Programs

  • Theatrical Performances Series

    The six-show 47th Season (2023) ran most weekends through Oct. 29 at its outdoor amphitheater. Performances are Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 9 p.m., May through August, and 8:15 p.m., September and October. Riders of the Purple Sage was last seen at Hip Pocket in 1996; it's a "classic Western of the silent film era," performed in the style of a silent film. JoAnn Gracey, director; Joe Rogers, new music and lyrics, and musical direction. El Maleficio De La Mariposa; The Butterfly's Evil Spell, "[Federico Garcia] Lorca's poetic world of beetles, fireflies and other magical creatures is disrupted when a hypnotic, wounded butterfly enters their dewdrop paradise." Beautiful bi-lingual adaptation by Yvonne Duque-Guerrero who also directs; Darrin Kobetich, music composition and live performance. White Elephant was first produced in New York in 2009. It "is a meditation on transition, memory and release." Co-written and directed by Lake Simons and John Dyer; music composed and performed live by Dyer and choreographed and designed by Simons. Testing Ground 3+3, consisted of a festival of three new works by Rob Bosquez, JoAnn Gracey and Shelby Griffin. Old and in the Way is a "tender remembrance of the past and a tragi-comedic look at the last days of an old elderly hippy." The Fly, a James Clavell screenplay for this Halloween production, adapted for Hip Pocket by Shawn Gann who also directs, with music by Joe Rogers.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $224.3K

  • Puppet Pageant Outreach Program

    The outreach portion of Hip Pocket's program, was fulfilled by the Puppet Pageant which was re-instated after a several-year hiatus. The two-week series of workshops, culminating in 3 nights of performances was open to the community free of charge, with the impetus on encouraging families from all areas to gather to learn the art of creating and performing with puppets, large and small, and build commonalities with other puppeteers.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $11.5K

  • Program 1 [2024]

    The six-show 48th Season (2024) ran most weekends from 5/19/24 through 11/3/24 at its outdoor amphitheater with the exception of the 3rd show of the season, "Raft Project: (My Shapes are in Turmoil)" which was performed at the Southside Preservation Hall due to the extreme heat at that point in the year. Performances, for the most part, were Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings at 9 p.m., May through August, and 8:15 p.m., September and October. However, due to scheduling with out-of-town talent, two shows included Thursday evenings, and ran one week less than the others. The first show of the 48th season was "A Twisty Intergalactic Spectacle," which was written by Basil Twist, international puppet artist, and Ken Ard, New York-based actor frequently seen on Broadway. Mr. Twist also directed the piece and Mr. Ard starred each night. Local composer/musician, Joe Rogers, created the music and performed the show. Johnny Simons, co-founder of Hip Pocket, contributed lyrics and music for the closing number. The second show of the 2024 season was a classic, by William Shakespeare, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," directed by Yvonne Duque-Guerrero, with "sprightly, original music by terrific guitarist/percussionist, Darren Kobetich." Following this, Hip moved inside to the Southside Preservation Hall to escape the beastly heat for an original production, "Raft Project (My Shapes are in Turmoil), by Lake Simons along with John Dyer who also composed and performed the original music, Raft Project is " a short, flowing, and wordless piece full of music and movement, puppetry and dance." Then, it's back outside to Hip's outdoor stage for Charles Mee's "Big Love," directed by Emily Scott Banks - "a playful and cheerfully bloody tale of runaway brides and bullying grooms-maybe set in ancient Greece (it's loosely based on Aeschylus' The Suppliant Maidens), but with pop culture and music references that give us other ideas." - Jan Farrington, onstagetx.com. For the closing show of the 48th season, in the "Halloween" portion of the season, Hip Pocket presented "Metamorphosis," by Franz Kafka, adapted and directed by Christina Cranshaw with original music composed and performed nightly by Clint Niosi.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $271.6K