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Flying

Presented by Breaking String Theatre at The Off Center

January 28-February 19, 2011

Avg. Event Rating (4.3 Stars):
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A group of Russia's so-called “golden youth,” smart, talented, well-heeled twenty-somethings are heading for disaster. Among them are DJs, VJs, PR agents and on-screen presenters for a hot new youth-oriented Moscow television production company. These people, with hip-sounding names like Snowstorm, Maniac, Snowflake and Orangina, are creating and living the images that will define the future. None wastes much time thinking about why one of?their group is repeatedly battered by her husband or why another constantly takes tranquilizers to maintain her cool, collected image. But when an unsullied teenage girl joins their group one day, they are compelled to look beyond the usual limits of their purview. And when Snowstorm is arrested for possession of drugs and Orangina undergoes a religious?experience, the insular nature of their world is quickly breached.

• At-a-
  Glance

  • Venue Info

    The Off Center

    2211 Hidalgo Street
    Austin, TX 78702

    Full map and directions

  • Admission Info

    Tickets:

    $15-25

  • Dates & Times

    Dates:
    January 28-February 19, 2011

    Times:
    

    * February 3, 4, 6, 7 (Thursday - Monday)
    * February 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 (Thursday - Monday)
    * February 16, 17, 18, 19 (Wednesday - Saturday)

  • Accessibility Info

    Currently, no accessibility information is available for this event.

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    Currently, additional images/videos have not been submitted for this event.

  • Member Reviews

    Add review/comment

    • Event Name: Flying
      "Flying doesn't quite take off"
      Review posted by: T Ott from Austin, Texas, Feb 15, 2011
      

      While the performances are strong, the vision is not, nor is the script. In a kind of updated Balm in Gilead set in the Russian hipster techno world, Schmidt's direction fails to bring all the... Expand

      While the performances are strong, the vision is not, nor is the script. In a kind of updated Balm in Gilead set in the Russian hipster techno world, Schmidt's direction fails to bring all the stories together. Some fine performances from Trussell and Hood that should be noticed. I had hoped for more in the end. Collapse

    • Event Name: Flying
      "Flying is a fast, dangerous and exhilarating ride. Pt 1."
      Review posted by: MM from Austin, TX, Feb 11, 2011
      

      Graham Schmidt and Breaking String Theatre put audiences up close to the beautiful youth of post-Soviet Russia, in this 2004 piece by one of those who originated the “New Drama” that came raging... Expand

      Graham Schmidt and Breaking String Theatre put audiences up close to the beautiful youth of post-Soviet Russia, in this 2004 piece by one of those who originated the “New Drama” that came raging into the mid-1990’s. It plays at the Off Center, 2211-A Hidalgo Street (behind Joe’s Bakery on 7th Street) until February 19. Heedless, hedonistic and rootless, a gang of six young professionals address one another only by their remarkable nicknames. Snowstorm, Blizzard, Snowflake, Maniac, Orangina and Lenochka strut, talk, preen and play hard. They revolve about one another and thrust themselves through the drab Moscow nights like shooting stars. Director Schmidt, choreographer Adrian Mishler and composer Justin Sherburn give this story a kinetic power that leaves the audience breathless at the end of the first half. Collapse

    • Event Name: Flying
      "Flying is a fast, dangerous and exhilarating ride Pt. 2"
      Review posted by: MM from Austin, TX, Feb 11, 2011
      

      This gang of six is without a past and with only fleeting thoughts about a future. In the original Russian version they were a commercial TV team; Breaking String makes them DJs, models and the... Expand

      This gang of six is without a past and with only fleeting thoughts about a future. In the original Russian version they were a commercial TV team; Breaking String makes them DJs, models and the well-connected rich. They sweep along with them a naïve 17-year-old café waitress from Siberia whom they nickname nickname “Bushy tail.” They charm her and seduce into their world of glamorous emptiness. It’s a hot cast that sizzles as an ensemble. Bad boys Joey Hood and Jacob Trussell; handsomely depraved Jesse Berton as Maniac the base jumper; juicy women Michelle Keffer and Katie van Winkle; the dangerously seductive Adriene Mishler, also responsible for the dizzying movement; big-eyed Griçelda Silva as the girl from the sticks. Collapse

    • Event Name: Flying
      "Flying is a fast, dangerous and exhilarating Pt. 3"
      Review posted by: MM from Austin, TX, Feb 11, 2011
      

      Playwright Mukhina’s dialogue is remarkable. Rapid-fire exchanges are punchy, direct and surprising. All the more remarkable is the fact that she lifted every word, she says, from... Expand

