MARILYN/GOD by Rosary Hartel O'Neill

Extended to June 1Jeff Church and Heidi Van are teaming up for Marilyn/God at the Fishtank

A one-woman powerhouse that looks at how America's obsession with fame and beauty shaped a single woman's rise to- and death from- stardom.   

Heidi Van and Jeff Church (Producing Artistic Director at the Coterie) surveyed many contemporary solo plays about Marilyn Monroe.

We settled on 'Marilyn/God by Rosary' Hartel O'Neill because it is more than a bio-play - it delves into the mind of Marilyn and challenges her, interrogates her and forces her to hold a mirror to herself and see the past she has left behind," says Heidi Van, actor and Fishtank Artistic Director. 

“I am attracted to the piece because is it more of psychological thriller than a vanity play.  It is extremely active - it’s an “in the moment” exploration and very visceral and physical. As an actor I am completely amped-up for it as well as utterly terrified, which seems to be the place to live.”

"Marilyn/God' opens April 2. TICKETS ON SALE HERE!

At Fishtank Performance Studio in the Crossroads Arts District

Apr 2, 2016, 8:00 pm

Opens: Sat, Apr 2, 2016, 8:00 pm

Closes: Open-ended run

Director: Jeff Church

Cast: Heidi Van

GUNPLAY at the FISHTANK

March 4 - March 20, 
Thurs - Saturday at 8pm, 
Sundays at 3pm 

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE!

The idea of the play is not to provide answers, but to raise questions. And it tries to do so by keeping roughly a 50/50 balance in scenes in terms of pro-gun vs anti-gun. 

Commissioned by The Riverside Theatre of Iowa City, Iowa, commissioned Higgins to write “Gunplay” in the 90s following the mass murder on the University of Iowa campus. “They wanted to create a play about 'guns in American life,” said Higgins. The play debuted there in '93, and the following year a couple of scenes from the play were read on Capitol Hill just before Congress passed the bill that's come to be called "The Brady Bill." 




The play is a mosaic of scenes and monologues that slice through American history and depict the beginning of gun culture to our present day. Some of the scenes from American history deal with George and Martha Washington's problems on both the national front and domestic front; with Bat Masterson dealing with the temptation to hide the truth about guns in the Wild West, and with the official recognition of dueling by members of Congress. Some of the contemporary scenes were based on interviews with a police officer who offers her critique of the human heart; with an African-American woman who offers an against-the-grain view of why she is for gun rights; with a gun store owner, and with two women who purchased guns and have widely differing views afterward. Higgins is working on the play for this production and updating the play in a couple of places. “Sadly, the subject matter is just as timely now as it was when I wrote the first draft of this unconventional play.” 

“Gunplay” is directed by Margaret Shelby and Ethan Zogge and features Rasheedat "Ras" Badejo, Connor Branson, Karla Fennick, Joseph Fournier, Laura Jacobs, John Mulvey, Brad Shaw, and Meredith Wolfe. “Gunplay” opens March 4 and runs Thursdays - Sundays till March 20. Tickets are $20 and available online at www.fishtanktheater.com.

FISHTANK COLLABORATES WITH NEW YORK-BASED ONE-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL

THE 1st KANSAS CITY 
ONE-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL

THREE PERFORMANCES ONLY, 
SATURDAY, JAN 30th 
SUNDAY, JAN 31st
MONDAY, FEB 1st 
All performances at 8PM

AT THE H&R BLOCK CITY STAGE AT UNION STATION, 30 WEST PERSHING, KCMO 64108

TICKETS ON SALE HERE! 

Featuring Brand New One-Minute Plays by:

Andrew Hagerty, Brian Buntin, Brian Moses, Brother John, Charlie Wietcamp, Coleman Crenshaw, Darren Canady, Ellen Kirk, Emma Carter, Frank Higgins, Heidi Van, Jose Faus, Keion Jackson, Kevin King, Lindsay Adams, Michelle T. Johnson, Natalie Licardello, Nathan Louis Jackson, Peregrine Honig, Pete Bakely, Prisca Jabet Kendagor, Rasheedat "Ras" Badejo, Ric Averill, Ry Kincaid, Teresa Leggard, Vanessa Severo, Vi Tran, Vicki Vodrey, Victor Wishna, & W Averill

