NEW HOUSTON THEATRE COLLIDE ANNOUNCES FIRST FULL SEASON
The Red Season" of love, murder, revenge, and war

Houston, TX—The Red Season is Collide’s first full season of theatre. Having proclaimed its existence in May 2004 with its production of The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux, Collide continues to introduce itself to the Houston theatre scene with a bold selection of rare works. The "Red Season" showcases works new and old focusing on the passion—and sometimes violence—humans can bring to a cause, be it revenge, war, murder, or love.

Collide’s mission is to perform new, unknown, and neglected works, using eclectic approaches and found spaces. A significant part of the mission is providing continuing education activities to Houston artists, which the theatre accomplishes through its free Crash Courses in the summer and its ongoing meetings of writers’ group Pack of Writers (POW!). Collide focuses on theatre productions that directly engage current events and challenges audiences to be aware of their world. Collide combines styles, cultures and images in an attempt to create new and startling theatre.

Danton’s Death by Georg Buechner
Directed by Troy Scheid
At Helios, 411 Westheimer
Nov. 5-21, 2004

"Vice must be punished, and virtue must rule through terror." Robespierre, a man of unbending morality, coerces the once lofty ideals of the French Revolution into serving him—and keeping him in power. Those merely suspected of challenging his authority finds themselves facing a charge of high treason and certain death by guillotine. The latest great man to fall, Georges Danton, was once an ardent revolutionary; but he has grown weary of the endless parade of corpses from the Place de la RÈvolution and tries to forget himself in debauched escapades. His ensuing trial and execution, grounded as much on his moral as his political crimes, are a circus orchestrated by Robespierre’s henchmen; they cast a sickly light on the actions of people who claim their only motivation is patriotism. The Revolution is dead—long live the Revolution! 

Bash by Neil LaBute
Directed by Randy Symank
Performance Space TBD
Dec. 3-19, 2004

In a series of soliloquies, Bash tells the story of four ordinary people who, through extraordinary circumstances, have experienced a fall from grace comparable to that of figures in Greek tragedy. There’s the hard-edged businessman who offers up his daughter to his career; the sunny, all-American young couple who commit a shocking, spontaneous act of violence; and the eerily composed young lady whose love for her son is sacrificed to an even greater passion. A series of riveting performances that will hypnotize an audience. Directed by the interim artistic director of Unhinged Productions, Randy Symank.

FaustFest (various authors and directors)
Feb. 11-20, 2005
Performance Space TBD

The most ambitious project of Collide’s season is the FaustFest. It’s an evening of very short plays loosely based on the idea behind Goethe’s epic Faust—losing your soul. The new works address what that means today. Some of the work has been developed in Collide’s writers’ workshop, Pack of Writers (POW!), coordinated since June 2004 by Collide member Laurie Scott. Script submissions are still arriving at Collide and though we don’t yet know what they’re about, they will be worth the wait! One evening’s proceeds will benefit Theatreport.com, Houston’s online theatre resource and a beloved haunt of many local artists.

Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderon de la Barca
Directed by Troy Scheid
Apr. 1-17, 2005
Performance Space TBD

The crown prince of Poland, Sigismondo, has been raised as a savage, denied all human contact, forbidden to rule because of the destruction he is foretold to bring. When, as an experiment, the king allows him a day’s respite in the palace, the result is disastrous. Sent back to his miserable existence in prison, Sigismondo is told the whole blissful experience was but a dream. But the machinations of the other characters do not let him stay there long: a cast-off mistress who returns as a warrior, determined to find the man who ruined her; cousins competing for the crown; and a clown who wants nothing more complicated than a good night’s sleep on a full belly. And when Sigismondo does reclaim his throne for a second time, the ensuing war turns everything topsy-turvy. A verse drama from the Spanish Golden Age, Life is a Dream is a little-known gem.