Project Archive
Moon Cove
A "hushed, haunting tale" that "alters your mood for the rest of the evening." --New Orleans Times-Picayune (2008)
"There are ambitious artists and there is Amy Woodruff ...she's awesome." --Lafayette Independent (2012)
Our most recent work: visit the Moon Cove page for info.
A Ghostly Tale from Louisiana's Cajun prairie: fictional solo theatre about the real ancestors of experimental performing artist / visual designer Amy Woodruff, using projeciton of digital imagery and handmade objects/garments. An epic story of the heartbreak, tragedy, and resilience of an Acadiana family.
May 6, 2016 :: EJHS Blue Moon Theatre | 400 Phlox Avenue @Ligustrum Street, Metairie, Louisiana | 3 matinee shows free to students & faculty of East Jefferson High School
Apr 15-17, 2016, InFringe Fest #1 ::The Garret Theatre, 4210 Saint Claude Avenue, New Orleans | tickets $7
Nov 3 & 5, 2013, Solomania Festival :: The Shadowbox Theatre | 2400 Saint Claude Avenue, New Orleans | Sun & Tues at 7pm | tickets $10
Nov 30-Dec 1 & Dec 3-4, 2012 :: The Shadowbox Theatre | 2400 Saint Claude Avenue, New Orleans | Fri-Sat at 11pm, Mon-Tue at 8pm | tickets $15
Nov 1-Nov 2, 2012 :: Istre Cemetery at Mermentau Cove, Louisiana | 20-hour traditional vigil, performance installation, & fundraiser for La Toussaint (All Saints/All Souls Day)
Mar 31, 2012 :: Byrdie's Cafe & Gallery | ex voto, a ritual-style installation version | 2422A Saint Claude Avenue, New Orleans | free admission
Jul 28, 2009 :: Goddard College | 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield, Vermont | Haybarn Theatre, 10:30am | free admission | www.goddard.edu
Aug 20-Sep 21, 2008 :: Voodoo Mystere Lounge | 718 North Rampart Street, New Orleans | 9 shows: Sats 9pm, Suns 7pm | tickets $10
Debut: Apr 19, 2008, Dramarama 15 :: Contemporary Arts Center | 900 Camp Street, New Orleans | Rehearsal Hall, 10:15pm | festival tickets $12
The Insanity
of Mary Girard
"A chilling piece of powerlessness and despair" ..."well-performed, well-designed, and haunting." --NOLA Defender (2013)
"Well-crafted" with a "strong cast" and "impressive performances." --Gambit Weekly New Orleans (2013)
"As engrossing as it is unsettling" ... it "leaves the audience shuddering." Using "atmospheric elements of good theater" it's a "a tightly wound thriller." --New Orleans Times-Picayune (2013)
Lanie Robertson's haunting 1976 play, set in Philadelphia in 1790, explores the myth-shrouded story of the spouse of one of the richest men of American history, the powerful 18th century banker Stephen Girard. Psychiatry, women's rights, and marital relationships ... how far have we actually come?
Featuring Amy Woodruff as Mary Girard, with James Wright as Stephen Girard, and Glenn Aucoin, Jr., Michael Martin, Rebecca Meyers, Kristina Webb, and Tiffany Wolf as the Furies. Directed by Matt Story, with Monica R. Harris as assistant director and Rebecca McLaughlin as stage manager. Designs by Amy Woodruff (costumes), Adam Tourek & Matt Story (scenery), Aubrey Schwartz (masks), Vic Woodward (lighting), and Glenn Aucoin, Jr. (sound).
Produced in special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
January 18-20, 25-27 & February 1-3, 2013 :: Shadowbox Theatre | 2400 Saint Claude Avenue, New Orleans | shows at 7:30pm | tickets $15
dis+graced
"Remarkable emotional honesty." --Montreal Gazette (2006)
Two women - a barbarian witch, and an empress of France - with two reactions to being cast aside by two powerful men. This highly visual multimedia one-actor performance was created and performed (direction, script development, and scenic and costume design) by Amy Woodruff using the text of Euripides' Medea and the letters of Josephine Bonaparte, with video by Amy Woodruff and Chrispin Barnes. [With video appearances by Chrispin Barnes, Gabrielle Reisman, John Tiliakos, Eric Illarmo, and Austin and Alex Higdon.]
