The Overtime Theater has launched a new production with an odd story line. First, you should know what separates the Overtime from other theaters here in San Antonio.
“The Overtime Theater is devoted to completely original work," said Overtime’s Artistic Director Kyle Gillette. "And most of that original work emerges locally, so almost everything we do is either a world premiere or a new adaption. Sometimes things that are very innovative aren’t very accessible, but we really combine the two. So what we do is very fun work, but it also pushes the envelope.”
And his current production "Bluestory," which is written by Kristin Newbom and directed by Rachel Joseph, sounds very much like that. Here is the play’s online description:
“A multi-media anti-gravitational leap through puberty, love and death as seen through the eyes of two overly-sophisticated twelve year-olds."
"That’s pretty intense," I said. "What’s goin’ on there?”
Gillette laughed then responded: “The whole play emerges from these games that these two 12-year-old girls play.”
Those two actors conjure characters from their imaginations. But those imaginations find themselves getting a little out of hand.
"And it’s ambiguous as to whether or not there’s something authentically supernatural about that because these figures that they summon seem to have a world of their own that surpasses what the girls could know,” Gillette said.
I asked him if perhaps they had found that they had opened Pandora’s Box.
“Yeah, exactly that!” Gillette said.
I asked him to describe what people would see if they came:
“There’s a whole lot of dancing and moving very fast, and there’s all these wonderful songs in it, too. It’s very beautiful,” Gillette said.
While the two main characters in "Bluestory" are children, the play isn’t really meant for children.
“I guess if it was a movie it would be rated somewhere between a PG-13 and R," Gillette said.
"Bluestory" plays through April 12, primarily on weekends.
- For more on the show visit: theovertimetheater.org