Directed by:
Heidi Van, Kate Gilchrist, Ian Crawford, Elizabeth Bettendorf Bowman, Andi Meyer, Sidonie Garrett, Matt Rapport, and Bess Wallerstein

Curated & Created by:
 Dominic D’Andrea

The One-­Minute Play Festival (#1MPF) is America’s largest and longest running grass roots theatre company, founded by Producing Artistic Director, Dominic D’Andrea. #1MPF is social barometer project, which investigates the zeitgeist of different communities through dialogue, consensus building, and a performance of 50-100 short moments generated by each community. #1MPF works in partnership with theatres and/or social organizations sharing playwright, educational, or community-specific missions across the country. The aim is to create locally sourced playwright-focused community events, with the goal of promoting the spirit of radical inclusion. #1MPF represents playwrights of different age, gender, race, cultures, and points of career. The work attempts to reflect the theatrical landscape of local artistic communities by creating a dialogue between the collective conscious and the individual voice.

In each city, #1MPF works with partnering organizations to identify programs or initiatives in each community to support with the proceeds from ticket sales. The goal is to find ways give directly back to the artists in each community. Supported programs have ranged from educational programming, youth poetry projects, theatre program in prisons, playwright residencies and memberships, playwrights salaried commissions, community access projects, arts workshops, and other social and artistic initiatives.

Annual partnerships have been created with theaters in over 20 cities including: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Trenton, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Boston, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle, Dallas, Austin, Indianapolis, Anchorage, Honolulu, St. Louis, and more, with partnering institutions like Primary Stages, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Second Stage Uptown, New Georges at New York City Center, Z-Space, A.C.T., Trinity Rep, Victory Gardens Theatre, Cornerstone Theatre Company, The Playwrights Foundation, Boston Playwrights Theatre, Actor’s Express, InterAct Theatre, Mixed Blood, Walking Shadow Theatre, Passage Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Kitchen Dog Theatre, Salvage Vanguard & ScriptWorks,  ACT, Perseverance Theatre, Round House Theatre, Honolulu Theatre For Youth, and others.

Notable #1MPF contributors have included: David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, Neil LaBute, Tina Howe, Donald Margulies, Nilaja Sun, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Robert Schenkkan, Lydia Diamond, Phillip Kan Gotanda, Kristoffer Diaz, Rajiv Joseph, Sam Hunter, Karen Hartman, Robert Askins, Colman Domingo, José Rivera, Craig Lucas, Mike Daisey, Greg Kotis, Michael John Garcés, & over to 1400 celebrated, emerging, and midcareer playwrights.  For more information visit: www.oneminuteplayfestival.com

Tickets on sale now for The 12 Plays of Christmas

THE THIRD ANNUAL 12 PLAYS OF CHRISTMAS AT THE FISHTANK!

WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY ELLEN KIRK, RASHEEDAT "RAS" BADEJO, DEVON BARNES, COLEMAN CRENSHAW & BRIAN LAURENCE BUNTIN

DIRECTED BY HEIDI VAN 

RESERVE TICKETS NOW!!! 

Heaven and Hell

October 1,2,3

Multiple performances nightly

Advance purchase required

Http://heavenandhell.brownpapertickets.com

Heaven and Hell adapts the story of The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Fisherman and His Soul, by Oscar Wilde. With limited spoken dialogue and set in the studios of 1715-1717 Wyandotte including The Aquarium, The Fishtank, Heidi Van's private studio and Peregrine Honig's private studio, audience travels with a narrative guide through the spaces. 

Heaven and Hell's presentational form is considered promenade theatre, in which the audience walks through a variety of theatrically designed rooms, as well as environmental theatre, in which the physical location, rather than being a traditional playhouse, is an imitation of the actual setting.

Conceived and directed by Heidi Van. Presented in collaboration with UMKC Theatre as part of the UMKC Intensive Theatre Project. 

Bond: A Soldier and His Dog by Logan Black

2015 KC FRINGE Festival hit remounts at the Fishtank Performance Studio in the Crossroads September 18-27.

"To call this show affecting is an understatement...poignant...healing."

-2015 Fringe Festival Review of Bond, Robert Trussell, KC STAR 

2006 was one of the bloodiest years in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Iraqi society fractured and eventually devolved into sectarian violence, Saddam Hussein was executed and a young man with a yellow lab at his side found himself right in the middle of it all. 

In his one-man show, Logan Black tells the story of the bond created between K-9 and handler based on his experience as a Specialized Search Dog Handler, and the year he spent working with SSD Diego in the Al Anbar province of Iraq.

