2013: A Year In Review
Believe it or not, the TEAM turned NINE this month!
As we end the year (and celebrate our official December anniversary!), we’re taking a moment to look back at a whirlwind year, and mark the achievements and adventures of 2013.
January: The TEAM was selected for the 2013 class of Creative Capital grantees for Primer for a Failed Superpower.
February/March:
In collaboration with Sojourn Theatre Company, we presented a workshop production of Waiting for You on the Corner Of (13th and Walnut) as part of Kansas City Rep’s First Page New Work Festival.
On our first tour to Australia and Asia, Mission Drift tours to sold-out performances in the Perth International Arts Festival and Hong Kong Arts Festival.
“With [Mission Drift], the TEAM takes both its thematic ambitions and theatrical skills to giddy heights…I have never seen anything better than Mission Drift in the theatre…It has everything I think theatre should have, and does everything I believe theatre should do.” The West Australian
“it sweeps you up, momentarily converting you with its ambitious reach and raw energy.” The Australian
May: Residency at Playmakers Rep in Chapel Hill, NC for early development on a new project with Taylor Mac.
June:
Mission Drift performs for four weeks in London at the National Theatre’s temporary Shed space, to unanimous critical acclaim, packed houses, and resounding positive (and positively profane) tweets.
Oberon Books publishes Mission Drift, our first published play. (want a copy?)
The Stage streams The Team Makes a Play for a single day to over 1,000 viewers.
We taught our workshop, “Devising Within A Democracy”, to students at the National Theatre Studio and Central School of Speech and Drama.
We began work on a new collaboration with the National Theatre of Scotland, inspired by the Scottish Enlightenment, the legacy of Adam Smith on American capitalism, and Scotland’s own looming referendum on independence.
July:
Rachel, Libby, Kristen and film crew drive for 8 days from the Badlands, South Dakota to Graceland in Memphis, capturing footage for RoosevElvis all the way. (Read the road journal here.)
Matty, Rachel, Libby, and Jess attended the Creative Capital 2013 Artist Retreat in Williamstown, MA and presented Primer for a Failed Superpower. (Watch our pitch here!)
August: RoosevElvis in residence at The Drama League.
October/November:
RoosevElvis world premiere at The Bushwick Starr, Brooklyn to widespread praise:
“[RoosevElvis is] the company’s most intimate work that I’ve seen, and also its warmest…a lot fresher than most new plays you’ll see this season.” – Ben Brantley, New York Times
“A stirring, absurd, and grandly human historical-cosplay road-trip fantasia.” – Village Voice
“More buoyant than theatrical material has any right to be…The audience laughs—not with recognition or self-satisfaction, but with the purest kind of astonished delight.” – Time Out NY
We released our first ever series of digital short films, which received over 1,500 views (and counting!).
December: We turned 9 years old! RoosevElvis and Mission Drift are listed as top shows of 2013 on THREE continents (see here, here, here, and here)! Boo-to the-yah!
We couldn’t have made it this far without the support of so many friends, family, colleagues, and fans around the world. We’re grateful for all of you, and for another fantastic year. We’ll see you in 2014!
Love,
the TEAM