ARCHIVE SEASON 20 | October 2007

review

Shrewd Productions announces the world premiere of Io: a myth about you, an exciting new foray into heroic tales, vengeance, decadence, salvation, forgiveness, and rock & roll. The god of the streets captures a savior with a secret and a mistress with no memory -- but who's the real prisoner here? Part myth, part mockery, part modern-day morality play, Io will remind you of the distinct joys of being mortal. *This play contains sexual content, strong language and nudity.*

Featuring: Jude Hickey as THEO, T. Lynn Mikeska as IO, Gina Houston as GLENN, Aaron Alexander as ZELL, Andrea Skola as HERA, Brock England as SHERM, Shannon Grounds as APOLLONIA, Jason Hays as ART. Ensemble Cast: Anne Hulsman, Kathleen Fletcher, Ashley Edwards, Florinda Bryant, Kelly Hollabaugh and Jerry Joe Benson.

Directed by Elena Araoz; Music written by Monika Bustamant; Musical Score by T. Lynn Mikeska & Andrea Skola; Musical Direction by Adam Sultan; Lighting design by Jennifer Rogers; Sound design by Ben Mettin; Costume design by Pam Fletcher-Friday; Set design by Ann Marie Gordon

Elena Araoz recently helmed the off-Broadway production of Carl Djerassi's Phallacy for RedShift Productions at the Cherry Lane Theatre, starring Simon Jones and Lisa Harrow. In addition, she helped to fashion the Providence-based theatrical company Aurea's version of Christopher Logue's Homeric variations, War Music, and has served as assistant director to Jonathan Miller in his productions of King Lear, Cosi Fan Tutte, and the Bach Saint Matthew Passion. Other recent credits include The Power by Li Tong Chen in Beijing, China, the first English language play commercially produced in Beijing, and Titus Andronicus for Austin Shakespeare in Texas.

Monika Bustamante is a founding member and co-Artistic Director of Shrewd Productions, a Hyde Park Theatre Core company member, a Refraction Arts Project company member, and a ten-year member of Austin Script Works. In addition to the above mentioned companies, she has performed with or written for the Austin Shakespeare Festival, The University of Texas at Austin, Salvage Vanguard Theatre, Vassar Powerhouse, and others. Most recently, she received a Seed Support grant from Austin Script Works for the continued development of Io: a myth about you. Her play A Mother with Light was a finalist for ASW's inaugural Latino Playwrights Initiative, her play Stillborn was produced in Fall 2006 for Shrewd Productions, and her award-winning monologue Set Up was included in Heidemann's 2006 edition of More Monologues for Women by Women. Her writing has received accolades from the Kennedy Center Playwrights Intensive, the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, the Princess Grace Awards, WordBRIDGE, the Harvest Festival of New American Plays, Austin Critics Table, and others. Monika received her MFA in Playwriting with James A. Michener and Jules Hexter fellowships from the University of Texas at Austin.

Shrewd Productions past productions include the darkly beautiful tale, Stillborn: a bedtime story, the annual favorite, X-mas Unwrapped: A Holiday Burlesque; Where Are They Now? a Fantasy Based on a True Crime by Cyndi Williams, recipient of 6 Austin Critic's Table Award nominations and winner for Best Production of a Drama and Best Supporting Actress for Anne Hulsman; the outrageously charming Camp Shrewd, and Cheater, a collaborative creation involving 14 actors and 10 playwrights from Austin and beyond. Shrewd's most recent production, Trash Anthems, was performed to critical and popular acclaim.

Shrewd Productions is proudly sponsored by the Austin Circle of Theaters. This project is funded in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. Use of The VORTEX is made possible through the support of VORTEX Repertory Company.