BOND received the “Best of Fringe” for during the 2015 KC Fringe Festival and was performed at the Unicorn Theatre Jerome Stage.  The Fishtank production maintains the heart of the fringe show and has expanded to 60 min.

Performances run September 18-27. Friday & Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $20 online in advance at http://bond.brownpapertickets.com.

About the Playwright/performer.

Logan Black was a member of the Utah National Guard while he attended the acting conservatory at the University of Utah. During his senior year he was called to active duty and suspended his training. Five years later, after meeting Diego and serving in Iraq, Logan returned to undergrad and completed his Bachelors in Fine Arts. He spent two years acting in Chicago and regional theaters before attending the University of Missouri at Kansas City to earn his Masters in Fine Acting in Acting & Directing. He is a proud member of the Actor Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.

"A ROMP THROUGH VERONA" Sept 9 - 11

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!!


Sept 9-11 at the Fishtank!!!

7:30PM  $10 - 20 



Based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Hyperion Theatre Company spins the classic story of star crossed lovers into a hilarious romp, weaving your favorite characters from commedia and our past shows into the streets of Verona. There may even be a few bits of the bard spoken here and there, between the dancing zebras and the Magician and his tricks. This show is dedicated to the memory of Angelo Mei, and performances will benefit The Community Storehouse in Ridgeway, Virginia. The production features Nina Ashe, Natalie Colton, Tristan Colton, Jonathan Hicks, and Michael Pauley with production management by Derick Lugo.

Kansas City performances will be held at Fishtank Performance Studio

*This show does contain adult language. 

Love Me Tinder Returns after successful run at the 2015 Fringe Festival!

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Coming soon!

 Gilda: A Tribute to the Beloved Comedienne Gilda Radner 

                 A one-woman show by Helena K. Cosentino

Performances: 

Friday August 7^th 7:30 pm                                                

Saturday August 8^th 7:30pm

Sunday August 9^th 2:30 pm

Friday August 14^th 7:30 pm

Saturday August 15^th 7:30 pm

Sunday August 16^th 2:30pm

~ This one-woman performance will bring to life and pay homage to some of Gilda’s famous characters and musical numbers.  Aspects of Gilda’s life story will be shared with particular emphasis on the way Gilda used laughter to get through the hard times.

~Her comedy truly made fun of the very things she was experiencing. It is for those of you who grew up watching Gilda and have always loved her and also for those of you who don’t know anything about her other than maybe you remember seeing a rerun of Saturday Night Live or you just watched the 40 year anniversary special and saw Emma Stone with this crazy wig on talking about how “it’s always something.”   But most of all, this show is dedicated to anyone going through Cancer or any challenging life event. 

~Helena’s goal is to capture and share a glimpse of Gilda’s amazing spirit with you, hoping to inspire you to laugh through life.

~Performances will take place at The Fishtank Theatre 

          FISHTANK PERFORMANCE STUDIO           

1715 WYANDOTTE

IN THE CROSSROADS

KANSAS CITY, MO  64108

~Tickets are  $20 and a portion of the proceeds to benefit Gilda’s Club Kansas City.

~Click the link below to purchase tickets

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1611320

You can also purchase Tickets over the phone by contacting 1-800-838-3006

We have some exciting shows coming up this summer!

Come see us this summer debuting two shows at the 2015 KC Fringe Festival on the Unicorn main stage!

Love Me Tinder: 
~ A lexicon of lust and love 
~ A hilarious comedy by: Alisa Lynn & Heidi Van


Performance dates: 

Unicorn Main Stage:

Friday July 17th: 8:00 P.M. 
Saturday July 18th 9:30 P.M. 
Tuesday July 21st 8:00 P.M. 
Thursday July 23rd 6:30 P.M. 
Friday July 24th 11:00 P.M.


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The Penis Monologues:

  ~ A new play by Heidi Van & Peregrine Honig

Performance dates:  

Unicorn Main Stage: 

Saturday July 18th 8:00 P.M. 

Monday July 20th 9:30 P.M.

Wednesday July 22nd 6:30 P.M. 

Friday 24th 8:00 P.M. 

Saturday 25th 11:00 P.M. 

Like our page on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Penis-Monologues-KC







Both hows will be presented at the Unicorn Theatre

3828 Main St, Kansas City, MO 6411