Archives for June 2015

The Columbus Foundation commits to Available Light’s Columbus project

June 23, 2015 By Matt Leave a Comment

cf+avlt

We are thrilled and honored to announce that The Columbus Foundation, as part of its continuing quest to strengthen our community, is committed to supporting Available Light Theatre’s Columbus project. Once our “Don’t Wait, Columbus!” Kickstarter campaign successfully finishes, the Foundation will grant $5000 to help fund the creation process.

This is much more than a just a gesture of financial support, it is also a meaningful vote of confidence from one of our city’s most influential organizations.

Most immediately, it provides an incredible incentive to reach our $30,000 goal by June 30. With the support of our many backers and the Columbus Foundation, we will be ready and able to get down to the great work of listening to the voices of our hometown.

Next time you pass the Foundation (at 1234 East Broad Street) give them a friendly wave and tell ’em Available Light sent you.

And if you haven’t yet checked out our Kickstarter campaign, do it now, time is running out: http://avlt.co/dont-wait-columbus

Announcing Available Light’s 2015-16 Season

June 22, 2015 By AVLT 2 Comments

Did you miss our Season Announcement Party? Don’t worry, we’ve got all the details right here. This is, in fact, almost exactly what we read to the crowd. There’s much more to come, so stay-tuned to avltheatre dot com.

Feed Your Soul ’15
August 29, 2015 @ The Riffe Center for the Arts
Mark your calendars for the sixth edition of the most fulfilling fundraiser in town. Feed Your Soul returns with Columbus’s most creative silent auction, good eats for all, and a one of a kind performance.

The Grown-Up
Written by Jordan Harrison // Directed by Eleni Papaleonardos
We’ll kick off the season with this sad, funny, time-bending adventure about how to survive growing up. NPR called it “charming and painfully universal.” All we’ll tell you now is that it involves a empty stage, a magic doorknob, and an extended metaphor about the power of of imagination and storytelling.

One Night with Available Light
October, December 2015 and April 2016
This year we’ll introduce a series of one-night-only performances in which Available Light will stage consequential plays that every theatre-goer should consider essential viewing.

Dedalus (A Portrait of the Artist)
Adapted by Matt Slaybaugh from A Portrait of an Artists As a Young Man by James Joyce
November 2015
Here’s a surprise: Available Light wants to adapt a strange and difficult novel into a strange and challenging stage-play. This time around the book is A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, which celebrates its Centennial in 2016. This will be, of course, a radical adaptation, titled “Dedalus” after the main character of Joyce’s novel. In our version, Stephen Dedalus will be played by a dozen different actors as the play twists through the dreams and memories of a blossoming artistic soul.

The Next Stage Initiative 2016
January 2016
The Next Stage Initiative returns with 6 hot playwrights and their works in progress, including at least one play destined for production in a future AVLT season. As usual, it will be six nights of new collaborations, co-produced by Jennifer Schlueter of OSU and the for/ward company.

Jane Austen’s Pride@Prejudice (On Tour!)
Written by Daniel E. Kramer // Directed by Eleni Papaleonardos
Spring 2016
A crowd favorite is back by popular demand. Available Light will hit the road once again with a show that requires no introduction. We have unfinished business with places like Dublin, New Albany, Westerville, and Granville. We hope to meet all our suburban neighbors at the theater for performances of this beloved classic.

Thom Pain (based on nothing)
Written by Will Eno // Directed by Matt Slaybaugh
February 2016
Playwright Will Eno has been called “a Samuel Beckett for the John Stewart generation.” If there’s such a thing as stand-up existential comedy, this play, “Thom Pain (based on nothing),” is it. Company Member Jordan Fehr will perform this surreal, one-man meditation on the way life never quite lives up to the awesomeness of living.

24 Hr Thtr 2016
March 2016
One Friday night last fall, we gathered more than 30 amazingly talented local actors, playwrights, directors, and theatre-makers, and gave them 24 hours to create six original works. And we had a blast. We made new friends, rekindled old partnerships, and filled Studio One to the brim for a raucous one night only slugfest. When it was all over, everyone said the same thing: “We have to do this again next year.”

Robin & Peter Hersha present… as yet untitled
Directed by Eleni Papaleonardos
May 2016
To cap off our season, the entire company will – for the first time ever – work together to create a single show: Robin & Peter Hersha present… AS YET UNTITLED. Amongst ourselves, we call it “Body Movin” or “Dance Dance Revolution,” and suffice to say, it will be physical. Recognizing how easily we disconnect from our bodies in the digital age, we’ll explore what it means to have a body, how to find joy in inhabiting our bodies, and the many ways we’ve forgotten about how our bodies relate to the world.

And… that’s the season. We’ve got new staff, new leadership, new programs, new shows, and new opportunities for up-and-coming artists to make their Available Light debut. It going to be a huge year for anyone who’s into what Available Light’s is up to.

But, as you may have heard, there is one more thing.

