"You Art What You Eat" at the KC Fringe Festival

In addition to producing Variations on a Scene by Tara Varney and Variations on a Theme by Tara Varney at this year's KC Fringe Festival, I'll be exhibiting some new artwork that I created with my daughter Audrey on the theme "You Art What You Eat."

The art will be on exhibit in the Grand Hall of Union Station July 16-30. There's an artist reception on Sunday, July 16 at 2:00pm. If you're going to Fringe or just in the Crown Center area, be sure to check out the KC Fringe Visual Art show.

Audrey and I might be doing some other Fringe visual art events like Iron Artist or Kick Comedy Theatre's Bemused, so check back here for announcements and details.

Find out more a kcfringe.org

"Variations on a Theme by Tara Varney" coming to Fringe 2017

Variations on a Theme by Tara Varney is a new play comprised of nine scenes, some humorous and some touching, which all have a common thematic thread. The play will be performed at the MTH Theater in Crown Center as part of the Kansas City Fringe Festival, July 20-30, 2017.

It was when Tara Varney was preparing the rehearsal space for a play she was directing in 2009 that she realized the assumptions that people make, based on their own life experiences, concerning others' world view. That thought stayed in the forefront of her mind as she taught acting to young people. It was the seed of Variations on a Theme.

"We all have things we want to say, but can't, for whatever reason, or things we assume the other person already knows, but doesn't," Varney says. "It's the kernel of what makes relationships difficult. When we really, deeply realize that the other person is not coming from the same place we are, then maybe we can make some kind of headway in actually connecting."

Variations on a Theme by Tara Varney features Amy Hurrelbrink, Parry Luellen, Mike Ott, and Marcie Ramirez. The assistant director is Michael Golliher.

Performances of Variations on a Theme by Tara Varney will be as follows:

8:00pm Friday, July 21
5:00pm Sunday, July 23
6:30pm Monday, July 24
9:30pm Tuesday, July 25
8:00pm Thursday, July 27
6:30pm Saturday, July 29

But wait... there's more!

Next door, in the MTH Theatre's Stage 2, Varney will be presenting the companion piece Variations on a Scene by Tara Varney, produced by Bryan Colley. In this show veteran actors Jay Coombes and Caroline Dawson will be taking scenes from Variations on a Theme and using them for actor-driven improv, giving audiences a chance to step inside the actor's head and see how character exploration develops during rehearsal, ultimately creating three-dimensional characters out of words on a page.

Performances of Variations on a Scene by Tara Varney will be as follows:

6:00pm Monday, July 24
7:30pm Tuesday, July 25
9:00pm Wednesday, July 26
9:00pm Friday, July 28
4:30pm Saturday, July 29

Tickets to either show are $10 with a Fringe Button (available for $5 at the box office).