      Playwright Mukhina’s dialogue is remarkable. Rapid-fire exchanges are punchy, direct and surprising. All the more remarkable is the fact that she lifted every word, she says, from interviews. Nihilism and glamour do not prevail. The second act is an equally talky, eloquent exploration of consequences. David J. Boss as the stolid police lieutenant Volodya brings reality to some of them – in part because he lost his ballerina girlfriend to Maniac, who in turn wasn’t able to keep her (I missed that plot twist in performance but found it later in the text). Childhood and narcissism do not last. Each of those shooting stars transforms or flame out. This is the first production of the play in North America, and the Center for International Theatre Development brought Mukhina to Austin last weekend to see it and to talk to actors and writers. Mukhina, Schmidt and this talented company create a terrific, terrible and hypnotic spectacle for us. Flying is an experience not to be missed. Collapse

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    Currently, additional images/videos have not been submitted for this event.

• Member
  Reviews

  • Member Reviews

    Add review/comment

    • Event Name: Flying
      "Flying doesn't quite take off"
      Review posted by: T Ott from Austin, Texas, Feb 15, 2011
      

      While the performances are strong, the vision is not, nor is the script. In a kind of updated Balm in Gilead set in the Russian hipster techno world, Schmidt's direction fails to bring all the... Expand

      While the performances are strong, the vision is not, nor is the script. In a kind of updated Balm in Gilead set in the Russian hipster techno world, Schmidt's direction fails to bring all the stories together. Some fine performances from Trussell and Hood that should be noticed. I had hoped for more in the end. Collapse

    • Event Name: Flying
      "Flying is a fast, dangerous and exhilarating ride. Pt 1."
      Review posted by: MM from Austin, TX, Feb 11, 2011
      

      Graham Schmidt and Breaking String Theatre put audiences up close to the beautiful youth of post-Soviet Russia, in this 2004 piece by one of those who originated the “New Drama” that came raging... Expand

      Graham Schmidt and Breaking String Theatre put audiences up close to the beautiful youth of post-Soviet Russia, in this 2004 piece by one of those who originated the “New Drama” that came raging into the mid-1990’s. It plays at the Off Center, 2211-A Hidalgo Street (behind Joe’s Bakery on 7th Street) until February 19. Heedless, hedonistic and rootless, a gang of six young professionals address one another only by their remarkable nicknames. Snowstorm, Blizzard, Snowflake, Maniac, Orangina and Lenochka strut, talk, preen and play hard. They revolve about one another and thrust themselves through the drab Moscow nights like shooting stars. Director Schmidt, choreographer Adrian Mishler and composer Justin Sherburn give this story a kinetic power that leaves the audience breathless at the end of the first half. Collapse

    • Event Name: Flying
      "Flying is a fast, dangerous and exhilarating ride Pt. 2"
      Review posted by: MM from Austin, TX, Feb 11, 2011
      

      This gang of six is without a past and with only fleeting thoughts about a future. In the original Russian version they were a commercial TV team; Breaking String makes them DJs, models and the... Expand

      This gang of six is without a past and with only fleeting thoughts about a future. In the original Russian version they were a commercial TV team; Breaking String makes them DJs, models and the well-connected rich. They sweep along with them a naïve 17-year-old café waitress from Siberia whom they nickname nickname “Bushy tail.” They charm her and seduce into their world of glamorous emptiness. It’s a hot cast that sizzles as an ensemble. Bad boys Joey Hood and Jacob Trussell; handsomely depraved Jesse Berton as Maniac the base jumper; juicy women Michelle Keffer and Katie van Winkle; the dangerously seductive Adriene Mishler, also responsible for the dizzying movement; big-eyed Griçelda Silva as the girl from the sticks. Collapse

    • Event Name: Flying
      "Flying is a fast, dangerous and exhilarating Pt. 3"
      Review posted by: MM from Austin, TX, Feb 11, 2011
      

      Playwright Mukhina’s dialogue is remarkable. Rapid-fire exchanges are punchy, direct and surprising. All the more remarkable is the fact that she lifted every word, she says, from... Expand

      Playwright Mukhina’s dialogue is remarkable. Rapid-fire exchanges are punchy, direct and surprising. All the more remarkable is the fact that she lifted every word, she says, from interviews. Nihilism and glamour do not prevail. The second act is an equally talky, eloquent exploration of consequences. David J. Boss as the stolid police lieutenant Volodya brings reality to some of them – in part because he lost his ballerina girlfriend to Maniac, who in turn wasn’t able to keep her (I missed that plot twist in performance but found it later in the text). Childhood and narcissism do not last. Each of those shooting stars transforms or flame out. This is the first production of the play in North America, and the Center for International Theatre Development brought Mukhina to Austin last weekend to see it and to talk to actors and writers. Mukhina, Schmidt and this talented company create a terrific, terrible and hypnotic spectacle for us. Flying is an experience not to be missed. Collapse

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