RAT’s 7th Season

Restless Artists Theatre is proud to announce the 7th season lineup of Intense, Intimate, Unexpected Theatre.

Look at what we have in store for you this season, and we are sure you will be as excited as we are.


Off Peak

By Brenda Withers,

Off Peak is a comedy with drama.

When two old flames run into each other on the evening commute, different views of the same past threaten to derail their connection. A new play about forgiving, forgetting, and the healing power of a good delay.  Having anyone engage you in conversation on public transit during your evening commute is a nightmare—let alone an ex! But in Off Peak, Withers has created an honest two-hander between two former lovers suffused with nostalgia, regret, and maybe, ultimately, redemption. At one point, Sarita says, “I don’t think anything’s ever over.” And that perfectly sums up this bittersweet anti-meet-cute.


Out of Sterno

By Deborah Zoe Laufer 

Out of Sterno is a Dark comedy.

Dotty’s life in Sterno with her husband Hamel is absolutely perfect! It’s a fairy tale, it really is. True, in their seven years of marriage, Hamel has forbidden her to leave their tiny apartment or speak to anyone, but Dotty is so very happy to spend her days watching video re-enactments of the day they first met. When a phone call from a mysterious woman threatens to tear her world asunder, Dotty must venture out into the vast city of Sterno, and try to discover what it is to be a “real” woman. Out of Sterno is a coming-of-age play in an Alice in Wonderland world. It explores the triumph and heartbreak of growing up and the contradictory societal pressures women face just trying to make it across town.


The Taming

by Lauren Gunderson  

The Taming is a comedy.

Tweetering, panda shrews, and undying giddiness for James Madison — what else could you expect to find at a Miss America pageant? In this hilarious, raucous, all-female “power-play” inspired by Shakespeare’s Shrew, contestant Katherine has political aspirations to match her beauty pageant ambitions. All she needs to revolutionize the American government is the help of one ultra-conservative senator’s aide on the cusp of a career breakthrough, and one bleeding-heart liberal blogger who will do anything for her cause. Well, that and a semi-historically-accurate ether trip. Here’s lookin’ at you, America. 


Toil & Trouble

by Lauren Gunderson

Toil & Trouble is a comedy.

Underemployed friends Adam, Matt, and Beth are desperate to beat the recession any way they can–like combining forces to take over a small island in South America. The island holds a stock of tiny creatures that can bring them tremendous wealth, fame, and of course, power!  But when a fortune cookie tells Matt that he will rule and Beth gets a little too handy with a dagger, plans go awry. This hilarious adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth pits friend against friend, ambition against fate, and pet-sitting against miniature vicuna mogul-dom.


Smell of the Kill

By Michelle Lowe

Smell of the Kill is a dark comedy.

Take three delicious, malicious wives, add three miserable, unloving husbands—and chill. That’s the recipe for Michele Lowe’s tantalizing new comedy. Nicky, Debra, and Molly have tolerated one another during once-a-month dinners for years. While their unseen spouses play golf in the dining room, the women exchange confidences for the first time, revealing that all three marriages are on the brink of disaster and all three women are facing the challenges of their lives. Nicky’s husband has been indicted for embezzlement, Molly’s husband is stalking her, and Debra’s husband is leaving her for another woman. When the men mistakenly lock themselves in a basement meat locker, the women are faced with a life-or-death decision—should they leave the men out in the cold—permanently—or let them thaw? One by one, the women make their choices with more than a little help from one another. “…nice, mean fun…a deft little anti-love story…light-hearted, cold-hearted…”


Things I know to be True

By Andrew Bovell

Things I know to be True is a drama with comedy.

A tour de force play about a family.  Yes, there are many of those types of plays—but few like this.  True certainties and old familiar connections have held this family together for decades as a joyous, comfortable unit.  Yet, in a moment, suddenly, these connections start to fray and become corrupted by the secrets and decisions made by each of the four adult children and their beloved parents.  The play is about finding who you are, and what you have sacrificed to be something else, even when you had no idea you were sacrificing anything, and then finding out what you have to sacrifice to be what you need to be.  “This is a heart-wrenching and soul-inspiring piece of art.”.