June 8-18, 2006, St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Theatre Festival :: Quebec, Canada | six shows at Theatre Mainline (3997 boul. St-Laurent): June 9 at 10:15pm | June 10 at 3pm | June 11 at 9:30pm | June 13 at 7:15pm | June 16 at 10pm | June 17 at Midnight | tickets $6
May 20, 2006, Dramarama 13 :: Contemporary Arts Center | 900 Camp Street, New Orleans | Rehearsal Hall, 9:15pm | tickets $12
Debut: March 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, 2006, Zeitgeist Arts Center | New Orleans | shows at 8pm | tickets $10
The Music
of Erich Zann
"Fascinating"... the "stand-out" of DramaRama 8. --Gambit Weekly New Orleans (2001)
"Effectively & brilliantly conceived... a unique & mesmerizing production." --Ambush Magazine (2005)
One of the "Best Bets of the Week!" --Gambit Weekly New Orleans (2001)
Featured in the Italian publication HorrorMagazine!
excerpt: Lovecraft's "The Music of Erich Zann" (2005)
on Vimeo:
A theatre performance based on HP Lovecraft's darkly intense story of a young man who recalls his days as an impoverished student in a dismal, anonymous city in Europe, using multimedia video projection, mask, surrealistic movement, storytelling, and a haunting mix of original and existing music. Residing in a decrepit apartment building in a mysterious district called the Rue d'Auseil, the student befriends the old German viol-player Erich Zann, who lives on the floor above. As the young man discovers Zann's inhuman music emanating from the upper rooms, he descends into a world of obsession, madness, and a terrifying presence from an alternate realm. Project directed and designed (scenic and costume arts) from Lovecraft's story by Amy Woodruff. Video/Audio projection designs by Amy Woodruff with Chrispin Barnes.
December 2-3, 2005, McNeese University Theatre | Lake Charles, Louisiana | Fri 7:30pm, Sat 2:30pm & 7:30pm | tickets $10 | with Amy Woodruff as The Narrator, Blake Buchert as Erich Zann, & John Tiliakos as Monsieur Blandot
April 1-3, 8-10, 15-17, 2005, Zeitgeist Arts Center | New Orleans | shows at 8pm | tickets $10 | with Amy Woodruff as The Narrator, Kevin M. Lee as Erich Zann, & John Tiliakos as Monsieur Blandot [sponsored in part by Quizno's Subs of Veterans Blvd, Slice Pizzeria, Surrey's Cafe & Juice Bar, & Juan's Flying Burrito]
March 28-31, 2001, Pickery Art Space | 433 Orange Street at Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans | shows at 8pm | tickets $8 | with Amy Woodruff as The Narrator & Chris Genua as Erich Zann/Monsieur Blandot | creative consultant: Sara Schaefer [sponsored in part by Juan's Flying Burrito]
Debut :: January 20, 2001, Dramarama 8: Contemporary Arts Center | 900 Camp Street, New Orleans | Bank One Theatre, 10:15pm | tickets $10 | with Amy Woodruff as The Narrator & Chris Genua as Erich Zann/Monsieur Blandot | creative consultant: Sara Schaefer
The Seven
"The Seven was a fascinating experiment... (it) held the audience spellbound from beginning to end." --Gambit Weekly New Orleans (2004)
3 (OUT OF 4) CLAPS!... Woodruff has "cleverly cast" this "tremendous tale" & uses an "interesting approach & style." --WYES-TV 12/PBS (2004)
"Intense" performance, & an "intriguing" project. --New Orleans Times-Picayune
King Oedipus and Queen Iokaste are dead. The royal house is under shadow of an ancient curse, and the agricultural city of Thebes is in drought. Can the two sons and two daughters of the monarchy find a way to live with the world they've inherited?
The show consisted of provocative multimedia performance about the House of Thebes / Line of Kadmos (c1260 BCE), using live theatre, video projection, and fragments of several ancient works to bring to life a panorama of violence and human ambition. This exotic and fierce Greek tragedy about the devastation of war in a foreign, ancient pagan kingdom featured Joy Begnaud as Ismene, Don Guillory as Eteokles, John Tiliakos as Polynikes, and Amy Woodruff as Antigone. The project was created by Amy Woodruff primarily from Aeschylus' "Seven Against Thebes" and Euripides' "Women of Phoenicia."
