A Decade of Theatre – A Brief Review of ZU
Cast photo of “The Rape of Lucrece” (2011)
Well, 2013 becomes the milestone year; marks the 10th year of Zero Untitled’s existence. In that span, ZU which is primarily a Texas-based company, has managed to get theatre done in several major cities across the United States and even two recent shows in the heart of theatre – London.
First, let us begin this brief journey at the very beginning. In Kingsville, TX in 2003, Zero Untitled began as Zero Untitled Films, a strictly filmmaking organization that was lead by Michael Verderber, Gabriel Ruiz, and Paco Rosales-Moreno. Rosales-Moreno’s tenure with the organization was short-lived, so Ruiz and Verderber took up the helm. The entire purpose behind ZU was an outlet for film projects, as both Ruiz and Verderber were swamped with stage productions in college.
The very first project was a collaboration with Corpus Christi’s Dreamchaser Productions’ creator Bobby Curbow. ZU and Dreamchaser had their mutually shared debut film The Man Who Walks Alone at Harbor Playhouse in November 7, 2003 as part of the Edgeworks Short Film Festival. Mere months later, Verderber and Ruiz met Jesse Shaw, a trained carnival performer who helped develop the first legitimate theatrical production – Freakshow Theatre and a collaboration with SIR, Inc. During the rehearsal process, it became clear that keeping theatre out of ZU would be pointless as both Ruiz and Verderber were stage-trained actors. FT marked the first outdoor stage production on the campus of Texas A&M Univ – Kingsville since the 1970s. ZU’s goal began to focus on performing plays in non-traditional spaces (see below).
So that is how it began ten years ago. What has happened since then? Check out every page of the website and see for yourself! But to save you some time, here are a few bullet points:
Promotional still for “A Life with No Joy In It” (2011)
– 67 productions (at the start of 2013)
– 2 carnival-esque freakshows: Freakshow Theatre and Freakshow Theatre II
– 3 film festivals featuring local filmmakers
– Multiple play performances in non-traditional spaces such as: art galleries, coffee shops, bars, meeting rooms, student centers, schools, and city streets
– Performances and film shooting in Boston, Sacramento, Las Vegas, South Padre Island, and London.
– 4 Dark Tours: Into Hell, Madness in Wonderland, Relapse in Wonderland, and Nightmare of Oz
– Multiple mime performances: When Mimes Invade!, Gamblin’ Mime: A Las Vegas Happening, Forward MIMEntum, and London’s Mime the Gap.
– Multiple firebreathing performances (not including the Freakshows): Surprise Flash Bang!, Our Gift from Prometheus, Prometheus [redux], Ignis Duo, Flight of the Fireflies, pts I & II, Amber & Ashes, Fate of Eights, and the shortlived X: a Firebreathing Showcase.
– Approximately 50 world premiere plays
– 1 Traveling comedy troupe, Premature Punchline, w/ performances in Austin, Corpus Christi, and Kingsville
– 2 Shakespearean works: original adaptations of The Rape of Lucrece and The Phoenix and the Turtle, and various monologue performances – All The World’s a Stage (London)
– Productions of David Mamet (A Life with No Joy In It), Clement Clark Moore (A Visit from St. Nicholas), and Don Nigro (Barefoot in Nightgown by Candlelight)
– 4 music videos: DJ Oringe’s “In Regards”, “Saltie”, and “Floormatted” and Verderber’s “Slipping”.
– Various traditional Happenings: The Telegration Experiment, A Trance of Death, and 13°
– 5 traditional short films: The Man Who Walks Alone, The Suicide Note, Mimeumentary, Over White Wine,and Pilo the Never Ending.
– And more!
Here’s what happened in JUST 2012:
– Textual Overture, a coffee-shop based workshop/reading series for poems and plays performed 4 times at two locales: Café 5 and Blue Ribbon Café.
– World premieres for original short plays Broken Wheels and Shattered.
– Two firebreathing shows: Fate of Eights and X.
– An ArtWalk mime show: Forward MIMEntum
– Full length premiere of Acoustical, a romantic comedy.
– Two performances in London, England and ZU’s first international productions of All The World’s a Stage and Mime the Gap
– Multiple Premature Punchline shows including Fish and Giggles and The Rated R Christmas Show
– Full-length Dark Tour production of Nightmare of Oz.
– Eleven one-act premieres in collaboration with TAMUK
What will 2013 bring? Come to the shows and find out!
