If you were lucky enough to see “Red Speedo,” an Indiana premiere play, in February at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, you were immediately given the rundown by front-of-house staff. Restrooms are through there. The play runs about 85 minutes with no intermission, so if you want to get a drink or snack, do that now. Oh, and be sure to enter on the side you want to sit on, because it’s a little hard to cross through the theatre.
Why?
Because there’s a pool down in front.
No, not a kiddie pool. Not a $40 inflatable pool from Walmart. And not a puddle of water on the floor from a leaky ceiling.
The team from American Lives Theatre – which presented “Red Speedo” – built a functioning 4 x 16 x 4 feet-deep swimming pool for the set, seeing as the play takes place the night before the Olympic swim trials.
“We had a little bit of a stumble with the pool, but we kind of expected that,” Chris Saunders, founding artistic director of ALT and director of “Red Speedo,” said. “When I went in one day to filter the pool, shortly after I left, one of the hoses came off the filter, so basically water went all around the pool for like 15 minutes, until other staff members happened to come in and see the standing water. It was a bad day.”
As disastrous as that day felt for the staff and crew, all was back to normal by the next show. A remediation company was hired to dry everything.
‘New’ means risky
ALT is one of a growing number of young theatre companies in Indianapolis that focus on contemporary theatre. Contemporary theatre consists of newer plays (usually written in the past decade or so) that often tackle issues relevant to modern life. Because of their proximity to the present-day “real world,” as well as marketing difficulties, these plays are often considered riskier to produce.
“I really love contemporary plays that speak to what’s happening right now, and so when I lived out of town, I would write to people like Bryan Fonseca and say, ‘Have you seen this play?’ It slowly began to dawn on me how many great plays were never produced in Indianapolis. And I realized that maybe that was something I could contribute to,” Saunders said.
In keeping with the trend of more contemporary theatre, The Naptown African American Theatre Collective is currently performing “Stew,” a play written by Zora Howard in 2020 about four black women from three generations grappling with loss, hope and each other as they cook up a meal for a church event.
“We’re trying to help build up this palette for Indianapolis that is excited about new work, especially within communities of color and the Black community,” LaKesha Lorene, founder and producing director of NAATC, said. “Most of the time, people don’t like to see new stuff, unless it’s with somebody they know, like a big celebrity or something like that. But in larger cities like New York and Chicago, it’s just the culture that you go and see new plays.”
Saunders has discussed the issue of not seeing new plays with Indianapolis residents. “I do actively listen to people, especially non-theatre people, about what their resistance is with going to the theatre,” Saunders said. “ The thing I hear the most is, ‘Yeah, you know, I don’t want to gamble my Saturday night on this,’ and I think that the power of great theater is great, but the power of bad theater is also great.”
Also this season, NAATC produced “Judy’s Life’s Work” by Loy A. Webb, which received a critically acclaimed world premiere in Chicago in 2024.
The play tells the story of adult siblings dealing with the recent death of their mother and figuring out what to do with her groundbreaking medical notes. As a relatively young theatre company (they got their start in 2022), NAATC seeks to demonstrate how “Black culture is the heartbeat of American Theatre.”
Weird and strange, like Bigfoot and Mothman
Not all theatre companies in Indy are on such a serious mission. Founded in 2022, Cryptid Entertainment produces self-described “schlock theatrical events.” Theatregoers may be familiar with their “Bigfoot” series, which includes “Bigfoot Saves the World” and “Bigfoot Saves America.”
“I’ve always wanted to see Bigfoot fight Mothman and I’m happy that I get to make that happen,” Dakota Jones, Cryptid Entertainment’s artistic director and cofounder (as well as writer of the Bigfoot series), laughed. “George Lucas has a quote that says he wanted to make movies that he wanted to see. And it’s the same thing for us. Like, there isn’t enough original content or weird content in the local scene right now outside of the IndyFringe Festival.”
Cryptid Entertainment’s next show, “Reefer Madness: the Musical,” is a cult classic that satirizes a 1936 propaganda film. Jones promises a “memorable, one-of-a-kind experience” at this and any Cryptid Entertainment show.
“I don’t think enough people know about how wonderful and strange things can be if you open up your mind to looking for things you’re not used to,” Jones said.
However, it’s not hard to understand why people don’t always take chances on seeing new plays. They’re difficult to market, because people don’t instantly know what the show is about or whether they’d be interested at first glance.
Because of this, theatre companies have to find a way to entice viewers to come out and take a chance on a new work without giving too much of the play away.
“I get it. We all have limited time and we’re asking people to buy a ticket and reserve time on a precious weekend night for something that’s ultimately going to be some level of a gamble,” Saunders said. “And it’s not like Netflix, where you can switch it off after five minutes.”
Community means exchanging the same $20 back and forth
Ariel Laukins, local stage manager and actor, sees about 20 shows a year, and that’s not counting all the shows they act in and stage manage for companies like ALT, Cryptid Entertainment, Working Class Socialite, Footlite Musicals, Bardfest and more.
As an audience member, they like seeing new works, thought-provoking shows and shows that their friends are involved in. They’ve noticed a trend among audiences for these newer theatre companies that produce new works.
