DAT Short Play Festival

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Deaf Austin Theatre is proud to host our first ever Short Play Festival. This event will showcase six new short plays written by Deaf playwrights. The theme for this year’s festival is “elevator,” so all shows are set in an elevator.

Come check out the newest works by 6 amazing Deaf playwrights. All performances will be in American Sign Language. Voice overs and captions will be provided.

This will be a virtual event starting April 30th- May 15th, premiering six new short plays written by Deaf playwrights.

The event will start off with a 2 night premier live streamed event, hosted by Sandra Mae Frank & Brian Andrew Cheslik. We will watch 3 shows one night and 3 shows the next. We will also have a live, audience participated Q&A with the writers and directors of that nights pieces.

Then all of the shows will be available for on-demand streaming through May 15th.

2 Night Live Stream Premier
April 30th & May 1st @ 7pm CST
$30 for both nights

On Demand Streaming
May 2nd thru May 15th
$15 for full access to all 6 plays.

Featuring…

Image Description: Orange Red background with the image of an old fashioned elevator floor signal that shows floor numbers 2-6 with an arrow between the 5 and 6. Text at the top left shows "Written by TK Sylvester" with a circular photo of a young African American man with glasses, dark hair and a small goatee, standing in a blue shirt, looking at the camera with a slight smile. Text at the top right shows "Directed by JoRose Benfield" with a circular photo of a white woman with wavy brown hair cascading down one side of her face, looking at the camera seriously. Large text in the middle: "The Last Floor" Bottom left image shows the Deaf Austin Theatre Logo: A black square with a thick white line bordering on all sides. Inside the border is a large white bat. The white text shows "DAT Deaf Austin Theatre" Bottom right text: "Short Play Festival April 30- May 15 2021"

The Last Floor

Written by TK Sylvester

Directed by JoRose Benfield

Starring: Heba Toulan and Aaron Hobbes

An explosive and cathartic conversation between two ex’s before going their separate ways.

Image Description: A tan colored wall with wood trim. In the center of the wall stands 2 golden elevator doors with buttons between them. On top of each door is a half circle design to represent the signs that identify which floor the elevator is currently at. Text at the top left shows "Written by James Caverly" with a circular photo of a clean-shaven white male with medium-length straight hair is looking straight at the camera. Text at the top right shows "Directed by Sandra Mae Frank" with a circular photo of a white woman with brown hair cascading down one side of her face, and the other side tucked behind her ear. She has a slight smile and a thick collared maroon sweater. Large text in the middle: "A BETTER PLACE" Bottom left image shows the Deaf Austin Theatre Logo: A black square with a thick white line bordering on all sides. Inside the border is a large white bat. The white text shows "DAT Deaf Austin Theatre" Bottom right text: "Short Play Festival April 30- May 15 2021"

A Better Place

Written by: James Caverly

Directed by: Sandra Mae Frank

Starring: Landon Krentz and Mervin Primeaux-OBryant

An unassuming operator transfers a passenger through a journey where an ultimate decision must take place.

Image Description: An old warehouse freight elevator surrounded by a brick wall. The bricks are painted in white on the top and left of the elevator doors, and burned orange on the right but the paint is chipped and peeling in various areas. There is a fire extinguisher on the right of the doors. The doors are large and grey, but rusted. They open with the top half going up, and the bottom half going down Large text in the middle: "THE INTERROGATION/ BY THE NUMBERS" in black print. Underneath that the text reads "Written by Alexandria Wailes with a circular photo of a light skinned biracial woman with dark hair, different colored eyes, reddish lips in a blue sleeveless ruffled shirt in front of a dark grey background. Underneath that it shows "Directed by Anne Tomasetti" with a circular photo of a white woman with waist-length dark brown hair, brown eyes, looking directly at viewer and smiling, wearing a blue shirt with buttons, sitting in front of a brown wooden fence. Bottom left image shows the Deaf Austin Theatre Logo: A black square with a thick white line bordering on all sides. Inside the border is a large white bat. The white text shows "DAT Deaf Austin Theatre" Bottom right text: "Short Play Festival April 30- May 15 2021"

The Interrogation/ By the Numbers

Written by Alexandria Wailes

Directed by Anne Tomasetti

Starring: April Cheng, Elbert EJ Joseph, Gabriel Joseph Silva, Jazie Perry, Kody Dixon, Levi Wood, Nida Din, Norma Aldana and Jules Dameron

Twilight Zone-esque inspired piece exploring the ideas of belonging, identity and tribalism. The elevator can be used as a metaphor for moving upwards towards enlightenment,  downwards towards becoming more grounded within oneself. When the doors open, who we are when we move forward from our own (and collective) past.

