Actor and Writer, David Wayne Reed, debuts Jolly Rancher at Fishtank Performance Studio for a three performance weekend, April 6th, 7th and 8th.

"If everything we read was like this, I might give a shit." --Community College student from Gardner, KS.                                                               Growing up on a farm in Louisburg, Kansas without formal creative outlets, Reed created his own venues for self-expression—performingimpromptu drag performances for visiting seed salesmen, dancing for the hay crew after a long day’s work, rehearsing Shakespeare in abandoned grain silos…

Finding the wheat among the chaff, Reed presents Jolly Rancher, a collection of stories culled from his own rural upbringing. In Jolly Rancher, Reed plows through a collection of humorous and poignant short stories rife with hilarious characters and universal truths unveiled from his life in the Land of Oz.

SHOWTIMES
FIRST FRIDAY APRIL 6 at 8pm with special guest, Honey Tahini!
SATURDAY APRIL 7 at 8pm with special quest, Amy Farrand!
SUNDAY APRIL 8 at 7pm with special guest, Ron Megee!

Tickets are $10 and available in advance at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/237008

 

 David Wayne Reed has been described as an "actor, writer and a bon vivant" as well as "a one-man classic rock circus." Reed is a founding member of the late Late Night Theatre where he appeared in over 20 shows playing over 50 roles. He wrote/directed Mother Trucker (2004), adapted/directed Come Back to the 9 to 5 Dolly Parton Dolly Parton (2002, 2006), co-wrote/co-directed Supermodels in Space (2005) and adapted The Show Formerly Known as Purple Rain (named Best Play of 2005 by the Kansas City Star) White Nose Christmas (2010) and Bump (2011). Reed was voted Best Actor: Reader's Choice and Best Trouper (for work in LNT) in the Pitch Weekly in 2000, Best Actor/Actress in 2008 and won Best Stocking Stuffer for White Nose Christmas in 2011. Reed is a 2011 Arts KC Inspiration Grant recipient and a Charlotte Street Generative Performing Arts Award nominee. Jolly Rancher debuted at the Seaside Repertory Theatre in January 2012 during his month-long artist residency with Escape to Create. 

A VERY FISHTANK HOLIDAY SEASON!

 AD HOC MUSIC SERIES CURATED BY PETER LAWLESS

NOVEMBER 27 8pm, $8

Peter Lawless' GAME NIGHT - This special event will feature series curator PETER LAWLESS and his closest musical friends performing a number of original "game pieces." Written over the last five years and inspired in part by the early work of John Zorn, these interactive pieces of for improvising musicians inject much-needed humor and fun into the often stuffy world of Avant-Garde music.

Advance tickets are only $8! Get your at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/183027



SHITTY DEAL PUPPET COMPANY  LAWRENCE, KS
PRESENTS: A SHITTY CHRISTMAS CAROL
FIRST FRIDAY DECEMBER 2 and SATURDAY DECEMBER 3  - 8pm AND 10pm  TICKET PRICES COMING SOON

"Shitty Deal Puppet Theatre Company is like a Chinese meal, in that 15 minutes later you want another one... Brilliant stuff."  - TheScotsman.com

From London, England to Edinburgh, Scotland to Lawrence to the Fishtank! We are happy to host the Shitty Deal Puppet Company! Each show is based on Mr Doper's exposition of the given topic for the benefit of his "little friend Bobby", a creature so adorably cute you'd kick Bambi out of the way to cuddle him. In Shitty Deal Christmas Carol Bobby learns meaning of Christmas through a series of heartbreaking yet funny events.  Four puppeteers play all the roles in this Lawrence company that has performed in the states and at the Edinburgh Fringe from 2007-2009 in which they received  five-star reviews from one of the toughest comic critics at the Edinburgh Fringe!



GETTING LUCKY: 
A STAND-UP SHOW FROM A LAY-DOWN LADY
KC NATIVE, SUSANNA LEE, BRINGS 1-WOMAN SHOW HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

DECEMBER 9 AND 10, 9PM  $10

Lucky DeLuxe (Susanna Lee) is a notable figure with a very noticeable one. Calling to mind a modern-day Mae West, she tickles her audiences with a combination of sharp-wit, shameless experience and teasing sensuality. Having successfully integrated burlesque routines into her standup stage show, this lovely lady brings a bevy of sauce and seduction to every performance. She’s been described as “a cross between June Cleaver and Columbia from Rocky Horror, with the vernacular of a stevedore.”  “Getting Lucky”, was awarded the “Best Of Fringe” title for its venue, during its debut run at the 2011 Kansas City Fringe Festival. 