“I think with these newer companies and the plays specifically that they’re putting on, you are getting more diverse audiences,” Laukins said. “And not just more diverse, but people who are more open to diversity. It’s an openness, a willingness to try something new.”
“I think that the power of great theater is great, but the power of bad theater is also great.”
— Chris Saunders, founding artistic director of ALT
Lorene spoke to this trend as well.
“We are a newer company. They’re always just gonna be a little bit of a difference in audience because of that, right?” Lorene said. “There’s certain advantages to being around for a really long time, and there’s certain advantages to being new.”
Lorene said that their largest audience group is millennials to middle-aged, although they receive quite a few elder community members as well. She also shared that about 65% of their audience is Black, with other races making up the other 35%.
“Our audiences are more diverse, I think, by virtue of how we just began to be steeped in community when we started,” Lorene said. “We’ve been partners with the Flanner House since we started. We go to community meetings. We were very heavy in tabling (setting up tables at events) from the beginning.”
Jones has noticed that Cryptid Entertainment consistently brings in people who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and has a generally younger demographic.
“I would say if you were old enough to vote for Ronald Reagan or Walter Mondale, you probably aren’t going to our shows,” Jones said.
Jones also mentioned that how tight-knit the newer theaters are often means that “theatre companies are exchanging the same $20 back and forth to each other” by seeing each other’s shows. He said this is a great thing because it means theatre companies are supporting each other, but that the issue is you’re not bringing in new people.
‘We have to consistently try and one up ourselves’
In keeping with their mission, ALT produces plays that are “a constant reflection of what America as a country is right now.”
Their current season includes “The Humans” by Stephen Karam, a play that centers around a dysfunctional family on Thanksgiving, and “Aspen Ideas” by Abe Koogler, a satire about the rich and famous — and one of their previous seasons contained “Predictor” by Jennifer Blackmer, a play about Margaret Crane, inventor of the home pregnancy test. They even had the real-life Margaret Crane attend a show and give a talkback with the playwright.
This mission-led work has led to a diverse audience, but they are aiming for even more diversity in the future, Saunders said.
“We always want to be more diverse, and so we’re trying to tell stories with representation and and listen to how we can do better and be better,” Saunders said. “I am very happy with our audience, but I think a lot of the material might appeal to a younger crowd. Our audience has diversified more since we’ve started, but it’s something that I really want to do more work on.”
Jones said that it is hard to nail down a target audience, seeing as most newer theatre groups just want an audience in the first place. While shows like “A Christmas Carol” or “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” sell out on name recognition alone, they may not challenge the audience the way a biting new play might.
Jones cited “predictable and easy” theatre versus contemporary, more experimental work.
“It’s smart to produce things that are predictable and easy because it’s name recognition that people know, and that’s why I think a lot of IP based musicals are doing really well now,” Jones said. “You may not go to musicals, but you like ‘Waitress,’ so you’ll go check out ‘Waitress the Musical.’ Or ‘Beetlejuice the Musical.’ Or ‘Legally Blonde.’ But with Cryptid’s work and other smaller theatre companies, we have to consistently try and one up ourselves so people keep wanting to come back.”
In terms of larger, more established theatre companies, some of them do produce new work.
For example, the Indiana Repertory Theatre produced Rajiv Joseph’s “King James” at the beginning of the year, a 2022 play about two men who bond over their mutual love of basketball and Lebron James.
However, now this same company is producing “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, a more classic play — indicating that they may be aiming for a balance of newer and more classical work.
Lorene said that NAATC will continue to produce new work despite the challenges it presents.
“We’re driven by the art,” Lorene said. “We’re not necessarily driven by, ‘Oh, we know this is going to be a hit seller’ type of thing. We’re driven by, ‘This is what we want to say right now. This is our theme.’”
Ready to take a chance on a show?
Check out what’s up next from ALT, Cryptid Entertainment, NAATC and other theatre companies making contemporary work happen.
The Humans
🗓️ April 24-May 11
📍 Phoenix Theatre, 705 N. Illinois St.
🎟️ $20-40
This Best Play Tony award winner follows the Blake family through a single Thanksgiving, and all the familial dysfunction and tension it entails. (ALT)
Reefer Madness – The Musical
🗓️ April 25-May 11
📍 The Basile Theatre at IF, 719 E. St. Clair St.
🎟️ $22
A spoofy, satirical political commentary based on a 1936 film, this musical shows the dangers and horrors that happen when good kids get involved with marijuana, violence and even gasp jazz music. (Cryptid Entertainment)
Stew
🗓️ March 13-30
📍 Phoenix Theatre, 705 N. Illinois St.
🎟️ $15-40
Four black women of multiple generations deal with loss and hope as they cook up food, commentary and drama. (NAATC)
can i touch it?
🗓️ March 14-30
📍 Fonseca Theatre Company, 2508 W. Michigan St.
🎟️ $10-20
Shay Solomon, a Black woman who owns a beauty supply store in a changing neighborhood, must deal with gentrification and stupid questions while maintaining her peace in this drama with humor. (Fonseca Theatre Company)
Emily Worrell is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor and Indy Documenters assistant editor. You can reach her at emily.worrell@mirrorindy.org.
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