Summertime in Austin seems a good season to waste with late breakfasts, midday naps, and other heat avoidance tactics. In Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, a stifling hot month spent in idleness is cause for complaint, and even violence, and the gentle pace of Breaking String's elegant production at the Off Center belies the sadness tucked away in each character's heart.
more ›

It's 6,000 miles from Austin to Moscow (the one in Russia, not Texas), but one local theater company is striving to close that gap, bringing contemporary and classic Russian plays to life here. Breaking String, named after a much discussed stage direction in Anton Chekhov's , is led by a quartet: Liz Fisher, Robert Matney, Matt Radford, and Graham Schmidt. They call themselves Co-Producing Artistic Directors (a nod to the structure adopted by Austin's Rude Mechs). In conversation during a break in rehearsal for their latest production of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, it's clear that Breaking String's creative partnership is strengthened by a mix of passion and intellect. more ›

One of the neat quirks about humans is that, whatever the topical or sub-level differences, there's usually a bedrock ability to empathize with others. You may not be wealthy or attractive or well-heeled and popular, but you know what it feels like to be bred to be a certain thing, and to have the repercussions of that bite you in the ass. That's the basic reason Breaking String Theater's North American premiere of Russian playwright Olga Mukhina's Flying works: despite some (possibly) untranslatable Russian-ness, and its focus upon the drug-and-sex-fueled exploits of a largely foreign economic class, the sensation of what it's like to have pieces of you selected and others discarded is one that's largely relatable. more ›

it’s hard to think of much besides this production after seeing it. So here’s a word: this production is good. That adjective may seem blasé, but it’s intended to be anything but. Breaking String’s Cherry Orchard is good in that ephemeral, indefinable way—good, and to find other words would render them dull in comparison to the experience. more ›