Image Description: An image of elevator buttons on the right in partial view. A woman's finger is pressing the up button. In front of that are the words written by Rob Roth and directed by Andres "Flash" Otalora. Below is the title Pushing Buttons. Text at the center shows "Written by Rob Roth" with a circular photo of a white male, wearing a shirt with large checkerboard squares. He is bald, clean-shaven, wears glasses and is smiling at the camera. Text underneath shows "Directed by Andres 'Flash' Otalora" with a circular photo of a Colombian native in mid 40’s, light tan skin, short dark hair, light salt and pepper beard man wearing a black sweater, and black glasses facing camera smiling. White wall background. On the upper right side of the image are the words: "Short Play Festival April 30- May 15 2021" Upper left image shows the Deaf Austin Theatre Logo: A black square with a thick white line bordering on all sides. Inside the border is a large white bat. The white text shows "DAT Deaf Austin Theatre"

Pushing Buttons

Written by: Rob Roth

Directed by: Andres “Flash” Otalora

Starring: Joshua Castille, Sarah Brown, Ben Beyer, Andres Otalora

As a boy, Danny is trying to figure out his place in the world. As he grows up, he realizes truths about himself and tries to get his mother to accept him for who he is.

Image Description: A purple hued image of an open elevator in partial view. On the left we see the open doors of the elevator. The textured wall surrounding the doors continues over the right of the poster Text at the center left shows "Written by Jazleen Garcia" with a circular photo of a young Latina woman with long curly dark hair cascading down both sides of her face. She has round glasses and is standing in front of a green fern, smiling at the camera. Text underneath shows "Directed by TK Sylvester" with a circular photo of a young African American man with glasses, dark hair and a small goatee, standing in a blue shirt, looking at the camera with a slight smile. On the right side of the image is a large grey box with the text "5 Years of Little It(s)" in a cursive, handwritten font. Bottom left image shows the Deaf Austin Theatre Logo: A black square with a thick white line bordering on all sides. Inside the border is a large white bat. The white text shows "DAT Deaf Austin Theatre" Bottom right text: "Short Play Festival April 30- May 15 2021"

5 Years of Little It(s)

Written by Jazleen Garcia

Directed by Tk Sylvester

Starring: Nida Din and Kody Dixon

Max and Angela, newly divorced, step into the same elevator after signing their official paperwork for their divorce. Without their lawyers being present, Angela takes the opportunity to talk with Max, which leads them to have a deeply emotional conversation.

Image Description: A yellow tinted image of an elevator in the center doors closed the operator panel to the right of the doors, a brownish stripe runs horizontally around the middle of the walls. In front of that are the words Ding! and below that is the words written by Raymond Luczak and directed by Russell Harvard. Text at the center shows "Written by Raymond Luczak" with a circular photo of a bearded white middle-aged man wearing a white button shirt, stands in front of a wall of flat ceramic square tiles inside a staircase. He looks up to his right at a window that is just outside the shot. Text underneath shows "Directed by Russell Harvard." with a circular photo of a stubble bearded white male reaching into his 40’s wearing a dark blue button shirt, sitting with his arms folded upright as if he is hugging himself. He stares directly into the lens of the camera into your soul. The backdrop is a cloudy blue. On the Lower right side of the image are the words: "Short Play Festival April 30- May 15 2021" Lower left image shows the Deaf Austin Theatre Logo: A black square with a thick white line bordering on all sides. Inside the border is a large white bat. The white text shows "DAT Deaf Austin Theatre"

DING!

Written by Raymond Luczak

Directed by Russell Harvard

Starring: Anthony Natale and Russell Harvard

In DING!, two Deaf men, not realizing that the other is Deaf, fantasize about each other while inside the elevator of an advertising agency in New York.

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