New Theater Festival Shakes Up Texas’ Performing Arts Scene: Innovative Works to be Focus of Dallas Bonanza

WaterTower Theatre has something new in store for 2018. The notable Dallas theater company is holding its first-ever festival, dubbed DETOUR: A Festival of New Work. The event, running March 1 to 4, will present four new play readings, three devised works, and two “late nite” performances.

“In an aim to become a more supportive home to artists and an incubator for new, innovative theatre, we are proud to present the first DETOUR: A Festival of New Work,”  WaterTower Theatre artistic director Joanie Schultz says in a statement. “Each piece in this Festival is a fresh expression of performance.”

The festival will offer a variety of theater, from modern adaptations of Shakespeare from Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s “Play On!” initiative, to a new installation of Brigham Mosley’s hilarious Movies That Should Be Musicals. However, one of the highlights of the four-day fest is a performance that one wouldn’t expect from WaterTower.

The theater company has teamed up with Dark Circles Contemporary Dance to bring a one-night-only performance of three adventurous works-in-progress. The dance company, which recently performed three sold-out shows in Seoul, South Korea at the nation’s top arts venue, has been hailed as one of Dallas’ most innovative.

The program will include founder and artistic director Joshua L. Peugh’s new interpretation of pansori Sugung, based on a Korean folktale about The Dragon King, a turtle, and a rabbit. Peugh spent six years in South Korea and created the piece as a love letter to his artistic home.

The second work to be presented is Can’t Sleep but Lightly, choreographed by New York-based artist and winner of the Princess Grace Award for Choreography, Gabrielle Lamb. The work will be accompanied by a brand-new score by composer Brandon Carson.

Rattletrap, another new creation by Peugh influenced by the writings of Larry McMurty, will conclude the evening’s program.

The exciting, one-off performance will take place on Saturday, March 3 at 8 p.m. at the Addison Theatre Centre. Tickets to DETOUR are available online via WaterTower Theatre and Dark Circles Contemporary Dance.