About

Ethos
in association with The VORTEX
presents the world premiere of

Atlantis: a Puppet Opera

Music and Libretto by Chad Salvata
Directed by Bonnie Cullum

The VORTEX is on fire with excitement over this amazing new puppet opera!! Ethos has teamed up with VORTEX artists create a magnificent and inventive piece of theatre opening September 3: Atlantis, a Puppet Opera. Ethos Artistic Director, Chad Salvata has created a mythic world of powerful warring religious zealots who are obsessed with world domination and non-renewable energy. With a soaring original score and some of Austin’s best vocalists, this production is sure to be one of the most exceptional theatrical works of the year.

In Atlantis, Queen Solstra and Prince Helios, with their mighty battleship Invinctus, seek world domination through a war with Lemuria and its powerful Dragon Air Ship. They must harvest the Red Eye of the last Kracken for the Red Energy, but their greed and thirst for revenge will lead to the inevitable destruction of civilization. A cautionary environmental tale with Chad Salvata’s dynamic original score offers a magical realm with fantastical puppets, magnificent production designs, seductive Mermaids, menacing Sharkmen, and majestic Oceans.

The production team of Atlantis: A Puppet Opera is packed full of award-winning creators, directors, and designers. Director Bonnie Cullum (VORTEX Producing Artistic Director) has teamed up with Connor Hopkins (Trouble Puppet Artistic Director) and Caroline Reck (Glass Half Full Theatre Artistic Director) and award-winning VORTEX designers Ann Marie Gordon and Melissa Vogt to bring the puppets and scenery of Atlantis: A Puppet Opera to life. Jason Amato returns to Austin to contribute his stunning lighting design to the world of Atlantis. Roy Taylor engineers the sound design for Salvata’s score with vocal arrangements by Anderson Dear. VORTEX Resident Stage Manager Tamara L. Farley manages the production.

The powerhouse vocalists of the stellar cast include award-winning VORTEX Company members Michelle Haché, Justin LaVergne, Anderson Dear, Melissa Vogt, and Jonathan Itchon, with Rachel Pallante and Jeremy Moran. The cast also includes the multi-talented performances and puppeteering of VORTEX Company members Emerald Mystiek, Eryn Gettys, Gabriel Maldonado, Annie Kim Hedrick, and Patricia Wappner, with Abigail Lewis, Ciera Ramirez, and Whitney “Starlight” Carpenter.

While Atlantis: A Puppet Opera is intended for adults and contains some puppet violence, older children may attend.

This project is funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.

When: September 3-24, 2016 8pm
American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreted Performance September 10
Live Streaming on Howlround.com/tv Friday, September 16

Where: The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722
Free Parking. Bus Route.
The Butterfly Bar @ The VORTEX opens nightly at 5pm with full bar and hand-crafted cocktails.
Patrizi’s @ The VORTEX opens nightly at 5pm with delicious homemade Italian food.

Limited Seating. Advanced Reservations Strongly Recommended. 

www.vortexrep.org or 512-478-5282

Radical Rush Free Tickets: Limited free tickets for each performance in the spirit of sustainability, accessibility, and the gift economy. Radical Rush tickets released at 7pm each night--in-person only.
2-for-1 admission Thursday and Sunday with donation of 2 cans for SafePlace

Event Details

• Date: September 3 - 24
• Time: 8 PM
• Venue: The VORTEX
• Website: http://www.vortexrep.org

Ticket Information

• Cost: Tickets: $10-$30 $30 Priority (Seated first) $20 General $10 Discount (Seated last)
• Phone: 512-478-5282

Presenter Details

• Name: The VORTEX

The VORTEX creates and presents new, innovative performances—world premiere plays, operas, musicals, ritual theatre, and devised collaborations. The VORTEX transgresses conventional theatrical forms with multidisciplinary performances from diverse traditions. Music, film, dance, opera, aerial arts, puppetry, and performance art contribute to our vibrant theatre. We are an artist-owned and operated theater and have produced over 350 productions. We are proud to have always engaged in non-traditional casting. The VORTEX has presented work by dozens of famous cutting-edge artists and is internationally renowned as a haven for alternative performance. Our work has received more than 100 major awards and hundreds of nominations for artistic excellence in production, design, acting, performance, directing, playwriting, choreography, and musical composition.

Venue Details