Montopolis Productions presents “The Time Machine”, a science fiction themed, multi-media performance that travels through the 20th century.  Led by composer Justin Sherburn, the Montopolis group performs popular songs from every decade while iconic images from each period are screened in a dynamic slideshow, framed by an interactive animation created by digital artist Stephen Fishman (Total Unicorn).  

Music

The musical group Montopolis, led by composer Justin Sherburn and recently included in the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster, has made a reputation for producing engaging multi media performances in Austin over the last decade with popular shows like Enchanted Rock, Yakona, The Return of Draw Egan, Man with a Movie Camera, and the Red Balloon. The lineup transforms with every show, and this version of Montopolis includes Laura Scarborough (Golden Dawn Orchestra) and  Catherine Davis (Illusory Impressions, Zykos) on synthesizers and supported by rhythm section Josh Robins (Invincible Czars), Gary James (Bell Tree), and Andy Beaudoin (The Eastern Sea).  For the Time Machine, this crew plays through a song per decade of the 20th Century and the results sound sometimes like the Cantina Band from Star Wars and sometimes like a good ol’ rock and roll band.  Starting in present day Austin, the group travels to the 1900’s and back again, playing hit songs from every decade.   And although they have traveled through every moment in human history searching for a better understanding of art, music, fashion, architecture, love, pop tarts, sweaters, miniature golf, go carts, video games, soup, and the human condition in general, the crew of the Time Machine only shops for clothes in the 70’s.            

The Images 

10 local artists have chosen the most representative images of each decade from Austin and the entire world.  The result is a breathtaking tour through the last century that stops every so often to check back on the progress of our hometown as it grows.  The last 16 years of images on this adventure are exclusively from Austin and are being crowd sourced through the time machine website.  The result will be something similar to time-lapse photography – if a camera was left on and free to roam Austin for 16 years.  The audience will see many of Austin’s cultural landmarks that have been lost to new development, and the new buildings that have replaced them. A selection of images from the show are posted at timemachineaustin.com.                    

Crowd Sourced Images! 

The Time Machine breaks down when crossing into the 21st century, and we need the fine folks of Austin to help us get home.   We are crowd-sourcing images from 2000-2016 through our website, http://www.timemachineaustin.com/contribute-discounted-ticket/  Anyone can go to the website and submit an image of Austin.  They will receive a $4 discount to the performance, and their image will be included in the show.