{"id":2161,"date":"2025-02-19T19:58:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T19:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/austin-arts-center\/?page_id=2161"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:42:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T16:42:11","slug":"mr-burns","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/austin-arts-center\/archives\/mr-burns\/","title":{"rendered":"Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play"},"content":{"rendered":"

Play and lyrics by Anne Washburn
\nScore by Michael Friedman
\nDirected by Michelle Ong-Hendrick<\/h4>\n

Tues-Fri, April 9-11 (7:30 PM)
\nGoodwin Theater, AAC<\/h4>\n

Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

In Anne Washburn<\/a>\u2019s darkly funny, grandly operatic Mr. Burns<\/em>, survivors of a nuclear apocalypse may not have much, but they have Bart Simpson, Sideshow Bob, and Gilbert and Sullivan. Gathered around a campfire, they piece together the plot of a \u201cSimpsons\u201d<\/a> episode from memory. It\u2019s the first moment of a people establishing a culture through storytelling, and we sing, laugh, and struggle along with the characters as this mainstay of classic pop television, mashed up with songs, contemporary memes, and TikToks, becomes the foundation of a new mythology and artistic tradition. What follows on this page offers context for some of the play’s references …<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO VIEW A DIGITAL COPY OF “THE POST-ELECTRIC.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

THE POST-ELECTRIC:
\nTHE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF
\nMR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY<\/em><\/h4>\n

In lieu of a program for this production,
\nThe Post-Electric contains a synopsis of each act,<\/em>
\nand information about the creative team and performers.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

FREE FALLING INTO HISTORY<\/a><\/em>, BY TALYA KINGSTON<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

This is the second time Director Michelle Ong Hendrick and Designer Calypso Michelet are collaborating on this play. Mr. Burns<\/em> was scheduled to be part of the UMass Theater Department\u2019s 2020 season when COVID hit. Dramaturg Talya Kingston had a chance to catch a design run of the play before everything shut down:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know the play, you will understand its eerie relevance: three acts that each take us deeper into a post-apocalyptic United States where people are hoarding supplies and fearful of the contagion of strangers and ultimately forced to invent new forms of storytelling. But at that moment, it was the incompleteness of the production as well as the story that was prophetic.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Talya Kingston<\/a> is a playwright, dramaturg, and theatre educator based in Amherst, Massachusetts, who is inspired by the interactions between artists and audiences and how these can be a catalyst for social change. Read Talya\u2019s full piece HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

ANNE WASHBURN, PLAYWRIGHT<\/h4>\n
\"Anne<\/a>
Click the image above to listen to Anne Washburn on SoundCloud.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Playwright Anne Washburn and others share thoughts on “The Simpsons,” workshops, and theater in this behind-the-scenes look at Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Anne Washburn’s plays include Mr. Burns, The Internationalist, A Devil At Noon, Apparition, The Communist Dracula Pageant, I Have Loved Strangers, The Ladies, The Small<\/i> and a transadaptation of Euripides’ Orestes.<\/i> Her work has been produced by 13P, Actors Theater of Louisville, American Repertory Theatre, Cherry Lane Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, The Civilians, Dixon Place, Ensemble Studio Theater, The Folger, London’s Gate Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, NYC’s Soho Rep, DC’s Studio Theater, Two River Theater Company, NYC’s Vineyard and Woolly Mammoth. Awards include a Guggenheim, a NYFA Fellowship, a Time Warner Fellowship, Susan Smith Blackburn finalist, and residencies at MacDowell and Yaddo. She is an associated artist with The Civilians, Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, and is an alumna of New Dramatists and 13P. Currently commissioned by MTC, Playwrights Horizons, Soho Rep, and Yale Rep.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“CAPE FEARE,” SEASON 5, EPISODE 2,\u00a0THE SIMPSONS<\/i><\/h4>\n
\"The<\/a>
Click the image above to watch highlights of the “Cape Feare” episode of “The Simpsons.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Why The Simpsons<\/i>? What makes The Simpsons<\/i> so culturally significant?<\/b><\/h6>\n

The Simpsons, <\/i>first airing in 1989, became a cultural phenomenon because it revolutionized animated television with its sharp satire, unique characters, and its blending of high and low culture. Unlike the cartoons we had known before, it wasn\u2019t just for kids; it tackled social issues, politics, and everyday life with humor that appealed to both casual viewers and hardcore fans.<\/p>\n

At its peak, The Simpsons<\/i> wasn\u2019t just a TV show; it was the<\/i> TV show, influencing comedy, pop culture, and even the way people spoke.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

POST-ELECTRIC: NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS<\/b><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Play and lyrics by Anne Washburn Score by Michael Friedman Directed by Michelle Ong-Hendrick Tues-Fri, April 9-11 (7:30 PM) Goodwin Theater, AAC Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com. In Anne Washburn\u2019s darkly funny, grandly operatic Mr. Burns, survivors of a nuclear apocalypse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":481,"featured_media":0,"parent":2839,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2161","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play - Austin Arts Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A context page for the production, "Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play" by Anne Washburn and directed by Michelle Ong-Hendrick at Trinity College (Hartford, April 2025). 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