Follow this link to support our new season and our dream project about Columbus: http://avlt.co./dont-wait-columbus

AVLT’s Columbus Top Ten(s)

June 16, 2015 By AVLT 6 Comments

Columbus from Franklinton

As you may know, we’re currently raising money via Kickstarter to create our dream project about the city we love so much: Columbus, Ohio. We are connoisseurs of Columbus here at Available Light. We love our city not for its own sake, but for the great variety of incredible culture(s) it hosts, and for the fact that (as our friend Leigh Householder once said,) “You’re basically guaranteed to be rubbing elbows with an artist whether you’re shopping the North Market or noshing on Hyde Park steaks.”

Here are Top Ten lists from seven of Columbus’s biggest fans. And we want to know – What’s on your Top Ten? Post up in the comments and share the love.

Jaylene’s Top Ten Playgrounds:
10. Fancyburg Park- Upper Arlington
9. Goodale Park
8. Emerald City Park- Dublin
7. Selby Park- Worthington
6. Park of Roses
5. North Orange Park- Delaware
4. Homestead Park
3. Millstone Creek
2. Scioto Mile
1. Audubon Park

Eleni’s Top Ten Columbus navigational landmarks for when I inevitably get lost:
10. Columbus Water Tower
9. Welcome to Franklinton mural
8. COSI
7. CCAD Art sculpture
6. Main Street bridge
5. American Gothic mural
4. Low flying airplanes
3. Budweiser Brewery building
2. All branches of the Columbus libraries
1. That beautiful Columbus skyline

Michelle’s Top 10 Reasons I love my hometown
10. Huntington Park Home of the Columbus Clippers
9. #1 Library system in they country (yay CML!)
8. COSI – #1 hands on sciences museum in the US
7. Amazing historic neighborhoods – German Village, Italian Village, Grandview, Eastmoor, Beechwold , Bexley
6. Amazing art collections – CMA, Pizzuti, Wexner, Chihuly at Franklin Park
5. Our Metro Parks- Highbanks, Blendon Woods, 3 Creeks, etc
4. OSU Football and Basketball … Especially Women’s bball
3. Home of Jenis Splendid Ice Cream
2. Columbus Zoo- #1 zoo in the nation
1. Available Light Theatre

Ian’s Top 10 favorite Columbus places:
10. Golden Delight Bakery (fresh strawberry cream cake)
9. Studio II at the Riffe Center
8. BalletMet
7. Northstar Restaurants
6. Dublin Lifetime Fitness pool
5. Mission Coffee
4. Luck Brothers Coffee
3. The Book Loft
2. Park of Roses
1. Harvest Pizza

Elena’s Top 10 Favorite places for Pre and/or Post show food and beverages:
10. The Sycamore
9. Red Brick Tap and Grill
8. Union
7. South Bend
6. Jimmy V’s in German Village
5. Harvest Pizza
4. The Walrus
3. Philco
2. Old Towne Tavern
1. Little Palace

Acacia’s Top Ten Columbus desserts I can’t resist:
10. Pattycake Bakery- Snickerdoodle Cookie
9. Omega Artisan Bakery- Cinnamon Roll
8. Destination Donuts- Strawberry Buttermilk Nibblers
7. Till Dynamic Fare- Beignets
6. Lindey’s- Key Lime Pie
5. DK Diner- Plain glazed cake donuts
4. Northstar- Dark Chocolate Truffle Cookie
3. Pure Imagination Chocolates- Dark Relic
2. Pistacia Vera- My wedding cake (and Lavender Shortbread)
1. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams- Askinosie Dark Milk Chocolate

Matt’s Top Ten Places I’m grateful to have in Columbus:
10. Rogue Fitness
9. The Laughing Ogre
8. Paradise Garage
7. The Roosevelt Coffeehouse
6. Spoonful Records
5. Mission Coffee Co.
4. Columbus Libraries (specifically downtown, now closed for renovations)
3. Luck Bros Coffee
2. 400 West Rich
1. The Wexner Center for the Arts

Drew’s Favorite Places in Columbus (with a casual suggestion of when to be there):
10. Comfest …I’m a fan of the comedown on Sunday evening. The music is still going strong, but the blankets are out and the food lines are short.
9. The Shoe … October afternoon games are the best. We’re in the Big 10 schedule, and that perfect fall clip is in the air.
8. Harvest Pizzeria … The porch after nightfall, when it’s cool enough to wear a sweater.
7. Audobon Metro Dog Park … Whenever there’s energy to burn.
6. Tigertree … A day or two before his birthday.
5. Adriadico’s New York Style Pizze … Your budget birthday party.
4. Bat-n-Rouge Softball Game … It’s all about the pre game banter. Hilarious.
3. Drexel Theater – Bexley … I tend to go during Oscar season, Saturday, 11:00 AM showing, with a coffee. You get the hardcore moviegoers and will not hear a cellphone.
2. Little Palace … After a show with the Available Light family.
1. The Book Loft/Schiller Park (double feature) … Take your time shopping then stop on a park bench for Chapter 1.

NOW YOU …