beauty and Dark Goddess. She has been an AISD teacher for seven years. She currently teaches theatre and directs at Bedichek Middle School. Ms. Easter is also a founding member of Kairos! Acting Company and an active member of a local theatre company, Loaded Gun Theory.

"The Visit is as powerful and relevant today as it was when its writer was trying to make sense of an apparently morally bankrupt world." -The Sydney Morning Herald

Summer Youth Theatre has an acclaimed 15-year history of providing quality productions. The Austin Chronicle named VORTEX's SYT as the "Best Theatre for Kids That Treats Kids Like Grownups". SYT has received dozens of awards and nominations.

SYT is funded in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, the City of Austin under the auspices of the Austin Arts Commission, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.