[The performance's video segments featured extensive battle scenes, along with selected history of the House of Thebes. Thebes' ancestral history was depicted in scenes featuring guest appearances by: Justin Scalise as Oedipus | JoAnna Palmer as Iokaste | Alex Tiliakos as Kadmos]
[The footage of the war for Thebes included cameo appearances by the following burly warriors: Blake Buchert as Adrastos | Will Frank as Melanippos | Patrick Garon as Aktor | Eric Santana Illarmo as Amphiaraos | Kevin M. Lee as Lasthenes | David "Shasta" Morris as Kapaneos | Chrispin Patrick as Tydeos | James B. Raasch III as Polyphontes | Aaron Joel Santos as Periklymenos | Joseph Stein as Hippomedon | Chris Warwick as Parthenopeos | Thomas Wimprine as Hyperbios | David Wolff as Ismaros | Jim Wolff as Leades]
The Invasion Took Place ... January 22-23, 29-31, & February 5-7, 2004, State Palace Theatre | 1108 Canal Street at Rampart, New Orleans | shows at 7:30pm | tickets $10
BloodReign: Orestes/Elektra
in Remixed Collage
"Go see their shows. You will be impressed & entertained... chic touch, great energy." --Ambush Magazine (2003)
It is 1230 BCE, in the decades after the fall of Troy. The victorious Mycenaean dynasty sees its fifth and final cursed generation in Orestes and Elektra, the children of the assassinated king Agamemnon. With the return of the exiled prince, Orestes, the vengeance of ancient gods rises along with the legacy of a race of warlord kings. Will the avenging Fury ever sleep?
The performance used pieces of the three ancient Greek plays that tell this mythic story of justice, matricide, and a cursed royal lineage. The show was exotic, glamorous epic drama, with flickers of surrealistic performance and tribal ritualism. It was enthusiastically developed by the group's artists in workshops starting in June 2002, and featured John Tiliakos as Orestes, Amy Woodruff as Elektra, and Joy Begnaud as Klytemnestra. Performance creation and design were by Amy Woodruff, from texts by Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophokles.
July 11-12, 17-19, 24-25, 2003, State Palace Theatre | 1108 Canal Street at Rampart, New Orleans | shows at 7:30pm | tickets $10
Liquid Land
An original experimental performance embracing the lush Louisiana Atchafalaya River Basin Swamp, composed by Amy Woodruff and Edward French. This project was a multi-leveled portrait of the natural landscape of the Basin, which is a stunning geographic treasure that is known for its vast forested wetlands. The purpose of this work was to challenge the commonly-held perception that Louisiana's flooded woodlands are rotting wastelands, and the performance encouraged audiences to see the Atchafalaya as the vital, abundant ecosystem that it is. Liquid Land was a non-linear performance piece that used poetry, words, and images from the impressions the Atchafalaya made on the artists during a series of research trips. Creative work on Liquid Land began in September 2001, and culminated with an hour-long performance of the work seven months later.
The project's foundation was an abstract story of mythic proportions, which told the tale of a brother (Matthew Dobbins) and sister (Amy Woodruff) and their conflicts, as they faced their past, present, and future. Central to the performance was humankind's denial of and detachment from their habitat, and the reconnection that can occur to a breathtaking wilderness such as the Atchafalaya.
The structure of the performance consisted of intense scenes which depicted the interaction that the siblings encounter with both the Atchafalaya and with one another. These scenes were linked together with wordless interludes that the actors created, which in turn were overlaid with a soundscape of Atchafalaya sounds (night creatures, rain showers, etc.), combined with recorded narrative of ecological data that related directly to the Basin.
The minimalist sceneography consisted primarily of green and blue lighting, simple props, a small green wooden platform, and approximately 20 yards of fabric. The enormous swath of fabric, which was of the brown, green, and blue hues of the basin swamp, was curled into a large spiral which dominated the actors' playing space.
Made possible in part by a generous grant from the Jazz & Heritage Festival of New Orleans.
April 12-14, 19-21, 2002, Pickery Art Space | 433 Orange Street at Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans | shows at 8pm Fri-Sat, 3pm Sun | free admission, donations accepted
Debut: January 19, 2002, Dramarama 9 :: Contemporary Arts Center | 900 Camp Street, New Orleans | Bank One Theatre, 10pm
Laughing Wild
"Performance & presentation are first-rate"... "a young group of capable artisans." --New Orleans Times-Picayune (2001)
"Finely etched" performance work. --Southern Voice Weekly (2001)
Theatre Louisiane's first full-length theatre project was Christopher Durang's celebrated satire of contemporary life, featuring Amy Woodruff as The Woman and Daniel LaForce as The Man. This lively, thought-provoking comedy explores daily life in urban America, touching on the Catholic Church, Sally Jessy Raphael, sexuality and homosexuality, mental illness, the new age movement, AIDS, and tuna fish, all in no particular order. At the heart of the play is the full-circle process of human empathy that can happen, even between two very conflicting people.
