7th Annual Out of the Loop Festival begins this Thursday

by Shawn Parikh

The always-popular Out of the Loop Festival is almost underway, and you should be gearing up to enjoy the 11 day celebration of theatre, dance, music and art. The festival will take place March 6 – 16 and festival passes (one admission to each festival event and an advance reservation option), are currently available for $50 by calling the WaterTower Theatre Box Office at 972-450-6232.

Performances will take place simultaneously over the course of 11 days and will be held at the Addison Theatre Centre, which contains three performance venues: the Festival Main Stage (seating approximately 180), the Studio Theatre (seating approximately 70), and the Stone Cottage (seating approximately 50).

This year, there are two headliners: New York based artist Dixie Longate in Dixie’s Tupperware Party and WaterTower Theatre’s regional premiere of David Harrower’s Blackbird.

Dixie Longate, the fast-talking Tupperware Lady, has packed up her catalogues and left her children in an Alabama trailer park to journey to Big D for Dixie’s Tupperware Party. Join Dixie as she throws a good ol’ fashioned Tupperware Party filled with outrageous tales, free giveaways, and the most fabulous assortment of Tupperware ever sold in Texas. See for yourself how Ms. Longate became the number one Tupperware seller in the world as she educates her guests on the many alternative uses she has discovered for her plastic products!

David Harrower’s Blackbird comes to life in WaterTower’s thrilling production. Fifteen years ago, Una and Ray had an affair. Now she arrives unexpectedly at Ray’s workplace, forcing Ray to come to grips with their relationship in a powerful and volatile exchange that will change both their lives forever.

Below is a list of all the performances and you can click on a title for more info on plot, dates, and times. Or you can also click here for a complete festival schedule:

• Dixie Longate stars in Dixie's Tupperware Party
• Alan Pollard presents "Not To Be Out-Done..."
• American Actors Company presents The Unseen
• Bill Bowers presents It Goes Without Saying
• Inevitable Theatre Company presents Surface TENsion: Ten Minute Plays (and then some...)
• Jackson Ross Best, Jr. presents I Wish You Would Just Get the Hell Out of My Life, You Sorry Motherf*cker: Reflections on Love and Romance
• Jordan Fuchs Company presents Thicket & Retroactive Ambiquity
• Lacy & Shade with Gablin, Keller & Scott present Moving Portraits: Four Women, About Women
• Lee Trull presents Rum and Vodka
• Martice Enterprises presents Heaven Forbid(s)!
• Michael Guinn & the Ft. Worth National Poetry Slam Team present Finding Our Voice
• Muscle Memory Dance Theatre presents Sea Movement: Making Waves with Dance
• Out on a Limb Dance Company presents She Drew a Picture of a Whale & If It Were Not So Sweet
• SceneShop presents SceneShop: Stories We Can Tell
• Spike Gillespie presents The Dick Monologues
• Spirit Expressing presents Miss Witherspoon
• The Victims present Your Mom...
• Valdosta State University presents Holler Me Home
• WaterTower Theatre presents Blackbird

Plus, there is also a Playwriting Workshop with Debra Fordham for an additional $50.