RUDE MECHS (Austin, TX)
www.rudemechs.com

THE METHOD GUN
Created by Rude Mechs
Written by Kirk Lynn
Directed by Shawn Sides
TMG / a project of Creative Capital

The Method Gun explores the life, ethos, and techniques of the renowned actor-training guru Stella Burden, and her training technique, The Approach, which fused Western acting techniques and more dangerous methods. Set amid swinging pendulums and talking tigers, and using found text from the journals and performance reports of Stella Burden’s company, TMG re-enacts the final months of her company’s rehearsals for their nine-years-in-the-making production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” and group interactions - all gleaned from historical documents - to express a longing for the return of inspiration and a more believable presentation of self in everyday life.

"The Method Gun... is nothing short of the best work this theater collective has done in its 13 years as it has carved out its well-respected reputation on the international indie theater scene."
- Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, Austin-American Statesman

"Top 10 Theatrical Treasures and Pleasures of 2008"
- Austin Chronicle

"In the arts, the Eight from '08"
- Austin-American Statesman

The Method Gun / a project of Creative Capital

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I'VE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY
Book and Lyrics by Kirk Lynn
Music and Lyrics by Peter Stopschinski
Curated and Directed by Thomas Graves and Lana Lesley

(In Development)

With music and lyrics by Austin experimental punker Peter Stopschinski and book and lyrics by Kirk Lynn, INBSH is an exploration of the wild frontiers of gender, parenthood, and the west. A transmedia performance party that purposely defies definition, Rude Mechs invites you to experience a sort of western carnival. All this plus a dachshund race, three jokes about rope, a seven-piece band, eight singers, three video puppeteers, and a tiny dance team come together to create a wild west wonderland you’ll never forget.

"A truly unique spectacle, a furious flight of fancy...one of the most entertaining and unique experiences to come out of Austin theater."
- www.austin.com

"A hilarious grasp of absurdity...both retro and devilishly au courant...the live-theater equivalent of a wildfire."
- Austin Chronicle

"Top 8 of '08"
- Austin Chronicle

"Top 10 Theatrical Treasures and Pleasures of 2008"
- The Washington Post

"BEST INVESTIGATION OF THE WEST: The Rude Mechs' funny, well-informed multimedia performance was a refreshingly queer interrogation of the West. Moreover, I've Never Been So Happy felt like a Brechtian extravaganza for art and theater geeks, evoking everything from WOW Café camp to Bruce Nauman's post-minimal studio practice to Kara Walker's silhouettes and shadow puppets."
- Claire Ruud

This work was named as one of five NEA Distinguished New Play Development Program selections by the NEA. All NPDP selections will be presented in Washington DC at Arena Stage in January 2011.

I’ve Never Been So Happy is commissioned by Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, and made possible with a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.