"I can't wait for these shows! KC is my hometown and I'm excited to film my dvd at the Fishtank! One of my favorite venues!" -Susanna Lee

Tickets are $10 and available online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/212959

CHRISTMAS LEFTOVERS 

DEC 11, 12, 18 and 19, 8PM $15

These leftovers require much more than tupperware and a microwave.

An original solo show inspired by her own experiences, Christmas Leftovers is the story of Lindsey, a mother of one daughter and sister to two siblings, who is left to survive and breathe in the shadows of her recently deceased mother. It is now her responsibility to create the idyllic Christmas that her family has grown to know and expect. She discovers that she must confront her past so that her family can realize a more perfect Christmas right now.  Written by Christopher Martin. Directed by James Wright.

Tickets available online for $15 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/208674

BUMP! "Savagely Funny" - KC Star

The Fishtank Performance Studio Presents:
BUMP 
BY David WAYNE REED    BESS WALLERSTEIN   &  HEIDI VAN

NOVEMBER 4 - 14 at the FISHTANK

CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE TIX - ON SALE NOW!

From the creators of WHITE NOSE CHRISTMAS: A Tabloid Nativity of Rehab and Rebirth comes the next installment in the life and times of Brindsay Kardilton, America's favorite celebutataunte. 

Brindsay Kardilton, desperate to restart her career in the wake of her jail time and rehab stints, decides to give back to the world by becoming a surrogate. Due any moment, she heads to the Big Apple for a whirlwind press junket to promote her new lines, a new life and her big bump! 

BUMP IN THE NEWS
KC STAR Review! Bump gives Birth to Laughter at the Fishtank!

BUMP Brings Faux Celebrity Back to the Fishtank 

KC STAR Preview Article: Heidi Van's Baby Bump Has A Starring Role in Fishtank Production

White Nose Christmas, winner of 2011 "Best Stocking Stuffer"

SHOW TIMES
NOV 10, THURS.    8PM
NOV 11, FRI.          8PM & 10PM
NOV 13, SUN.        6PM & 8PM
NOV 14, MON.       8PM
      
TIX are $15. On sale Online NOW!
WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND PURCHASING TIX IN ADVANCE! SEATING IS LIMITED!

OCTOBER at the FISHTANK!

 FIRST FRIDAY @ the FISHTANK: OCT 7

Ashlee LaPine & Todd Carlton Lanker star in DYING CITY

DYING CITY

A Kansas City Premier, DYING CITY is a staggering &  intimate drama about dealing with loss in our post 9/11 world.

   

Friday, October 7, $15 online & at the door 

7PM Reception & 8PM Show! 

Find out what's next at the studio and enjoy a delicious spread by Californos and cold beverages courtesy of Pabst Blue Ribbon!

Tickets are available online for $15

Seating is limited.

Photo by Noah Whitmore

Featuring  

ASHLEE LAPINE & TODD CARLTON LANKER  

Remaining Performances:   

October 6 - 10, All performances 8pm. 

Special $10 INDUSTRY PRICING  

SUNDAY OCT 9 & MONDAY OCT 10! 

Seating is limited and we strongly encourage purchasing tickets in advance.  Tickets are available online here!

WORKSHOPS @ the FISHTANK

Actors with Moxie Presents Workshops in IMPROVISATION

Registration required: CONTACT STACEY SIEGERT @ Actorswithmoxie@gmail.com 

October 16, 9am - 12noon, $50

Move it! Yes, I mean you. (Physical Improv class)

By freeing up the body, the student will discover new characters, different approaches to creating a relationship onstage, and tools to add variety to their scene work.  

Wear comfortable clothes and shoes and be prepared to move!

 

INSTRUCTOR: KAREN ELANOR WIGHT is a NYC-based actress, dancer, improviser, and teacher. Karen has been improvising for 17 years and is one-half of the wordless improv duo Imp with Asaf Ronen.  In addition to performing, Karen teaches improv at festivals nationally and internationally including Seattle, Toronto, New Zealand, Austin, Baltimore, Providence, Oberlin, Miami, and Los Angeles.

