Blank Conversations announces upcoming season

Blank Conversations Theatre Company (BCTC) is gearing up for all kinds of shows for the 2022-23 season at Rio Grande Theatre (RGT), 211 N. Main St. downtown. As it enters its third year, the company expects this season to be full of nothing but honest, exciting and thoughtful presentations.

BCTC leaps into the farcical world of “The Importance of Being Earnest” by renowned playwright Oscar Wilde. Directed by Christopher Lininger, who directed Blank’s production of “Singin’ in the Rain” earlier this year, the play follows the story of two bachelors, John “Jack” Worthing and Algernon “Algy” Moncrieff, who create alter egos named Ernest to escape their tiresome lives. They attempt to win the hearts of two women who, conveniently, claim to only love men called Ernest. The pair struggle to keep up with their own stories and become tangled in a tale of deception, disguise and misadventure. The production is set to open Sept. 15-18 for a one-weekend run at RGT.

Pop-punk rock and angst will find their way to the stage this year with a production of “Green Day’s AMERICAN IDIOT” during a two-week run January 2023. Directed by Gus Sanchez, the show follows the story of Johnny, the self-declared Jesus of Suburbia, and his two best friends as they attempt to navigate adolescence in a post-9/11 America. As each friend follows their own declared path, the thinly stretched American Dream crumbles as Johnny and his friends grow unprepared for the lives created for them. The show is based on the Green Day album of the same name from 2004 and features songs from other albums, including “21st Century Breakdown” and “Nimrod.”

Next, BVTC will premiere the two-man show “Red” by John Logan and co-directed by Anjelica Martinez and Chad Gonzalez. This historical fiction follows the life of Mark Rothko as he’s commissioned to paint what would become known as the Seagram’s Murals. Rothko is joined by a fictional assistant, Ken, in helping him around his studio. The two get into heavy debates and arguments about art and life, all the while the commission hangs over Rothko’s head. The production is set to run April 20-23 at RGT.

BCTC will wrap up their season with a production of Matt Crowley’s “The Boys in the Band,” directed by Eva Cullen. Set in 1968, the play follows a group of gay men gathering for a birthday party in a New York City apartment. As the night goes on and drinks are had, the group is suddenly torn between their unresolved conflicts in friendship and romance. The play premiered Off Broadway in 1968, but regained popularity with a Broadway revival in 2018 and a subsequent film adaptation on Netflix. The show is set to open July 2023.

This season will also see the return of the famed “Rocky Horror Shadow Cast” events, being presented in late October 2022, as well as in April for one performance. Both runs will see Carissa Galban returning to direct. August will also feature a shadow cast performance of “Moulin Rouge,” directed by Eva Cullen for one performance. Stay tuned for those announcements.

BCTC aims to keep making accessible theatre for all demographics by producing a unique season.

All of us are thinking and asking a ton of questions about the world as it stands, and what better way to make sense of it than telling it on the stage? Creating engaging theatrical experiences is a core part of BCTC business, but making it mean something is what we’re really here to do this season.

All show and audition information can be found at www.blankconversations.org or through our social media. Tickets can be purchased at www.riograndetheatre.org. A season pass option for all four stage productions is available at a 10-percent discount.