NEW WORK

Please consult our website ( ) or informational signs in the F. Loren Winship Drama Building for updates and changes to the schedule. Many venues have limited seating, so guests are advised to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to scheduled performance times if a ticket was not secured in advance. Information about ticket reservations can be found at . See the venue key for map of locations.

Learn more about the 2023 Cohen New Works Festival:

Contains mature content and themes including language, sexual themes and partial nudity.

A hilarious mockumentary that follows one socially-nebulous, hopelessly-romantic man, a.k.a. The Aardvark. Have you ever looked at someone and thought “There is no way they are real.” That is who Jamie is. Jamie has never found where he belongs. He bounces around different friend groups, can never seem to find that special someone and belongs to that mental gray area between total self-confidence and complete ego death. While he may seem like an “NPC” to some, this mockumentary follows Jamie as he figures out what is blocking him from becoming the person he wants to be.

Through failed auditions, awry kisses and pathetic attempts at casual stand-up, Jamie confronts his fears and rediscovers the boundaries that are keeping him from forming meaningful relationships.

PROJECT LEAD

Dominic Gross

Baby Rave

Performance

LOCATION

WIN 2.112

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME

45 minutes

PERFORMANCES

April 4 at 3:30 p.m.

April 6 at 10:30 a.m.

Audiences of all ages welcome. Project is best suited for the very young, but can be enjoyed by all ages.

Part lullaby, part puppet show part immersive experience! A one-of-a-kind experience specially made for babies 0-18 months. Based on empathy development research and theatre ideology, Baby Rave is a nurturing theatrical adventure full of wonders and surprises. Captivating lights, original music and tactile experiences, Baby Rave is a theatrical experience for the wee-est among us.

PROJECT LEAD

Jenny Lavery

LOCATION

WIN 2.180

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME

Performance will be accessible at any time from 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

PERFORMANCES

April 5 at 10:30 a.m.

April 7 at 10:30 a.m.

BENEATH THE MELANIN Dance/Film

A visual dance film that depicts the various realities of Black women navigating the journey of adulthood. The film will touch on the struggles, resilience and persistence in finding joy in a life filled with trials and tribulations we continue to endure. We will show how to find our sense of purpose and sense of self while living in a society where we are the most unprotected.

PROJECT LEADS

Evan Beek

Jannah Colins

PERFORMANCES

April 3 at 5:30 p.m.

April 4 at 10:30 a.m.

April 6 at 3:30 p.m.

April 7 at 10:30 a.m.

CONTRAPPOSTO Dance

Contains mature content and themes.

An experimental dance piece that investigates preserving memories and/or conscious renderings of materialized space through gesture and scenic play. Using a 3D scanning program called Lidar, the artist has been able to preserve 3D renderings of herself in motion in a way that has abstracted the body and taken new forms. Using the weaknesses of the program to convey movement as both artifact and notation, this is a truly hybrid exploration as both digital and live performance to be viewed in real time.

PROJECT LEAD Venese Alcantar

LOCATION

North-East lawn behind Winship along Waller

EL CORRIDO DE LA SOLDADERA: A MARIACHI MUSICAL Play/Musical

PERFORMANCES

April 6 at 8:00 p.m.

Contains mature content including language, death and stylized depictions of warfare including simulated gunfire.

Why do we tell the stories of revolutionary women? Who gets to tell their stories? What power do we have over such stories? Drawing from both Mexican history and a rich folk music tradition, El Corrido de la Soldadera tells the story of Elena, a young girl living in Chihuahua at the outset of the Revolution who follows the call to arms to fight for a better Mexico, in spite of the resistance she meets from her family, faith, and even her fellow soldiers.

PROJECT LEAD

Demian Chavez

LOCATION

B. Iden Payne Theatre

There will be a 20-minute talkback following the performance on April 6 at 3:30 p.m.

PERFORMANCES

April 3 at 1:30 p.m.

April 5 at 8:30 p.m.

April 6 at 3:30 p.m. (talkback to follow)

FALLING INTO STRUCTURED MEANINGLESSNESS Performance

In a typical performance, an audience member is able to come into the space and sit down and do as they should: watch and perceive. The dancers will come out onto the stage for the allotted time of the work and dance. Frankly, we do this in life. Existing in most of the institutionalized standards that have been ingrained in us. Only fighting against the ones that are unjust. We were raised to always be right and perfect. Go to college after high school and, after college, get a salaried job. During this, find love, get married and have kids. It’s time to end all of this.

PROJECT LEAD

Anna Valdman

LOCATION

Oscar G. Brockett Theatre

FISHING FOR STARS Play

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME

45 minutes

PERFORMANCES

April 3 at 9:30 p.m.

April 5 at 10:30 a.m.

April 6 at 2:30 p.m.

Best suited for ages 0-5 and their adults. Audiences of all ages welcome.

Travel into the magical world of the night sky! In this interactive play for ages 0-5, young people and their families follow two curious characters who seek to capture the moon and stars. With multi-sensory experiences and an original music score played live, this 25-minute performance will enchant even the wiggliest of audience members! Created in collaboration with Paper Boats.

PROJECT LEAD

Claire Derriennic

LOCATION

WIN 2.180

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME

45 minutes

FOR DINNER, WE HAD RECIPROCITY Installation

PERFORMANCES

April 4 at 10:30 a.m.

April 6 at 10:30 a.m.

Contains mature content including language, death and stylized depictions of warfare.

An exhibition of queerness, the grotesque beauty of being and sharing meals. It is a collision of queer poetry and media - a nebulous cloud of self discovery and the art of being beautiful. The project consists of a collection of short film vignettes and photo collections of queer students in Austin. Some will be more mundane, slice-of-life sequences. Other vignettes and photo series will lean more towards the avant-garde using themes, costumes and short stories as interpretations of classic queer poetry (both contemporary and modern).

PROJECT LEAD

Chloe Whitehead

LOCATION

WIN 1.134

APPROXIMATE RUN TIME

Installation will be available for the duration of the festival

April 3-7, 2023.