Improvisation for Intermediate & Advanced Actors*

October 29, with Megan Hovde Wilkins from the Second City in Chicago

Two Sessions: 1pm-3:30 or 4pm-6

Impressionism Advanced Improv for Actors 3.5 hours 1-3:30pm $45

What impression do you make as an improviser?  Sometimes an outside eye can inspire you in a new way, let’s see… This workshop provides a one on one opportunity to perform and receive assessment from the perspective of a director, teacher and fellow inproviser.

Intermediate Improv for Actors 2 hours 4-6pm $40

For the day player.  Had a little improv in your life? Want some more?  This workshop will hone your skills and focus on character work- developing and maintaining interesting choices and creating sustaining believable characters.  Solid character work is one of the most important elements of both long and short form improv.

 *Experience level: Must feel comfortable improvising.

 

INSTRUCTOR: Megan Hovde Wilkins is a professional actor and improviser in Chicago, and has been performing and teaching improvisation for 10 years.  She's a member of the Second City National Touring Company, performing improv and sketch comedy all over the world. She also performs at the IO Theater (Improv Olympic), the Annoyance Theater and at improv festivals all over the country with improv teams American Dream and KOKO, among others. Offstage, she is an instructor at the Conservatory at the Second City Training Center.

First Friday at the Fishtank Presents a Benefit Performance

Photo by Richard Sutton

September 2, 2011 8pm - 10pm

First Friday Benefit & Performance

$20, Kids 12 & under are free

8pm Doors Open 

Cocktail & Hor D'ourves Reception

Resident & Associate Artist Meet & Greet

2011 Fall Season Preview

9:30pm Performance: Rubble by Heidi Van

Experience a Fishtank trademark window play. Rubble is a surreal & cinematic story played out in the Fishtank’s storefront window, giving Kansas City audiences a truly unique “theater al fresco” experience.
  

Tickets are $20 and available online at Brown Paper Tickets or by clicking this link.      Kids 12 & under are free!

SPONSORED BY

RUBBLE: A new play by Heidi Van with music by Peter Lawless examines what's left behind after devastation & destruction. Performed in and outside the windows of the Fishtank, "an environmental theatre break through" (The Pitch). Featuring Doogin Brown, Coleman Crenshaw, J. Will Fritz, Ashlee LaPine, LowRain Milburn, Vanessa Severo & Heidi Van with original live music by Katelyn Boone, Katie Guillen & 

Peter Lawless.  

 Heidi Van is the recipient of a 2011 Inspiration Grant awarded by the ArtsKc Fund which provided financial assistance to make this performance possible.

RUBBLE REVIEWS AND PHOTOS FROM THE 2011 KC FRINGE FESTIVAL

RUBBLE Reviews & Photos

RUBBLE REVIEW: LOOK FOR THE SIGNS...  

   

RUBBLE... IN KC STAR  

FIRST DAY SLIDE SHOW OF FESTIVAL INCLUDES RUBBLE... KC STAR  

RUBBLE REVIEW - THIS SHOW IS WHAT FRINGE IS ABOUT 

The Fishtank Performance Studio Debuts A New Window Play at July's First Friday

The Fishtank is sending audiences outside to play! Fishtank Curator Heidi Van and collaborator Ingrid Andrea Guertsen team up for "53 Days & 52 Nights", an epic and cinematic clown story in the Fishtank’s storefront window, giving Kansas City audience a truly unique “theater al fresco” experience.

Featuring Heidi Van, Ingrid Andrea Guersten & Coleman Crenshaw, with live musical accompaniment by Fishtank Resident Peter Lawless and Daniel Eichenbaum. Directed by Fishtank Resident Damian Torres-Botello, produced by HYBRID: A Theatre Collective.

Running July 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 & 12 at 9pm in the windows** of the Fishtank Perfomance Studio. Donations accepted at the door $5-15.

**All window performances are 30 - 35 minutes in legnth.

Support this show by pledging to our fund drive and receive VIP seats.

This production is generously sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon, the New Theatre Restaurant, Birdies, the Fishtank Performance Studio and Digital Milk.

Digital Milk is a Kansas City based creative media collective providing our clients with unique, effective solutions to make noise in this competitive market. Defined by its trilogy of talent Digital Milk provides a full service audio and video production suite as well as in house motion graphics and design.... This allows us to create HD video and animation to use in social media, viral campaigns, web and television spots. Digital Milk services include: audio, video and graphic production, original music composition, creative services, corporate branding and identity campaigns, photography services, 3D imaging (CGI) and much more.