Ohio Trip: A Slide Show Adventure March 29, 2007

Ohio Trip is a play for anyone who has politely endured a family vacation slide show and wished for something more. In the one-woman play, the narrator (Elizabeth Cobbe) starts to show off some slides from her recent travels to Cincinnati, Ohio, when it becomes clear that something very strange indeed took place during her stroll through the rundown, riot-scarred neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine.

A trap door inside a former speakeasy opens to reveal a beautiful, mysterious forest with characters from a modern-day Alice in Wonderland. It’s far from peaceful, however. Soon a frightening chase ensues, and our narrator must find her way through an oddball reality that has more than a few things to say about what it’s like to wander in a place where you don’t belong.

More than 100 slides accompany the show as “proof” of the narrator’s journey. These slides are the result of a three-day shoot on location in Cincinnati with photographer Paul Armstrong, plus image manipulation by Armstrong and Austin-based designer K. Eliot Haynes (Refraction Arts Project).

Sharon Sparlin of Austin directs this production. Elizabeth Cobbe, who moved to Austin from Cincinnati in 2005, is the author and narrator. K. Eliot Haynes also designs the sound. The development of Ohio Trip was made possible by a commission from Austin Script Works. For information about Austin Script Works membership or programs call (512) 454-9727 or visit them at www.scriptworks.org.

Ohio Trip runs March 29-31 at Women & Their Work Art Gallery (1710 Lavaca St.). Showtimes are as follows: Thursday and Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10, with $8 tickets available at the door for members of Austin Circle of Theatres, Austin Script Works, Women & Their Work Art Gallery, and students with valid identification. Advance tickets may be purchased online at www.ohiotrip.eventbrite.com.

Official Website: http://www.ohiotrip.eventbrite.com