SEASON 31 | MAY 2019

Illustration of three colorful chickens in front of a silhouetted city skyline.

Chickens in the Yard

By Paul Kruse
Directed by Alice Stanley
Presented by The VORTEX

Chickens in the Yard explores the story of a family through the eyes of their four chickens, delving into memory, identity, queerness, and what it means to make a home.

Set in Pittsburgh, Chickens in the Yard explores three days in the life of a family as they grow, stumble, and fall into their future. The play explores what gay identity means for one couple, as they journey from the families that raised them to the family they choose to create together. Director Alice Stanley brings the world to life through innovative storytelling and poetic staging, blurring the line between choreography and theatre.

CAST

Mindy Rast-Keenan, Mary Catherine, Judith Sloan, and Cat Palacios.

PRODUCTION CREW

Assistant Direction by Devin Ramirez. Costume Design by Stephanie Fisher. Scenic Design by Ashton Murphy. Lighting Design by Patrick Anthony. Sound Design by David DeMaris. Movement Direction by Sarah Jack. Stage Management by Alexis K. Williams. Producing Artistic Director, Bonnie Cullum.

About the Artists

Paul William Kruse is a playwright, film/video maker, and teaching artist from western Wisconsin. His work flows from his queer identity, Catholic roots, and ever-evolving experience of family. Paul creates stories for and with the people he loves. He is a founding member and resident playwright of Hatch Arts Collective in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Paul often writes collaboratively, drawing from his years of experience as a videographer and documentarian. He is currently a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is pursuing an MFA.

Alice Stanley is a director, playwright, filmmaker, and producer, and a Founder of Cohesion Theatre Company in Baltimore, MD. Alice won Best Director from Baltimore City Paper's Best of Baltimore 2016, The Bad Oracle, and DC Metro Theatre Arts, and received the Mayor's Individual Artist Award. Alice is an MFA Directing Candidate at the University of Texas at Austin.

Chickens in the Yard has been previously produced at Hatch Arts Collective in Pittsburgh, PA; Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA; and Adjusted Realists in Brooklyn, NY.

Funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.