Produced in special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., and sponsored in part by Quarter Scene Restaurant & Rue de la Course Coffeehouses. Special thanks also to our Tuna Fish Can Drive donors: Colleen Borne & Family | Blake Buchert & Amy Woodruff | Carol Buchert | Julie Condy | Daniel LaForce.
May 10-13, 17-18, 20, 2001, Pickery Art Space | 433 Orange Street at Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans | shows at 8pm, with 4pm & 8pm shows on May 20 | tickets $10
N2O
One of the "Best Bets of the Week." --Gambit Weekly New Orleans (2000)
An original ensemble-developed piece exploring the effects of utter weightlessness, featuring Skye Jordan, Sara Schaefer, and Amy Woodruff, and Nelson Gonzalez. N2O used experimental performance to explore the sensations behind chemical alteration of the mind and body. The show seamlessly connected interpretive movement, poetry, scientific data, music, and more to examine those sensations and discover what's behind feeling "high," whether it be from substance use, adrenaline, or mere euphoria. N2O featured original slide segments by Chris Genua.
Sponsored in part by Mystic Cafe.
December 13-15 2000, Mystic Cafe | 3244 Magazine Street, New Orleans | Wed-Thu shows at Midnight, Fri show at 1am | tickets $6
Pinter Sketches
This late-night offering was dubbed "Insomniac Theatre" by New Orleans CitySearch (2000)
Amy Woodruff is a "diminutive powerhouse" & "my favorite rising director in town." --mikko, theatre columnist for Where Y'at Magazine (2000)
This collection of four comic sketches by contemporary British playwright Harold Pinter, "That's Your Trouble," "Interview," "That's All," and "Applicant," were performed as simplistic snippets of life interspersed with six of Pinter's poems, and featured Skye Jordan, Sara Schaefer, and Blake Buchert. The preshow and curtain call music was an assortment of the energized and intense sounds of Peter Gabriel. The project was directed by Amy Woodruff.
Produced in special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., and sponsored in part by Mystic Cafe, Juan's Flying Burrito, and Mystic Blue Signs.
October 17-19, 24-26, 2000, Mystic Cafe | 3244 Magazine Street, New Orleans | shows at Midnight | tickets $6
Grief Doubled:
Kreon & Antigone
Theatre Louisiane's second project was a twenty minute adaptation of Sophokles' classic tragedy "Antigone" (c450 BCE Greece), and was developed and performed by Amy Woodruff. The performance was an intense study of the primary characters of the famous tale, exploring tyranny, defiance, and violence. It transcended typical realism through the use of five handmade masks (designed and built by Amy Woodruff), stylized hand props, minimalistic costumes, an intimate bare stage, interpretive movement, and progressive music clips to create strikingly percussive tension.
January 29, 2000, Dramarama 7 :: Contemporary Arts Center | 900 Camp Street, New Orleans | Rehearsal Hall, 8:15 pm | tickets $10
The Ridiculous Damsels
Theatre Louisiane's inaugural show was a 340th anniversary staging of Moliere's classic one-act comedy of pretentiousness, using techniques of French farce and stylized, high energy caricature, based in the principles of Italian commedia dell'arte. The presentation was inspired by "Francofete," the tricentennial of French influence in Louisiana.
The show featured an ensemble of eight performers, with Jorin Ostroska as Mascarille, Nolan Patin as Jodelet, Kathleen Robinson as Magdelon, Amy Woodruff as Cathos, Eric Illarmo as LaGrange, Christopher Lewis as DuCroisy, James Crouch as Gorgibus, and Deni Lambaunas as Marotte. It was directed by Amy Woodruff, and Kathleen Robinson was the assistant director.
Sponsored in part by Mystic Cafe, Virgin Megastore Cafe, and Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Shops.
November 18-20, 1999, The Dream Palace | 534 Frenchmen Street, New Orleans | shows at 8pm | tickets $4
