Giveaway: The Nina Variations

In this week's Austin Chronicle, Robert Faires has a lengthy, interesting profile about the prolific playwright Steven Dietz. Dietz, who teaches playwriting and screenwriting at UT, has averaged more than one play per year since he started the craft. Ask any playwright—that's a fantastic output. He's received several awards for his works, including a PEN U.S.A. Award for Drama and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award.

He recently had the pleasure of seeing two of his works in production: Still Life with Iris, which closed at UT last week, and The Nina Variations, which continues for another two weekends at the Daugherty Arts Center, with Gobotrick Theatre producing.

If you're not familiar with Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, a perusal of the plot would do you good before seeing this work. It takes the tragic, star-crossed heroes—neither of whom has a story that ends well at all in the original—and plucks them from their destiny, giving them a chance to figure things out. Imagine seeing Romeo and Juliet...only this time the characters listen when you say, "Maybe that's not such a good idea."

[Congratulations to our winner!]

Tickets are a reasonable $15 ($12 for students) and can be reserved online.