by Rachel Staggs

Salvage Vanguard Theater's [SVT] Artistic Director, Jason Neulander moved to Austin to form a group with the goal of producing new avant garde theater pieces. In November of 1993 Salvage Vanguard Theater was born, producing its first play in April of 1994. As stated in its mission, SVT "challenges the audience to see that which they take for granted in a new light," producing "original plays by American writers whose work falls outside traditional dramatic structure." Salvage Vanguard Theater will rock you. It will take you out of reality while slapping reality in your face. It will not give you answers, but push you to ask more questions.

I attended a performance of Hey-Stop-That in June last year. It was written by Thalia Field and directed by Katie Pearl. Seven of the twelve performances sold out -- a fascinating show filled with creativity and improvisation; Field used this piece to explore the nature of hatred in our society. The performers created their characters right along with the energy of the play, improvising with thoughts and feelings in the moment. It was a complete ride! Also produced last year was the raved about Altamont Now! written by David Bucci. Director Jason Neulander says, "David Bucci's work is terrifically topical and has a great indie-rock quality to it." Altamont Now! combined live music, theater, and video to tell the story of a rock star who starts a youth revolution against everything old. SVT produces work that does away with exposition. It is more about the raw energy than conveying a message.

After producing eight shows last year, SVT presents a three-ring circus of attractions with Dirigible by Dan Dietz in the first ring. A wild new play that reexamines the Hindenberg disaster, placing particular emphasis on the theory of sabotage. Dr. Aaron P. Treadwell presents a new lecture entitled Dirigible while uncovering relationship disaster, as well. Dan Dietz, a two-year veteran of SVT is a performer, director, and playwright. Dirigible opens April 9th and runs for three weekends at Hyde Park Theatre.

September will be taken by storm when The America Play appears in the second ring of this 3-Ring Circus. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks. Neulander says this piece is about "the Foundling Father, a black gravedigger from back East who goes out West to be an Abraham Lincoln impersonator. It's basically an examination of how history was created and written. The context that it is performed in is lecture/vaudeville. The first half is a monologue and the second half is this almost minstrel show performance."

In December, The Cry Pitch Carrolls, written by Ruth E. Margraff, appears in the third ring. SVT produced Margraff's first professional show, Wallpaper Psalm, in 1996. Then in 1997, SVT commissioned from Margraff The Battle of San Jacinto, a piece that Neulander believes put SVT "on the map" artistically. Neulander states that, "Margraff's newest piece is a retelling of the Christmas miracle from a visceral, intense, emotionally overwhelming perspective. Seeing one of her shows is totally unlike anything you've ever experienced. It is an entire full body experience -- nauseating and exhilarating at the same time." Austin musician Graham Reynolds will be composing music for this piece.

Neulander shared with me the most important aspect of Salvage Vanguard Theater as it stands today: the company produces work they love. "The result is that I've never been more excited about work as a whole, coming up. I think that there's going to be, overall, a much higher caliber in our production and a much more consistent level of work. I think that what is coming up has the potential to be world-class theater."

The Choreography Dialogues

Deborah Hay of The Deborah Hay Dance Company and Jason Neulander, Artistic Director of Salvage Vanguard Theater, present the third installation of "The Choreography Dialogues," an ongoing discussion about performance. This is an opportunity to open a community dialogue about choreography across artistic disciplines. Goal number one is to develop new language for discussion and to conceive new ideas in performance. The second aim is to have stimulating conversations about modes of performance work. And lastly, these discussions will help us recognize the presence and use of choreography. The Dialogues are held on a monthly basis and feature speakers from various artistic disciplines. The second Dialogue was held on March 23 at The Texas Fine Arts Association, 700 Congress Avenue. The Dialogue sessions are free. Neulander hopes these discussions will "give artists the kind of feedback that might produce a whole community zeitgeist."